MANY CANADIANS are perplexed by treaty issues. In this column I will try to answer a few key questions.
Who is party to treaties?
Everyone in Canada, Indian and non-Indian. The agreements were between the British crown, or later the Canadian government, and Indian leaders.
There are sub-categories of both pre-Confederation and post-Confederation treaties. There are also treaties still being negotiated.
The most significant treaties in the prairie provinces are a type of post Confederation treaty called the Numbered Treaties (1-11), which were signed between 1870 and 1923.
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These cover the Prairies, all of the far north, western Ontario and small parts of British Columbia.
One exception is a handful of prairie Dakota bands who are still negotiating modern-day treaties. Most bands in British Columbia never signed treaties so they, too, are negotiating.
Most of the farmers who read The Western Producer probably live on land covered by the numbered treaties, which were more precise than pre-Confederation treaties in terms of commitments.
Have treaties been fulfilled and if not, why not?
After Canada successfully settled the Prairies with immigrants, it entered a period where Indians were not considered as fully human. They were treated as property or children.
They couldn’t vote until 1960, couldn’t engage in commerce, and for decades were not allowed to leave a reserve without permission of an Indian agent.
Given these racial attitudes, it isn’t surprising that governments never thought it was necessary to respect treaties.
In what ways have treaties been ignored?
Different treaties have different provisions, but within the numbered treaty areas, four major issues are commitments related to education, health care, land allocation and resource benefits.
Each First Nation was to be given a specific amount of land based on population at time of signing. Canada short-changed many First Nations and has been making settlements since, but the pace has been extremely slow.
Through the numbered treaties, Indians surrendered land to the depth of a plowshare so immigrants could occupy the land for agriculture.
It is our view that the Manitoba Natural Resources Transfer Act of 1929 was illegal because Ottawa transferred rights over resources to the provinces without consulting affected First Nations.
Another issue, which is not directly applicable to the numbered treaties, is the duty to consult First Nations on developments related to resource use and transfer on traditional lands. These are off-reserve lands that had been used traditionally by a specific band, often prior to settlement.
This obligation is derived from a 2004 Supreme Court decision relating to the 1982 Constitution of Canada
What will First Nations do to enforce Treaty provisions?
With some issues we may use the Human Rights Tribunal, relating to such things as inferior education and lower education spending for First Nations schools, or the court system.
The difficulty with using the courts is that a case can take years if the federal government appeals at every stage. The cost can run into millions of dollars.
Governments know we can’t match them at spending on lawyers, so they try to drag things out as much as possible.
Because of this you can expect to see actions, such as blockades of pipelines and railways, to become a preferred option.
Morris J. Swan Shannacappo is grand chief of the Southern Chiefs Association of Manitoba.
