Treaties

Blakeney Government Implements the Saskatchewan Formula

Summary

The Blakeney government implemented the Saskatchewan formula, which proposed that land entitlements would be based on First Nation band populations from December 31, 1976 rather than the time that treaties were signed. Action was delayed as Ottawa and Regina fought about the land and money required. A handful of Treaty Land Entitlement claims eventually went forward, including that of the Lucky Man band which received a reserve in the Battleford area 110 years after it had entered treaty (1879). (Waiser, Saskatchewan: A New History, 444).

There are three major types of claims in Saskatchewan: specific, surrender, and land entitlement. A specific claim arises when a First Nation alleges that the federal government has not lived up to its obligations under treaty or other agreement or legal responsibility (see Table FNLC-1). According to Canada’s land claim policy, a valid specific claim exists when a First Nation can demonstrate that Canada has an outstanding lawful obligation as follows: the non-fulfillment of a treaty or agreement; a breach of an Indian Act or other statutory obligation; the mishandling of Indian funds or assets; or an illegal sale or disposition of Indian land. Canada will also consider claims that go beyond what is considered to be a lawful obligation, usually including failure to compensate a band for reserve land taken or damaged under government authority; or fraud by federal employees in connection with the purchase or sale of Indian land.

A Treaty Land Entitlement claim occurs when a First Nation alleges that the Canadian government did not provide the reserve land promised under treaty. For some, this means that no reserve land was received; for others, that the correct amount was not received…

In September 1992, twenty-five First Nations, the province of Saskatchewan and the Canadian government signed the Saskatchewan Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement... Under the terms of the agreement, the First Nations with outstanding entitlements will receive approximately $539 million over twelve years to purchase just over two million acres of land. As of February 2004, 596,010 acres had attained reserve status. When the TLE process is completed, reserve land will account for just over 2% of the provincial land base. Presently about 1% of the land base is reserve land, but the status Indian population constitutes about 10% of the province’s population.”

Nestor, Rob. “Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan.” University of Regina. Accessed July 2020. https://esask.uregina.ca/entry/first_nations_land_claims.jsp


 

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Date
1976-00-00
Region

Newly Shared Responsibility of Aboriginal Services Between Provincial and Federal Government

Summary

In 1952, after pressure from the CCF on the Federal Government due to their failure in providing adequate services to Indigenous peoples across the province, the Federal Government transferred jurisdiction of welfare services for off-reserve Indigenous peoples in their entirety. The Department of Indian Affairs now claimed that any person living off reserve for more than a year were under the obligation of the provincial government. However, the transfer of welfare services was not accompanied by any financial assistance for the new responsibilities of the CCF. This meant that the new duty of delivering welfare services to a considerable population would be made ever the more difficult; without funding, services could not be fully implemented, adequately staffed, and resulted in under-serving communities the transfer meant to serve. The complex and confusing process of accessing provincial welfare services often discouraged Indigenous applicants and they frequently ran into uncooperative municipal employees.

To the federal government, in theory, once a status-Indian lived off reserve for over a year they would be assumed by provincial welfare, and incidentally, lost their status. This led to many of those living off reserve (who sought wage labour) in Saskatchewan to move back to their reserves in order to retain access to services provided by Indian Affairs, despite their inadequacy. The loss of status also posed great concern, as access to land and the right to live on their reserve would be threatened after the 12-month mark; undermining access to land directly harmed Indigenous peoples, while the government benefited as they would no longer have a fiduciary duty to any of these persons. These new changes to provincial welfare services, as has been continuously seen in service implementation, failed to address the needs of Indigenous peoples within Saskatchewan due to the paternalistic approach taken. Instead of allocating funds directly to Indigenous peoples, governments continued to fail in directing Aboriginal welfare services.


 

Sources

Barron, F.L., Walking in Indian Moccasins: the native policies of Tommy Douglas and the CCF, 121-122.

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Date
1952-00-00
Region

Creation of the North-West Mounted Police

Summary

The North-West Mounted Police was established in 1873 by the government of John A. MacDonald. The Cypress Hills massacre as well as the increasing number of conflicts on the U.S border due to alcohol smuggling are often cited as the main reasons the MacDonald government passed the bill creating the new military-style police force. However, most historians agree that the primary reason for establishing the force was to control First Nations and Métis populations, as the government sought to populate the West with settlers. Under the central authority of Ottawa, the NWMP marched West in 1874. The NWMP served as an arm of colonial control for politicians and lawmakers in Ottawa. For Indigenous communities in the Northwest, it represented an additional source of repression. The newly formed para-military style force was entrusted with wide-ranging powers and duties. Officers acted as Justices of the Peace, able to apprehend and sentence offenders, as well as impose Indian Act polices such as the Pass System. Since western courthouses did not exist at the time on the Prairies, NWMP barracks were often used for court proceedings and as temporary prisons. The NWMP assisted Indian Agents with the ration system, as well as enforcing laws obliging Indigenous students to attend residential schools. Government policies such as the Residential School system, the Sixties Scoop and gender discrimination in the Indian Act subjected Indigenous families to violence, cultural dislocation and land dispossession. The NWMP was successful in instituting a system of surveillance and curtailment, restricting Indigenous people to their reserves, regulating their land use and criminalizing livestock theft to benefit settler farmers and ranchers.

Result

Current police-Indigenous relations are a product of the historical reality in which the NWMP and subsequent RCMP acted as an active arm of colonialism for the Canadian government. This historical context fuels a sense of mistrust, suspicion and resentment many Indigenous people feel towards law enforcement officers. In a 2017 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) interviews were conducted with Indigenous women in Saskatoon regarding their experiences with police officers. Women reported that they would not call the police to report a crime committed against them or crimes that they had witnessed involving an Indigenous woman out of fear that the police may harass them, engage in physical/sexual violence towards the suspect, or take them on a "starlight tour" (see database entry on Starlight Tours). HRW found evidence of a fractured relationship between police officers and Indigenous people in Saskatchewan. Human rights experts have also raised concerns over entrenched and institutionalized stereotyping of Indigenous women by police and RCMP officers. The HRW inquiry reports that: "The United Nations inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada reported that structural bias was reflected in the use of demeaning or derogatory language towards Aboriginal women and in stereotypical portrayals of Aboriginal women as prostitutes, transient or runaways and of having high-risk lifestyles". On a provincial scale, Indigenous people have reported being victims of racial profiling and targeting. Following the 1885 Resistance, the NWMP in conjunction with regular military forces, participated in quelling the resistance as well as apprehending and punishing the members of the Resistance (see database entry on the reign of terror). Other punitive measures carried out by the NWMP included withholding annuity payments, confiscation of horses and arms, and well as property destruction. As the impacts of the 1885 Resistance remain present to this day for many Métis and Indigenous people, so does the role played by the NWMP. The 1885 Resistance was accompanied by a shift in perception and attitude of colonial settlers towards Indigenous and Métis peoples. Although historians have uncovered several instances of NWMP officers acting with fairness and concern towards Indigenous and Métis people, however as Brown and Brown (1978) argue, that did not alter the nature of the force and its mandate. Owing to it's nature as a colonial police force, many Indigenous people never felt the force was there to protect them and their rights. In addition, Indigenous people recall instances of racial targeting and surveillance by police officers -  primary and secondary sources (listed below in "relevant resources") indicate that RCMP/municipal police discrimination and violence are re-occurring experiences of Indigenous people in Saskatchewan.  During the last decade, there have been several calls to action made by Indigenous organizations, governments, Nations, and communities, in response to the wide-spread mistreatment and neglect of Indigenous victims endemic within Canadian policing. The MMIWG Inquiry found that federal, provincial, and local police forces have far too often treated missing and murdered Indigenous victims with indifference and racial discrimination, thus impacting the investigations and outcomes of these cases. The issues within policing and correctional institutions cannot be explained as a "few bad apples" or agencies, these issues result from systemic racism, discrimination, and colonialism that plague the criminal justice system and have been built into its very framework. 

Sub Event
1874 March West and subsequent police and Indigenous relations.
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Date
1873-03-00
Documents
File
File Description
Human Rights Watch report

Red Earth and Shoal Lake Cree Nation Indian Claims Commission

Summary

In May 1996, the Shoal Lake Cree Nation and the Red Earth Cree Nation jointly submitted a specific claim to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, alleging that Canada had breached the terms of Treaty 5 and the 1876 Adhesion by not providing farming lands to the Red Earth and Shoal Lake Cree Nations. Following a near 9 year silence on behalf of the Federal Goverment, the First Nations requested that the Indian Claims Commission (ICC) investigate their claim, despite it not being formally rejected by the Federal Government. In December 2006, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs formally rejected the First Nations' claim. In addition, the ICC found that the Canadian Government had upheld its obligations to provide both First Nations with farming lands in accordance with Treaty 5. However, the ICC report suggests that both reserves are no longer viable places to grow crops and raise animals due to the increase in water levels. This finding by the ICC is significant in the discussion of sustainability and climate vulnerability of the Shoal Lake, Red Earth and James Smith First Nations. The ICC recommended that the Canadian government initiate discussions with all affected communities to find a long-term solution to the problems caused by the condition of their reserve lands.

Implications
Both the ICC and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada rejected the claims submitted by the Shoal Lake and Red Earth First Nations. However, both communities, as well as the James Smith community, face hardship as their lands have changed and are affected by increasing water levels, rendering them impractical for agricultural purposes. Vulnerability to climate is demonstrated by the lack of employment opportunities, low income, lack of education and the loss of traditional languages. A study conducted by Jeremy Baron Pittman examines the consequences of climate vulnerability for people living in Shoal Lake and James Smith communities. Interviews conducted by Pittman as part of his research project reveal that one constant in the lives of community members is change. Many changes in the land over time have warranted a community response. For example, much of the Shoal Lake reserve is now under water, with inundation along the shore dependent on lake water levels and on the wetness of the year or particular season. In both communities, agriculture was practiced from the time of the treaties to the middle of the 20th century. However, many of the fields have become flooded. In addition, heavy spring melt and rainfall translates to an excess in surface water, causing roads and basements to flood. With little resources to cope with these problems, issues of lack of mobility and adequate housing necessarily arise. Poor infrastructure or lack thereof only serve to exacerbate the problem. The concerns of the Shoal Lake and Red Easr First Nations, are presented in their claim to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, speaks to the larger issue of climate change and its consequences on Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan. Historically, land surrenders, dam construction and logging have been detrimental to many Indigenous communities, encroaching on their traditional land bases. ------------------ Climate change has a greater impact on traditional subsistence economies, as is highlighted in a 2006 report by the Assembly of First Nations. According to their report, there is evidence that a considerable level of subsistence economy still occurs on Indigenous communities across the country. For certain northern communities, the effects of climate change on subsistence economies result in: thinning and retreating sea ice, drying tundra, increased storms, reduced summer rainfall, warmer winters, and changes in the distribution and migration patterns of certain wildlife species.
Sub Event
Climate vulnerability of Shoal Lake and James Smith First Nations
Date
00-05-1996
Theme(s)
Documents
File
File Description
Shoal Lake Red Earth Climate Vulnerability Study

Nekaneet Treaty Land Entitlement Settlement Agreement

Summary

In February 1987, the Nekaneet First Nation submitted a specific claim to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development seeking compensation under Treaty 4 for outstanding provisions of agricultural benefits, programs and services, annual payments to band members and damages for failure to provide a reserve at the time of the treaty's signing in 1874. On October 23, 1998, the federal government offered to accept Nekaneet's claim for negotiation of a settlement. According to the federal government, this was the first agricultural benefits claim Canada had ever accepted under Treaty 4

An additional settlement was reached between the Nekaneet band and the provincial government of Saskatchewan on September 23, 1992. The settlement concluded that the Nekaneet band has not received reserves of sufficient area to fulfill the requirements of Treaty 4, and that Canada has an unfulfilled land obligation to the band under Treaty 4.


 

Sources

Please See the Federal and Saskatchewan TLE Settlements attached below.

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Date
1992-09-23
Community
Documents
File
File Description
Federal Settlement
File
File Description
Provincial Settlement

Indian Agent Peter J. William's Report on File Hills Agency and Battleford Agency

Summary

Indian Agents were required to make a yearly report on the reserves in their respective agencies. In 1886, Agent Williams reported that there had been 11 deaths and 2 births in Standing Buffalo band, 18 deaths and 5 births in Pasquah band, 5 deaths and 4 births in Muscowpetung band, and 26 deaths and 7 births on Piapot.

Implications
Agent Williams does not express concern over the disproportionate birth/death rate for the bands in his charge (with the exception of Muscowpetung). Indeed, he seems more concerned about auditing the accounting books, making detailed notes on the construction of buildings for the bands, quantities of flour, bacon and tea, the volume of hay produced, the size of the potato harvest, the upcoming school house, and the quality of the livestock, fields, fences, houses, tools, horses and stables. This lack of concern or surprise over the disproportionate death rate would have been in keeping with national racist sentiment and social Darwinism which dictated that Indigenous peoples, as an inferior ethnicity, would eventually succumb to the pressures of modernization and become extinct. As well, the lack of explanation or diagnosis regarding the cause of death in 70 percent of these cases (42 out of 60) is indicative of a lack of access to medical assistance such as a doctor. Indigenous peoples were desirous of health care, as indicated by the "medicine chest" clause in Treaties 6 and 8. Treaty 4, however, had no such clause. The lack of health care is indicative of discrimination as the government did not perceive such provision as necessary for Indigenous people.
Sub Event
Disproportionate Death Rate
Date
1886--00-00

Complaints about the Quality of Tobacco and Other Goods Distributed by the Government

Summary

Indigenous people complained of the quality of tobacco, ammunition, and farming implements distributed to them. These were items that had been promised in treaty negotiations, and had been included in the written documents. The tobacco was of such bad quality that in some cases Aboriginal people simply threw it away. The shot distributed the previous year was all No. 5-8 shot, but should have been No. 2 shot instead. The wooden pitchforks that were distributed were of poor quality, and it was recommended that steel ones should be distributed instead, which would make work more efficient. Government officials like Angus Mackay who interacted with Indigenous people recognized the barriers presented by the distribution of improper goods to Indigenous people on the prairies.

Implications
The goods promised to Indigenous people were not always of sufficient quality to make them valuable and useful. These were items that had been promised in treaty negotiations, and had been included in the written documents. This reflects the government's attempts to fulfill their obligations as minimally as possible. Likely, the government did not provide Indigenous peoples with the rations and tools promised to them to continually undermine Indigenous capabilities to remain self sufficient, because the government denied quality goods promised in treaties Indigenous peoples were left to make do with what was given. By denying goods to Indigenous peoples, the government carried out their policy of assimilation by forcing Indigenous peoples to bend to the government's whims and/or succumb to disease, malnutrition, and death. Although it was not ethical, it was legal.
Sub Event
Treaty 4 and Treaty 6
Date
1876-08-00

War of 1812

Summary

As a symbol of the treaty made between the Dakota people and the British in which they would fight together in the War of 1812, Robert Dixon presented the Dakota with seven King George III medals. They were also given a small cannon, which was a symbol of the time the two groups had fought together. Though the battle was mainly fought in the western Great Lakes, Niagara, and St. Lawrence regions, communities in Saskatchewan have ancestry that traces back to this battle. These communities are Standing Buffalo Dakota, Wahpeton Dakota, and Whitecap Dakota.

Implications
These medals and this cannon were used to demonstrate that the Dakota had created treaties with the British government prior to them signing treaties in the United States. Following the Minnesota Massacre, the Dakota fled to Canada and called upon their history of alliance with the British to request asylum in Canada. Please see the entry "Minnesota Massacre and Arrival of Dakota in Canada" to understand the implications of the Minnesota Massacre and the relationship between the Dakota and British.
Sub Event
Dakota Distributed King George III Medals
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Dakota in Canada

Date
1812-00-00
Theme(s)

Minnesota Massacre and Arrival of Dakota in Canada

Summary

In 1851, a treaty was signed between the Dakota and the American government that stipulated that they would be provided for during the following fifty years. The Treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota, as they were named, also forced the Dakota to cede all remaining lands in Minnesota and a small part of South Dakota. Historical accounts suggest the american government failed to deliver promised food, goods and payment for land transfer to the Dakota bands in 1862, thus breaching treaty promises. The Minnesota Massacre, also known as the Dakota War of 1862, was an armed conflict between the United States and several bands of Dakota. Following settler encroachment on Dakota lands near the Minnesota river, as well as broken treaty promises, tensions arose and attacks were committed against settler communities, with the american military eventually retaliating against the Dakota bands. The conflict ended with the hanging of 38 Dakota men on December 26, 1862, making it the largest mass execution in american history. Thousands of Dakota fleeing the violence crossed the border into Canada. Oral history accounts suggest that at the time, bounties were potentially being offered for Dakota who were suspected of having participated in the Minnesota Massacre. It is possible americans travelled to Canada and deliberately poisoned Dakota members living there in retaliation for their participation in the Minnesota Massacre. Please see the Robert Goodvoice interview, pages 5-9, for further information.---------------- In 1876, a group of Dakota led by Chiefs Whitecap and Medicine Bear requested that they be granted reserves in British territory, but were refused by government officials on the grounds that they had already signed a treaty with the United States. However, this treaty had been nullified following the Minnesota Massacre. In fact, in 1863 the Lincoln government expelled the Dakota from Minnesota to Nebraska and South Dakota, and their reserves were abolished. Oral history accounts suggest the government of the United States subsequently offered the Dakota who had fled to Canada following the Minnesota Massacre an amnesty. The amnesty was intended to encourage them to return to the United States. They were told that those who returned would receive a quarter section per adult and eighty acres per child. Only one person, Wasoomacanow, returned to the US and received his land. The offer of amnesty for returning Dakota following the Minnesota Massacre was open for ten years.

Implications
The Minnesota Massacre and ensuing Dakota immigration into Canada is significant because the bands demanded to sign treaties with the canadian government, which they were refused. The Canadian government considered the Dakota to be refugees and thus were not included in treaty negotiations. They would be tolerated in Canada as a matter of grace and expediency, since there was no military or police force in the West strong enough to expel them at the time. Citing their alliance with the British crown during the War of 1812, the Dakota maintained (and continue to maintain) the canadian government had the obligation of providing them a treaty and treaty entitlements. Their lack of treaty increased the vulnerability of the band for several reasons. The fact they the band had no treaty signified they could not make land claims, and received no annuity payments or other supports from the canadian government. This translated to less land for reserves, less support for economic development and diminished access to opportunities. Nonetheless, the Dakota were able to adapt to their new situation in Canada, developing solid agricultural economies and occupying jobs at trading posts around Fort Ellis and Fort Qu'Appelle. Other bands and Métis communities in the Red River region were also unhappy with the arrival of the Dakota, as food and commercial resources were diminishing rapidly. The Métis, already threatened with the transfer of their lands to the country of Canada, did not wish to see another claimant to lands and political consideration in the Northwest. The following Saskatchewan bands received reserve land, but were not included in the treaty process: Whitecap Dakota First Nation, Wahpeton Dakota First Nation and Standing Buffalo First Nation.
Sub Event
Dakota denied treaty by canadian government.
Date
1862-00-00

Failure to Distribute Farming Implements to Treaty 4 Bands

Summary

Will Wagner was sent an order to distribute farm implements to the bands in Treaty 4, but received the order too late to follow through with the request. Wagner stated, however, that had he received the order in time, he would still not have distributed the implements, believing they would simply have been sold instead of used by the Indigenous people.

Implications
The government did not provide the farming implements that had been part of the treaty negotiations and included in the written documents. This presented a barrier to the economic success of Indigenous people as it made it difficult, if not impossible, to engage in agricultural pursuits.
Date
1876-00-00
Theme(s)