Indigenous Treaties
Vertical Files
- Subject HeadingsThe majority of our vertical files are organized according to our classification system and are catalogued. Some of the vertical files are organized alphabetically by subject. The following Word document can help you locate these items.
Related Guides
- Electronic Resource Guide (ERG)Self-guided tour of relevant, quality, up-to-date online resources covering important areas of international law.
- University of Washington Law Library: Treaties & Other International AgreementsIdentifies sources for the text of treaties, focusing on treaties and agreements to which the U.S. is a party.
- University of Washington Law Library: Indian & Tribal LawResources for researching federal Indian law (the relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes) and tribal law (the internal law of Indian tribes).
Unceded Territory
Most, but not all, of British Columbia is on unceded territory. This means that the majority of Indigenous peoples in BC never surrendered their lands through treaty or war.
UBC is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.
- Click here for their community page.
- Click here for information on UBC and Musqueam history.
- Land acknowledgements are common at UBC; click here for more information.
Vancouver and surrounding areas are also on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
- Click here for a newspaper article on the City of Vancouver's official acknowledgment of the unceded Indigenous territories on which the city sits.
Sessions
Governance and Land Claims in British Columbia: a series in 8 sessions
Disc 1 - Session #1: Introduction and Opening Statements
Disc 2 - Session #2: Historical Perspectives
Disc 3 - Session #3: Legal History - The Major Cases
Disc 4 - Session #4: The Treaty Process - Specific Cases
Disc 5 - Session #5: Consultation and Development, Part 1
Disc 6 - Session #6: Sovereignty and Government
Disc 7 - Session #7: Consultation and Development, Part 2
Disc 8 - Session #8: Concluding Session - Civil Disobedience
Disc 9 - Interactive Video/Transcript Viewer
Disc 10 - Transcript CD
Also available online at: https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/governance_and_land_claims/
Xwi7xwa Library Guide
Indigenous Treaties Research Guide QR Code
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Getting Started
"From the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries, Crown representatives and leaders of Aboriginal communities signed treaties throughout most of Canada in an effort to resolve issues of outstanding Aboriginal title. [...] Crown representatives interpreted these treaties as a “blanket extinguishment” of Aboriginal title. However, many have argued that at the time the treaties were negotiated, Aboriginal signatories did not understand the treaties as limiting or extinguishing their title." (From Indigenous Foundations).
- The Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission - Aboriginal & Treaty RightsInformation about treaties, the Indian Act, land rights, natural resources, and more.
- University of Calgary - Aboriginal Law 101Brief overview of historical events, which provide context for understanding current legal and treaty topics (in PowerPoint presentation format).
- âpihtawikosisân - Treaty TalkEarly treaty-making from an Indigenous perspective.
- Government of British Columbia - A History of Treaty-Making in BCBrief history of treaty-making, including Historic Treaties (the Douglas Treaties), the Nisga’a Treaty, and the BC treaty process.
- Indian and Northern Affairs Canada - A History of Treaty-Making in CanadaTraces the history of treaty-making from 1534 to the present (published April 2010).
- Library & Archives Canada - Treaties, Surrenders and AgreementsIncludes an essay; an online database with copies of treaties, surrenders, and related land agreements; and a gallery of nine digitized volumes from 1680 seigneurial grant dated May 29, 1680 to western Treaty 6 signed in 1876.
- Canadian Encyclopedia - Indigenous Land ClaimsWritten by Gretchen Albers. Published June 6, 2011.
- Canadian Encyclopedia - Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in CanadaWritten by Anthony J. Hall. Published June 6, 2011.
- Constitution Act, 1982 Section 35Section 35 recognizes and affirms Indigenous treaty rights in Canada.
- Indigenous Foundations - Constitution Act, 1982 Section 35Information on Section 35, supplementary resources, and recommended reading.
- Canada's History - Interpreting the TreatiesFirst Nations, historians, lawyers, and judges interpret treaties differently.
Pre-Contact & Early Post-Contact
To understand treaties (both historical and modern/comprehensive) it is important to understand the nation-to-nation relationships built between Canada and First Nations over time, as well as treaty-making processes that pre-date colonization. The following resources contribute to this understanding:
- Haudenosaunee Confederacy - Great Law of PeaceWell before the arrival of Europeans, Indigenous nations had already established treaties and treaty processes. One example is the Great Law of Peace established between five different nations.
- Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada - A History of Indian and Northern Affairs CanadaAn in-depth history of the relationship between the Indian Department, later renamed Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, and soon to be dissolved into 1) Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs and 2) Indigenous Services Canada and First Nations.
- Indigenous Writes : A Guide to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit issues in CanadaPart 5 of this book (published in 2016) is titled "Land, Learning, Law, and Treaties". It contains foundational information as well as an extensive resource list for more in depth research. In particular, see the notes for Chapter 27. Note: Print copies are also available at various UBC Library and Vancouver Public Library branches.
- Treaty-Making from an Indigenous Perspective: a Ned’u’ten-Canadian Treaty ModelLorna June McCue's thesis from 1998 is available through UBC Open Collections.
Understanding New Relationship between Canada and First Nations
IMPORTANT: Many of the links provided are from Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). In August of 2017, the government announced INAC would be dissolved into Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada and Indigenous Services Canada. If any of the links do not work, please notify X̱wi7x̱wa Library and we will fix them as soon as possible.
- Government of Canada to create Recognition and Implementation of Rights FrameworkOnline copy of Justin Trudeau's Indigenous Rights, Recognition and Implementation Framework. Published February 14, 2018.
- Yellowhead Institute - Canada's Emerging Indigenous Rights Framework: A Critical AnalysisComprehensive analysis of the meaning and trajectory of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Recognition and Implementation of Rights Framework. "Our report finds that the Rights Framework expresses a clear and coherent set of goals, which revolve around domesticating Indigenous self-determination within Canadian Confederation. These goals have been ordered into legislation and policy in a manner that guides First Nations towards a narrow model of 'self-government' outside of the Indian Act."
- APTN - Ottawa splits Indigenous Affairs into two departmentsPublished August 28, 2017 by APTN National News.
- Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada - A new approach: Co-development of a new fiscal relationship between Canada and First Nations"This report describes the co-development journey taken by officials from the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and Indigenous Services (IS) over the past 17 months under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in July 2016."
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) will be split into two bodies, each with a distinct set of responsibilities:
- Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC)Responsibilities include: Status, Treaties, National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
- Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)Responsibilities include: Health, Education, Housing, Water, Social Programming, and Infrastructure.
Government of Canada
- Global Affairs Canada - Treaty Law DivisionUp-to-date records relating to the status of treaties in Canada.
- Indigenous and Northern Affairs CanadaNegotiates and implements land claims and self-government agreements on behalf of the Government of Canada.
- Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada - Summaries of Pre-1975 TreatiesInformation on Treaties of Peace and Neutrality (1701-1760), Peace and Friendship Treaties (1725-1779), Upper Canada Land Surrenders and the Williams Treaties (1781-1862/1923), Robinson Treaties and Douglas Treaties (1850-1854), The Numbered Treaties (1871-1921).
- Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada - Treaty Research ReportsHistorical interpretations and research reports on treaties.
- Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada - Treaty TextsTreaty transcripts from mid 1700's to the early 1900's.
- Government of British Columbia - Ministry of Indigenous Relations and ReconciliationLeads the BC Government in pursuing reconciliation with the First Nations and Indigenous peoples of British Columbia.
Non-Governmental Organizations
- Assembly of First NationsFacilitation and coordination of national and regional discussions and dialogue, advocacy efforts and campaigns, legal and policy analysis, communicating with governments, including facilitating relationship building between First Nations and the Crown as well as public and private sectors and general public.
- British Columbia Treaty CommissionIndependent body responsible for facilitating treaty negotiations among First Nations in BC and the governments of Canada and BC.
- First Nations SummitComprised of a majority of First Nations and Tribal Councils in British Columbia. Provides a forum for BC First Nations to address issues related to treaty negotiations as well as other issues of common concern.
- Land Claims Agreements CoalitionRepresents Inuit, First Nations, and Métis people and ensures that comprehensive land claims (modern treaties) and associated self-government agreements are respected, honored and fully implemented.
- National Congress of American IndiansOrganized as a representative congress of American Indians and Alaska Natives that serves to develop consensus on national priority issues that impact tribal sovereignty.
- Yellowhead Institue"Outside of First Nation political organizations, activists, or academics, there is no national entity bringing an evidence-based, non-partisan, and community-first perspectives to the discussions. This is a glaring absence in First Nations ability to organize and mobilize to protect their rights and jurisdiction. The Yellowhead Institute aims to address this gap."
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
- Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat is the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples? What rights are ensured by the Declaration?
- United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous PeoplesOnline copy of the Declaration (in PDF format).
- Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada - United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples"Canada has committed to a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples based on recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership, and rooted in the principles of the UNDRIP."
- Implementing UNDRIP Video RecordingThe Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre recently held a dialogue on implementing the UN Declaration through Bill C-15. The dialogue included 12 political, expert, and legal panelists offering perspectives on the proposed federal government legislation to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Facilitated by Dr. Mary-Ellen Turpel-Lafond, Aki-Kwe, and Dr. Roshan Danesh, QC, the dialogue included diverse perspectives and discussions. For those who were not able to attend, the video of the event is now available, as well as a summary report highlighting the key themes of the discussions. - Implementing UNDRIP in BC: A Discussion Paper SeriesThe Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre will be periodically issuing short commentaries on what some of the developments that are taking place mean, issues we may consider when reviewing them, and ideas about the work we must collectively do going forward.
The Jay Treaty (1794)
"Since 1794, Aboriginal Peoples have been guaranteed the right to trade and travel between the United States and Canada, which was then a territory of Great Britain. This right is recognized in Article III of the Jay Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation of 1794 and subsequent laws that stem from the Jay Treaty." (From Pine Tree Legal Assistance).
- The Jay TreatyOnline text of the Jay Treaty (November 19, 1794).
- Pine Tree Legal Assistance - Border Crossing Rights Under the Jay TreatyIncludes background information, frequently asked questions, and legal resources.
- Pine Tree Legal Assistance - Cross-Border IssuesFacts about the Jay Treaty for Canadian-born Native Americans (published in 1996).