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Unit 3 - Indigenous Peoples and the Land

History – Part B

Generally, the treaties promised housing, education, land, money, and additional money annually. First Nations groups had the right to hunt, fish, and collect resources on land unless sold or occupied. In exchange, they were to peacefully allow settlers to settle the land and use the resources.


Land title refers to the right of Aboriginal peoples to land that had traditionally been used by many generations for hunting, trapping and collecting resources. Through these treaties, the British government hoped to prevent the massacres that had occurred in the United States.

The treaties were agreed upon prior to the creation of provincial boundaries and Alberta did not become a province of Canada until 1905. Provincial boundaries were not recognized by nomadic First Nations so treaties often covered more than one of today’s provinces. In Alberta, Treaties 6, 7, and 8 represent 45 First Nations groups, 140 reserves and approximately 812 771 hectares of reserve land.


Click each collapsible row to view more information.


  • Signed at Carlton and Fort Pitt in 1876
  • Covers central Alberta and Saskatchewan
  • Includes 17 Alberta First Nations of Cree, Ojibwa, and Assiniboine Peoples

The Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations was created in 1993 to represent the 17 nations within the Treaty area. A few of their mandates include promoting respect for Mother Earth while protecting the social, cultural, spiritual, and economic well-being of each Nation’s community.

ShawTV Edmonton – September 25th is Treaty 6 Recognition Date.

  • Signed at the Blackfoot Crossing of Bow River and Fort Macleod in 1877
  • Covers southern Alberta
  • Includes five Alberta First Nations
The majority of First Nations peoples within Treaty 7 are Plains Cree. Plains Cree consists of independent nations of the Siksika (Blackfoot), Kainai (Blood), and Piikani (Peigan) that spoke the same language and were allies with one another.

The famous UNESCO World Heritage Site, Head-Smashed-in Buffalo Jump, was traditionally used by the Blackfoot and is located within Treaty 7.
ShawTVLethbridge

  • Signed at Lesser Slave Lake in 1899
  • Covers portions of northern Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and part of the Northwest Territories
  • Includes 24 Alberta First Nations of Cree, Denesuline (Chipewyan), Dane-zaa (Beaver), and other Indigenous Peoples
Like the nations to the south, the nations found in modern-day Treaty 8 in Northern Alberta were nomadic and had a seasonal round like their counterparts to the south. However, unlike the groups found within modern-day Treaties 6 and  7, they were not dependent on the buffalo. Instead, they were much more reliant on moose, deer, smaller game, and fish for subsistence.


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The Métis are people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry. Unlike the Indigenous Peoples, the Métis did not sign treaties and were often pushed off land by government surveyors and settlers. This is one of the factors that lead to the Red River Rebellion of 1869–1870 in Manitoba.

In 1938, after much lobbying from the Métis Association of Alberta (now the Métis Nation of Alberta), the Alberta Government passed the Métis Population Betterment Act, which provided land for the Métis to settle. Today the eight Alberta Métis settlements are the only government-recognized Métis communities in Canada. These “colonies” are self-governing and are overseen by the Métis Settlements General Council. It was not until 1982 that the Government of Canada recognized the Métis Peoples as Aboriginal peoples of Canada.



We learn from First Nations’ teachings that we are connected to the earth and must be stewards of it. They had a relationship with the natural world that provided for their needs. This relationship was greatly impacted by the arrival of explorers and colonists. Today it is important to note that most Canadians live on Treaty Land, and that the treaties are agreements signed between the ancestors of the First Nations Peoples and non-indigenous Canadians.