Settlement of the West and Government Policies about First Nations Peoples

Gradually the lands in Canada began to attract more people, particularly as the available land in the United States began to diminish. The government needed the land used by native people for a railroad west for settlers. Land previously used by the nomadic native tribes to hunt buffalo and caribou was needed for white homesteaders, who fenced land for their cattle and crops. Officials did not understand (or accept) the native relationship to the land. When a native person killed an animal on a white settler's land, the white man considered it theft. Yet, to the native person, he was following his traditional lifestyle to survive. As well, hunting by rifle was decimating the buffalo and other wildlife needed to support the traditional native way of life. Treaties were legal agreements between the white government officials and native chiefs.

As a result of these conditions a series of treaties between the government and First Nations were signed between 1871–1877. Later, between 1899–1921, four more treaties were signed.

Treaties involved various agreements from outright sale of land for cash to more complex agreements of exchange of cash, farm tools, cattle, and clothing for land. Built into some treaties were hunting and fishing rights on all ceded land, access to mineral rights, annual payments per person, tax considerations, schools, liquor prohibition, and the inability to resell the land. Sometimes reserve land was taken away, resulting in the disappearance of certain tribes.

The Treaty Number 7, 1877 was signed by the Government of Canada and the Blackfoot Confederacy including Siksika, Piikani (Peigan), the Kainaiwa (Blood), Tsuu T'ina (Sarcee), and Stoney.
Glenbow Archives NA-40-1

Numbered Treaties of Canada (Source: Atlas of Canada)

Many of the treaties were misunderstood by the First Nations, to a large part because of the language barrier. In addition, government officials thought that First Nations people understood that they were extinguishing their rights to the land to allow settlement, but the First Nations people had no understanding of ownership. To them the land was there to be shared. Also, there were differences in the wording of the treaties because of the differences between what was spoken at the treaty conferences and what was written officially in the Ottawa version.

The Indian Act

In 1876, the Government of Canada combined two existing policies, the Gradual Civilization Act and the Indian Enfranchisement Act, into one more comprehensive act called the Indian Act. That legislation, which called for the gradual civilization of a whole race of people, may be difficult to accept today, but it was part of the Eurocentric policies of the time. One of the main underlying goals of the act was to guide the assimilation of First Nations people into Canada's mainstream culture. In order to facilitate this policy the government tried to control the lives of the native people. First Nations people were divided into Status and Non-Status people based upon whether they were registered with the government, and many traditional practices such as the Sun Dance were banned. The Indian Act is still an important fact of life for First Nations peoples. That act extended the power of the government over almost every aspect of the lives of First Nations peoples.