In Honour of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation in Canada I am re-releasing one of my favourite episodes. Assistant Professor Matthew Wildcat breaks down the history and meaning of Canadian treaties with Indigenous people. He explains that we are all treaty people and that everyone has a role to play in upholding the rights and freedoms treaties represent.
Episode highlight
In this episode, Matthew Wildcat talks about the story of Canada in relation to treaties, and how every resident plays a part in upholding them.
Resources
Buffalo Days and Nights by Peter Erasmus
Clearing the Plains by James Daschuk
Sponsors
Quotes
11.04 - 11.23: “When you’re Indigenous, you have no choice but to be well-versed in what Canadian society is and how it impacts you but… when you are non-Indigenous, you can often ignore Indigenous peoples; you don’t have to have a good sense of who they are, what your relationship with them is.”
14.06 - 14.25: “Part of the… power imbalance between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples’ country is that … for Indigenous peoples, when we have to negotiate and talk through issues of conflict… and all these, we are often forced to do so on the terms set out by non-Indigenous people.”
1.29.25 - 1.29.37: “In the Canadian situation, what decolonization means is that you have to shift from becoming somebody who is a colonizer to somebody who is a treaty partner.”
Takeaways
Indigenous governance (5.14)
Matthew is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Native Studies at the University of Alberta. His specialization is Indigenous governance which includes an understanding of our political histories and Indigenous political thought: he is interested in how Indigenous peoples govern today in relationship with Canadian society. However, when he first started university, he was pursuing engineering.
From engineering to Native Studies (6.24)
Matthew was inclined towards math and science in high school, but while pursuing engineering at university, he got a summer internship at an oil and gas company which was mining through Fort McKay First Nation. He realized he should follow his calling to help Indigenous peoples and switched to Native Studies. His teacher shared with him the need for Indigenous professors over any other profession for Indigenous peoples like him, so he went to grad school for that.
The laws of the land (10.01)
Matthew found growing up on a reserve and in a family in a politicized context valuable. He explains that first nations politics cannot be spoken about without addressing its relationship with Canadian society. Tensions exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, which sometimes show up as conflict events. However, conflict resolution is often made on the basis of already biased Canadian law. Treaties are a more neutral way to work through those issues.
Treaties are a two-way relationship (17.13)
Matthew dispels the myth that treaties are benefits assigned to Indigenous peoples; the numbered treaties are what allowed for the creation of Canada and for non-Indigenous peoples to live here and to benefit from the resources of the land. Treaties are not just historical agreements, they are the nuances of the relationship Indigenous peoples share with settlers. Matthew outlines the chronology of the signing of the numbered treaties.
Treaties as a foundation of legitimate society (21.22)
Matthew believes it is important to understand treaties as the reason for Canada’s creation, to prevent it from devolving into a story of conquest, which was not the case. In the USA, 600 treaties were signed, and the conflicts took place because treaties were being fulfilled. Matthew claims the Doctrine of Discovery is “explicitly racist” wherein Europeans claimed ownership of whichever lands they planted a flag on.
“Canada is a country of incomplete conquests” (24.41)
Matthew cites the work of political scholar Peter Russell saying the British were never able to fully achieve conquest over Indigenous peoples or the Quebecois. He narrates how lands were claimed on behalf of British royalty, sometimes without setting foot, but simply by travelling through a water body and claiming all lands that journeyed into it. He shares how Indigenous peoples objected to Hudson’s Bay Company trying to sell rights to this land to Canada.
At the behest of Indigenous peoples (29.09)
The people with Hudson’s Bay Company relied on Indigenous peoples to perform their fur trade, as well as to sell them food the Indigenous harvested. However, Matthew notes how the partnership based on Indigenous economies and transport systems began to change with settlement, and Canada began to impose its own systems of transportation, communication and supply chains over Indigenous territories, which dramatically altered the relationship of power.
Sharing the land (30.00)
Matthew delineates that when Hudson’s Bay Company tried to sell its discovery claim to Canada in 1860, Indigenous peoples retorted that this was their territory. Numbered treaties began getting signed in 1871, with one each year till 1877, then the rest after a break. Indigenous peoples understood treaties as an agreement to share land, and the benefits they were to accrue from sharing their land as treaty rights.
The importance of bison (32.57)
Matthew observes that by this point, Indigenous peoples were aware of European expansion and the ecological disasters it was bringing like bison herds collapsing, which were the pillars of Indigenous economies and food. Bison fur became important to industrial development because bison hides were very strong. He mentions that it is claimed that there was an explicit attempt on the part of the American government to exterminate bison herds.
The signing of the treaties (35.36)
Matthew highlights that treaties were meant to allow a transition of agriculture. However, he points out that many Indigenous peoples signed treaties under duress but they were looking to the future. Indigenous peoples continue to point to treaties as something we should uphold. Not many Indigenous peoples spoke English, but many non-native people spoke Cree. Indigenous peoples used interpreters during negotiations, but a lot was lost in translation.
The differences in understanding (38.32)
“So much of what we understand, it’s below the surface, implicit”, says Matthew. Sharing language with a community helps develop common understandings with them. However, those who don’t share the language have a different implicit understanding of traditions. The crown looked at treaties as a way to purchase land. Indigenous peoples did not look to boundaries or land surveys but expected that their permission be sought before sharing the land.
As long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the river flows (43.24)
Matthew states that there was high interest on the part of Indigenous peoples to make an agreement which would allow for a new shared life but much less incentive and motivation on the part of the Canadian government. Matthew explains that The Indian Act was meant to enfranchise native people to become “full Canadian citizens” so there would no longer be “an Indian problem”. Canadian treaty negotiators did not want treaties to last forever.
Dishonouring the treaties (48.10)
Matthew looks at the Riel Resistance of 1885 as bubbling of general discontent with the new Canadian order and treaty terms not being honoured. Buffalo herds fell faster than could have been anticipated, and even though Indigenous peoples had included a famine and pestilence clause in the treaties, the Canadian government did not provide food during a famine despite its ability to do so, often for no other reason but stubbornness and cruelty, Matthew claims.
Barriers to Indigenous prosperity (54.30)
Matthew shares that even though Indigenous peoples could rebound through farming, many policies implemented by the Department of Indian Affairs undercut their efforts. They were not allowed to sell goods on the market without permission from Indian agents. White farmers would lobby the Canadian government to eliminate competition from Indigenous peoples on the market. Indigenous peoples were also not allowed to use modern farm equipment.
A legacy of trauma (1.00.43)
In the 1920s, attendance at residential schools was made compulsory. Matthew says that the ever-present trauma that residential school survivors suffer from makes life difficult for the most resilient of humans. When Indigenous peoples began suing the courts for their rights over treaty agreements, hunting, fishing and cultural practices, the government made it illegal for them to hire a lawyer, taking away access to legal counsel.
Life on a reserve (1.04.02)
Matthew deliberates what makes reserves how they are today. Indigenous peoples value society based on kinship from a linked set of communities, which was reinforced through large summer gatherings. Indigenous peoples had political and economic orders which spread across vast territories and distinct groups of people. Reserves isolate people and prevent communities from linking. Many Indian agents disallowed people to leave the reserve without a pass.
The difficulty of losing children (1.09.33)
Matthew talks about how his family members had to go to residential schools, and he went to a day school. Residential schools not only affected the students, but also the parents who had to live without children on their reserves. he can see how addictions could arise in situations like that. The schools provided substandard education, but he respects the stories of those who did not suffer during their time there.
Building relationships (1.15.05)
To Matthew, the most important aspect of this era is a willingness to have a relationship with Indigenous peoples, with their variety of life experiences and views. He does not want Canada to be a society based on settler colonization but one built on treaty relationships. Canada is a wealthy society, but Indigenous peoples will always be connected to those who struggle. He asks how resources should be generated and distributed to benefit them.
We are all treaty partners (1.21.13)
Matthew shares that Indigenous peoples are incentivized to not economically mismanage funds because they are trying to create a bright future. As treaty partners, we all have to believe that Indigenous peoples have political rights which will form the basis of the political relationships between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous people. He is optimistic that we have set ourselves up on a path towards affirming this relationship.
What it means for two societies to get along (1.26.07)
Matthew believes that if we don’t know our part in reconciliation, it’s because we haven’t thought about it enough! We have to put more effort into thinking about how Indigenous peoples will prosper and become true treaty partners in recognizing the political relationship. Even though creating a decolonized future can be hard to imagine, it’s a skill that needs to be honed. We should learn about Indigenous law from the goodness of our hearts, not as social doctrine.
Be the change (1.36.12)
Matthew finds that the concepts of truth and reconciliation have allowed non-Indigenous peoples to confront the horrors of residential schools and tie the current situation of Indigenous peoples with the historical reasons that have led to it. However, it is important to use this space to make an impact, not just talk about it as a thing of the past. We have to believe in our ability to make the changes that are needed, he signs off.
If you liked this podcast, please rate and review it, share it on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and tag a friend, and send your feedback and comments to yourforestpodcast@gmail.com.