Shocking new research on 1800s land agreements between Canada and
Indigenous peoples
Between 1869 and 1877 the government of Canada negotiated Treaties One
through Seven with the Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains. Many
historians argue that the negotiations suffered from cultural
misunderstandings between the treaty commissioners and Indigenous
chiefs, but newly uncovered eyewitness accounts show that the Canadian
government had a strategic plan to deceive over the "surrender clause"
and land sharing.
According to Sheldon Krasowski's research, Canada understood that the
Cree, Anishnabeg, Saulteaux, Assiniboine, Siksika, Piikani, Kainaa,
Stoney and Tsuu T'ina nations wanted to share the land with
newcomers--with conditions--but were misled over governance, reserved
lands, and resource sharing. Exposing the government chicanery at the
heart of the negotiations, No Surrender demonstrates that the land
remains Indigenous.