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This was a turbulent period with far-ranging effects for Aboriginal
peoples. First, the War
of 1812 splintered the First
Nations in Upper Canada and the U.S. Then Aboriginals gave up
their land
rights in the North-west - without the involving the Métis
who also lived on this land.
Later, during the 1830s, Upper
Canada started to rethink the necessity of giving presents to
the Aboriginals as promised in the Niagara
Treaty. Sir
Francis Bond Head, the province's lieutenant-governor, attempted
to remove Aboriginals from their land and settle them onto a new
reserve in Manitoulin Island on Lake Huron.
Topics in this section:
War of 1812
The Selkirk Treaty, 1817
Rescinding the Niagara Treaty, 1836
Bond Head Treaties, 1836
Province of Canada Treaties, 1850 - 1862
The Douglas Treaties, 1850 - 1854
Other Interesting or Important Documents
War of 1812
Many Aboriginals sided with the British during the War
of 1812, partially out of a sense of obligation through the
Niagara Treaty
but also because they thought the British would allow them to preserve
enough land for their way of life. The British had appeared to support
the creation of a buffer state between settlers and the Aboriginals
in the past, particularly prior to the Jay
Treaty.
Some Aboriginals had their reservations with siding with the British.
However, the Americans were moving deeper into Indian
territory, and they appeared willing to wipe out the Aboriginals
by any means possible.
Aboriginals nations played a vital role in British victories during
the War, including the taking of Detroit, although it came at a
considerable cost. In 1813, a popular leader, Tecumseh,
was killed in the Battle of Thames. This loss seriously damaged
Aboriginal unity and confidence, causing much of their political
clout in Upper Canada and the U.S. to vanish.
Following the War of 1812, the Americans would largely remove any
Aboriginals living east of the Mississippi River and force them
into Indian land now known as Oklahoma. Many Aboriginals chose to
migrate north into land around the Great Lakes in Upper Canada instead.
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The Selkirk Treaty, 1817
In 1811, British aristocrat Thomas
Selkirk wished to create a new colony in a region owned by the
Hudson's Bay Company.
Selkirk purchased land, mostly located in what is now lower Manitoba,
from the fur trading company. This led to the creation of the Red
River Settlement in 1812.
This settlement only lasted for three years. Métis
who had called the area home were angered that they were not consulted,
which partially led to much conflict in the region. In June 1816,
the Métis killed the governor-in-chief of Rupert's Land and
20 of his men in the Seven Oaks Incident. Two months later, Selkirk
and a mercenary force attacked and captured Fort William from the
Métis.
In 1817, Selkirk decided to sign a treaty with Cree
and Chippewa
nations, among others, to extinguish their claims to a tract of
land on his domain stretching along the Red River. He distributed
this land to new settlers. When he died in 1820, the executors of
his estate sought to control spiraling costs by ending new European
settlement on the land. Only those who had settled during the late
1810s, plus some retired Métis fur traders, remained on the
land.
In 1836, land covered by this treaty reverted back to the Hudson's
Bay Company. This land changed hands once again in 1869 and became
the property of the new Dominion of Canada. This angered many Métis
and Aboriginals, who felt that new European settlers coming into
the region were violating their land rights and disrupting their
way of life. This was a leading cause of the Red
River Rebellion in 1870.
Rescinding the Niagara Treaty, 1836
By the 1830s, the British government began to reconsider its promises
to give annual presents to the Aboriginal nations that had signed
the Niagara
Treaty. At this point, European settlers in North America far
outnumbered Aboriginal peoples, and the United States and the British
colonies in North America were relatively stable and at peace. The
government hoped to save monies needed to assist European settlers
coming to North America by cutting back on these presents.
In 1836, Sir Francis Bond Head, the lieutenant-governor of Upper
Canada, issued a statement at the annual present-giving ceremony
on Manitoulin Island (where the original Niagara Treaty wampum belts
now resided). He announced that the number of presents given would
be reduced. First to be eliminated were gifts to "half-breeds",
followed by those to "non-British" Aboriginals who had
lived in the United States for two years or more. Eventually, only
the most "deserving" Aboriginals would receive these presents.
Bond Head Treaties, 1836
By 1836, Sir Francis Bond Head believed that attempts to remake
the Aboriginal peoples living in his province into independent pioneer
farmers were failing. He felt the Aboriginals were hunters and gatherers
by tradition, unused to working and living in an agricultural society.
He also felt that the increase in European settlers had created
problems for Aboriginal peoples - not least of which was alcohol.
Bond Head wanted to separate the Aboriginals in the province from
the white population, and move them to Manitoulin Island and smaller
nearby islands in Lake Huron so they could pursue their regular
lifestyle of hunting and fishing.
Ultimately, Bond Head failed to convince most Aboriginals to move
to the much less-arable Manitoulin Island. Instead what they really
wanted was Crown protection from white settlers on their ancestral
lands.
While the colonial office more or less approved Bond Head's policy
- it never revoked the Bond Head Treaties - it also met with substantial
resistance in Britain, particularly from the Aborigines'
Protection Society - a Protestant group with links to the anti-slavery
movement.
Province of Canada Treaties, 1850 -
1862
Province of Canada Treaties
The discovery of minerals on the shores of Lake Huron and Lake
Superior led the government of the Province of Canada to take measures
to extinguish Aboriginal titles to the land in 1850. Two treaties,
known as the Robinson Treaties, were signed in 1850 between the
Crown and Aboriginals. The latter gave up mining lands - including
'land' directly below the earth's surface - in exchange for money
and the creation of reserves.
They were also given the right to hunt and fish on these ceded
lands.
In 1862, the Manitoulin Island Treaty was negotiated, allowing
European settlement on this island in Lake Huron.
The Douglas Treaties, 1850 - 1854
Province of Canada Treaties
Treaty negotiation was not limited to the Province of Canada in
the 1850s. When the colony of Vancouver Island was established in
1849, British administrators sought to acquire Aboriginal land for
settlement and industrial use in the colony. When the colony was
established, it was dependant on the fur trade. Then, following
the California gold rush of 1848, prospectors pushed further and
further north, hoping to find gold.
During a period of four years, 14 treaties were signed between
the Aboriginals on the island and the colonial government. Governor
James Douglas,
chief factor for the Hudson's
Bay Company in the area, led this effort. These agreements were
known variously as the Douglas Treaties, the Vancouver Island Treaties
or the Fort Victoria Treaties. Douglas never used the word treaty
in any of his negotiations - he used words like 'sale' or 'deed
of conveyance' - but the Supreme
Court of Canada would later rule that they were treaties because
he was negotiating on behalf of the British monarchy.
Copyright/Source
The Aboriginals gave up nearly 570 square kilometers of land in
exchange for cash, clothing and blankets. They were able to retain
existing village lands and fields for their use, and also were allowed
to hunt and fish on the surrendered lands.
Treaty-making on Vancouver Island came to an end in 1854 when the
colony began to run out of money for further expansion. New settlement
and the development of industry on the island had also been slower
than anticipated.
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For more information on the Douglas Treaties,
visit:
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For more information on the Aboriginal Treaties,
visit:
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Other Interesting or Important Documents
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