Canadian Friendship Treaties

The treaties mostly made the Indians move to reservations on less desirable lands, though they were allowed to govern themselves and occasionally free agricultural/industrial schools, free health care, and sums of money were promised. Also, most treaties allowed the Indians to fish throughout Washington at their traditional places.

The treaty first started in the 1600 when bandits and/or natives would steal the fur traders fur. Sometimes the fur traders would risk their lives to keep their fur, and with all this violence it was hard to get more fur. the Iroquois started to fight back and decline in warriors. All of a sudden they started to lose the battles and got more sensitiveness. soon they had to retreat and run away. Later the Iroquois nation decided to have a treaty with the French (aka Montreal) and did have a treaty. Later the other nations heard about this treaty and decided to join as well. That lead to the Treaty of Le Grande Paix de Montreal. In some time after that 39 different nations came in canoes to sign the treaty in their own symbols and languages

In order to protect their lands the Indians needed to have a good relationship both with the British and the French. Both relations were very different, they preferred the relation with the French side.

The early relations with the natives were a mix of cooperation and conflict. This goes back to Verrazzano reporting that the natives were willing to trade with them, but were not willing to put their trust in the Europeans. Then on the other end of the spectrum, we have Powhatan. He wanted to absorb the Europeans into their own ways through hospitality and gifts. “By 1609, [he] realized that the English intended to stay. Moreover, he was disappointed that the English did not return his hospitality nor would they marry Indian women (an affront from the Native perspective).” (Colonial Settlement)

After the war had ended, the British broke thee alliances with he first nations, which caused many disputes among the two groups, and British began to take over their land. When the treaty of Ghent was signed there were no first nation representatives during the negotiation. British tried to negotiate with the Americans however they refused and when the treaty was signed they lost military and economic

Personal connections that are or are not developed with the Indians is a topic that both Morton and Bradford discuss. The Pilgrims’ initial encounter with the Indians is tense and there is an air of skepticism about what type of people they are, good or bad. Since they need to live together in a peaceful way, the Pilgrims create a treaty between themselves and the Indians so that there would be no misunderstanding about the expectations and trust each group needs to have with one another (Bradford 88). Morton views this in a different way; instead of believing that this is a mutual agreement between both communities, he feels that the treaty is forcing the Indians to act the way the Pilgrims want them to act (104). There is room for

treaty. Like, assimilating the Native Americans into American society. Which meant they were no longer allowed to speak in their traditional language at the schools they would attend. Assimilating the Indians into society was more of a way for the government to have even more control over them then they did with the removal.

Before the Europeans arrived in the Americas, the Indigenous Tribes had their own languages, customs, and legal systems. These legal systems were completly new to the Europeans, because they did not focus on the Anglo norms of ctime and punsihment, instead, they focused on the restoration of peace and tranquility within the tribe. When any members had a disagreement, they would present the problem to the tribal elders who would sit with the two parties and their families and simply talk; they would talk until a unified decision could be made. This unanimous decision would be the final one, no one could undermine the decision of the elders. This custom was called the Peacemaking Circle and wasso alien to the invading Europeans, they saw the Indigenous People as savages, desperatly in need of salvation.

Firstly, Aboriginals have been run out of their native lands and what little they have left is constantly being fought over by the Natives, the government and major corporations. Mr. Norman Slotkin, a lawyer for the Union of Ontario Indians, had this to say:

Throughout history, the Native people of North America and the Europeans have continually had arguments and disputes over land. To this day there are still issues trying to be resolved. Twenty years ago, the beginning of one of the most violent and intense land disputes in present day Canada occurred. This event is now referred to as the Oka Crisis, named after the town Oka in Quebec. This crisis caused a confrontation involving the Quebec provincial police, the Canadian armed forces and the Mohawk people.1 The stand that the Mohawk people took in the town of Oka became a major revelation for the aboriginal people spreading awareness of aboriginal rights across Canada.

In 1613, the Mohawks began noticing people settling on their land unexpected, and distributing its nature order, by cutting down trees and clearing the land. Due to the language barrier, it took a long time for the Mohawk people and new settlers to be able to communicate. It was clear since the beginning that in this relationship the settlers saw themselves as ‘higher up’ than Indigenous people as originally the Europeans thought that they should be called “Father” and the Indigenous people called “Son”, in order to greet each other, however the Indigenous people disagreed and said that they would identify each other as “Brothers”, in order to show equality between them. As the settlers and Indigenous people known as Haudenosaunee learned more

In 1788 the colonists had to follow Governor Phillip’s instructions, which declared that “the Aboriginals were to be protected and friendly relations were encouraged.” Phillip had to follow and pass on these instructions as they were given to him in the document labelled today as the ‘Draught Instructions for Governor Phillip,’ which can be seen in Source 2. However, as the British began to settle they cleared the land and fenced waterholes. They showed no respect for sacred sites and broke laws the Indigenous people had followed for many ages. The Europeans did not understand their way of life but as they gained knowledge they continued taking land and breaking indigenous laws. Slowly more encounters between Europeans and Aboriginal people occurred. In May, 1788, two convicts were found dead in Rushcutters Bay, killed by Aborigines. In Source 1, the proclamation to the Aboriginal people can be seen. It gives an example of how the British were still planning to treat the Aboriginal people equally, if they obeyed the law. However, it stated that the law was for the Aboriginal people to live in the European ways, which took away their own traditional customs. This illustrates conflict that arose, but peace was still trying to be made through positive relationships between

Canada has been home to Aboriginals for centuries, who play an imperative role in the history of Canada. Culture and tradition have been brought into this country with the help of millions of Aboriginals. Aboriginals have been known to be very strong supporters of their culture, and heritage and take very high importance towards it. They are very traditional people, and have been looking up to their Ancestral ways for centuries. The treaty relationship between Canada and First Nations has caused a rift and a divide amongst each other for many reasons. Although there has been so much history and tension amidst the two, there is always room for improvement. A lot of things can be done to strive towards a positive relationship, starting with accepting the culture of Aboriginals and realizing that it is something they will not be letting go. Secondly, education can play a big role in helping this situation, and bringing more awareness to the situation starting from a young age. (p. 5) Lastly, The rights and freedoms of all people in the country need to be equal and similar. Certain changes can really help the state of the situation but it is a matter of willing to try and see the change that we all want.

Native Americans easily engaged in trade with Europeans. They wished to include new glass and metal items in their society. European and Native Americans viewed trade as a means for economic development. Native Americans viewed trade, also, as a way for communicating with individuals and maintaining interdependence. This is evident in the elaborate gift giving celebrations that occurred before exchanging of goods occurred. For Europeans, however, these social and spiritual functions of trade were limited a great deal more.

There are many reasons that the Europeans and the Native Americans didn’t get along. In the works that I have examined and read throughout this module, the relationship amongst these two groups had not been a good one from the beginning. The main reason for conflict between the Europeans and the Native Americans, it seems, was the Europeans greed and desire for land and power.