Differences Between Treaty 6 And The Two Row Wampum

The two treaties I chose were Treaty 6 and the Two Row Wampum. Treaty 6 was created in the late 19th century as part of the process of establishing the Dominion of Canada and facilitating westward expansion into what is now central and northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Treaty was negotiated between representatives of the Crown and Indigenous peoples, including the Plains and Woods Cree, Assiniboine, and other band governments at Fort Carlton and Fort Pitt, Saskatchewan. The negotiations took place with growing pressure from settlers, government officials, and the Hudson’s Bay Company to open up the region for settlement and resource extraction. The Treaty was first signed on August 23, 1876, and included provisions related to land use

Overall, this negotiation process reflected the complicated and dynamic relationships between the Crown and Indigenous peoples in Canada, and the ongoing challenges of reconciling the desires and interests of Indigenous peoples. The result of Treaty 6 is considered by many, including myself, to be unfair to Indigenous peoples. From the Indigenous perspective, Treaty 6 was not fair as it resulted in the loss of their traditional lands and way of life, as well as the loss of their culture and sovereignty. The Treaty was imposed on the Indigenous peoples without adequate consultation or compensation, and its provisions were often not honoured by the Crown. They also experienced many other negative impacts as a result of the Treaty, including the displacement from their traditional lands, the reduction of their hunting and fishing rights, and the erosion of their communities. In many cases, Indigenous peoples were subjected to exploitation, discrimination, and violence as a result of the Treaty and its implementation. From the perspective of the Crown and settlers, Treaty 6 was seen as a necessary step in the process

The Two Row Wampum consisted of two rows of purple wampum beads woven into a belt, symbolizing two boats and the parallel paths that the Haudenosaunee and Dutch would travel side by side. The first row represented the canoe with the Haudenosaunee's way of life, laws, and people, and the second row represented the Dutch ship with its laws, religion, and people in it; each nation would respect the ways of the other and will not interfere with the other. The Two Row Wampum was created as a visual representation of the agreement between the two nations to respect each other’s sovereignty and to live in peace and friendship; it affirmed the Haudenosaunee’s right to self-determination and their commitment to maintaining their traditional ways of life, while also recognizing the rights of the Dutch settlers to live and trade in the region. The Two Row Wampum remains an important symbol of the Haudenosaunee’s history and culture and continues to serve as a reminder of the principles of peace, friendship, and mutual respect that underlie their relationships with other nations. It also serves as a model for contemporary relationships between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples, and as a symbol of the ongoing struggle for Indigenous rights and