Impacts Of Confederation And The Numbered Treaties

592 Words3 Pages

Greetings. Today I am here to speak to you about the impacts of Confederation and the Numbered Treaties on the lives of First Nations people. It is important to understand the history of these treaties, the promises made to Indigenous people, and the long-term effects of the broken promises that continue to impact the relationship between First Nations and the Canadian government today.

The Numbered Treaties were a series of 11 treaties signed between the British Crown and First Nations peoples in the late 19th century. The purpose of these treaties was to open up the land for settlement and to ensure that Indigenous people would be provided with certain rights, including land, education, and health care. While these treaties were meant to benefit both the settlers and Indigenous people, the reality is that they were biased in favor of the settlers. …show more content…

Furthermore, the promised reserves were often located in remote and unpleasant areas, far from any sources of water or food. In addition, the promised rights of education, health care, and other services were often not provided, or were provided at a much lower level than promised.

“From Confederation to the present day, Indigenous people still fight for the treaties to be honored and have always maintained that the land was never surrendered. The government continues to fight Indigenous communities who claim title to lands that were never surrendered through treaty-making.” This quote by Chief Perry Bellegarde demonstrates how the indigenous people have been targeted for defending their lands and how they continue to fight throughout this struggle. This further demonstrates the opposition of the government to indigenous people owning their own