Making Treaties

See “What is a Treaty” on pages 4 and 5 in the We Are All Treaty People issue of Kayak: Canada’s History Magazine for Kids.

Read

A Treaty is much more than a piece of paper with words on it – that’s why we talk about making Treaties, rather than just signing them. A Treaty includes all the spoken words the First Nations and government people used to make promises. These words were about the land, how it would be shared and for what purposes. The Treaty was then sealed through a pipe ceremony which invited the Creator to witness the promises.

Minds on

Explore the idea of historical perspective with the students. Taking a historical perspective means understanding the social, cultural, intellectual, and emotional settings that shaped people’s lives and actions in the past.

Hands on

Give students cue cards with either First Nation or Crown written on the front; one card per student (half the class should have one, half the other). On the opposite side of the card, instruct them to print single words or sketch the perspectives held by that group regarding Treaty-making and the Treaty relationship.