Historical Overview - The Signing
With the disappearance of traditional sources of food and shelter, many treaties offered annuities. Annual payments of 3, 4, or 5 dollars a head which might buy blankets, tools and provisions to help the Indian people survive the winters. Continual demands of Native nations was that the sale of liquor on or around reserves be utterly prohibited. The advent of whisky had been almost as destructive as the loss of the buffalo and unscrupulous white traders took full advantage of Natives. Even at treaty signing, whisky traders hovered near by to quickly separate the Indian from his treaty payment.
Once medicine and emergency assistance was promised, it wasn’t long before the Agreement was reached. Treaties 1 to 7 were concluded within six short years but clearly the bargaining positions had hardly been equal.
