Read the Treaty

“[The] treaty was supposed to be a huge, sacred document, written on parchment and bound with seals of everlasting fidelity. … It was supposed to contain all sorts of guarantees. How [could] all these promises be written in nine printed pages? But nine pages is all there [was]…” ¹
— “Reservations are For Indians”, p.78

For many years, the Treaty 6 document and all of its abstract and complex contents were held by the government and were largely unavailable to the public or to the members of Treaty 6. For many years, a copy of the treaty was available only by request through the mail, and there were no other means by which to read it. Often, Treaty 6 members were surprised to find that so much of their lives were influenced by such a concise (though complex) document.

Today, the Treaty 6 text is widely available to the larger public, and most contemporary members of Treaty 6 are familiar with the terms outlined within it. Click here to view the Treaty Policy Directorate pages of the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada website where you will find an online version of Treaty 6. Read through the text to gain a better understanding of the words that have been the cause of much debate over the years.

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¹ Heather Robertson, Reservations are for Indians (Toronto: James Lewis & Samuel, 1970), 78.
 
Sources:
Robertson, Heather. Reservations are for Indians. Toronto: James Lewis & Samuel, 1970.