A Policy that Continued Under the British Regime

The procedure advocated under the French regime was perpetuated under the British regime. In fact, the British authorities had followed the same procedure for a long time. A tradition of friendship pacts had developed in the colonies of New England and New York and was symbolized by the so-called “covenant chain.” Even today, representatives of the Mohawks and other members of the Iroquois Confederacy remind us of this early alliance, which was renewed several times and founded on a relationship of equality among nations.

Just before the Conquest, a series of peace and friendship treaties was also concluded by the British, in what were later to become the Maritime provinces. A treaty concluded with the Mi’gmaq of Nova Scotia in 1752 renewed certain promises made in 1725 and 1726 and affirmed the Mi’gmaq “free liberty to hunt and fish as usual.” Only a few years ago, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that this document, despite how old it was, was still valid as a solemn undertaking that the parties had never renounced. The word given must be respected.

Similarly, the Huron-Wendat Nation in Québec won a landmark victory in 1990 when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a document signed by General James Murray in Longueuil at the time of the British Conquest in 1760, assuring the Huron-Wendat the freedom to exercise their religion and customs and to conduct trade with the British, qualified as a treaty under the terms of the Indian Act and, therefore, took precedence over provincial laws of general application, including the Parks Act.

The Covenant Chain

The tradition of the covenant chain began at the time of the initial contacts between the Dutch colonists and the River Indians of the Hudson River region. In 1618, these two groups entered into an alliance, represented by a Dutch ship attached to a tree, first with a cord and later with an iron chain. The cord represented an alliance between equals, and the iron emphasized the alliance’s solidity. Even though the Mohawks took the place of the River Indians and the British replaced the Dutch, the covenant chain remained the symbol of the political alliance established in the region. But the iron chain became more refined in the language of ceremonial practices and, by the beginning of the 18th century, it had become a silver chain.

Fredrickson and Gibb 1980, 10–11

In 1761, “Wonderful” Promises to the Mi’GMAQ

Protection and allegiance are fastened together by links, if a link is broken the chain will be loose. You must preserve this chain entire on your part by fidelity and obedience to the great King George the Third, and then you will have the security of this royal arm to defend you.

I meet you now as His Majesty’s graciously honoured servant in government and in his royal name to receive at this pillar, your public vows of obedience to build a covenant of peace with you, as upon the immovable rock of sincerity and truth, to free you from the chains of bondage, and to place you in the vast and fruitful field of English liberty.

The laws will be a great hedge about your rights and properties. If any break this hedge to hurt or injure you, the heavy weight of the laws will fall upon them and punish their disobedience.

Nova Scotia Governor Jonathan Belcher addressing the Mi’gmaq at Halifax, 1761, at ceremonies renewing the Treaty of 1752 (Reported in Richardson 1989, 73)

The climate of uncertainty created by the Conquest of 1760 also led the British authorities to expend extra effort on the conclusion of treaties. William Johnson, an important figure who was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs, increased the number of congresses and held councils that would result in numerous treaties: Oswegatchie (August 1760), Caughnawaga (September 1760), Fort Pitt (September 1760), Detroit (December 1760), Albany (June 1761), Niagara (July 1761), and again in Detroit (August–September 1761) and Caughnawaga (July 1763). These meetings gave rise to intense diplomatic activity. At the Niagara Council of July 17 to August 4, 1761, for example, 24 First Nations were present. Numerous treaties were signed, and former alliances renewed at the council.

The Huron-British Treaty of 1760 still valid!

On May 9, 1982, brothers Régent, Konrad, Georges and Hugues Sioui of Wendake were accused of cutting down trees, camping and making fires in the Jacques-Cartier National Park located near Québec City. The Québec government charged them with violating a provincial regulation adopted pursuant to Québec’s Parks Act. The accused argued that the right to exercise their customs in the park was protected by a document signed in Longueuil by General James Murray at the time of the British Conquest of 1760. After being found guilty by two lower courts, the Sioui brothers were acquitted by the Court of Appeal of Québec and then by the Supreme Court of Canada in a unanimous ruling. Talks are ongoing between the Huron-Wendat Nation’s band council and the governments of Canada and Québec on the scope of the ruling and how it applies in today’s world.

Copy of the document signed in Longueuil by General James Murray on September 5, 1760, three days before the fall of Montreal.

Under the British regime, however, as previously mentioned, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 would mark a turning point in the nature of the accords concluded. First, the Proclamation would confirm that the Aboriginal peoples had an incontestable right over the lands. Here was recognition, in black and white! However, despite the apparent generosity of the document, the colonial authorities would use it as an instrument of dispossession. From that point on, treaties would become the process used by the Crown to extinguish the land titles of the first inhabitants. Once this extinguishment was obtained, the territories could be opened to settlement. And the Crown reserved for itself the right to conclude treaties. After the “peace and friendship treaties,” a new generation of treaties, the “land treaties,” took shape. In Chapter 5, “Sharing Territory,” we will see how it was possible to conclude numerous land treaties bearing on a large portion of Canadian territory, but not the territory of Québec, with one exception. This glance back at history will provide us with more information on the origin of current land claims and give us a better idea of their scope. But before doing this, we should look more closely at how the British Crown, and later the Canadian government, absolved themselves of their responsibility to ensure the “protection” of the Aboriginal nations. We will see that a major shift had occurred in the administration of Indian Affairs.

More Treaties at the Time of the British Conquest

Below is an extract from a peace and friendship treaty concluded in Niagara between the Huron of Detroit and William Johnson, representative of the British Crown, on July 18, 1764. At the time of the 1760 Conquest, the British authorities stepped up their efforts to conclude treaties. William Johnson, who was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs, increased the number of congresses and councils, and this would result in numerous treaties like this one. The document consisted of five articles spread over just four pages.

The Seven Fires Confederacy of the St. Lawrence Valley

A Valuable Political Alliance

At the time of the French and English regimes in Canada, Amerindians from Québec forged a singular political alliance known by the written Euro-American tradition as the Seven Nations of Canada. This alliance consisted of the Catholic Amerindians from the villages of the St. Lawrence Valley: Wendake, Long Point, Wôlinak, Odanak, Kahnawake, Kanehsatake and Akwesasne. This Confederacy represented the alliance among the nations, that is, between the Aboriginal councils or governments of each village. The pact was federative because there was a central political organization, the Grand Council of Kahnawake, which shared various jurisdictions with the various Confederacy members, which in turn were assured in principle of both cohesion and self-government, without jeopardizing the identity of the allied communities. Hence, when these Amerindians referred to the Confederacy, they were alluding to unity and common representation. The political organization of the Amerindians of Québec was structured in the 17th century, circa 1660. The alliance was broken in the 19th century, circa 1860.

Sawaya 1998, 14

The recent work of the historian Jean-Pierre Sawaya (1998) reveals to us this little-known facet of the political history of Aboriginal peoples. The Seven Fires Confederacy consisted of the “domiciled Indians,” so named under the French regime and denoting Aboriginal peoples of the missions established in the proximity of Montréal, Trois-Rivières and Québec City. In this alliance, the “Great Fire of Kahnawake” held a central position leading political and diplomatic relations with the other governments of north-eastern America (ibid., 167). The Confederacy played a valuable role, in particular in the settlement of several territorial disputes. Internally, the member nations also used the Confederacy to settle their own disputes. This was the case of the territorial sharing among Confederacy members and the respective use of hunting grounds and resources. Regarding the actual importance of the Confederacy, the researcher has noted that the Seven Fires maintained continuous political and diplomatic relations, first with the French and then with the British, and also with the Wabanaki Confederacy, the Iroquois Six Nations Confederacy and the various Great Lakes confederacies (ibid., 167).

A street in Kahnawake (formerly called Caughnawaga) at the turn of the century.

First Nations Archives

Wampum beads were used as official archival documents and served to officialize treaties between First Nations or treaties that these nations concluded with European nations. They were also used to mark various Aboriginal social and political events. Wampum is a bead made of sea shells. By extension, necklaces, belts and other objects made of these beads are also called wampum.

The colour of the beads used, the number of rows, their length, as well as the symbols and motifs reproduced all have their own significance. These genuine First Nations archival pieces are also guarded preciously. With the Seven Fires Confederacy of the St. Lawrence Valley, for example, Kahnawake acted as wampum keeper (Sawaya 1998, 113). Wampum belts could also be guarded by individuals to whom the power to interpret these agreements or historical facts was transmitted. This is the case of William Commanda, an Algonquin elder from Kitigan Zibi (Maniwaki), who remained the carrier of three wampum belts up until his death in 2011. He was vested with the title of “keeper of the wampum.”