A. Membership in Treaties [A. Membership in Treaties]

In the 1870s, both the government of Canada and the First Nations of the Canadian Prairies sought to make treaties that would define their relationship and establish rights to land and other resources. Such agreements were intended to extinguish Native rights to the land and provide compensation to the First Nations and a new means of livelihood. In order to formulate the treaties, a legal and political definition for "Indian" was needed. This established who was entitled to reserve lands and to the other compensations provided for in the agreements. The Native definition of Indian was based primarily on lifestyle rather than bloodline. For most Natives, simply living a traditional aboriginal lifestyle made one an Indian, eligible for treaty terms.

B. Reasons for Negotiating the Prairie Treaties [B. Reasons for Negotiating]

For each of the Prairie Treaties, numbered one to seven, historical debate has arisen regarding governmental and Native reasons for negotiating the treaties as well as their roles in the negotiation and subsequent interpretation of the agreements. The numbered treaties signed between 1871 and 1877 in Western Canada have traditionally been presented as a move by a paternalistic government trying to safeguard the interests of the Indian bands. These bands were represented as passive participants who accepted the guidance of the government. Later, the Indians were portrayed as innocents who were victimised and cheated by an unscrupulous government that sought to undermine their rights. In reality, the Canadian government's motivations in treating with the Indians were not as benevolent or malevolent as they have been portrayed, while the Indians had strong motivations to enter into negotiation with a white authority. In each case, the government and the Indians saw treaties as necessary elements in achieving their very different goals.

C. Terms of the Prairie Treaties [C. Terms of the Prairie Treaties]

The terms of the numbered treaties signed between the Indians of the Prairies and the Government of Canada in the 1870s were significantly influenced by the intentions and understanding of both parties. As such, the treaties did not constitute the full wishes of the government or the full wishes of the Indians. Since the treaties were signed, historians have debated the extent to which the government was exercising a benevolent plan towards the Indians as well as the extent to which the Indians understood and participated in the treaty negotiations.

D. Reaction to the Prairie Treaties [D. Reaction to the Prairie Treaties]

After each of the seven Western treaties of the 1870s was signed, it was taken to Ottawa to be ratified (or approved) by the Privy Council and implemented by the Department of Indian Affairs. Meanwhile, on the Prairies, in consultation with their people, began the process of choosing reserves and settling on them to begin the transition to an agricultural lifestyle. In some cases, this transition was accomplished smoothly for both the government and the Indians, however, there were also complaints from both sides.