Treaties with the Natives
After the Canadian government established the North-West Territories and Manitoba, their goal became to open the prairies to Canadian and European settlement. Not including the Selkirk settlement, all the land in the Northwest still was held by the aboriginal nations by 1870. Through the Department of Indian Affairs, the government began arranging treaties with the Native peoples. By the end of August 1871, the Natives of Manitoba gave away the claim they possessed on their traditional homeland by settling Treaties 1 and 2 with the government. The Cree and the Saulteaux, however, did not want to give up all their land. Ideally, they wanted about sixty percent of the land that made up Manitoba. To satisfy them, the government offered 160 acres of land for every family of five. This wasn’t completely acceptable to the Cree or to the Saulteaux. Nonetheless, the government achieved the land on some conditions. Both nations were promised farm equipment, supplies, and instructions on farming techniques.
The government gained title to the forests lands between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba in Treaty Number 2. The Native peoples now had to live in tiny reserves. Before the idea of farming, their traditional lifestyle was endangered due to the termination of bison herds. The Natives of the prairies were willing to farm. However, the tools, supplies, and animals that were promised to them by the government never arrived - what was left of their way of life began to decline drastically. By the end of the nineteenth century, the Natives abandoned the idea of farming, and were relying on the government for their survival. Between 1874 to 1877, five more treaties with the aboriginal people of the prairies were settled. All access to the land that was appropriate for agriculture was gained by the government. In 1876, the Indian Act was issued out stating that all Native peoples were required to live on reserves, and that all the children were demanded to go to residential schools.
The government gained title to the forests lands between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba in Treaty Number 2. The Native peoples now had to live in tiny reserves. Before the idea of farming, their traditional lifestyle was endangered due to the termination of bison herds. The Natives of the prairies were willing to farm. However, the tools, supplies, and animals that were promised to them by the government never arrived - what was left of their way of life began to decline drastically. By the end of the nineteenth century, the Natives abandoned the idea of farming, and were relying on the government for their survival. Between 1874 to 1877, five more treaties with the aboriginal people of the prairies were settled. All access to the land that was appropriate for agriculture was gained by the government. In 1876, the Indian Act was issued out stating that all Native peoples were required to live on reserves, and that all the children were demanded to go to residential schools.