A Comparison of Canadian and American Treaty-Making Policy with the Plains Indians, 1867-1877:
Name
Jill Marie St, Germain
Type of Resource
text
Abstract
-- Description taken from "A Comparison of Canadian and American Treaty-Making Policy with the Plains Indians, 1867-1877"--
This thesis offers an examination o f the long-held self-perception of Canada as a benevolent nation in the realm of Indian policy. Through a comparison of Canadian and American Indian policy, specifically in an investigation of theorigins, context, terms and programs of the 1867-1868 American treaties at Medicine Lodge Creek and Fort Laramie and the 1870s Canadian Numbered Treaties, questions are raised about the accuracy of this Canadian conviction. Superficial impressions based on the violence of the American west, which contrasts sharply with the more serene Canadian frontier, give way in a closer scrutiny of treaty-making motives and practice to conclusions which challenge conventional wisdom on the nature of Canadian policy. Recent studies of Indian policy in a national context have characterized it as one of “indifference and neglect”. This conclusion is confirmed in the broader framework offered by a comparative investigation juxtaposing the Canadian and American reserve and “civilization” programs which were elaborated in these treaties.