LAW Indigenous Peoples & the Law
Canada's Indian Treaties & Surrenders
Not all land is ceded territory in Canada. Canadian lands with agreements between the King, Queen, or Crown and Indigenous Peoples in Canada are called Indian Treaties, most of which are numbered (e.g., Treaty 7 represents the land where the city of Calgary is located and is an agreement to surrender signed September 22, 1877 involving the “Blackfeet, Blood, Piegan, Sarcee, Stony and other Indians” today known as the First Nations peoples of Bearspaw, Chiniki, Wesley, Blood Tribe, Piikani Nation, Siksika Nation, and Tsuut'ina Nation). These treaties are not found in the same sources as international treaties.
- Acts, Agreements, Treaties and Land ClaimsFrom Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC)
- Treaty TextsFrom Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada
- Treaties, Surrenders and AgreementsFrom Libraries and Archives Canada
- Articles of Treaty 8From the Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta.
Law & Legislation
Most legislation respecting Indigenous Peoples is historically rooted and relates to the land.
- Aboriginal Law and LegislationIncludes links to International Law, Canada, U.S., New Zealand, Australia.
Part of Bill Henderson's Law Library.
Last update of this page: July 24, 1998. - Native American Constitution and Law Digitization ProjectThis Project is a cooperative effort among the University of Oklahoma Law Center and the National Indian Law Library (NILL), and Native American tribes providing access to the Constitutions, Tribal Codes, and other legal documents.
- IDA Treaties ExplorerThis website provides public access to digital copies of NARA’s series of ratified Indian Treaties for the United States.
- Organization of American States (OAS)The Organization of American States is the world’s oldest regional organization, dating back to the First International Conference of American States, held in Washington, D.C., from October 1889 to April 1890.
- Aztec and Maya Law: An Online Exhibit and BibliographyTarlton Law Library, University of Texas at Austin.
Finding Legislation
- Alberta King's PrinterProvincial government website that contains an alphabetical listing of statutes. Also includes Alberta Gazette.
- Canadian Legislation - AlbertaFind resources and best practices for searching Alberta legislation including statues, regulations and bills.
- Statutes of AlbertaThe Provincial Statutes of Canada library in HeinOnline contains the Annual and Revised Statutes of Alberta from 1906 to present.
- Alberta Law CollectionAll of the Statutes up to 1990, Legislative Assembly Bills, Debates and Journals, the Alberta Gazette and the Ordinances of the Northwest Territories prior to the birth of Alberta.
- KP source professional This link opens in a new window
- LEGISinfoFrom the Library of Parliament, "This tool provides electronic access to a wide range of information about individual bills, such as:
- the text of the bill at various stages;
- government press releases and backgrounders (for government bills);
- legislative summaries from the Parliamentary Research
- important speeches at second reading;
- votes; and
- coming into force data." - Legal DatabasesA list of legal databases available at the University of Calgary.
- Revised statutes of Canada This link opens in a new window
Selected Books on Treaties
The first item is organized with treaties by date. You will find the treaty you need by searching the index by the original English name of the tribe or nation.
Indian treaties and surrenders : from 1680-1890 by Call Number: KF8202 1971 INTERNETPublication Date: 1971
Breathing Life into the Stone Fort Treaty by Call Number: KF5662 .O45 C73 2013ISBN: 9781895830644Publication Date: 2013
Four voices : the Great Manitoulin Island Treaty of 1862 by Call Number: KF5662 .O45 P42 2012ISBN: 9780988086500Publication Date: 2012
Bounty and Benevolence by Call Number: KES529 INTERNETISBN: 0773520236Publication Date: 2000A history of Saskatchewan treaties. Also available in print KF8205 .R39 2000 (Law Library - 1st Floor)One century later : Western Canadian reserve Indians since Treaty 7
Call Number: E78 .C2 O5 (Law Library - 1st Floor)ISBN: 0774801050Publication Date: 1978
