Treaty 6 Education: In Search of Her Majesty's Bounty and Benevolence

Abstract

On December 4, 1876, Alexander Morris, Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories and Her Majesty's Chief Treaty Commissioner, reported that he had successfully negotiated Treaty 6 (in meetings held at Fort Carlton and Fort Pitt) "in compliance with the request of the Privy Council that I should proceed to the west.... as promised the Plain Crees" (Morris, 1880/1991, p. 180). Treaty 6, a formal and binding contract be­tween two nations, dealt with the "important matters" related to "Reser­ves, schools, the amount of the money gratuities and annuities made or secured to the Indians" (Indian Affairs, 1877, p. xi). Treaty negotiations were held during August and September 1896. The Crown representatives and their entourage numbered approximately 100 people whereas Cree Chiefs, Headmen, and their people were estimated at 5,000. Together the two entities met, negotiated, and finalized Treaty 6. It was a process of treaty-making between the British Crown and First Nations that spanned 1871-1921 and the establishment of mutual treaty obligations agreed to and confirmed in Treaties 1 to 11.