Treaty Number 1

Treaty 1 is an agreement established August 3, 1871, between the newly founded Canadian government and the Anishinabe and Swampy Cree Nations. The first of a series of treaties called the Numbered Treaties that occurred between 1871–1921, this accord was essentially about divisions of land, legal rights, and distribution of resources. The eight days of treaty making ended with the Aboriginal groups agreeing to share the land in southern Manitoba with the Canadian government in exchange for an annual annuity and material goods such as clothing and agricultural supplies (note that Indigenous people did not consider the land to 'belong' to anyone, but, as caretakers, they were willing to share its resources.).

Within a year of the agreement, however, the Aboriginal communities approached the Canadian government declaring that a number of the items promised, which would become known as the “Outside Promises”, within the treaty had not been handed over to them yet. On April 30, 1875, a council of the federal government passed an order stating that it must be ensured that all of the Outside Promises were to be fulfilled and considered a part of the main agreements within Treaty 1. However, due to the different intentions and understandings of the Canadian officials and the Aboriginal communities at the time of its creation, this treaty continues to be considered controversial into the 21st century.

Also known as the Stone Fort Treaty, Treaty 1 would be the first treaty signed since the 1867 formation of the modern Canadian government and one year after the Province of Manitoba was formed as a part of the Canadian Confederation.

The treaty was established between Canadian officials and these Indigenous communities as both groups desired security of land and resources.

The Anishinabe and Swampy Cree Nations sought to maintain their traditional lands while gaining security in transitioning to a new form of life with the incoming arrival of settlers.

In its process of annexing the West, the Canadian government sought to assimilate the Indigenous peoples in their movement to settle prior areas of trade. Through Treaty 1, as well as the other ten, Canadian officials sought a more diplomatic and least resistant form of annexing land in the West after hearing about the many violent conflicts that erupted in the United States between American officials and Aboriginal peoples.

In addition, Adams G. Archibald, the new lieutenant governor of Manitoba, wanted to establish a treaty that would secure the government with land around Lake Winnipeg and the western side of the Red River Valley in order to build up agriculture and extract resources. For officials such as Archibald, the annexation of Western Canada was more evolved around developing agriculture and settlements rather than establishing trade, which had defined the economic landscape of the region for the past century.

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