Voyageur, Cora J. A Media Account of the Government's Acquisition of Treaty 8 Lands
Document Type: Journal Articles (2)
Date of Document(s): 2000
Indexing Progress: Relationship Indexed
Indexing Progress: Relationship Indexed
Primary or Secondary Source: Secondary Source
Author: Voyageur, Carol J.
Title: A Media Account of the Government's Acquisition of Treaty 8 Lands
Journal Title: From Prairie Forum
Date of Publication: Fall 2000
Date of Copyright: c2000
Volume ID: 25
Issue ID: 2
Location in Work: 271-282
Notes: paper and electronic copy/journal article
Abstract: Land! Everybody wanted it - Europeans, Easterners, and the Government of Canada - but the Indians and Halfbreeds had it. The government could not simply take the land: Canadians sensibilities would not allow it. As Canadians, we required affirmation (whether genuine or otherwise) that we had treated our Indians better and more equitably than the Americans had treated theirs. There had to be a land surrender and some type of commodity exchange: it seemed the fair thing to do. Treaties were the answer. Government got land for European/Eastern settlement; Indians got Treaty Promises; and Halfbreeds got a choice of either land or money. Everybody benefited - not necessarily equally, but that is another matter. The Crown signed Treaties with the Indigenous inhabitants of the region we now know as Canada from at least the mid 1700s. In signing Treaty 8, one of a series of Numbered Treaties, the Indians and Halfbreeds of the region gave up 324,000 square miles of land - an area about three-quarters the size of Ontario. It was a lengthy process involving the Crown's representatives (Treaty and Halfbreed Commissioners) and numerous First Nations and Metis leaders. This article analyses media accounts of the 1899 Treaty 8 signing process. How did the media portray the participants and the events to its readership? Were certain people or events deemed more important than others? Did the Press help fulfill the government's mandate to populate the West and support the Boosterism phenomenon of the time?
Title: A Media Account of the Government's Acquisition of Treaty 8 Lands
Journal Title: From Prairie Forum
Date of Publication: Fall 2000
Date of Copyright: c2000
Volume ID: 25
Issue ID: 2
Location in Work: 271-282
Notes: paper and electronic copy/journal article
Abstract: Land! Everybody wanted it - Europeans, Easterners, and the Government of Canada - but the Indians and Halfbreeds had it. The government could not simply take the land: Canadians sensibilities would not allow it. As Canadians, we required affirmation (whether genuine or otherwise) that we had treated our Indians better and more equitably than the Americans had treated theirs. There had to be a land surrender and some type of commodity exchange: it seemed the fair thing to do. Treaties were the answer. Government got land for European/Eastern settlement; Indians got Treaty Promises; and Halfbreeds got a choice of either land or money. Everybody benefited - not necessarily equally, but that is another matter. The Crown signed Treaties with the Indigenous inhabitants of the region we now know as Canada from at least the mid 1700s. In signing Treaty 8, one of a series of Numbered Treaties, the Indians and Halfbreeds of the region gave up 324,000 square miles of land - an area about three-quarters the size of Ontario. It was a lengthy process involving the Crown's representatives (Treaty and Halfbreed Commissioners) and numerous First Nations and Metis leaders. This article analyses media accounts of the 1899 Treaty 8 signing process. How did the media portray the participants and the events to its readership? Were certain people or events deemed more important than others? Did the Press help fulfill the government's mandate to populate the West and support the Boosterism phenomenon of the time?