We Are All Treaty People

Explore the meaning and the significance of the phrase “We are all Treaty People.”

Posted September 1, 2018

See “Whose is it?” on pages 18 and 19 the We Are All Treaty People issue of Kayak: Canada’s History Magazine for Kids.

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The city council in St. John’s, N.L., starts its meetings with a statement that the province of Newfoundland and Labrador is the unceded land of Beothuk, Mi’kmaq and Labrador Indigenous peoples. Many cities, churches, schools and other organizations across the country are now making First Nation land acknowledgement statements.

Minds on

Explore the meaning and the significance of the phrase “We are all Treaty People.”

Hands on

Have students research several traditional territory acknowledgement statements from across Canada. Write them on sheets of paper and affix them on large map of Canada in the appropriate area/city. Write the phrase “We are all Treaty People” on a separate sheet of paper, affix it on the map. Link the acknowledgment statements and the phrase with string. Instruct students to write a paragraph explaining the thematic map they created.

More classroom activities

Commemorating Treaty Relationships

Explore several places and occasions that mark the importance of Treaties and stories about the historic Treaty relationship between First Nations people and the Crown.

Finding Del's Truck

Students will explore historical significance as the process used by historians to evaluate what was important about particular events, people, and developments in the past.

Wampum Belts

Focus on the importance of wampum belts for ceremonial and diplomatic purposes, as well as to mark agreements such as Treaties and covenants.

Unceded Land

Explain and expand upon the concept of unceded land.

Treaty Day

Have students create an invitation to an event celebrating Treaty Day. 

Making Treaties

Taking a historical perspective means understanding the social, cultural, intellectual, and emotional settings that shaped people’s lives and actions in the past.

Classroom Treaty

Design a classroom Treaty with your students and use it throughout the year as the typical “class rules.”

Relationships

Explore the symbolism in the Treaty medal. 

Themes associated with this article

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