Talk Treaty to Me: Understanding the Basics of Treaties and Land in Canada

by Crystal Gail Fraser

Description

"AN EASY-TO-READ AND ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO TREATIES, INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY, AND LAND FOR ALL CANADIANS Treaties cover much of Canada. Some were established thousands of years ago, with Land and animals, and others date back to the time when Europeans first arrived in North America. These agreements make it possible for all of us to live, work, play, and profit on these Lands. Additionally, treaties have profoundly shaped the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. In Talk show more Treaty to Me, Crystal Gail Fraser and Sara Komarnisky untangle the complexities of treaties and set forth a path to a greater understanding of all our roles, rights, and responsibilities. In this accessible, clear, and concise book, they discuss: • Treaties among and between Indigenous Peoples • The history of treaty-making between Indigenous Peoples and Britain, then Canada, from the very beginning to the present day • Concepts like Métis scrip, modern Land claims and self-government agreements, Indigenous sovereignty, and unceded territory • The (dis)honouring of treaties and the role of Canadian settler colonialism • How the creation of Canadian borders interrupts Indigenous sovereignty and nationhood • Important insights from gendered and queer perspectives on treaty and Land • The politics of land acknowledgements • Reconciliation and Land Back movements With a quick-reference timeline, maps, and black-and-white photographs throughout, Talk Treaty to Me concludes with a call to action and specific, tangible steps that all of us can take every day to support truth and reconciliation."-- show less

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balberry 338 reviews

This is an essential guide to treaties in Canada. It’s thought-provoking, educational, and a sobering reminder of how much learning we have to do beyond the confines of our institutions. Growing up, I heard about treaties in the context of Canada's expansion and consolidation, but they were never framed this starkly in history class. Lest we forget that our first prime minister was a real supervillain. Many points throughout were familiar from other reading, but I really appreciated the specific calls to action. I feel genuinely inspired by the reframing of land acknowledgements, they should make us uncomfortable as settlers. We shouldn't be parroting out the specifics, we should be reflecting on our personal commitments and show more obligations. I want to be a good guest on this land. We all come from the land, and this earth is all we have.

I am a settler who has moved across many territories in my life: born in Belleville, on the territory of the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples; raised in Oshawa, within the traditional and treaty territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Anishinaabeg and the signatories of the Williams Treaties; educated in Ottawa on the unceded territory of the Algonquin nation; and in London, on the territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton Nations, where I conducted research into fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, a condition inseparable from the violence of residential schools and child removal. That work brought me into rare contact with FASD families and communities, and those encounters changed how I think about research. I now work at the Douglas in Montreal, on land long recognized as a site of meeting and exchange among the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg nations. It’s an institution with a troubling history in its treatment of Indigenous patients that I hold consciously. These places have all shaped me. I owe them, and the people whose territories they are, active accountability by supporting Indigenous communities and businesses, and reading more Indigenous stories and authors. This book is part of that commitment.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Canada for access to this book. show less

Apr 17, 2026 (Edited)

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