Compact, Contract, Covenant: Aboriginal Treaty-Making in Canada

Description

One of Canada’s longest unresolved issues is the historical and present-day failure of the country’s governments to recognize treaties made between Aboriginal peoples and the Crown. “Compact| Contract| Covenant” is renowned historian of Native-newcomer relations J.R. Miller’s exploration and explanation of more than four centuries of treaty-making. The first historical account of treaty-making in Canada| Miller untangles the complicated threads of treaties| pacts| and arrangements with the Hudson’s Bay Company and the Crown| as well as modern treaties to provide a remarkably clear and comprehensive overview of this little-understood and vitally important relationship.

Covering everything from pre-contact Aboriginal treaties to contemporary agreements in Nunavut and recent treaties negotiated under the British Columbia Treaty Process| Miller emphasizes both Native and non-Native motivations in negotiating| the impact of treaties on the peoples involved| and the lessons that are relevant to Native-newcomer relations today. Accessible and informative| “Compact| Contract| Covenant “is a much-needed history of the evolution of treaty-making and will be required reading for decades to come.