A Summary and Analysis of J.R. Miller’s “The Southern Numbered Treaties,” and Sharon Venne’s “Understanding Treaty 6: An Indigenous Perspective”

There are many accounts of the history of the treaties between the Crown and the Indigenous peoples in Canada. This paper summarizes and analyses two of them. J.R. Miller, history professor emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan, gives an account of treaties one through seven in his article, “The Southern Numbered Treaties,” which is contained in his book Compact, Contract, Covenant: Aboriginal Treaty-Making in Canada. Sharon Venne, an accomplished First Nations lawyer and member of the Cree Nation, also writes about the treaties in southern Canada, focusing particularly on treaty six, in “Understanding Treaty 6: An Indigenous Perspective.” These two articles analyze the processes of treaty making, and offer perspectives contrary to the popular narrative, as well as arguing that the popular narrative does not include the entire history. This paper starts by summarizing each article separately, then analyses some of the main points. The analysis will argue in favour of the arguments put forth by Venne and Miller.