As soon as the ink on the treaty was dry, Canada did not implement nearly all of their Treaty 6 promises. Canada didn’t even follow through on the minimum, narrow words reflected in the texts Cree leaders signed.

Cree peoples expected to keep control over their own lives. But it was bait and switch.  Cree people were tricked.

Instead of honouring the sacred Treaty 6 promises and making our lives better, Canada implemented laws that controlled our lives and tried to destroy us for the next 150 years.

Long before Canada tricked us into signing Treaty 6, Canada knew they wanted us to change. They thought we were savages, and they wanted to make us like them. They did not want us harvesting on our lands. They wanted to turn us into farmers and force us off our traditional territories.

Living on a reserve became known as ‘taking treaty’ or ‘entering treaty’. In order to live on a reserve and receive treaty annuities, you had to be classified as an Indian. Indian Status Cards were called Treaty Cards.

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The Indian Act replaced any talk about treaty rights. We needed to be a Status Indian to access any of our treaty rights.

When we signed Treaty 6, we didn’t know the Indian Act applied only to us. Instead of honouring our treaty with them, Canada instead told us:

• Indians could only leave the reserve with a pass from the Indian Agent. Indian Agents controlled what we could sell or buy. Indian Agents controlled everything.
• Dancing, ceremonies, and gatherings were banned, both on and off the reserve.
• Indians could not hire lawyers, so we couldn’t fight back legally.
• Indians could not vote in any election but our own.
• We would no longer control how our leaders were selected, and who could select them.

Canada promised the treaty would make our lives better. Instead, Canada made our lives worse.