Treaty 10


Treaty 10 was an agreement established beginning 19 August 1906, between King Edward VII and various First Nation band governments in northern Saskatchewan and a small portion of eastern Alberta. There were no Alberta-based First Nations groups signing on, but there were two First Nation bands from Manitoba, despite their location outside the designated treaty area. It is notable that despite appeals from peoples of unceded areas of Northern Manitoba and the Northwest Territories for treaty negotiations to begin, the government did not enter into the treaty process for almost 20 years. In 1879, Natives of Stanley, Lac La Ronge, and Pelican Narrows petitioned for a treaty due to the threat of starvation. In 1905, the granting of Saskatchewan with Provincial status galvanized the government to settle the issue of land rights in order to free up land for future government use.
The agreement was drafted based on the Treaty 8 text. Commissioner J. A. J. McKenna offered medical and education incentives to the affected First Nations, with commitments that their traditional food gathering practices would not be impaired by the reserve system. In recompense for how long his peoples had been requesting treaty, William Apisis, chief of the English River Band, made an unheard of request for annuity payments to be paid in arrears, dating back to the time of the first treaties. This request was denied.

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