Indian Treaties and Surrenders from 1680 to 1890: Vol. 1, Treaties Number 1-138

Anthony G. Gulig teaches history at the University of Saskatchewan.

This is the first in a three-volume series of reprinted primary-source
documents relating to pre– and post–Confederation Canadian Indian
treaties and the negotiations on which they were based. Long overdue,
the book will provide scholars and all others interested in
Native–federal relations with a source of information necessary to
gain a more complete understanding of this complex relationship. Upon
completion, the three-volume series will be the general equivalent of
the American publication Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, which has
proven to be an invaluable reference for scholars of American Indian
history and relations.

This first volume carries the original comprehensive index. The
numerous foldout maps and drawings that accompanied the original
correspondence from federal field representatives are fascinating to
view, and provide additional insight into the federal perspective on the
land base it sought to acquire.

The publication of this volume is especially welcome at a time when
heightened awareness of existing Native rights and land claims has sent
many Canadians in search of primary-source materials. With luck, an
American press will take this series as a cue to reprint an equally
affordable version of Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties.