The Last French and Indian War

Gratien Allaire is a professor of history at Laurentian University in
Sudbury, Ontario.

This translation of a 1995 publication (La fin des alliances
franco-indiennes) questions a Supreme Court of Canada decision
concerning the rights of the Hurons of Lorette, Quebec. For the author,
this 1990 decision marked a turning point in, and worsening of,
relations between Quebec and the Indians.

In determining that the document dated September 5, 1760, and signed by
General James Murray was a treaty in the sense of section 88 of the
Indian Act, the Supreme Court extended to the Hurons the application of
article 35 of the Constitution Act. But as far as Vaugeois is concerned,
the “Murray Treaty” is no more than a safe conduct and should be
treated as such. It was 10 days later, in fact, that a treaty was signed
between the British and the Indians.

The book is divided into three parts. Part 1, “In the Crossfire,”
describes the events of 1760, concentrating on the relations among the
Indians, the French, and the English. Part 2, “The Supreme Court and
the Sioui Ruling,” examines how the Murray document was used since
1791 in different official and judicial circumstances, and how it was
recently interpreted by various courts. Part 3, “The Murray Document
and the Historians,” discusses the various interpretations presented
by historians such as Marcel Trudel, Guy Frégault, Donald Graves, W.J.
Eccles, and Denys Delвge. The 11 appendixes include the safe conduct
itself and an account of the Conference at Caughnawaga, which took place
on September 15–16, 1760. Numerous illustrations (maps, photos,
reproductions, etc.) elucidate this most interesting debate.