Grade by Grade
A. Heritage and Identity · Communities in Canada, Past and Present

Standing Up for Rights: Treaties, Métis Rights and Nunavut

A3.5 A2.4About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe significant events in the history of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.
  • I can explain how these events affected each community's development and identity.
  • I can describe how Indigenous communities have worked to win recognition of their rights.
  • I can organise events on a timeline and interpret what it shows.

Words to know

Numbered Treaties
Eleven treaties signed between First Nations and the Crown from 1871 to 1921, across the Prairies and the North (including Treaties 3, 5 and 9 in Ontario).
resistance
Standing up against something you believe is unfair.
rights
Things that people are entitled to, protected by laws or agreements.
Constitution
The highest law of a country. Canada's Constitution Act, 1982 recognises the rights of Indigenous peoples.
land claim agreement
A modern treaty that settles questions about land and rights between an Indigenous people and the government.
self-government
A people making its own decisions about its own affairs, such as education or land.
relocation
Moving people from one place to another, sometimes by force.

Let's start with a question

What would you do if someone made rules about your home without asking you?

First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities faced this many times. This lesson is about the events that changed their communities, and about how they stood up for their rights, often for many years, and won important changes.

Rolling tundra with wildflowers and lichen-covered rocks beside a calm Arctic bay.
This is the kind of land in Nunavut, the territory created in 1999 after Inuit worked for many years to win their land claim. AI-generated image

First Nations: the Numbered Treaties

Between 1871 and 1921, the Crown signed eleven Numbered Treaties with First Nations across the Prairies and the North. In Ontario these include Treaty 3 (1873), Treaty 5 (1875) and Treaty 9 (1905 to 1906).

  • The government wanted land for settlers and railways.
  • Many First Nations agreed to share the land in return for promises: reserves, yearly payments, schools, farming help, and the right to keep hunting and fishing.
  • First Nations leaders often understood treaties as sacred agreements of sharing. Written versions sometimes said First Nations had "surrendered" the land, a word many say was never explained or agreed to.
  • Many promises were not kept. First Nations have spent generations asking courts and governments to honour them.

Effect on communities: many nations were moved onto reserves, ways of life changed, and treaty rights became a central part of First Nations identity and politics today.

Métis: resistance and recognition

  • 1869 to 1870: when Canada took over the lands around Red River without asking the people living there, the Métis, led by Louis Riel, formed a government. Their negotiations led to Manitoba joining Canada in 1870.
  • 1885: in what is now Saskatchewan, Métis and some First Nations again stood up when their land concerns were ignored. Canadian troops defeated them at Batoche. Louis Riel was put on trial and executed in 1885.
  • After this, many Métis families lost land and faced discrimination. Some hid their Métis identity for years.
  • 1982: Canada's Constitution recognised the rights of the "Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples" of Canada.
  • 2003: the Supreme Court of Canada, in the Powley case from near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, ruled that Métis communities have a constitutional right to hunt for food.

Effect on communities: Métis communities, including the Métis Nation of Ontario (founded 1993), are proud and visible again, with their own governments, flag and celebrations.

Inuit: relocation and Nunavut

  • In the 1950s, the federal government moved some Inuit families from Inukjuak in northern Quebec to Grise Fiord and Resolute, in the High Arctic, about 2 000 km away, in a very different and harsher environment. Canada apologised for this relocation in 2010.
  • In the same years, many Inuit families were pushed to move from their camps into permanent settlements.
  • Inuit leaders negotiated for decades. The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement was signed in 1993.
  • On April 1, 1999, the new territory of Nunavut was created, with Iqaluit as its capital. Most people in Nunavut are Inuit, and Inuktitut is one of its official languages.

Effect on communities: Nunavut gave Inuit a government in which they are the majority, and strengthened the use of Inuktitut and Inuit ways of knowing in schools and government.

The road to NunavutDecadesInuit leadersnegotiate1993Nunavut LandClaimsAgreementApril 1, 1999Nunavut iscreated; capitalIqaluitResultInuit majority;Inuktitut anofficial language
Nunavut was not created overnight. Inuit leaders negotiated for decades before the 1993 agreement and the new territory in 1999.
YearEventPeople
1870Manitoba joins Canada after the Red River ResistanceMétis
1871 to 1921Numbered Treaties signedFirst Nations
1885Battle of Batoche; Louis Riel executedMétis (and some First Nations)
1950sHigh Arctic relocationInuit
1982Constitution recognises Indigenous and treaty rightsFirst Nations, Métis and Inuit
1993Nunavut Land Claims Agreement; Métis Nation of Ontario foundedInuit; Métis
1999Nunavut created (April 1)Inuit
2003Powley decision on Métis hunting rightsMétis
2017Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement: 23 First Nations in Ontario take control of their own educationFirst Nations
A timeline of some significant events. Read it from top to bottom, oldest to newest.
Before and after 19821870Manitobajoins1871–1921NumberedTreaties1885Batoche;Riel executed1950sHigh Arcticrelocation1982rights in theConstitution1993Nunavut deal;MNO founded1999Nunavutcreated2003Powleydecision2017educationagreementnot to scale: the dots are evenly spaced
The timeline table as a picture. Before 1982 (left), many events were about loss; from 1982 on (right), more events are about recognition of rights.
Worked example

Let's interpret the timeline

Use the timeline table. What pattern do you see in the events after 1982?

  1. List the events after 1982: the Nunavut agreement and the Métis Nation of Ontario (1993), Nunavut (1999), Powley (2003), the Anishinabek education agreement (2017).
  2. Ask what they have in common: in each one, an Indigenous people won recognition of rights or more control over their own affairs.
  3. Compare with the events before 1982: many were about land being taken, defeat or relocation.
  4. Look for a cause: in 1982 the Constitution recognised Indigenous and treaty rights, giving communities a stronger legal base.

After 1982 the events show a trend toward recognition of rights and self-government, after a long period of loss. (The work is not finished: many issues are still being worked out today.)

Riddle time

What has lots of dates but never goes out for dinner?

A timeline! 📅

Worked example

Let's explain an effect on identity

How did the creation of Nunavut affect Inuit identity?

  1. Before: decisions about the Eastern Arctic were made mainly in Ottawa or Yellowknife.
  2. Event: Inuit negotiated the 1993 agreement, and Nunavut was created in 1999.
  3. After: Inuit form most of the population and government; Inuktitut is an official language; Inuit values guide government.
  4. Identity: Inuit could see their own language, values and leadership in their government.

Nunavut strengthened Inuit identity by giving Inuit a government that reflects their language and values.

Show agency

These events are not just about loss. Each community organised, negotiated and went to court for its rights, often over many decades. When you describe them, show both the injustice and the action people took.

Hands-on activity

Build a three-strand timeline

You need: a long strip of paper (tape a few sheets together), a ruler, and three different coloured markers.

  1. Draw a line across the strip. Mark years from 1860 to 2020, every 20 years, evenly spaced (for example, 3 cm for each 20 years).
  2. Choose one colour each for First Nations, Métis and Inuit.
  3. Add every event from the table in the right colour, at the right place.
  4. Add one more event you find with a grown-up (for example, a land claim or self-government agreement near where you live).
  5. Look at your timeline. Write two sentences: one about what happened before 1982, and one about what happened after 1982.

Your turn

1

Between which years were the Numbered Treaties signed?

2

Who led the Métis at Red River, and what did their negotiations lead to?

3

What happened at Batoche in 1885?

4

When was Nunavut created, and what is its capital?

5

What did the Constitution of 1982 recognise?

6

What did the Powley decision (2003) say?

7

Why did Canada apologise in 2010?

More practice: warm-up

1

Name one Numbered Treaty in Ontario.

2

In what year was the Métis Nation of Ontario founded?

3

Which language is an official language of Nunavut?

4

What does self-government mean?

5

Near which Ontario city did the Powley case begin?

More practice: on your own

1

Why did the government want the Numbered Treaties?

2

Why do many First Nations disagree with the word "surrender" in written treaties?

3

Give one effect of 1885 on Métis communities.

4

How did the Anishinabek Nation Education Agreement (2017) increase self-government?

5

Put in order: Nunavut created, Red River Resistance, Constitution recognises rights.

Challenge

1

Explain how the same treaty could be understood differently by the two sides, and why that still matters.

2

Louis Riel was executed as a traitor in 1885, but today Manitoba recognises him as its founder. What does this show about how history is understood?

3

Compare the High Arctic relocation (1950s) with the creation of Nunavut (1999). What changed in who made the decisions?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What did the Red River Resistance lead to in 1870?

2.

When was Nunavut created?

3.

What did many First Nations understand the Numbered Treaties to be?

4.

Which document recognised Indigenous and treaty rights in 1982?

5.

The Powley decision (2003) was about...

6.

What trend does the timeline show after 1982?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Treaties, resistance, relocation and modern agreements are significant events that shaped First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities and their identities (A3.5). Your child also builds and interprets a timeline (A2.4).

How to help at home:

  • Look at a map of Canada to find Red River (Winnipeg), Batoche, Sault Ste. Marie, Iqaluit, Grise Fiord and Resolute.
  • Look up whether there is a Métis Nation of Ontario community council or a First Nation near you and what events they hold.
  • Ask your child: "Who made the decision?" for each event; it helps them see the shift toward self-government.

Common difficulties:

  • Mixing up the peoples: Riel and Powley are Métis; the Numbered Treaties are First Nations; Nunavut is Inuit.
  • Ending with sadness only: emphasise that communities organised, negotiated and won changes, and that work continues.
  • Thinking the Constitution fixed everything: many issues (treaty promises, land claims, clean water) are still being worked on.