The treaty relationship and settler colonialism in Canada

Abstract

The relationship between Indigenous people and the Canadian state has long been framed by the logic of settler colonialism. The current Canadian government has made verbal and some political commitments to decolonize this relationship. While decolonization in a settler state is particularly challenging, both government and Indigenous representatives agree that historic and contemporary treaties are a critical element in this process. This chapter examines the potential of treaties as a route to decolonization in the Canadian settler state. I look specifically at the case of the Nisga’a Treaty, which is a land claim and self-government agreement concluded in 2000 between the Nisga’a, the Canadian federal government and the provincial government of British Columbia.