A king’s promise to native Canadians
Royal Proclamation by King George marks 250th anniversary
OTTAWA — While Canadian governments, historians and museums are gearing up for the approaching 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017, the country’s First Nations are preparing to mark a major constitutional milestone next week that they consider vastly more important than the Canada-creating BNA Act of 1867.
The Royal Proclamation of 1763, issued by King George III after the British conquest of New France, marks its 250th anniversary Monday. It is widely viewed by Canada’s aboriginal leaders as the bedrock of their treaty rights and their ultimate justification for the “nation-to-nation” relationship they believe they’re owed by the Canadian government.
What is it?
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by the king after Britain won the Seven Years War, to officially claim British territory in North America. It established guidelines for European settlement of aboriginal territories, and was the first constitutional act recognizing First Nations’ land rights over a large territory. Essentially, it outlines promises the British Crown made to aboriginals about their relationship.
The Proclamation is affirmed in the 1982 Constitution Act, which recognizes the Crown — i.e. the federal government’s — legal duty to consult with aboriginal peoples on matters involving their rights.
Among other things, the document says that indigenous people are the allies of the British and that indigenous land will be protected from being taken up by settler people until treaties are in place.
Why is it important?
The Royal Proclamation is sometimes called the “Indian Magna Carta:” it is regarded as an important first step toward recognizing aboriginal peoples’ right to self-determination. The Proclamation states that aboriginal title — the inherent aboriginal right to a land or territory — exists, and sets out that only the Crown, not other settlers, can buy land from First Nations.
“It makes a series of promises,” said Douglas Sanderson, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto faculty of law specializing in aboriginal law. “Nations are great nations when they keep their promises, and they become despotic when they don’t.”
The Royal Proclamation established a foundation for the treaty-making process that followed. In those treaties, negotiated between the Crown and First Nations, aboriginal groups agreed to share some of their land interests in exchange for various kinds of payments and promises from the federal government, such as annual payments or hunting and fishing rights. Treaties are recognized in the Constitution along with the proclamation.
What happened after the proclamation?
Experts say it’s important to view the proclamation in historical context. The document emerged from earlier international treaties between Britain and other countries in which promises were made affirming protection for indigenous peoples and land.
“The Royal Proclamation was not a gift to First Nations,” Sanderson said. “It is actually implementing the promises of earlier treaties made with international countries.”
Experts also say it’s important to view the Proclamation in tandem with the Treaty of Niagara, signed the following year. The year after the proclamation, more than 2,000 First Nations chiefs representing 24 nations gathered with Crown representatives in Niagara to negotiate it. The Treaty of Niagara talks were conducted according to indigenous diplomatic protocols — not according to British custom — meaning wampum belts were exchanged and oral agreements were made.
“You couldn’t just show up with a piece of paper and ask people to sign it, because those documents carried no weight,” Sanderson said.
“What carried weight at the time was ceding to the diplomatic protocols that had been in place for thousands of
years,” he continued.
What is the Proc-lamation’s import-ance to day?
The Proclamation is a founding legal document of First Nations land rights, which are important considerations for federal government policy, including plans for resource development. It also underpinned treaties between the Crown and First Nations in the late 1800s, treaties which First Nations today argue have been violated and should be honoured.
Treaty implementation became a hot issue during the Idle No More grassroots protests, with First Nations leaders demanding the federal government implement what they referred to as “nation-to-nation” negotiations — meaning talks between individual First Nations and the federal government — about how to implement the terms of the treaties signed long ago.
That includes matters such as land rights, financial compensation and government consulting with First Nations on important issues that would affect them.
“First Nations think (the Proclamation) is important — rightly — because their present-day claims aren’t just abstract claims.
“They are claims based on legal promises,” Sanderson said.