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Good Intentions…?

An essay using the Canada in the Making site

Teacher Guide

It's said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Was this the case with the treaties made between European colonial administrations and the Canadian government when dealing with Aboriginal peoples? This essay will require students to examine the motives behind treaty documents and government act and to examine the documents in order to determine whether government or colonial negotiators lived up to the promises they mouthed.

Subject/Grade
Social Studies/History; Ages 15 and up

Overview

Some have suggested that Europeans wanted only to seek a peaceful coexistence with Aboriginal peoples; others have argued that Europeans wanted only one thing - space to grow, at any cost. This is an essay requiring that students describe the historical events surrounding a treaty, decide what the motives were behind the treaty, and make an argument on whether or not the treaty accomplished what it was intended to accomplish.

Research for this essay should require should take one to four hour-long sessions online, depending on whether students have access to a print versions of relevant documents. Note that the sources used in ECO can be printed from the browser and then photocopied.

Outcomes (WCP, APEF); Expectations (ON); Objectives (QC)
Table of Curricular Relevance by Course and Province
Alberta
British Columbia and Yukon Territory
Ontario
Québec
APEF
WCP

Materials/Resources Required
Newspaper clippings or other periodical information on land claims settlements of treaty disputes in Canada.
Computers with Internet access
Student Work Sheet
Suggested Rubric

Links
Early Canadiana Online: Canada in the Making
http://www.canadiana.org/
Essay writing resources can be found in the Writing An Essay unit on ECO:
URL: http://www.canadiana.org/eco/english/lessonp.html
Other links can be found in the Student Work Sheet.

Previous Knowledge
Students will need

• An understanding of Web navigation symbols, tools and terminology, particularly the tools used in ECO.
  

• Familiarity with research and essay writing skills.
  

• A basic understanding of the basic shape of Canadian history, especially from the 18th century on.

Lesson Opener

Introduce the subject of treaty disputes. Ask students what they think the origins of the dispute are. Discuss:

• What purpose they think treaties served?
  

• Do the original intentions of the framers of treaties still have relevance today?
  
  

Procedure

Hand out Student Work Sheets and introduce students to the ECO Canada In the Making Web site. Read the assignment and discuss. Students may work in groups to facilitate research online. The documents are summarized in the Canada in the Making section on "Aboriginals: Treaties and Relations," and the documents are liked from there.

Students should write the essay from a particular perspective. For example:

• Colonial officials/the Canadian government bargained from a position of strength, and had no intention of honouring its promises in the long run. The Aboriginal nations involved had little choice but to accept.
  
  
• At the time the treaty was negotiated, Europeans had only a weak foothold on the continent, and negotiated in the hopes of finding peace/gaining allies. The Aboriginal nations involved hoped to use a more friendly European power to stave off a less friendly on. Both intended to honour the treaty.
  

Summary

Hold a discussion. Did the motivations behind treaty making change over time? In what ways, if any? What key events changed the balance of power?

Evaluation
See the Suggested Rubric.

Homework/Extension
Students map the key events that changed the balance of power between Aboriginal peoples and European colonial governments/the Canadian federal government. Place the major treaties on the timeline.