Cultivating Treaty Relationships: The Significance of the Cows and Ploughs Clauses for the Numbered Treaties

The modern interpretation and implementation of historic treaty promises is an ongoing opportunity for relationship-building in Canada that includes working to fulfill the spirit and intent of the originating formal agreements between the Crown and First Nations. This thesis analyzes the interpretation and implementation of one such treaty promise on the Canadian prairies – the historic treaty promise to provide agricultural benefits such as livestock, farm equipment and seed to treaty signatories. The promise of agricultural benefits is important because it represents a treaty obligation with broad and far-reaching food system implications that remain substantively misinterpreted and unimplemented in the present day. By looking at the spirit and intent of agricultural benefits as a food system promise through the lens of food law, a strong case can be made for the continued value and significance of agricultural benefits promises to the ongoing treaty relationship. \n\nWhen the historic treaties were negotiated, agriculture was seen as an opportunity to create mutual gain for both the Crown and First Nations. The agricultural benefits promises were presented as a way to support First Nations in the colonially imposed transition to an agrarian food system and economy. For the Crown, these agricultural benefits promises aided in solidifying treaty negotiations and ensuring adhesion to the treaties. For First Nations, they alleviated concerns about food security, promised an opportunity for a sustainable food system, and held the potential for access to future economic development opportunities. Whereas the mutual advantage of agricultural benefits was made abundantly clear at the time of treaty making, these promises were ineffectively kept and remain unfulfilled in contemporary interpretation and implementation. \n\nIn this thesis, I analyze the agricultural benefits promises through the Supreme Court of Canada’s principles and framework for historic treaty interpretation. I demonstrate how recent trial and appellate decisions expand the potential for contemporary agricultural benefits claims and negotiations. I also rely on the emergent lens of food law to argue that the treaty promises for agricultural benefits are a gap deserving additional attention and clarity from the judiciary, First Nations and the Canadian Crown. For both First Nations and the Crown it is beneficial to resolve agricultural benefits claims collaboratively, and as soon as practicably possible with a view to building and supporting strong food systems. \n\nIn considering the contemporary resolution of agricultural benefits claims, I discuss the importance of providing clarity in resolving agricultural benefits treaty obligations in a constructive way. By engaging with the specific historical context of Treaty 6 and the way agricultural benefits cases have been decided, negotiated and settled, I show the value in the parties coming to meaningful resolutions that support the original treaty promises in the contemporary interpretation and fulfillment of these treaty rights. I illustrate the importance of further engaging with these integral treaty promises to cultivate strong contemporary treaty relationships now and into the future. \n\nThis work does not seek to impose or suggest a single solution to complex contemporary food system challenges, and instead argues that the treaty relationship on the prairies demands further support from Canadian law when it comes to building sustainable, resilient, and equitable food systems that are capable of meeting the needs of present and future generations. Bringing together treaty interpretation principles with the core tenets of food law as an emerging legal discipline helps to understand the importance of agricultural benefits to the contemporary treaty relationship.

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