The Taking of Indian Lands in Canada: Consent or Coercion?

The relentless expansion of European settlement witnessed over the centuries was accomplished by a corresponding diminution in the territorial rights of the original inhabitants. The dispossession has been dramatic. This work assesses the accuracy of the official story that the transfer of vast Indian territories to British control was achieved in a relatively principled fashion. The author analyzes: the Royal Proclamation of 1763; the historical treatment of Indian lands in the colonial jurisdictions of the Atlantic region, Quebec, and Upper Canada to determine the extent to which this principle was observed; the statutory regimes which emerged to govern Indian lands in the various colonies; the post-Confederation treatment of Indian lands; and the various incarnations of the Indian Act.