That unceded Mi’kmaw Land was occupied by a chief framer of the 1763 Royal Proclamation must give us pause. Although the Proclamation established a set of principles for good relationships with North American nations, on-the-ground military strategies and the use of Indigenous Land as reward for imperial service made it easy to ignore these principles, even by the framers themselves.
By Michelle Hope Rumford The undertaking of “commemoration” encompasses actions taken in a spirit of remembrance and honor. Choosing to commemorate acknowledges the importance of an event. It allows history to live on into present contexts. In the context of the continuous formation and re-evaluation of the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Canadian government, 2013 was marked by a… Read more »
By Victoria Freeman We do further declare it to be our Royal Will and Pleasure, for the present, as aforesaid, to reserve under Our Sovereignty, Protection and Domain, for the use of said Indians, all lands and territories not within the limits of …etc., etc.. DON’T GET ME STARTED Someone should write a PhD thesis on the number of Indigenous… Read more »
By Ken Coates It is an auspicious moment for Canadians to revisit one of the founding documents in Canada’s legal and political history. After a century of near neglect from politicians, bureaucrats and lawyers, the last forty-to-fifty years have seen this document brought to new life and vigor. The renewal of interest in the Proclamation, however, was not solely a… Read more »
By Neil Vallance and Hamar Foster [The Royal Proclamation’s] force as a statute is analogous to the status of Magna Carta which has always been considered to be the law throughout the Empire. It was a law which followed the flag as England assumed jurisdiction over newly-discovered or acquired lands or territories. It follows, therefore, that the Colonial Laws Validity… Read more »
By Robert Englebert On October 7, 1763, only months after signing the Treaty of Paris and ending the Seven Years’ War, Britain sought to confirm sovereignty over its newly acquired territories in North America through a Royal Proclamation. ‘The Royal Proclamation’ – as it is now known – was a document designed to address the challenges born of conquest. The… Read more »
By Brandon Morris and Jay Cassel The Royal Proclamation is not an ancient document but it has remained in effect for 250 years, even if it is not well known by Canadians. It became the framework for treaty-making in relation to land rights in the decades after 1763 and as such it is a core document in Crown-First Nations relations…. Read more »
By Alan Ojiig Corbiere, Bne Doodeman, Mchigiing Njibaa This year marks the 250th Anniversary of the Royal Proclamation, but for some reason it does not mark the 250th Anniversary of the action taken by Odaawaa Chief Pontiac and others. A piece of paper signed by King George III receives more attention than the actions of this chief and his colleagues. … Read more »
By Keith Jamieson THE COVENANT CHAIN RELATIONSHIP The Haudenosaunee/Six Nations have a very different understanding of the Royal Proclamation of 1763. While the document stated the process by which the Crown would engage native people in acquiring lands for settlement, it also asserted the sovereignty of the Crown over all people in North America. To the Haudenosaunee, this unilateral proclamation… Read more »
By Donald Fyson The Royal Proclamation of 1763 holds an ambiguous place in debates over Quebec’s relationship with Canada. In sovereignist discourse, it is regularly evoked as a baleful reminder of British perfidy towards francophone Quebecers. The relatively benign military occupation between 1759/1760 and 1764 raised false hopes in the minds of the Canadiens (the French-descended colonists). The Royal Proclamation… Read more »
