Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2025 - INDG 305 OL01

Treaties in Canada (1)

Class Number: 2266

Delivery Method: Online

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Online

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Introduces students to the historical and contemporary contexts of treaty relations between settlers and the First Peoples of Turtle Island. Provides critical insight into the various treaties within Canada; treaty negotiations, including Indigenous oral histories; Indigenous resistance to treaty infringements; and other important legislation impacting treaty rights.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course explores the history of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis treaty-making in Canada in the past and present. Students will examine examples of land claims and treaties between a) First Nations, Inuit, and Métis and b) the Crown, and will also engage with examples of treaties between diverse First Peoples in Canada. The course will cover treaties between First Peoples and the State of Canada including the pre-confederation treaties; numbered treaties; and modern comprehensive land claims. Students will also be introduced to materials that examine relationships between First Peoples' legal orders, diplomatic praxis, and governance and the settler state's configurations of its own laws and sovereignty. The course will comprise of pre-recorded lectures, assigned readings and videos. Evaluation will be through quizzes and exams.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

- understand the history of treaty making, interpretation, and rights in Canada in the past and present
- identify the diversity of tools First Peoples have employed to assert rights, title, and autonomy in Canada across diverse homelands
- learn about some of the history of treaty-making and diplomatic relations between First Peoples

Grading

  • Weekly Quizzes (10 x 5%) 50%
  • Midterms (2 x 25%) 50%

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Course materials will be uploaded via the SFU Library Course Reserve system and also uploaded to Canvas.

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

NOTE re AI
Please note that submissions that employ generative AI tools in this course (for idea generation or other purposes) are not accepted by the Department. Your grade in this course is meant to reflect your personal engagement with course materials. If you are ever unsure about your instructor's stance on generative AI, please be sure to ask before submitting work using these tools: "If you are unsure, you must not assume that using generative AI is permitted." - SFU Academic Integrity
Those who employ these tools in their course submissions may face disciplinary action in accordance with SFU's academic integrity policies. https://www.sfu.ca/students/enrolment-services/academic-integrity/using-generative-ai.html

COPYRIGHT
Materials included in this course, unless otherwise stated, have been created by the Instructor, and reproducing or using this material outside of this course is not permitted unless written consent has been provided by the owner of this material. The course-based Canvas page and its related resources are maintained and developed by the Instructor for the use of the students registered to take this course. Course materials such as PowerPoint slides, lecture notes, the lecture itself and exams are all protected by copyright. Recording, copying or sharing these materials without permission may be a violation of Canadian copyright law and SFU policies. What does this mean? It means that you are legally not permitted to circulate the course materials to any other entity without explicit permission from the course author.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.