On the wire
Latin AmericaFuture of Amazon rainforest policies at stake in Brazilian presidential electionUnited StatesNative American drive mining company off sacred landCanada$2.2M Boost For Quantum Test Targeting Iron Issues In First Nations GroupsWorldCelebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day with City Hall Flag Raising and Native-Led Events Across SeattleOceaniaMāori Band Coterie Revives Iconic Warriors Anthem — LBBLatin AmericaWake Forest-CINCIA Researchers Brief Pope on Amazon Mercury Pollution | NewswiseWorldIndigenous Peoples Day: Reflections on 500 Years of ResistanceWorldIndigenous Peoples Day 2026WorldPRCS Announces Facility Schedule Changes for Indigenous Peoples’ DayWorldIndigenous Peoples History and Storytelling is topic on October 6Latin AmericaFuture of Amazon rainforest policies at stake in Brazilian presidential electionUnited StatesNative American drive mining company off sacred landCanada$2.2M Boost For Quantum Test Targeting Iron Issues In First Nations GroupsWorldCelebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day with City Hall Flag Raising and Native-Led Events Across SeattleOceaniaMāori Band Coterie Revives Iconic Warriors Anthem — LBBLatin AmericaWake Forest-CINCIA Researchers Brief Pope on Amazon Mercury Pollution | NewswiseWorldIndigenous Peoples Day: Reflections on 500 Years of ResistanceWorldIndigenous Peoples Day 2026WorldPRCS Announces Facility Schedule Changes for Indigenous Peoples’ DayWorldIndigenous Peoples History and Storytelling is topic on October 6
Kabila

What is a treaty with indigenous peoples?

A treaty is a formal agreement between nations. Colonial powers and later governments signed treaties with indigenous nations, usually to obtain land or peace in return for reserved lands, payments and protected rights. Many were broken, but they remain legally binding documents, and courts continue to enforce them.

Making a treaty meant treating the other side as a nation able to make agreements. That is why treaties matter so much to indigenous peoples today: they are proof of nationhood as well as a source of specific rights. A treaty is made between governments, not between a government and its subjects.

The United States ratified more than 370 treaties with tribes between 1778 and 1871, when Congress ended treaty-making. Many promised land, hunting and fishing rights, education and health care. Tribes still go to court to defend these rights, and they often win.

In Canada, the Crown and First Nations signed many treaties, including eleven Numbered Treaties between 1871 and 1921. Modern treaties, also called comprehensive land claim agreements, have been negotiated since the 1970s in areas where no earlier treaty was made.

In New Zealand, the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840 is the founding agreement between the Crown and Māori. Australia never signed a national treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, though some states have begun treaty processes. The absence of a treaty is a long-standing grievance there.

Words used here

TreatyTreaty of WaitangiSovereigntyNationReservationLand rights

Sources

Related questions

Seven peoples, once a week

Every Monday: seven peoples you may never have heard of, who they are and where they live.