Aboriginal health

The Supreme Court of Canada has determined that a treaty is an exchange of solemn promises between the Crown and Indian nations whose nature is sacred.3 The basis of treaty rights is the promises made to the Indian nations during negotiations rather than the written text of the treaties. [...] Medicine That Walks and the Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples11 document how the policies of the federal government, designed to implement the treaty promises of settlement, diminished the treaty avocation of hunting, fishing, and trapping in the transferred lands and resulted in suffering, starvation, disease, and death. [...] The recognition and affirmation of the inherent (Aboriginal and treaty) rights of the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada change the structure and scope of legislative power. [...] By entrenching Aboriginal and treaty rights in the Constitution of Canada, these rights are given the highest protection by law in the country: The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of Canada, and any law that is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution is, to the extent of the inconsistency, of no force or effect.23 As a result, neither the federal Parliament nor the provincia [...] The best source of information, from an Aboriginal perspective, is the oral traditions of the Indians who were present at the signing of the treaties or accounts transmitted by Aboriginal law.60 In other words, when interpreting the terms of treaties, it is necessary to be sensitive to the unique cultural linguistic differences between the parties61 and to construe the English words generously.