Talk Treaty to Me

Understanding the Basics of Treaties and Land in Canada

By Crystal Gail Fraser, Sara Komarnisky

On Sale: 2/24/2026

AN EASY-TO-READ AND ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO TREATIES, INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY, AND LAND FOR ALL CANADIANS


Treaties cover much of Canada. Some were established thousands of years ago, with Land and animals, and others date back to the time when Europeans first arrived in North America. These agreements make it possible for all of us to live, work, play, and profit on these Lands. Additionally, treaties have profoundly shaped the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. In Talk Treaty to Me, Crystal Gail Fraser and Sara Komarnisky untangle the complexities of treaties and set forth a path to a greater understanding of all our roles, rights, and responsibilities. In this accessible, clear, and concise book, they discuss:


•    Treaties among and between Indigenous Peoples

•    The history of treaty-making between Indigenous Peoples and Britain, then Canada, from the very beginning to the present day

•    Concepts like Métis scrip, modern Land claims and self-government agreements, Indigenous sovereignty, and unceded territory

•    The (dis)honouring of treaties and the role of Canadian settler colonialism

•    How the creation of Canadian borders interrupts Indigenous sovereignty and nationhood

•    Important insights from gendered and queer perspectives on treaty and Land

•    The politics of land acknowledgements

•    Reconciliation and Land Back movements


With a quick-reference timeline, maps, and black-and-white photographs throughout, Talk Treaty to Me concludes with a call to action and specific, tangible steps that all of us can take every day to support truth and reconciliation.


ISBN: 9781443471169
Imprint: Collins
On Sale: Feb 24, 2026
List price: $24.99
No of pages: 320
Trim Size: 4.710 in (w) x 7.170 in (h) x 1.040 in (d)
BISAC 1: HISTORY / Indigenous / General
BISAC 2: LAW / Indigenous Law & Legal Systems
BISAC 3: HISTORY / Canada / General

Crystal Gail Fraser

Biography

CRYSTAL GAIL FRASER (right) is Gwichyà Gwich’in (and of English-Scottish ancestry), originally from Inuvik, Northwest Territories. She holds a PhD in Canadian history and is an associate professor in history and Native studies at the University of Alberta. Crystal is a community-engaged scholar of Indian residential schooling histories and recently published the historical monograph By Strength, We Are Still Here: Indigenous Peoples and Indian Residential Schooling in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, winner of the prestigious Canadian Historical Association’s Best Scholarly Book in Canadian History Prize and the Clio Prize for the North.

Sara Komarnisky

Biography

SARA KOMARNISKY (left) is a settler of Ukrainian, Irish, and Italian ancestry who grew up in Holden, Alberta. She holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of British Columbia, where she was a Vanier Scholar. Sara is a researcher and public scholar based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She is author of Mexicans in Alaska: An Ethnography of Mobility, Place, and Transnational Life.

Tiffany Ayalik

AN EASY-TO-READ AND ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO TREATIES, INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY, AND LAND FOR ALL CANADIANS


Treaties cover much of Canada. Some were established thousands of years ago, with Land and animals, and others date back to the time when Europeans first arrived in North America. These agreements make it possible for all of us to live, work, play, and profit on these Lands. Additionally, treaties have profoundly shaped the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. In Talk Treaty to Me, Crystal Gail Fraser and Sara Komarnisky untangle the complexities of treaties and set forth a path to a greater understanding of all our roles, rights, and responsibilities. In this accessible, clear, and concise book, they discuss:


•    Treaties among and between Indigenous Peoples

•    The history of treaty-making between Indigenous Peoples and Britain, then Canada, from the very beginning to the present day

•    Concepts like Métis scrip, modern Land claims and self-government agreements, Indigenous sovereignty, and unceded territory

•    The (dis)honouring of treaties and the role of Canadian settler colonialism

•    How the creation of Canadian borders interrupts Indigenous sovereignty and nationhood

•    Important insights from gendered and queer perspectives on treaty and Land

•    The politics of land acknowledgements

•    Reconciliation and Land Back movements


With a quick-reference timeline, maps, and black-and-white photographs throughout, Talk Treaty to Me concludes with a call to action and specific, tangible steps that all of us can take every day to support truth and reconciliation.


ISBN: 9781443471169
Imprint: Collins
On Sale: Feb 24, 2026
List price: $24.99
No of pages: 320
Trim Size: 4.710 in (w) x 7.170 in (h) x 1.040 in (d)
BISAC 1: HISTORY / Indigenous / General
BISAC 2: LAW / Indigenous Law & Legal Systems
BISAC 3: HISTORY / Canada / General

Crystal Gail Fraser

Biography

CRYSTAL GAIL FRASER (right) is Gwichyà Gwich’in (and of English-Scottish ancestry), originally from Inuvik, Northwest Territories. She holds a PhD in Canadian history and is an associate professor in history and Native studies at the University of Alberta. Crystal is a community-engaged scholar of Indian residential schooling histories and recently published the historical monograph By Strength, We Are Still Here: Indigenous Peoples and Indian Residential Schooling in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, winner of the prestigious Canadian Historical Association’s Best Scholarly Book in Canadian History Prize and the Clio Prize for the North.

Sara Komarnisky

Biography

SARA KOMARNISKY (left) is a settler of Ukrainian, Irish, and Italian ancestry who grew up in Holden, Alberta. She holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of British Columbia, where she was a Vanier Scholar. Sara is a researcher and public scholar based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She is author of Mexicans in Alaska: An Ethnography of Mobility, Place, and Transnational Life.

Tiffany Ayalik