The Indian Department

• Until the late 18th century, the relationship between First Nations and the British Crown was still very much based on commercial and military interests.
• The Indian Department had one primary goal for the British administration throughout the Great Lakes basin—to maintain the peace between the British soldiers and traders stationed at trading posts and the First Nations.
• Under Sir William Johnson's direction, the Indian Department acted as a go-between between the military and First Nations leaders, securing lands for forts; assuring access to trade, furs and goods; issuing yearly presents; and organizing peace conferences.
• The powerful position of First Nations meant that British commercial interests could only flourish if the Crown protected them.
• The American War of Independence and Britain's recognition of the United States of America in 1783 had a dramatic impact on the relationship between the British Crown and its First Nations allies.
• The loss of the American colonies brought over 30,000 United Empire Loyalist refugees to the remaining British colonies in North America, asking colonial administrators for new lands.
• First Nations who fought alongside the British were also left homeless by the war and living as refugees in Quebec, especially the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Their lands were ceded to the Americans by the 1783 Treaty of Versailles.
• To help compensate their First Nations allies for the losses incurred during the war with the Americans, the British Crown set aside two parcels of lands as reserves for the Six Nations—one at the Bay of Quinte and the other along the Grand River
• The Indian Department worked to strengthen the damaged alliances by trying to secure fair deals on land surrenders and by protecting First Nations lands.
• They also gave yearly presents and weaponry during gatherings and conferences with First Nations chiefs and leaders, even those in American territories.
• These alliances were tested and proved to be strong as war did eventually break out between Britain and its former American colonies.
• During the War of 1812, First Nations fought alongside the British and Canadian colonists against the American invasion of what is now southern Ontario.