How were the treaties recorded?

• A. First Nations recorded the Treaties in their oral histories in their own languages. Talking sticks are the oral record of Treaties. Each talking stick corresponds to a provision in the written Treaty. The first stick, considered the most important, describes Treaty 6 as an agreement between First Nations and the Queen.
• B. Canada's government recorded the Treaties in writing in English. The written record of Treaty 6 is in English, but negotiations took place in several languages and relied on interpreters.
• C. Both oral and written records exist, with oral histories and written records used and talking sticks mapped to written provisions.
• D. The treaties were recorded only in French.

Answer: (C)

Understanding how treaties were recorded involves recognizing both memory in the people and the formal documents created by the government. In many treaty processes, Indigenous communities kept oral histories that told what was agreed, often using ceremonies or symbols to mark the promises. At the same time, the colonial government produced written treaties in formal languages. Sometimes ceremonial practices, like talking sticks, were used to symbolize or map the spoken provisions to the written text, helping to connect the oral agreement with the written record. Because negotiations often happened across several languages and with interpreters, both forms—oral histories and written records—are part of how treaties are understood. That is why the best answer notes that both oral and written records exist and that talking sticks could be linked to the written provisions.