Examines the complex relationship between First Nations and Canadian settler society, including in New France, in British North America, and during the first years after Confederation. Emphasizes the efforts of First Nations people to preserve their cultures and independence in the face of an increasingly powerful colonial state. Topics include pre-contact First Nation and European societies, early contact, the fur trade, treaties of peace and friendship, the Royal Proclamation of 1763, land surrender treaties, and the policy of the assimilation of First Nations people into Canadian settler society. Restriction: Not available for credit to students who have taken HIST 3374.