Through the Mackenzie Basin: A Narrative of the Athabasca and Peace River Treaty Expedition of 1899

In the summer of 1899, a Canadian government expedition ventured into the wilds of the Athabasca and Peace River country, tasked with a mission that would reshape the continent. Charles Mair, ardent Canadian nationalist and firm believer in British institutions, accompanied the commission as they negotiated Treaty No. 8 with Indigenous peoples whose lands stood on the cusp of transformation. This is his firsthand account of those negotiations at Lesser Slave Lake, of the elegant northern landscapes, and of a world about to vanish forever. Mair documents the urgency of those pivotal months: the influx of miners and settlers pressing northward, the logistical challenges of reaching remote communities, the complex negotiations that would forever alter the relationship between the Crown and Indigenous nations. The book remains the most detailed published source on these events, though read with the understanding that Mair wrote as a government supporter, not a neutral observer. More than a century after Treaty 8's signing, the issues Mair grapples with remain contentious. This narrative stands as an indispensable primary source for understanding Canada's colonial history and the treaties that continue to shape legal and political discourse today.