Treaty and Aboriginal Rights Research Department

Professional archival research and historical documentation supporting treaty rights claims and legal actions, providing evidence that strengthens member nations' positions in legal proceedings, negotiations, and the protection of traditional territories.

Your nation is preparing a land claim but needs documentary evidence of traditional territory use spanning generations. Federal archives hold crucial records, but you're not sure which institutions to approach or how to navigate complex archival systems. Legal counsel needs organized documentation to support court proceedings, but gathering historical materials feels overwhelming when you're also managing current governance responsibilities.

Historical research isn't your nation's primary expertise. You need evidence from Hudson's Bay Company trading post journals, federal Indian Agent correspondence, missionary records, survey documents, and provincial administrative files. These materials exist in archives scattered across Canada, but locating relevant documents requires understanding archival classification systems, historical context, and proper research methodology.



Crown relations increasingly demand comprehensive historical documentation. Negotiations proceed more effectively when backed by organized evidence. Court proceedings require rigorous documentation standards. The strength of your historical evidence directly affects your nation's legal position, but professional archival research shouldn't divert limited internal capacity from other essential governance work.

The Treaty and Aboriginal Rights Research Department (TARR) provides professional archival research and historical documentation that supports member nations' treaty rights claims, land claims, and legal proceedings. Our research team conducts systematic searches in archives across Canada, examining federal records, provincial collections, missionary correspondence, Hudson's Bay Company documents, survey records, and other historical sources that document traditional territory use, Crown obligations, and treaty interpretation.

TARR services include comprehensive archival research, document analysis and organization, secure archive management, and research support for legal proceedings and negotiations. Our work provides the evidentiary foundation nations need to protect their rights through legal systems that demand rigorous historical documentation.



Karen St. Pierre, TARR Coordinator, leads research projects and supports member nations in organizing evidence for treaty rights claims. Denée Renouf, Archive Manager, oversees the organization, preservation, and digital management of records created by and for T8TA's six member nations, maintaining secure archives that ensure evidence remains accessible for long-term legal proceedings.

The Treaty and Aboriginal Rights Research Department was established in 1992 to uphold the rights and freedoms guaranteed by Treaty. TARR supports member nations in preparing specific and comprehensive claims regarding disputes over Treaty and Aboriginal rights with the government of Canada, providing research and documentation that supports resolution through the Specific Claims Branch at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada.

TARR also preserves the historical records of member nations, housing both oral and written records that protect cultural heritage for current and future generations.

Treaty 8 Tribal Association's Treaty and Aboriginal Rights Research Department conducts research in collaboration with communities, including interviews and community-based research, to ensure Indigenous voices and lived experience are centered in all work.

While archival research plays an important role in supporting claims and legal processes, oral history, Indigenous knowledge, and community testimony are prioritized when preparing research and claims materials. Archival documents are used to support and corroborate these voices, not replace them.

T8TA also serves as a steward of member nations' historical and cultural records, providing secure storage, responsible management, and controlled access to archival materials. These records are preserved to protect cultural history, support long-term legal processes, and ensure member nations retain authority over how their information is accessed and used.

Learn more about our archive mandate, collections policy, and access guidelines

Our research team combines academic credentials with deep regional expertise. Denée Renouf holds an MA in History, a BA in Archaeology and First Nations Studies, and a Certificate in Cultural Resource Management. Her graduate training provides methodological rigor and archival research skills. Her archaeological background brings understanding of material culture and traditional land use patterns. Her specific focus on Peace River archaeology and First Nations Studies means research is grounded in regional context. She has worked in the Peace River region since 2017 and joined T8TA in 2020.

Karen St. Pierre is a Treaty 8 First Nation member from Prophet River First Nation with cultural background in the Beaver Dane-Zaa nation, having grown up in Doig River First Nation where she gained her cultural knowledge. She began as TARR Coordinator in January 2023 and coordinates research projects while supporting member nations in organizing evidence.



TARR has established relationships with archival institutions across Canada. These connections facilitate access to collections and efficient navigation of complex archival systems. Our local presence in Fort St. John, within the territories we research, means our work is informed by community knowledge, geographic understanding, and ongoing relationships with member nations.

Your land claim proceeds with comprehensive documentation of traditional use patterns spanning centuries. Federal negotiations recognize the strength of your evidentiary foundation. Court proceedings include expert testimony backed by extensive archival research. Crown obligations are demonstrated through federal government's own historical records.

Legal counsel works with organized, accessible documentation. Research timelines align with legal proceeding schedules. Historical patterns emerge clearly from systematic research. Strong historical evidence doesn't guarantee legal success, but weak or incomplete evidence almost guarantees complications.



Professional archival research provides the documentary foundation that complements oral history and traditional knowledge. When elders describe traditional use patterns, historical records often provide written documentation that confirms these accounts in ways legal systems recognize and accept as evidence.

Legal proceedings often span years or even decades. Historical evidence gathered during early research phases must remain accessible, properly stored, and well-organized throughout this extended timeline. TARR's secure archive facilities ensure documents are protected while remaining readily retrievable.

Archive management isn't passive storage, it's active curation with proper cataloging and organizational systems that allow efficient location of specific documents within large collections. Denée Renouf oversees the preservation and digital management of records, ensuring vital historical materials remain accessible for current and future legal proceedings.