Tsuu T'ina traditional lands like those of the other First Nations, were considered by the English to be part of Rupert's Land which Charles II granted to the Hudson Bay Company in 1670.

In 1867 the passage of the British North American Act by the Parliament of Great Britain formed the Dominion of Canada, setting the stage for Non-Native settlement of the west. In 1870 Rupert's Land was transferred from the Hudson's Bay Company to the new dominion.

The Dominion also acquired the problem of having to deal with the First Nations who occupied the western lands, in the face of advancing settlement and the necessity of constructing a transcontinental railroad, a condition set by British Columbia when it became a province in 1871. The existing treaty system was used to deal with the issue of extinguishing Indian title and opening up the lands for settlement.

The governments and the First Nations' perspectives on and understanding of the intent and meaning of the treaties clearly differed. The government and white society in general then and still today view the treaties as outright surrenders of title in return for annuities, reserves and a trust relationship; while the Natives see the treaties as ones of peace and friendship which allowed the whites only the right to use, not to own, the lands.