ABSTRACT Recent Canadian legal scholarship has emphasised the centrality of treaties between the colonial state and First Nations in the assertion of Canadian sovereignty over Indigenous lands. Historical interpretations, meanwhile, would suggest that sovereignty, rather than asserted, is assembled over time. Historically, sovereignty is understood to be contingent and layered; it is assembled through a series of ‘detours, improvisations and tinkering.’ This paper looks at the historical circumstances of Canadian sovereignty in the Athabasca district prior to the making of Treaty No. 8 with the First Nations. British sovereignty claims to Rupert's Land and the Northwestern Territories (including the area that came to be known as the Athabasca district), were assembled through the practices and activities of the Hudson's Bay Company. These claims were transferred to Canada in 1869 and Canada hesitantly and quietly took measures to further assemble and express its sovereignty in these lands. Canada surveyed and inventoried the Athabasca district's resources, commenced exploratory work on petroleum resources, provided relief from famine, financially supported schools for Indigenous children, and established and enforced a system of law. By the time Treaty No. 8 was negotiated in 1899, Canada had thus taken a series of steps to assemble and express its sovereignty in the district. Rather than establishing, asserting or legitimating Canadian sovereignty, Treaty No. 8 may be better understood as another measure in the process of assembling it.

中文翻译：

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组装主权：加拿大在第 8 号条约之前对阿萨巴斯卡地区的要求

摘要 最近的加拿大法律学术研究强调了殖民地国家与原住民之间条约在加拿大对原住民土地主权的主张中的核心地位。与此同时，历史解释表明，主权而不是断言，是随着时间的推移而积累起来的。从历史上看，主权被理解为是偶然的和分层的；它是通过一系列“绕道、即兴和修补”组装而成的。本文着眼于与原住民签订第 8 号条约之前在阿萨巴斯卡地区的加拿大主权的历史情况。英国对鲁珀特领地和西北地区（包括后来被称为阿萨巴斯卡区的地区）的主权主张是通过哈德逊湾公司的做法和活动组装起来的。这些主张于 1869 年转移到加拿大，加拿大犹豫不决地悄悄采取措施，进一步集结并表达其在这些土地上的主权。加拿大对阿萨巴斯卡地区的资源进行了调查和盘点，开始了石油资源的勘探工作，提供了饥荒救济，资助了土著儿童学校，并建立和执行了法律体系。到 1899 年谈判第 8 号条约时，加拿大已经采取了一系列步骤来集会并表达其对该地区的主权。与确立、主张或合法化加拿大主权不同，第 8 号条约可能被更好地理解为组装过程中的另一项措施。