opinions on what the treaties mean differ across groups. government officials have been cited as saying that the treaties were contracts allowing the canadian government to take control of indigenous lands in return for other types of compensation. indigenous people thought that the treaties were a way to allow for a connection to be established between the indigenous people and the newcomers to canada through the crown. their interpretation of the treaties were guided by their need for support from the crown and protection to ensure the survival of their people and culture. indigenous people did not support the viewpoint of the canadian government as they found it to be narrow minded and restrictive when they felt as though they were looking for a broader sense of financial and general support for their people. the indigenous people viewed the treaty as a covenant. the canadian government viewed it as a contract. the difference between a contract and a covenant is that a covenant is conceived under a deity and therefore has a spiritual context and boundedness that includes a higher power as not only a participant but also a guarantor. it was not surprising that the indigenous people viewed treaties as covenants based on their previous relationships with fur traders of the hudson’s bay company and how their interactions were founded on a basis of religion and mutual respect for a higher power and their land.