Fumoleau presents a historical survey of the negotiations for Treaties 8 and 11 in Canada. He discusses both oral and written accounts, and continues by describing the implications of the treaties as they were signed and contested. Treaties 8 and 11 influenced the outcome of land and industrialization debates (such as the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline question) and the roles of non-Dene hunters and trappers. While Fumoleau’s history only extends to 1939, it sets the stage for land claims and self-determination struggles following in the second half of the twentieth century.

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A historically accurate study that takes no sides, this book is the first complete document of Treaties 8 and 11 between the Canadian government and the Native people at the turn of the nineteenth century. On the basis of those treaties, contested in the Mackenzie Pipeline debate, white fur-traders, trappers, and corporations gave themselves privileges of ownership with no regard to the Native claim and to the promise made to the Natives that they could live and hunt there "as long as the sun rises, as long as the river flows, as long as this land shall last." Historian René Fumoleau has delved into church and government sources to afford a clear picture of the negotiations for the treaties beginning in 1870 and their aftermath up to 1939. With an Epilogue by Joan Barnaby, the documents discussed in the book speak for themselves, implying a host of questions with both historical relevance and enduring significance.

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Fumoleau, Rene. As long as this land shall last: A history of Treaty 8 and Treaty 11, 1870-1939. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1975.