(Grande Prairie, Alta. – August 28, 2023) The City of Grande Prairie is pleased to welcome guest lecturer Dr. David W. Leonard to the Grande Prairie Museum for a historical lecture titled ‘The Initial Signing of Treaty 8 in 1899’.



Residents are invited to hear Dr. David W. Leonard on Thursday, September 14 at 7 p.m. in the Grande Prairie Museum’s Community Room.

The free lecture is hosted in partnership with the Peace Country Historical Society and residents are invited to attend the drop-in lecture free of charge and do not need to book in advance.

About the Lecture

The lecture is based on the diary of Charles Mair, which was published in 1908 as “Through the Mackenzie Basin: An Account of the Signing of Treaty No. 8 and the Scrip Commission, 1899.”

In June 1899, Native peoples at the west end of Lesser Slave Lake inserted their “X” on a document that would become known as Treaty 8. This would affect the future of Indigenous and Metis people in all of northern Alberta and beyond, as the government now felt free to encourage the settlement of this region by Euro-Canadians.

For more information on this event, visit our website or call the Grande Prairie Museum at 780-830-7090.