The area covered by Treaty 4 represents most of current day southern Saskatchewan, plus small portions of what are today western Manitoba and southeastern Alberta.

[3] The Company's land covered the edge of the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes and was divided into the Province of Manitoba and the North-West Territories.

The government of Canada negotiated the first five Numbered Treaties to gain land from the First Nations for settlement, agricultural and industry.

Also, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald saw the land as necessary to complete a transcontinental railway, which would run through the cities of Regina, Moose Jaw, and Swift Current in southern Saskatchewan.

Generally, the Indigenous people knew that change was inevitable because their natural food source was fading and settlers were arriving.

Treaty 4 was made on 15 September 1874, between select Cree, Saulteaux and Assiniboine Indigenous who lived in the specified area, and "her most Gracious Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland".

[3] The commissioners for Canada were: Alexander Morris, appointed as Lieutenant-Governor for Manitoba and the North-West Territories in 1872, who acted as the primary negotiator; David Laird, the Minister of the Interior; and William Christie, the Esquire of Brockville in Ontario.

Until treaties were signed with them, the Prairie Indigenous people made it clear to the Canadian government that they believed the land belonged to them and thus they demanded compensation and assistance.

[9] Chief Yellow Quill of Saulteaux bands also took action when settlers cut wood for timber without Indigenous permission.

They also felt resentment towards the Canadians and the commissioners due to the sale of Rupert's Land and the £300,000 that the Hudson's Bay Company received.

However, on that day, the Saulteaux informed the Canadian commissioners with a messenger that they were uncomfortable holding negotiations on land that belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company.

An Indigenous spokesman began by stating that they wanted to be paid the £300,000 that the Hudson's Bay Company received for Rupert's Land.

Powder, shot, ball, and twine is distributed and replaced every year, to help with hunting, fishing, and trapping – rights that they were still able to enjoy.