There are many parallels between the United States of America and Canada. For example, they were both former British crown possessions, speak primarily English, and both had dealings with Native Americans. But one important difference is how they treated the native population during Western expansion. Americans treated Native Americans as if they were inferior to them. They made treaties with the natives only to break them, were engaged in open warfare with the natives, and generally did not respect them. Although, in direct contrast, Canadians honored treaties, they generally did not go to war with Natives and respected them as individuals. According to Keith Walden, a history professor at Trent University, one of the main catalysts for this was the North West Mounted Police, which is now known as the Royal Canadian Mountain Police. Native Americans were treated horribly by American officials, and some Americans on the frontier. During Western expansion, Americans had to deal with the fact that Native Americans occupied the lands to the west. They had an idea known as Manifest Destiny, which was basically a wish, or goal, for the country to expand to the Pacific Ocean. This idea was realized during the 19th century, but to achieve this goal Americans had to figure out what to do with the sovereign native population. Many times they signed a treaty forcing the Indians to give up their land; they would then move them to the reserves. Sometimes they would then “throw away” the treaties and force the Indians to move again. In other situations they would engage in open warfare with the Indian nations, which resulted in near-total warfare. That means… middle of paper… Horn, so it was known as a possible murder. Nonetheless, he was treated with respect and treated the Mounties with respect. This is an extraordinary feat, because from the American point of view he was a ruthless madman who preferred to shoot first and ask questions later. There are several reasons why the Mounties earned a reputation for trust and mutual respect. One of the reasons they may have done so was due to the fact that they were a British colony and the British had a history of respecting Indian treaties. Another reason may have been that they had an extensive history of trading with natives, which may have earned them a reputation for valor, which continued into various tribes. And finally the Indians were considered royal citizens just like the other peoples of Canada, so the Mounties might have thought they were dealing with just another British subject.