This class is ECO321, The Economic History of Canada.
Description： The story of long-run economic growth and welfare in the Canadian economy, with the aid of economic analysis, quantitative data and other historical materials. Emphasis on the development of the Canadian economy from a resource-based economy to a developed industrial economy within an international setting.
There are all have three questions. The 321 report of 1a needs to be written in the document named “321template v2”. The answers to other questions are written in the file named “Assignment”.
ECON 32
1
SPRING 2021 – ASSIGNMENT 2
ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE MARKED AS SUBMITTED.
CHECK YOUR FILE UPLOADS!
Question
Out of
Weight
1
a
12
30%
b
3
2
a
78
70%
b
78
c
78
Q2 Average
78
3
a
3
b
4
c
3
Subtotal
Q2 + Q3
88
Communication
6 (can be 2x)
Q2 & Q3 Total
100
Table of Contents
1. [Reading] 2
3
3. [Challenge] 6
9
Oral history of the Nanaimo Treaty of 1854 (1933) 9
Oral history of the Indigenous discovery of coal (1933) 10
Entire Text of the 1854 Nanaimo Treaty 11
12
Read the following paper:
Turner, N. J. & Loewen, D. C. (1998). The Original “Free Trade”: Exchange of Botanical Products and Associated Plant Knowledge in Northwestern North America. Anthropologica, 40(1), 49-70. Retrieved from https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/stable/25605872
a. (12 marks) Write a 3-2-1 report in the usual fashion using the form on the course web site. (Hint for the ‘economic story’: what does the existence of these Indigenous trade networks tell you about Indigenous allocation of scarce resources?)
b. (3 marks) The Canadian government has often limited Indigenous hunting and fishing to a small, subsistence scale: “that which could be consumed by the fisher [or hunter] and his or her family” (Douglas Harris, quoted in First Nations Studies Program (2009)[footnoteRef:0]). Based on what you learned from reading the article, is small-scale ‘food fishing/hunting’ of this type enough to preserve Indigenous cultures and traditional ways of life? Explain your reasoning. (Hint: the paper talks about more than plants. At various points it mentions fish, and oolichan grease (from a fish) was used in the plant trade, as seen in some rows of Table 1. Try searching for ‘fish’, ‘salmon,’ or ‘oolichan’.) [0: First Nations Studies Program. (2009). Aboriginal Fisheries in British Columbia [Web Page]. Retrieved from http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/aboriginal_fisheries_in_british_columbia/ ]
2. [Regular]
In December of 1854, several tribes near Nanaimo signed a very unusual treaty with the Hudson’s Bay Company, who at the time had control of Vancouver Island. At least since 1964, this brief agreement has been interpreted by Canadian courts as having the force of a Treaty negotiated directly with the Queen. The Nanaimo treaty signed away tribal rights to land in exchange for a one-time payment of European goods, the preservation of traditional hunting and fishing rights, and the right for them and their descendants to continue to make use of their villages.
In this question, you will try to answer a seemingly simple question: was the treaty fair?
You must base your answer on the sources provided in the Appendix to this assignment (though you are, of course, free to do additional research): oral histories of the Indigenous point of view taken down in 1933, the public treaties as officially recorded in 1854, and letters between the Hudson Bay Company’s James Douglas and the British Colonial Office, which were meant to be kept secret.
The definition of fairness will be based on the four criteria suggested by ‘The Governor’s Letters Teacher’s Guide’, a treaty analysis activity recommended for grades 9 – 12.
I. “
Free authorized consent
: Negotiations are fair only if one party is not unduly pressured by the other party to make a deal and that both parties have authority to enter into the agreement.”
II. “
No significant intentional deception
: Negotiations are unfair if one party intentionally tries to deceive or trick the other party about very important matters in the agreement.”
III. “
Fundamental understanding
: Negotiations are unfair if one party suspects that the other party may be grossly confused or ill-informed about the terms of the agreement, and does not make a sincere attempt to clarify the confusion.”
IV. “
Reasonable value under the circumstances
: Although one side may benefit more than another, especially if one party is desperate to sell, the value of the exchange must not be grossly lopsided from the outset in favour of one of the parties.”
When answering the following questions, please rate the fairness on the following scale (taken from a worksheet that accompanies the Teacher’s Guide):
4 – Very fair
3 – Mostly fair
2 – Mostly unfair
1 – Very unfair
0 – Can’t tell
Note: When you justify your reasoning, be sure to refer to specific evidence from the sources provided. (e.g. “It is clear that Douglas thought the coal was valuable as early as 1852, because in his letter of 11 November 1852 he wrote that the ‘prosperity of the country’ depended in great measure on it.”)
a. Criteria I & II: Free Authorized Consent & No Significant Intentional Deception
Fairness (0 to 4): ________
Justify your reasoning:
b. Criterion III: Fundamental Understanding
Fairness (0 to 4): ________
Justify your reasoning:
c. Criterion IV: Reasonable Value Under the Circumstances
Fairness (0 to 4): ________
Justify your reasoning:
There’s an old saying that “history is written by the victors”. What survives as history is not always the same as what was experienced by those who lived through the events being chronicled. This is extremely important to keep in mind when reading articles about the history of Canada’s Indigenous people, as these are often written by non-Indigenous settlers with different priorities and points of view than the people they write about.
In this question, I will ask you to read two articles, both of which talk about agriculture on the Blood Indian reserve in Alberta shortly after World War I. One was written by a non-Indigenous American anthropologist who visited the Blood Reserve in 1939, and published her article in a peer-reviewed journal in 1943. A more recent article by Dr. Sarah Carter[footnoteRef:1] says the following about the Blood Reserve in 1943: [1: Carter, S. (1999). “An Infamous Proposal:” Prairie Indian Reserve Land and Soldier Settlement after World War I. Manitoba History, 37, 9-21. Retrieved from http://drc.usask.ca/projects/gladue/view_record.php?table=resource&id=4&from=browse ]
“During and after World War II pressure was renewed to release Indian reserve land for non-Aboriginal Indian soldier settlement. A “reconnaissance inspection” was made of the Blood Reserve in Alberta in 1943 and it was recommended that the band could well afford to sell 22,000 acres leaving “ample room” for future expansion.” (Carter (1999), p. 20).
The second article was published in a newspaper in 1921. It was written by a non-Indigenous man who served as an Indian agent on Alberta’s Peigan and Blood reserves from 1898 to 1911, and who continued to live in the vicinity after retiring from his government post. He considered himself an ally of the Blood Indians and was alarmed at the government’s treatment of their land.
To access the first article, use the link below:
Goldfrank, E. (1943). Administrative Programs and Changes in Blood Society During the Reserve Period. Applied Anthropology, 2(2), 18-23. Retrieved from https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/stable/44135057
You only need to read about a page of that article, though of course you are free to read the rest if you wish. For this question, please read from the heading ‘1910-1920.’, at the bottom of page 20, to the phrase “farming around 1910.”, near the bottom of page 21.
The second article is found starting on page 27 of
one of the free sourcebooks created by this course:
Wilson, R.N. (2020). “Persecution, bad faith and chicanery” in Willmore, C. (Ed.). Permission. Retrieved from https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/willmore/wp-content/uploads/sites/5845/2021/01/permission (Original work published 1921).
The article you need is on pages 27-35. Please read all of it.
If you are interested in learning more about this subject (or if you feel you need more information to answer the questions below), R.N. Wilson expanded his argument into a book, which is also available for free:
Wilson, R.N. (1921). Our Betrayed Wards [Revised Edition]. Victoria: Skeride Publishing. Retrieved from https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/willmore/wp-content/uploads/sites/5845/2021/01/ourbetrayedwards
a. (3 marks) According to the Goldfrank paper from 1943, what were the main reasons for the decline in agriculture (wheat farming, horse and cattle raising, and the income from those activities) on the Blood reserve from 1916 to 1921?
b. (4 marks) According to the second article (from 1921), what were the main reasons for the decline in agriculture (wheat farming, horse and cattle raising, and the income from those activities) on the Blood reserve from 1916 to 1921?
c. (3 marks) On page 22 of her paper, Esther Goldfrank writes: “To understand the behavior of an individual and his treatment by others, it is necessary to ascertain not only his present status, but how that status was achieved.” Based on what you have read, and on your knowledge of ECON 321 material, what do you think explains the difference between the views of Esther Goldfrank and R. N. Wilson as to why and how agriculture declined on the Blood reserve from 1917 to 1921? That is, what explains the difference between your answer to part a. and your answer to part b.? (There is no single right answer to this question, but for full marks you must back up your argument with evidence from the readings, other 321 material, or your own appropriately cited research. You may find the quote from Dr. Sarah Carter’s paper, earlier in this question, useful.)
Appendix: Sources for Question 2
“Well, one day a Hudson’s Bay man came to see my father.
“’We want to talk to you and your people about this coal,’ he said. ‘We will have a meeting. You and your people, and you must get another chief and his people, and on a certain day we will all talk this thing over.’
“So my father, Chief Suquen-Es-Then[footnoteRef:3], called all his people, and he told another chief, whose name was Chief Schwun-Schn, to call his tribe, and together they went to the meeting. [3: Referred to as ‘Squoniston’ in the Treaty text.]
…
“Then the Hudson’s Bay men talked to the Indians. ‘This coal that is here,’ they said, ‘is no good to you, and we would like it; but we want to be friends, so, if you will let us come and take as much of this black rock as we want, we will be good to you.’ They told my father, ‘The Good Queen, our great white chief, far over the water, will look after your people for all time, and they will be given much money, so that they will never be poor.’
“Then they gave each chief a bale of Hudson’s Bay blankets and a lot of shirts and tobacco, just like rope! ‘These are presents for you and your people, to show we are your friends,’ they said. The chiefs took the things, and they cut the blankets, which were double ones, in half, to make more, and gave one to every chief man, then the shirts, and to those who were left they gave pieces of the rope tobacco; so that every man in the tribes had a present.
“’Now you know,’ said Tstass-Aya, ‘we think there was some mistake made at that meeting, or, maybe, the people could not understand properly what was said; but later, when our people asked for some of the money for their coal, the Hudson’s Bay men said to them, ‘Oh, we paid you when we gave you those good blankets!’ But those two chiefs knew that the men had said, ‘The Queen will give you money.’
…
“And now white men began to come and fix houses to live in, and they made a sawmill and cut down all our trees. Then boats called ‘schooners’ began to come for the coal. The Indians did a little work then; they used to carry coal out to the schooners in their canoes – not little canoes like the ones we use now, but big, big ones that could hold twelve or more men; and the white men would pay fifty cents for one canoe load of coal.
“At first my people did not understand the money, and used to throw it away into the water – they only wanted blankets or clothes, but they soon found that money was good, and liked it better than the blankets.”
An earlier passage in the same newspaper article explains the tribes’ attitude toward coal:
“Well, long ago, before there were any white men in our country, the Indians were all very afraid of that great black fish, the whale, we call it Quan-Ice. There were lots of those big fish here then, but no man touched them. Now all the people living here knew about the black rocks that were about the shores, for they could see them all black and shining beside the water, and, in lots of places down deep in the water …
“They thought that rock, all long and black and shining, must have something to do with the whales, for they were long and black and shining, too! So the head men said, ‘Never touch that black rock no matter where you see it, for it belongs to the great black fish, and if we touch that rock, all the fish will surely come and kill us.
“One day some of the tribe made a fire on the beach, and soon one said, ‘What a bad smell! … There right were the fire had been was a big piece of the black stone, and it was burning just like wood; but oh, how it smelt!
“All the tribe was called to look at it, and there was great talking amongst the head men, for they were afraid the black fish would be angry and come do them harm! So, for a long time after that they had men to watch the waters. … Of course none [of the whales] came very near, and after a time the Indians felt that they were never to touch the black rocks.
[Soon after the arrival of the first Europeans in the area, members of the tribe visit the newcomers and observe a blacksmith at work in a coal-powered forge. They report back:]
“’Well,’ Hyatz-A-Hn told him, ‘I looked at his fire and I saw that he was burning some of that black rock that we say belongs to Quan-Ice! It was just like our black rock, and do you remember, long ago, some men made a fire and burnt some here?’ Then the two young men talked together and made a plan, but told no one else for they were afraid of what the head men would do to them.
[The two young men sneak out and deliver a piece of coal to the newcomers.]
“This man asked them, ‘Where did you get this rock?’ ‘In our country,’ they told him. …
“They took Hyatz-A-Hn and Hay-Wkun carrying their blanket of coal between them, to see Governor Douglas. … Governor Douglas was oh, so pleased! He shook the young men’s hands and … he gave [Hyatz-A-Hn] a long coat and a high hat.
“When Hyatz-A-Hn had put them on, Governor Douglas said to the others – for by now, all the Indians of that place were standing about watching: … ‘Tell your chief that soon I will come with my big ship, and with men to look at this coal that you have.’ Then he gave every man from this place a present of a nice shirt and some tobacco, and they got into their canoes and paddled away.”
[first sheet] “Sarlequun Tribe, 23 December 1854
A Similar conveyance of country extending from Commercial Inlet, 12 miles up the Nanaimo River made by the Sarlequiun Tribe signed Squoniston & others [note attached to signature sheets].
[6 signature sheets signed Squoniston and [193] others]
[last sheet] Done at Nanaimo Colvile Town this 23rd day of [the word ‘September’ is truck out, and above written] December in the year of our Lord 18[5]4, in presence of us, who in the presence of each other, have hereunto affixed our names.
Signed Charles Edward Stuart H.B.Co. in charge
Richard Golledge Hudson’s Bay Co. Service
George Robinson Manager of the Nanaimo Colls”
Despite the lack of details, “the Supreme Court of Canada deemed the Nanaimo agreement … to be a treaty ‘as much an act of state as if it had been entered into by the Sovereign herself’”. (Verspoor, 2012). The details of the agreement were presumably to be interpreted as being ‘Similar’ to those of the previous treaty, signed in 1851 with the Quakeolth Tribe at Fort Rupert[footnoteRef:6]: [6: From Treaty Texts – Douglas Treaties [Web Page]. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100029052/1581515763202#quakeolth ]
“Know all men, that we the chiefs and people of the Tribe called Quakeolths who have signed our names and made our marks to this deed on the eighth day of February, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, do consent to surrender, entirely and for ever, to James Douglas, the agent of the Hudson’s Bay Company in Vancouver Island, that is to say, for the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Committee of the same, the whole of the lands situated and lying between McNeill’s Harbour and Hardy Bay, inclusive of these ports, and extending two miles into the interior of the Island.
The conditions of our understanding of this sale is this, that our village sites and enclosed fields are to be kept for our own use, for the use of our children, and for those who may follow after us and the land shall be properly surveyed hereafter. It is understood, however, that the land itself, with these small exceptions, becomes the entire property of the white people for ever; it is also understood that we are at liberty to hunt over the unoccupied lands[footnoteRef:7], and to carry on our fisheries as formerly.” (INAC, 2013) [7: The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the ‘liberty to hunt over the unoccupied lands’ in the lands covered by the Nanaimo agreement, in the famous Regina v. Clifford White and David Bob decision of 1964. ]
Indigenous involvement in the Nanaimo Coal Trade prior to 1854
Despatch to London | James Douglas to John S. Pakington | 27th August 1852
“[M]y attention was particularly attracted, through a report of coal having been seen by the Indians in that vicinity. These people are called ‘Nanymo’ […] They live chiefly by fishing, and also grow large quantities of potatoes, in field which they have brought into cultivation near their villages. […] Food is cheap and abundant. […] The reports concerning the existence of coal in that place, were I rejoice to say, not unfounded; as the Indians pointed out three beds, cropping out in different parts of the Inlet, and they also reported […] several other beds. […] [I]t was impossible to repress a feeling of exultation in beholding, so huge a mass of mineral wealth, so singularly brought to light by the hand of nature, as if for the purpose of inviting human enterprise, at a season when coal is a desideratum in the Pacific, and the discovery can hardly fail to be of signal advantage to the Colony. […] There is every reason to believe [Nanaimo] is one vast coal field, and if that conjecture be correct the progress of the Colony will be rapid and prosperous; notwithstanding the many adverse circumstances, which have hitherto retarded the development of its resources.”
Despatch to London | James Douglas to John S. Pakington | 11th November 1852
“About 1 ½ miles from the great bed mentioned in my last letter the natives, who are now indefatigable in their researches for Coal, lately discovered a magnificent seam […] where several thousand Tons of Coal may be procured without the trouble & expense of Mining. Such places are left entirely to the Indians, who work with a surprising degree of industry, and dispose of the Coal to the agents of the Hudson’s Bay Company, for clothing and other articles of European manufacture. The Miners of the Hudson’s Bay Company have carried down a shaft […] and struck the great seam […] , an event which has diffused a general feeling of satisfaction in the Colony as every inhabitant naturally takes a lively interest in the success of an undertaking on which the prosperity of the country, and in a great measure, his own private interests, so much depends.”
[Notes on the letter by Colonial Office Staff:] “The circumstance of the Indians being active in working the coal … is very important if it prove lasting.”
1
The Original “Free Trade”: Exchange of Botanical Products and Associated Plant
Knowledge in Northwestern North America
Author(s): Nancy J. Turner and Dawn C. Loewen
Source: Anthropologica , 1998, Vol. 40, No. 1, L’Ethnobiologie / Ethnobiology (1998), pp.
49-70
Published by: Canadian Anthropology Society
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25605872
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
Anthropologica
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25605872
The Original “Free Trade”: Exchange of Botanical
Products and Associated Plant Knowledge in
Northwestern North America
Nancy J. Turner University of Victoria
Dawn C. Loewen University of Victoria
Abstract: Long-standing and far-reaching trade networks for
culturally important plants are documented for British Colum
bia and neighbouring areas from archaeological, historical and
ethnographic records, as well as recollections of contemporary
Aboriginal people. Plant resources and products manufactured
from plants comprised a substantial portion of traditional and
contemporary traded goods. Examples include: dried edible
seaweed, commonly traded from coastal communities inland;
dried soapberries, saskatoon berries and other berries; hazel
nuts; cedar-root and cedar-bark baskets; basket materials; and
Indian-hemp fibre and twine. In addition to the plant materials,
knowledge associated with these resources was exchanged, and
trade has had cultural and ecological implications extending
well beyond simple subsistence.
Resume: Dans cet article nous presentons les reseaux
d’echange, de longue date et de grande portee, de plantes cul
turellement importantes de la Colombie britannique et de re
gions adjacentes a partir de sources archeologiques, historiques
et ethnographiques et de souvenirs d’autochtones contempo
rains. Les ressources vegetales et les produits d’origine vege
tale formaient une partie substantielle des produits echanges
traditionnellement et de fagon contemporaine. Les exemples
presentes incluent: les algues marines comestibles sechees,
echangees couramment entre les communautes de la cote et
celles de l’interieur; les pommes de savon, les petites poires et
autres petits fruits seches; les noisettes; les paniers en racine
de cedre et en ecorce de cedre; les materiaux pour fabriquer les
paniers; et la fibre et le fil du chanvre du Canada. En plus des
materiaux d’origine vegetale, des connaissances associees a ces
ressources etaient echangees. Lechange eut de nombreux
effets culturels et ecologiques et n’etait pas restreint a la sim
ple subsistance.
Introduction
Trade between villages was necessary to provide a con
tinuous supply of food and accumulate wealth. Goods
were exchanged by sharing, bartering, or trading a gift
for a gift. Trade included sharing land that had a profu
sion of berries or hunting grounds full of game. As
there was an abundance of seafood on the coast, and
similarly, an excess of meat and berries among the
Gitksans, the exchange offered variety in our diets.
(Watts, 1997:1)
Indigenous peoples around the world have a cultural heritage that includes extensive and intimate familiar
ity with their local environments. Such knowledge is an
essential attribute of societies that not only have sur
vived, but have thrived, in close connection with the nat
ural world (Inglis, 1993; Williams and Baines, 1993).
However, few, if any, natural environments provide a
complete and reliable array of resources to a given group
of people at a given time. Trade has long been recognized
as a means of countering instabilities in resource supply
and abundance, and of introducing variety to those
resources. Indigenous peoples of North America cer
tainly have been well acquainted with the advantages of
trade. Archaeological and historical records show that
they developed extensive and sophisticated trading net
works and institutions dating back thousands of years.
However, the pervasive nature of Indigenous trade, and
its many implications both before and after contact have
rarely been explicitly considered. In particular, the
importance of exchange of various types of plant
resources, technologies and knowledge has received lit
tle direct attention.
In this study, we discuss plant exchange, in a broad
context, among Indigenous peoples of British Columbia
and adjacent areas. General characteristics of this ex
change are delineated, as well as its cultural and ecologi
cal significance both in the past and today. Information is
Anthropologica XL (1998) 49-70 Exchange of Botanical Products and Plant Knowledge / 49
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
derived from available archaeological, ethnographic and
historical data, as well as documented consultations with
Aboriginal people in recent decades. Whereas the focus
of the article will be on what appears to be “traditional”
exchange of plant resources among Indigenous peoples,
post-contact and contemporary changes and interactions
with non-Native people will be considered as well. How
ever, it is important to note that, since most of the evi
dence is non-archaeological, it is not always possible to
distinguish “pre-contact” and “post-contact” exchange
phenomena. It must also be emphasized that the consid
eration of “plant exchange,” apart from exchange in
other resources, is an artificial separation for the pur
poses of this work. In reality, all types of trade products
were linked inextricably in transactions.
The Nature of Indigenous Plant Exchange
What Is Exchange?
Earle (1982: 2) defined exchange as “the spatial distribu
tion of materials from hand to hand and from social group
to social group.” Indeed, the reciprocal acquisition of
material goods is a key aspect of exchange, and the role
of plant resources (e.g., food, materials, medicines, man
ufactured goods) in this regard will be discussed in
greater detail in later sections. However, a broader per
spective of exchange will be taken here. In addition to
the physical give and take of material goods, technologi
cal skills were transferred from person to person, and
from group to group, as were names and vocabulary for
items, skills and associated concepts in different lan
guages and cultures. The transfer of plant materials has a
unique facet, because some plant propagules are long
lived and therefore plants, far more than animals, may be
readily established in other areas. Thus, “plant ex
change” extends beyond cultural transfer to biological
transfer or dispersal (as discussed later).
Exchange seldom took the form of a simple gain
maximizing transaction among Indigenous peoples.1
Rather, the broader social context was, and is, of key
importance. For example, a good deal of nonconsensual
transfer of knowledge and goods took place as a result of
war and raiding activities. Not only was booty taken,
which included many plant materials and products, but
slave trade was also common through much of north
western North America (Donald, 1997; Suttles, 1990).
Undoubtedly, slaves had a significant influence on the dif
fusion of language and knowledge to their captors.
On the other extreme much exchange took the form
of gifts, or help to those in need, with the understanding
that one could expect reciprocation at some point in the
future. This type of interaction was encouraged and sus
tained by extensive ties of intermarriage and ceremonial
exchange among many groups (cf. Suttles, 1987a, 1987b).
Oberg (1973) distinguished between gift exchange, which
takes place within a network of social relationships, and
barter or trade, in which individuals seek their owm ad
vantage through bargaining without regard for any sys
tem of relationships that makes them members of a
community. Oberg felt that pure barter did not exist for
the Tlingit2 before the Europeans came, and similar con
clusions have been reached for other groups, such as
Drucker’s (1951) interpretations of
Nuu-Chah-Nulth
practices. However, Mitchell and Donald (1988) feel that
in fact, an early sophisticated trading system among
Northwest Coast peoples may have existed, with “trad
ing” used in the above narrow sense. Some trade trans
actions were disguised by means of elaborate rituals as
gift offerings (see, for example, John Jewitt’s description
of Nuu-Chah-Nulth trade rituals in Stewart [1987: 100]).
Bartering, while perhaps subtle, also clearly existed in
other groups (Decosse, 1980; Sewid-Smith and Dick, in
press; see also the quotation at the beginning of the
introduction to this article).
The relative contribution of social and economic fac
tors in exchange/trade continues to be a topic of theoreti
cal interest. This issue appears to be analogous to the
nature vs. nurture “debate,” in that both factors are
clearly important, and are interrelated in complex ways.
The present discussion of plant exchange correspond
ingly provides numerous examples of the economic sig
nificance of exchange, but the social context can never be
ignored. Trade was influenced by, and in turn influenced,
social relations, for example, intermarriage, political
alliances and peace-keeping. As noted by Decosse (1980:
79), “While the desire for trade goods was responsible
for initiating social interactions, it was the latter which
sustained the material flow.”
Given the interrelatedness of social and economic fac
tors, and the apparent presence of both “gift exchange”
and “barter or trade” in peoples of northwestern North
America, these terms are not used in the sense of Oberg
(1973) in this study. Rather, “exchange” and “trade” are
used essentially interchangeably, with the former being a
more general term to include transfer of non-physical
items. For example, much knowledge and information
would have been transferred from one group to another
during the course of trade or other social intercourse.
Extent of Plant Trade
There is considerable evidence that established that far
reaching Indigenous trade networks existed in northwest
50 / Nancy J. Turner, Dawn C. Loewen Anthropologica XL (1998)
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Figure 1
Map of Northwestern North America Showing Territories
of the Indigenous Groups of the Study Area
Seals: 1:12000000 / \ ^ (
Note: Hesquiaht and Chilkat are subgroups of Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Tlingit, respectively.
ern North America. Archaeological evidence (cited by
Mitchell and Donald, 1988; Stewart, 1987) from obsidian,
dentalia shells and other mineral materials indicates that
these networks are at least 2 000-3 000 years old, and
have extended over distances as great as 1 000 kilometres.
The comments of early explorers and other non-Native
visitors to the Northwest also indicate that Native groups
were well acquainted with the concept of trade and were in
frequent contact with one another. For example, Gilbert
Sproat, who lived on Vancouver Island in the 1860s, noted:
All the natives are acute, and rather too sharp at
bargaining_News about prices, and indeed about
anything in which the natives take an interest, travels
quickly to distant places from one tribe to another. If a
trading schooner appeared at one point on the shore,
and offered higher prices than are usually given, the In
dians would know the fact immediately along the whole
coast. (Sproat, 1987: 58)
Figure 1 shows the locations of Indigenous groups in
the study area, and Figure 2 shows various trade routes
that appear to have been commonly used before contact
with Europeans. Moreover, the geographical ramifica
tions of exchange often extended much further. For
example, many items were successively traded via “mid
dlemen”; dentalia from the coast were transferred to
locations as far inland as the Great Plains (Stewart,
Anthropologica XL (1998) Exchange of Botanical Products and Plant Knowledge / 51
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
1987). The arrival of horses brought changes in trading
patterns, frequency and intensity; some ethnographic
sources, such as James Teit’s works, explicitly indicate
these changes. Establishment of trading posts and other
trading facilities by European newcomers also changed
traditional patterns in many cases.3
Figure 2
Some Examples of Aboriginal Trade Routes and
Main Centres of Trade in Northwestern North
America (Compiled from Various Sources)
VAJ BoUnbVdky ^%_ iWLl J/ /k lV ^ *&^.
? 8tlkliit/7faUtai \^#~t!> *i ^ XI ^.1 \ ^ c?iffu?Rct ^ji r^f~ ^nL p^\S9^\m^\^’
(g> K*d?Palli ff” ~* \ I 1
? OkanigMi FUb lHjl ^ ^^~ * \ 0^ * ? ruDtou. r>* ? /
^ ? CahunhUHaMMi* J C
” Scale: 1: 12 000 000 /
Trade of plant resources almost certainly was con
comitantly ancient and widespread, although archaeologi
cal evidence is scanty for these perishable items. John
Jewitt, who was held captive in the early 1800s at Nootka
Sound for several years by Nuu-Chah-Nulth Chief
Maquinna, stated in his July 6, 1805 journal entry that
dried cakes of salal4 berries were an important trading
item among villages, and that three large baskets of “an
excellent fruit… Quawnoose” (actually cooked, dried
bulbs of blue camas) were brought by “Kla-iz-arts”
(Coast Salish) peoples nearly 480 km to the south (Stew
art [1987] notes that the distance was actually about half
that given by Jewitt).
More recent ethnobotanical surveys document simi
larly long-ranging trade routes. For example, some
Kwakwaka’wakw groups once travelled up to 160 km in
order to obtain springbank clover rhizomes, silverweed
roots, high bush cranberries, crabapples, soapberries,
camas bulbs and other items (Turner and Bell, 1973).
Also, Annie York indicated that her people, the
Nlaka’pamux, obtained wild rice from Plains groups such
as the Cree, at least 500 km away (Turner et al., 1990).
This trade was probably through intermediaries, and of
relatively recent origin. Oberg (1943) notes the Tlingit
people travelled south in their large, ocean-going canoes
as far as Puget Sound, some 1 400 km away. Presumably
such voyages would have been for trade purposes.
On a cultural level, exchange of plant materials took
place on widely differing scales: within family and village
groups; between villages in the same language group;
among different language divisions on the coast and in
land; and even between coastal and inland groups
(Tbrner, 1979). “Nodes” of trade are indicated on
Figure 2; these are locations where large numbers of
people, often from a number of different tribes in a gen
eral region, would gather to trade, socialize and harvest
seasonally abundant resources. For example, the annual
spring assembly of Haida, Tsimshian and Nisga’a at the
Nass River oolichan fishery was an important occasion
for trade (Mitchell and Donald, 1988). The Tahltan and
other western Athapaskan groups had a seasonal round
characterized by yearly aggregation at summer salmon
fishing villages; the summer congregations were a time
for ceremonies, feasting and trading (Albright, 1984). An
example of a more plant-orientated node was Botanie
Valley, near present-day Lytton in Nlaka’pamux territory.
Nlaka’pamux people, along with Secwepemc and
Stl’atl’imx people, would gather there in summer largely
due to the great abundance of a number of different
“root” vegetables and berries (Turner et al., 1990).
According to Teit (1900), as many as 1 000 people would
congregate annually at Botanie. Women would gather
plant foods, men would hunt and everyone would trade
and socialize. Louie Phillips recalled that Nlaka’pamux
women in his community would sometimes bet whole
sacks of yellow avalanche lily bulbs on the outcomes of
horse races in the valley?an interesting type of
exchange mechanism (Turner et al., 1990). Botanie Val
ley continued to be an important gathering place well
after contact, as indicated by Mary Williams, also
Nlaka’pamux:
In the month of August, the people gathered up in
Pet?ni. People gathered from all over?Spences
52 / Nancy J. Turner, Dawn C. Loewen Anthropologica XL (1998)
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Bridge, Nicola, and 30 Mile [30 miles north of Lytton
on the Fraser River]_The bishop came up there
too, and joined in the sports with the people-My,
we used to have nice times in those days! Everybody
was happy and no one was afraid of anything. Now we
are scared when we go up there. At times, good White
people would come up and watch the people’s races.
There would be tents everywhere. (Hanna and Henry,
1996:149)
In the case of coastal/inland trade, the groups of peo
ple travelling to trade were generally smaller, but visits
were often temporally extensive. Decosse (1980) dis
cussed Athapaskan-Tlingit trade relations and noted that
trade expeditions were major undertakings requiring
weeks of preparation, including fasting and other rituals.
The trade encounters generally lasted from three to six
weeks, but a coastal trader occasionally stayed with his
inland partner as long as a year; such visits undoubtedly
encouraged a great deal of cultural (knowledge and lan
guage) transfer in addition to exchange of the goods.
During the final festivities of these trade gatherings, the
guests would ask their hosts to teach them new songs,
and a few days would be spent perfecting these before the
guests departed (Decosse, 1980). Similarly, John Jewitt
(Stewart, 1987: 99) noted that the Kwakwaka’wakw
traders who came to Nootka (Yuquot) “were accustomed
to remain a much longer time at Nootka than the other
tribes… and on these occasions taught their songs to
our savages.” Greer (1995) suggested that the stories
and songs shared during the trading sessions of precon
tact times were valued just as much as the goods ex
changed.
Types of Plant Resources Traded
There has been an increasing awareness of the impor
tance of plant resources as food, materials and medi
cines in hunter-gatherer economies (Hunn, Turner and
French, 1998; Lee and Daly, in press). For example,
Mitchell and Donald (1988: 301) note that, given the
widespread importance of cedar as a material resource,
“access to a stand of red or yellow cedar was likely as
important as access to a clam bed or herring spawning
ground.” Therefore, it is not surprising that a wide array
of plant resources would also be a fundamental compo
nent of exchange. Table 1 provides documented exam
ples of plants and plant products known to have been
traded among First Peoples of northwestern North
America. Over 65 plant species are included, most of
which are foodstuffs or materials for use in technology.
Additional items are in the form of manufactured goods.
Most trade was in processed or preserved products, the
difficulties of transporting fresh plants over long dis
tances being obvious. The major types of plant products
traded are discussed in greater detail in the following
sections.
Plant Foods
Exchange of food resources within groups was, more
than with other resources, generally a matter of sharing
rather than a formal transaction. As Elmendorf (1960)
noted for the Twana, it was proper to be generous with
members of one’s own village. An example of this type of
generosity was noted for the Nlaka’pamux by Turner et
al. (1990); people from the Upper territory would bring
“Indian celery,” a favourite green vegetable more com
mon in their area, to their friends in Lower territory
when they came down the Fraser Canyon in spring.
Among groups, there was often more formal trade in
food items. This exchange generally diversified the diet
rather than supplying a vitally needed foodstuff (Elmen
dorf, 1960), although many items were obtained regularly
and in quantity. Sweet foods and novelty foods were par
ticularly popular; commonly traded plant foods included
soapberries, used to make a popular whipped confection
known today as “Indian ice cream” (Figure 3); saskatoon
berries, often eaten with meat; and camas bulbs, a
potato-like food with a sweet flavour when cooked5 (Fig
ure 4). A number of plant foods were valued highly; for
example, bitterroot (Figure 4) was noted as being “ex
pensive stuff” by Annie York, Nlaka’pamux, who said
that a 1.5-m string of dried bitterroot would be worth
about one salmon in the early part of the 20th century
(Turner et al., 1990). In the late 19th century, James Teit
(1900) found that “ten bundles” of bitterroot could be
exchanged for one large, dressed buckskin. Other highly
valued food items were edible seaweed, preserved
crabapples and highbush cranberries, black huckleber
ries, hazelnuts (Figure 5) and green shoots of salmon
berry and thimbleberry (Turner, 1995,1997).
Plant Materials
Raw or processed plant products used for basketry, canoe
making and other technologies, were also important in
trade. The importance of western red cedar, whose
wood, inner bark, withes and roots were all important
materials, has already been noted, and all these parts in
raw or processed form were traded (Figure 6). Indian
hemp, a fibre plant, was also widely traded; a good twine
made from this fibre is as strong as modern synthetic
cordage with 100 kg (200 pounds) or more test weight
(Turner, 1979). The value of this plant was indicated by
James Teit (1900), who recorded that items for which
Anthropologica XL (1998) Exchange of Botanical Products and Plant Knowledge / 53
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Table 1
Specific Plant Resources (Listed Alphabetically by Common Name) Traded among Indigenous
Peoples in British Columbia and Neighbouring Areas in Northwestern North America2
Material/Item Traded Notes
avalanche lily, glacier lily dried bulbs traded, among Interior Salish, and from Tsilhqot’in to Carrier and Nuxalk
(Erythronium grandiflorum)
balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) dried roots traded among Nlaka’pamux and probably Sti’atTimx
beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax) bundled leaves and finished baskets, traded from Olympic Peninsula to Vancouver Island
birch, paper (Betula papyrifera) bark, containers, wood traded among Athapaskan and Interior Salish groups and from interior
to coast; birch bark canoes traded among Interior Salish, Ktunaxa and Athapaskan peoples
biscuitroot (Lomatium cous dried roots traded within interior plateau groups, especially from southern to northern plateau
and other spp.)
bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva) dried roots commonly traded within and among Interior Salish groups, BC and Washington
blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) dried berries traded among Coast Salish; from interior to central coast; within various
interior groups
edible camas (Camassia dried bulbs widely traded from Coast Salish of Vancouver Island to west coast, north coast and
leichtlinii, C. quamash) mainland; also among southern Interior Salish, Columbia River and western Washington peoples,
north into Canadian Plateau; bulbs transplanted to some west coast locations
cat-tail (Typha latifolia) mats traded among Interior Salish and southern NW coast peoples and from coast to interior
cedar, western red (Thuja plicata) cedarwood dugouts widely traded on NW coast and into interior; cedarwood boxes traded along
NW coast, in general from north to south and from coast to interior; bark and bark baskets, mats,
robes, ceremonial articles traded widely among NW coast peoples and from coast to interior; roots
and split root baskets traded among Interior Salish and Columbia peoples and from interior to
coast
cedar, yellow (Chamaecyparis bark and bark products widely traded along the NW coast and into interior, especially in
nootkatensis) Chilkat blankets and robes; wood for bows traded from Coast Salish to interior; wood for
ceremonial articles traded from northern NW coast into interior
celery, Indian (Lomatium seeds traded from southeast Vancouver Island to west coast and northeast coast of Vancouver
nudicaule) Island; greens traded among Nlaka’pamux peoples
cherry, bitter (Prunus emarginata) bark traded from groups of southern coast of BC to central coast; bark as basket decoration
exchanged among Interior Salish
chocolate lily, “riceroot” dried bulbs traded from Upper to Lower Nlaka’pamux
{Fritillaria lanceolata)
choke cherries {Prunus virginiana) dried cherries traded among Interior Salish and coastwards to Fraser Valley
cloudberries (Rubus chamaemorus) berries preserved in water traded from Tsimshian to Haida
clover, springbank (Trifolium rhizomes traded from Nuxalk to Oweekeno and Hanaksiala; also within Kwakwaka’wakw
wormskioldii) communities
cottonwood (Populus balsamifera dugout canoes traded among Interior Salish peoples; wood traded from Tsimshian to Haida
ssp. trichocarpa)
crabapples, Pacific (Malus fresh and preserved fruits in water or oolichan grease widely traded along NW coast and from
fusca syn. Pyrus fused) coast to interior
cranberries, bog fresh and preserved fruits in water or oolichan grease widely traded along NW coast and
(Vaccinium oxycoccus) probably among interior peoples
cranberries, highbush fresh and preserved fruits in water or oolichan grease widely traded along NW coast and from
(Viburnum edule) coast to interior
currants, wild (Ribes spp.) traded (dried?) among Interior Salish peoples
desert parsley (Lomatium dried roots traded among Interior Salish peoples
macrocarpum)
fungus, paint (JEchinodontium traded from Tlingit to Athapaskan groups
tinctorium)
grass, reed-canary (Phalaris traded as basket decoration material, and in finished cedar-root baskets among Interior Salish
arundinacea and other spp.) peoples, and from interior to coast in the south
hazelnuts (Corylus cornuta) nuts widely traded among Salishan groups of BC and among Columbia River peoples
hemlock, western (TSuga dried inner bark food traded from Tsimshian to Nisga’a; from Haisla and Hanaksiala to other
heterophylla) coastal groups
huckleberries (esp. Vaccinium berries widely traded among Salishan peoples of BC and among Columbia River peoples
membranaceum)
54 / Nancy J. Turner, Dawn C. Loewen Anthropologica XL (1998)
This content downloaded from
�����ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff on Thu, 01 Jan 1976 12:34:56 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Table 1 (continued)
Material/Item Traded_Notes_
Indian-hemp (Apocynum fibre, twine and woven products widely traded among Interior Salish, and from Plateau
cannabinum) to NW coast; from Coeur d’Alene to Plains tribes
kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos berries traded from Nuxalk to Heiltsuk and Oweekeno, and probably elsewhere in BC;
uva-ursi) dried leaves as tobacco probably also traded
Labrador tea, swamp tea (Ledum spp.) dried leaves traded among various interior peoples
lichen, black tree (Bryoria cooked, dried cakes traded from Interior to Coast Salish
fremontii)
lichen, wolf (Letharia vulpina) traded as dyestuff among interior groups and from interior to NW coast
maple, vine (Acer circinatum) wood for bows traded from NW coast to interior, southern BC
maple, Rocky Mountain (Acerglabrum) wood traded from Tsimshian to Haida
mock-orange (Philadelphus lewisii) wood for arrows, needles traded by Upper StTatrimx to Secwepemc
nettle, stinging (Urtica dioica) fibre, twine traded from Hanaksiala and Haisla to Nuxalk and Coast Tsimshian; living plants
transplanted from one village to another
onions, wild {Allium cernuum bulbs traded among Nlaka’pamux; not generally eaten by coastal groups but traded in
and related species) abundance to Europeans
Oregon ash (Fraxinus latifolia) bowls traded to the Makah from groups to the south and/or east
pine, ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa) dugout canoes traded within Nlaka’pamux
rice, wild (Zizania aquatica) traded from “Indians of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains,” especially the Cree, to
Nlaka’pamux (and others?)
salal (Gaultheria shallon) large quantites of dried berries and pressed cakes traded among NW coast peoples
salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) berries traded from Halq’emeylem to Lower Nlaka’pamux; sprouts exchanged locally among
Nuu-Chah-Nulth
saskatoon berries (Amelanchier dried berries and cakes commonly traded among interior peoples, and from interior to coast,
alnifolia) especially central and southern coast
seaweed, edible (Porphyra spp.) important item of trade along entire NW coast (especially central and northern) and from coast
inland; sold by Saanich, Nuu-Chah-Nulth to oriental buyers from Victoria
silverberry (Elaeagnus commutata) bark, mats and bags traded among Interior Salish, and from Interior to Coast Salish
silverweed (Potentilla spp.) E anserina roots traded from Upper to Lower Nlaka’pamu; Ppacifica roots widely traded
among NW coast peoples
soapberries (Shepherdia widely traded as dried cakes, and jarred in water, among many groups in British Columbia,
canadensis) especially from interior to coast, from mainland to Haida Gwaii
spring beauty (Claytonia lanceolata) corms commonly traded within and among interior groups
spruce (Picea spp.) gum (Eglauca) traded from Athapaskan groups to the Tlingit for chewing; root baskets, hats
(P sitchensis) from Tlingit to Athapaskan groups and from Haida to Tsimshian
thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) sprouts exchanged locally among Nuu-Chah-Nulth
“three-square,” “sweetgrass” dried leaves traded among Vancouver Island peoples and to Olympic Peninsula
(Scirpus americanus)
tiger lily (Lilium columbianum) dried bulbs traded from Interior Salish to Coast
tobacco, native (Nicotiana N. quadrivalvis traded from Haida, Tlingit to Tsimshian; from Metlakatla Tsimshian to Nisga’a;
attenuata or N. quadrivalvis) N. attenuata among Interior Salish
tule (Scirpus acutus) tule mats widely traded, especially among Interior Salish
wapato (Sagittaria latifolia) tubers widely traded from Lower Fraser Valley and Lower Columbia inland and along the NW
coast
willow-bark twine (Salix spp.) bark twine traded from Lower Stl’atl’imx to Halq’emeylem
yew, western (Taxus brevifolia)_wood and bows commonly traded from NW coast to interior throughout range
a Compiled from the following references and citations within: Albright, 1984; Birchwater et al., 1993; Boas, 1923; Compton, 1993;
Darby, 1996; Decosse, 1980; Edwards, 1979; Elmendorf, 1960; Gunther, 1945; Huelsbeck, 1988; Hunn, 1990; Mitchell and Donald,
1988; Norton, Boyd and Hunn, 1983; Oberg, 1973; Olson, 1935, 1954; Palmer, 1975; Ray, 1938; Smith, 1920-23; Sproat, 1987;
Steedman, 1930; Stewart, 1987; Suttles, 1951a, 1987a; Swan, 1869; Teit, 1900,1906,1909; Teit and Boas, 1973; Turner, 1978,1979,
1992, 1995, 1996, 1997; Turner and Bell, 1973; Turner and Efrat, 1982; Turner and Ignace, 1993-97; Turner and Kuhnlein, 1983;
Turner et al., 1983, 1990; as well as personal communications to NT from Elsie Claxton (1996), Mary Thomas (1993-97); Annie
York (1985-89). References cited are restricted to those in which the species traded were identified and Aboriginal groups were
specified.
Anthropologica XL (1998) Exchange of Botanical Products and Plant Knowledge / 55
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Figure 3
1K1E1 * ^ ^_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_l_H__^Hi@__l
^P^^pF^^jra^^^^^^^^^HP^RH^^^^^r^P^^ ^ ._r. *S11P1111
Soapberries and “Indian ice-cream.” Dried and jarred soap
berries have been widely traded in British Columbia.
Figure 4
Dried biscuitroot (left), bitterroot (top) and camas bulbs
(right) were a common trade item within the Interior Plateau,
traded generally from south to north. Camas was widely
traded along the coast as well.
Figure 5
^^E^^^^KaMi^EL-. . * iA 11 j.-^? ? ?. ..! * . >tJM*+iU3Mmi .mi i-j?M^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HttijMB
Baskets of hazelnuts and other foods were a common trade
product.
five “packages” of the fibre could be exchanged included
one large cedar-root basket, two salmon-skins full of
salmon-oil, three sticks of salmon, one large dressed
buckskin, one steel trap or one canoe. Basketry
“grasses” were also highly valued. Bear-grass, for exam
ple, was a major item of export from the Makah and
other peoples of the Olympic Peninsula to Vancouver
Island; the Ditidaht and Nuu-Chah-Nulth basketweavers
sometimes called it “American grass,” as contrasted with
the more readily available Carex obnupta. As noted later,
the leaves of bear-grass are still bought and sold today.
Plant Medicines
Unlike food and material plant resources, medicinal
plants and prepared medicines were apparently seldom
Figure 6
Coiled baskets of split red-cedar roots, decorated with bitter
cherry bark, and reed canary grass stalks, were a specialty of
Lower Nlaka’pamux and Lower Stl’atl’imx basketweavers,
and were exchanged with both coastal and interior peoples.
widely traded, although some medicinal plants are widely
known and used similarly by many people of different
groups. Many Indigenous peoples believed that the effec
tiveness of medicines was directly dependent on a high
degree of secrecy surrounding them, not only in terms of
preparation and administration information, but also of
the actual identity of the plant used (Turner and Efrat,
1982; Turner et al., 1983; Turner et al., 1987). In many
groups, sophisticated medicinal knowledge was held by a
few herbal specialists, who did not share their medicinal
recipes with clients, much less with strangers from other
tribes. These recipes also tended to be highly special
ized, with the details of preparation of a given medicinal
plant unique to individuals or perhaps families in a given
cultural setting (Compton, 1993). Such specific knowl
56 / Nancy J. Turner, Dawn C. Loewen Anthropologica XL (1998)
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
edge probably meant that any exchange of medicinal
plants would have been equally focussed, occurring
among certain individuals and not often characteristic of
whole groups. This type of exchange was well remem
bered by Mrs. Winnie Atlin for Tagish people:
My mom and Maggie Coudenehha, she used to live in
Skagway. She used to know lots, and my mom got a lot
of stuff from her…. Like they used to trade, they
would talk and stuff about medicines and all that
They used to call each other sister. (Greer, 1995:106)
However, properties of numerous medicinal plants used
with good results for common maladies became common
knowledge within and sometimes across groups. For
example, it was widely known to coastal groups that
licorice fern rhizome (Polypodium glycyrrhiza) was good
to chew for colds and sore throats, and it was known over
most of the Northwest region that cascara bark (Rham
nus purshiana) was an effective laxative. Such medicinal
plants have differing distributions, and, one would ex
pect, chemical and ecological variations that would influ
ence their quality, and thus would have been likely
candidates for exchange.
An example of a medicinal plant that was probably
traded is Indian celery (or Indian consumption plant),
which is called by variants of the name q’eXmin by both
Salishan and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples along the east
coast of Vancouver Island. It is known everywhere for its
healing properties for coughs, colds and tuberculosis, and
is also used ceremonially as a cleansing fumigant and for
purification (cf. Turner and Bell, 1971, 1973). Use of this
name in languages of two different families suggests that
the plant itself or knowledge about it was exchanged,
quite possibly through trade (but see later section for
problems with linguistic evidence).
Other examples of trade of ceremonial and healing
plants include the exchange of Canby’s lovage (Ligus
ticum canbyi),6 an important medicine for Interior Salish
groups and Ktunaxa of British Columbia and Washington,
and the occasional exchange of sweet grass (Hierochloe
odorata) for ceremonial smudging, although the latter
example may be relatively recent (Turner, Bouchard and
Kennedy, 1980; Turner et al., 1990). Often, too, medici
nal healers would bring their own medicines with them
when travelling to a patient some distance away. For
example, when Annie York (Nlaka’pamux) was injured
near Spuzzum in the Fraser Canyon, her great-aunt, a
well-known “Indian doctor,” gathered bags of the roots of
poisonous water-hemlock (Cicuta douglasii), and brought
them from Spences Bridge by bus to treat her. There are
undoubtedly many other examples of this type of
exchange in medicinal practices, but these are seldom
recorded. A medical practitioner was often rewarded
with gifts of foods or manufactured items that included
plant products (cf. Turner et al., 1983).
Plant Exchange as an Integrated Component
of Trade in General
Even where plant products were not the primary item of
interest in a trade transaction, they were often still an im
portant component. For example, plant materials were
used as packaging and containers for a variety of items
(Turner, 1996). Red paint brought by the Kwakwaka’
wakw to trade with the Nuu-Chah-Nulth was “carefully
kept in close mat bags” (Jewitt in Stewart, 1987: 99), and
the Lower Chinook traded dried shellfish strung on two
foot sticks of salmonberry wood (Ray, 1938). Also, some
trade products were both of plant and animal origin, such
as snowshoes and highbush cranberries and Pacific
crabapples in oolichan grease (Compton, 1993; Mitchell
and Donald, 1988) and herring roe on giant kelp (Macro
cystis integrifolia) fronds or western hemlock branches
(Compton, 1993). Finally, as noted previously, plant prod
ucts were inextricably linked with other types of prod
ucts in trade transactions. For example, baskets were
traded by Nlaka’pamux people for dried herring eggs,
clams and other coastal products (Turner et al., 1990),
and ten cakes of saskatoons could be exchanged for one
large buckskin (Teit, 1900).
Cultural Aspects of Indigenous
Plant Exchange
Socio-economic Implications
Perhaps the most obvious and important effect of ex
change is that it promotes a more even distribution of the
land’s and the peoples’ resources, making a greater vari
ety of foods, materials and skills available to people than
would otherwise be possible (Turner, 1996, 1997; Watts,
1997). The following sections describe several ways in
which this effect can be manifested, with particular atten
tion being given to plant resources.
Obtaining Items Not Locally Available
This motivation for trade is familiar to anyone who has
ever bought an imported banana or other tropical fruit at
a local supermarket in North America. For Indigenous
peoples, its significance was no less obvious. Different
ecosystems support different species, many of which are
highly desirable and even irreplaceable for human uses.
Perhaps the most striking example of trade for this pur
pose was the coastal/inland trade in the Northwest.
Anthropologica XL (1998) Exchange of Botanical Products and Plant Knowledge / 57
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Figure 2 shows that there were many such routes, often
extending along major river systems (e.g., Fraser, Lil
looet, Bella Coola, Skeena, Nass and Stikine) to allow
passage through the Coast and Cascade mountain ranges
(Turner, 1996). Interior peoples, including the Lower
Stl’atrimx, Lower Nlaka’pamux, Ulkatcho Carrier and
Tsilhqot’in, traded such items as soapberries, saskatoon
berries, avalanche lily bulbs, Indian-hemp, wolf lichen
and tanned moose hides. In return, coastal peoples
including the Halq’emeylem, Sechelt, Nuxalk and Coast
Tsimshian peoples gave such items as fish oil, dentalia
shells, edible seaweed, Pacific crabapples and cedar prod
ucts. These items were in turn traded by the immediate
interior and coastal neighbours to other groups farther
inland (e.g., Secwepemc) and farther westward (e.g.,
Haida). The Nuxalk-Carrier Grease trails are a particu
larly well-known example of an ancient coast/inland trade
network, and many of the old trails are still in use today
for recreation, hunting and trapping (Birchwater et al.,
1993).7 The trails were named for the oolichan grease
from the coast that was transported across them in large
quantities; however, many other products such as dried
meat, soapberries and the cedar boxes containing the
grease were also involved in the exchange (ibid.).
Innumerable other trade networks, on various geo
graphical scales, operated on the same principle of ex
changing surplus local goods for another group’s different
surplus products. For the Nlaka’pamux people, for exam
ple, there were two major territorial divisions, “Lower”
and “Upper,” respectively reflecting the different vegeta
tional characteristics of the Fraser Canyon area and the
Plateau region to the north (Turner et al., 1990). As a
result of these ecological differences, an active trade
existed between peoples of the two divisions. The Upper
people traded such goods as bitterroot, saskatoon
berries, soapberries and whitebark pine seeds to the
Lower people in exchange for items including hazelnuts,
salmon oil, cedar bark and vine maple wood for making
bows (Teit, 1900). On the coast, the unusual Mediter
ranean-type climate of the southeastern tip of Vancouver
Island and the Gulf Islands resulted in the existence of
resources unique to that ecosystem, such as camas
bulbs. As noted by Sproat (1987: 58):
An active trade existed formerly among the tribes of
this nation [Nuu-Chah-Nulth], as also between them
and the tribes at the south of the island and on the
American shore. The root called camas, for instance,
and swamp rushes for making mats, neither of which
could be plentifully produced on the west coast, were
sent from the south of the island in exchange for cedar
bark baskets, dried halibut, and herring.
An interesting variation on this theme was a special
type of exchange in which access to a resource (often a
food resource) was shared. It was surprisingly common
for one group to allow another access to its resources at
a time of abundance, even if these resources were also
items of trade. For example, Turner and Kuhnlein (1983)
noted that the Ditidaht not only traded for camas, but
also dug their own bulbs in Salish territory with permis
sion of the Straits and Halq’emeylem people. Similarly,
the Katzie (Halq’emeylem) of the Fraser Valley granted
permission to people from up and down the Fraser to
harvest wapato or gather cranberries on the bogs (Sut
tles, 1951a). According to Teit (1906: 232), the Lower
Stl’atl’imx, when trading with the Sechelt, Squamish and
Comox Coast Salish at Jervis Inlet or Howe Sound,
“were allowed to pick berries, and to hunt and fish, as
much as they liked.” Finally, Compton (1993) stated that
the Hanaksiala did not always have to obtain edible sea
weed by trade. They had long-standing ties with the
Southern and Coastal Tsimshian people, with whom they
shared the use of an edible seaweed and halibut camp.
Conversely, these Tsimshian people made oolichan
grease with the Hanaksiala at another camp.
This “access sharing” took place within communi
ties as well as among more extensive cultural groups. On
the coast and in the interior, resource areas such as
prime berry patches, “root” vegetable patches or stands
of western red cedar could be owned by certain high
class individuals or families (Turner, 1996, 1997; Turner
and Efrat, 1982). In some cases bountiful areas were
apparently readily shared (Watts, 1997); in other cases,
respect for private property meant that people did not
even think about using others’ land for harvesting, even
with permission (Chief Adam Dick, Kwakwaka’wakw,
personal communication to NT, 1996). Ownership prac
tices varied considerably, and still need further investiga
tion to determine how they were applied within groups,
at particular localities and for specific resources.
In some instances, the form of compensation for
harvesting in others’ territories is obvious, such as
the reciprocal access to resources in the Hanaksiala/
Tsimshian case. In others, the benefits are not as clear.
This situation supports Decosse’s (1980) contention that
it is necessary to take a broad perspective of potential
benefits in an exchange situation (see also Mauss, 1990).
Perhaps hosting other groups encouraged those groups
to take the time and effort to travel to one’s door, so to
speak, with desired trade goods. Also, as noted by Sut
tles (1951a: 27) for the Katzie, even though no immedi
ate compensation was exacted, “A host at one time and
place is potentially a guest at another.” As mentioned,
58 / Nancy J. Turner, Dawn C. Loewen Anthropologica XL (1998)
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
the social context is of the utmost importance. Generos
ity helped maintain strong social alliances, which had
benefits not only in a political sense, but also for immedi
ate survival. Albright (1984) pointed out for the Tahltan
that if resource populations suffered a decline in one
area, strong social alliances allowed families to hunt, and
probably gather, with groups in other areas for a while.
Generosity was like an insurance policy and could have
not only beneficial, but even life-saving, consequences at
a later date.
After European contact, some new plant resources
were incorporated into Indigenous trading schemes. Per
haps the most notable example is the potato, which, after
its initial introduction, was distributed by Indigenous
peoples among themselves and was cultivated in many
localities before Europeans appeared (Mackie, 1984; Sut
tles, 1951b). Mackie (1984: 102) cites an independent
trader on the west coast in the 1850s, William Eddy Ban
field, who recorded that, “An Indian trail connects one
with the other [Cowichan with Ditidaht], and consider
able intertraffic exists. The Cowichan bring potatoes
across, to exchange for halibut and whale oil”8 (Mackie’s
bracketed note). Similarly, Compton (1993) reports that
the Nuxalk brought carrots, turnips and other introduced
cultivated vegetables and dried salmon to Kitlope and
Kemano in exchange for dried oolichans and oolichan
grease.
Obtaining Items That Were Difficult to Access
or of Inferior Quality Locally
In some cases, a plant species exists within a group’s ter
ritory, but may be difficult to access. For example, the
plant may be distributed sporadically and/or exist in
inconvenient locations. Annie York (Nlaka’pamux) said of
silverweed roots, “That’s kind of hard to get here. You’ve
got to go way up where these ponds [are] or go up to the
Hudson Bay trail to get it. But it’s… not much here”
(Turner et al., 1990: 263). Thus, the Lower Nlaka’pamux
generally acquired their silverweed roots via trade from
Upper peoples. Alternatively, access to a resource might
be difficult only for certain individuals in a group.
Another Nlaka’pamux woman, Bernadette Antoine, re
called that her granny valued two different kinds of
saskatoons, and used them in different ways. One was
more difficult for her to gather herself, presumably due
to the sort of habitat it favoured, and she would therefore
often trade for berries of that variety (ibid.).
Alternatively, a species may be found within a
group’s territory, but the plants are of inferior quality (in
terms of human use) than those in another territory.
For example, the Makah of north coastal Washington
traded for cedar products such as canoes and house
planks with their Vancouver Island Nuu-Chah-Nulth
relatives, and in turn traded these products farther
south to other groups of coastal Washington. James
Swan (1869: 4, 35), who lived with the Makah during
the mid-1800s, stated:
The houses of the Makahs are built of boards and
planks, split from the cedar. These are principally
made by the Indians of Vancouver Island, and procured
by barter with them. There is very little cedar about
Cape Flattery, and such as is found is small and of infe
rior quality…. The largest and best canoes are made
by the Clyoquots and Nitinats [Clayoquots and Diti
dahts] on Vancouver Island; the cedar trees being of a
quality greatly superior to that found on or near Cape
Flattery. Canoes of the medium and small sizes are
made by the Makahs from cedar procured a short dis
tance up the Strait or on the Tsuess River.
Similarly, in the interior Plateau region, the critically
important fibre plant Indian-hemp was widely traded in
spite of its wide (though scattered) distribution in that
region. It was known that there were great local varia
tions in quality and abundance of Indian-hemp. According
to Turner et al. (1990; Turner and Ignace, 1993-97), the
best Indian-hemp was traded to areas where it either did
not grow, or was of too low quality to be used.9 Annie
York (Nlaka’pamux) noted:
Oh, you get them from upcountry. You trade. We have
the milkweed [Indian-hemp] here [at Spuzzum], but
not many…. Ours are short_You get it from up
country, some of them are as tall as that [about 1.5 m]
and some of them are as thick as my thumb_The
people there, they gather them, bulk like this, and then
they bring that down here_(Turner et al., 1990:
161)
After European contact, many native plant resources
also became significant items of trade to Europeans,
who did not have the knowledge of the local environ
ment and/or the time to collect locally available subsis
tence items. For example, early explorers in what is
now Washington relied heavily on supplies of wapato
acquired from local peoples (see accounts cited in
Darby, 1996). Some of these native plant resources
were new items of trade for the local peoples. For
example, Captain Cook and his men required “grass”
(species unknown) to feed the goats and sheep on their
ships. Grass was not traditionally traded, but when the
local people noticed the men’s interest in it they began
to charge for it (Turner, 1978). Similarly, it appears that
Anthropologica XL (1998) Exchange of Botanical Products and Plant Knowledge / 59
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
wild onions were not much used by Nuu-Chah-Nulth
people, but they were harvested and sold to non
Natives on visiting ships when the demand for them
was discovered (ibid.). More recently, some Ditidaht,
and probably other people, harvested cascara bark
(Rhamnus purshiana) to sell to drug companies; in the
1930s and 1940s it sold for about 20 cents per pound
(Turner et al., 1983). Elsie Claxton (Straits Salish, per
sonal communication to NT, January 1997) recalled that
edible seaweed was routinely gathered by her family and
other Saanich families and sold to Chinese buyers around
the Gulf Islands (see also Williams, 1979).
Access to Products of Specialized Skills
Another advantage of trade was that it extended the ben
efits of some groups’ expertise with certain technologies.
That is, a finished product could be a highly valued trade
item, even if the raw material for making it were common
among groups. Examples of such products include red
cedar root baskets from Spuzzum (Lower Nlaka’pamux)
and Pemberton (Lower Stl’atl’imx); yellow-cedar/moun
tain-goat wool Chilkat blankets; Haida red-cedar kerfed
boxes and canoes; Nuu-Chah-Nulth canoes; and Nuu
Chah-Nulth and Kwakwaka’wakw yellow-cedar bark
robes. Such products were widely renowned for their
quality and/or artistic merit, and often found their way
far from their origins.
In addition, such skills could be important within a
group. Teit (1900) noted that not all Upper Nlaka’pamux
peoples made dugout canoes from ponderosa pine or Cot
tonwood, and those specialists who did traded them to
others in the group. This type of skill specialization could
operate on an even more individualistic level. For exam
ple, according to Annie York (Turner et al., 1990), some
women at Spuzzum traded baskets and mats for buck
skins, salmon and other products of hunting and fishing,
especially if a woman were a widow with no husband to
provide these things for her.
After European contact, finished products such as
baskets and carvings were frequently sold to non-Native
immigrants, traders or tourists, providing a source of
income for some of the many people whose traditional
means of subsistence had been disrupted. Margaret
Lester (Stl’atl’imx) remembered that her grandmother
used to take her baskets to farms in the Pemberton Val
ley to exchange for clothing, potatoes, fat, beef or “any
thing we could get” (Turner et al., 1987).10 Within the
last century many Indigenous women have supported
their families almost entirely by selling baskets to non
Natives, often for very little remuneration (ibid.; Turner,
1996).
Overcoming “Scheduling Conflicts”
A final benefit of trade was one that operated within
groups. There were inevitable trade-offs in terms of time
spent on various harvesting and processing activities and
trade allowed people to specialize temporally and share
the fruits of their labours. For example, Turner (1992)
notes, for the Stl’atl’imx, that those families who spent
more time fishing could exchange extra fish for berries
from those who spent extra time berry picking on the
mountain slopes. Of course, for some activities there
would be advantages to having as many people as possi
ble accumulating a given resource, but it seems likely
that in at least some situations a division of labour was
advantageous. Indeed, the traditional division of labour
into male hunters and female gatherers is one manifesta
tion of this principle.
Exchange of Technologies and Knowledge
In addition to trade of physical goods, there was signifi
cant interchange of intangible plant-related resources,
such as a specific basketry technique, knowledge of how
to use a certain plant medicinally or a story regarding a
plant’s place in traditional history.11 Unfortunately, deter
mining with certainty whether such similarities among
cultures originated through exchange is problematic,
because there are at least three distinct ways in which
commonalities among groups can develop:
(1) Transfer of information from one group to another,
through connections of trade, intermarriage, slaves or
other relationships. This possibility is, of course, the phe
nomenon of interest for the present study.
(2) Common origins of the knowledge from a common
ancestral group. Thus, for example, desert parsley (Jj)ma
tium macrocarpum) was important to the Nlaka’pamux,
Stl’atl’imx and Secwepemc, and has similar names and sim
ilar presence in the traditional narratives of these closely
related Interior Salish groups (Turner et al., 1990). It is
difficult, or perhaps impossible, to determine whether
these similarities reflect the common proto-Interior
Salishan origins of these groups, or whether knowledge
of the plant was transferred from one to the others at
some point after the groups diverged. Turner, Ignace and
Compton (1997) note that interaction through trade or
marriage among the Interior Salish groups was frequent,
and thus the general similarity of these cultures is likely
the result of both common origins and subsequent inter
action.
(3) Convergence due to similarities in the environ
ment or in plant characteristics. For example, a semi
subterranean winter dwelling is common to many groups
60 / Nancy J. Turner, Dawn C. Loewen Anthropologica XL (1998)
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
who live under continental climate regimes, because, as
may have been independently discovered many times,
such a dwelling is an effective way to provide shelter
from severe winter temperatures and winds. Similarly,
summer shelters with wood frames and rush matting are
also common to many of the world’s peoples. Alterna
tively, many different groups may use a particular wood,
such as vine maple or western yew, for carved items and
implements because the properties of the wood that
make it favourable for this purpose become evident to
many groups independently. Properties of medicinal
plants may also be independently empirically deter
mined; possible examples are scouring rush (Equisetum
hiemale) and pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata), which
were used as gynecological aids in childbirth by groups
as disparate as the Menominee of the Great Lakes area
and the Nlaka’pamux of present-day British Columbia
(ibid.). Even stories may evolve convergently; for exam
ple, intelligent and scavanging animals such as a coyotes
or ravens would be likely candidates for a “Trickster”
type of character in any culture.
One illustration of some of the difficulties in distin
guishing between these possibilities is found in the work
of Teit. He lists numerous examples of similarities in
technology among various interior groups: “nearly all the
kinds of fish-traps used by the Carrier and Shuswap
[Secwepemc] were also utilized by the Chilcotin [Tsil
hqot’in]. Fish-spears… had two or three prongs, like
those commonly used by the Shuswap …” (Teit, 1909:
779); “Roots are dug and cooked [by the Tsilhqot’in] in
the same manner as among the Shuswap_The princi
pal fruits gathered were service-berries [saskatoons] and
soap-berries, both of which were cured in the same man
ner as among the Shuswap” (ibid.: 780). The “common
origins” explanation is possible, but perhaps unlikely in
these examples, because the Carrier and Tsilhqot’in are
Athapaskan peoples while the Secwepemc are Salishan.
Independent convergence is also possible, but unlikely
since the groups are physically close together and proba
bly communicated frequently, and the techniques noted
are relatively specialized. However, even if exchange is
established as the definite reason for these similarities,
the direction of exchange is not clear,12 without additional
evidence suggesting that one group borrowed the tech
nology from another.
One type of such additional evidence (i.e., linguistic
evidence) is discussed in the next section. There are also
other lines of evidence to suggest transfer and direction
ality. In some cases, oral traditions have preserved this
information. For example, according to Decosse (1980),
oral traditions of the Tlingit and Athapaskan peoples
state that the latter obtained from the former technologi
cal knowledge for construction of fish weirs and other
tools, which greatly improved the latter’s living stan
dards.
In other cases, directionality can be inferred from
the refinement of the technology itself. A technology
may have been highly developed by one group, and im
perfectly imitated by others. For example, the Nuxalk
learned from the Carrier and Tsilhqot’in how to make
birch-bark baskets and canoes, but they never became as
skilled as their teachers (Turner, 1979; Compton, 1993).
Some ethnologists suggest that the technique of making
twined baskets was learned by the Coast Salish from the
Kwakwaka’wakw and Nuu-Chah-Nulth; originally the
Salish on the Coast were thought to have made only
coiled baskets like their Interior Salish relatives (Turner,
1979).
Perhaps the most easily interpreted situations are
those that have occurred relatively recently, so that the
information is clearly in a state of early diffusion. For
example, Annie York (Turner et al., 1990) had a tremen
dous understanding of Halq’emeylem botany, perhaps
almost as much as she had about her own people’s
(Nlaka’pamux) plant uses. Her knowledge included de
tailed information about Halq’emeylem foods and medi
cines, as well as some information regarding medicines
of the Okanagan and even “Alberta Indians.” Perhaps
current similarities in some technologies among groups
began in a similar fashion, with certain individuals of
Group A becoming well acquainted with Group B’s
knowledge (perhaps as a result of living near them) and
that knowledge would then gradually diffuse throughout
Group A.
Undoubtedly, as with direct trading of goods, the
amount of such interchange rose substantially after con
tact, due first to the influence of the fur trade. The effect
was sometimes dramatic. Albright (1984: 16) noted,
“Intensified trading activities between the Tlingit and
Tahltan brought about increased intermarriage between
the two groups, the use of Tlingit as the language of
trade and the adoption of many aspects of Tlingit social
customs and organization including displays of wealth
and status.” More recently, the greater mobility of
Indigenous peoples for work and other reasons13 also led
to increased exchange. Many Indigenous people in
British Columbia, particularly those living in the vicinity
of the lower mainland, worked as crop harvesters in the
Fraser Valley and in the Tacoma and Yakima areas of
Washington. People from various cultural groups met in
this way and exchanged botanical and other types of
information, about basketry (Turner and Efrat, 1982),
Anthropologica XL (1998) Exchange of Botanical Products and Plant Knowledge / 61
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
new foods like soapberry “lemonade,” and even new
medicines, such as the use of oceanspray fruits for diar
rhoea (Elsie Claxton, Straits Salish and Violet Williams,
Halq’emeylem, personal communication to NT, 1991).
This situation is certainly continuing today among con
temporary basketweavers, such as members of the Cali
fornia Indian Basketweavers’ Association, who routinely
share specialized knowledge about materials and tech
niques.
Much exchange of plant knowledge also took place
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. In the
case of Indigenous peoples learning from newcomers,
the information concerned either introduced species or
native species. For example, the Nlaka’pamux, and no
doubt other peoples, learned to cook the introduced dan
delion (Taraxacum officinale) as greens, to make wine
from dandelion flower heads and to use the cooked tap
roots medicinally for jaundice and liver problems and the
latex to eliminate warts (Turner et al., 1990). Also, after
Japanese people living on the coast began to salt and
pickle stipes of the native bull kelp (Nereocystis luet
keana), this practice became common among some
coastal Indigenous peoples (Compton, 1993). For new
comers learning from Indigenous peoples, the transfer of
knowledge about native plant resources was at times
critically important. For example, David Douglas (1914:
63,171) recorded during his travels in present-day Wash
ington that a man named Jacques Finlay and his family
were subsisting on “… a sort of cake made of Lichen
jubatum, Linn. [Bryoria fremontii, black tree lichen], and
a few roots of Scilla esculenta [Camassia quamash,
camas] and of Lewisia rediviva [bitterroot].” Douglas also
described the special preparation techniques used for the
camas and lichen, including pit-cooking. These prac
tices, undoubtedly learned from the local Indigenous peo
ple, were critical in releasing the nutrients of these foods
(Kuhnlein and Turner, 1991).
Linguistic Implications
Clearly, trade necessitated and resulted from communi
cation among groups, and at least partial multilingualism
was probably common. However, people not only learned
other languages, but also adopted elements of those lan
guages, both words and translations, into their native
tongue (e.g., Gunther, 1945).14 Plant-related elements
were part of the interchange, which could be extensive.
For example, Nuxalk, a Salishan language, has more bo
tanical terms in common with its neighbouring North
Wakashan languages than with other Salishan languages,
and at least some of these borrowings may be attributed
to trade or some other type of cultural relations (Turner,
1973). Similarly, Gottesfeld (1994) lists eight plants or
plant parts (fireweed [Epilobium angustifolium], spread
ing dogbane [Apocynum androsaefolium], cedar, cedar
bark, pine cambium, yellow pond lily [Nuphar polysepa
lum], bog cranberry and wild pin cherry [Prunus pensyl
vanica]) whose names are shared between the Gitksan
(Tsimshian language family) and Wet’suwet’en (Atha
paskan) languages, and suggests that several of these
(the first four or five in the list) are Gitksan in origin.
In some cases, deciphering the origins of similarities
among languages is problematic for the same reasons
described in the previous section. For example, some
words may reflect ancient roots in the ancestral language
of closely related groups. Silverweed may be a case in
point; its name is a variant of xilxel in a number of Inte
rior Salish languages. Alternatively, different words may
have the same meaning in different languages not be
cause of a translation borrowing, but because there is a
convergence, or some inherent similarity that suggests
the meaning. For example, the name for Empetrum
nigrum translates as “crowberry” in a number of lan
guages, probably because the berries are black and crows
eat them, and various names for puffball mushrooms
(Lycoperdon, Calvatia and Bovista spp.) relate to ghosts,
corpses or other supernatural phenomena (Burk and
Fitzgerald, 1981), perhaps because of the fungus’ ethe
real appearance.
The complexities in linguistic analysis are well illus
trated by an example discussed by Compton (1993). The
(Wakashan) Hanaksiala and Haisla have a Salishan name
for kinnikinnick berries, which may have been obtained
through trade with the (Salishan) Nuxalk. However,
Compton feels it is more likely that the name reflects the
cultural origins of the Hanaksiala/Haisla among the
Oweekeno, who were known to obtain the plant through
trade with the Nuxalk, and who have a Nuxalk name for
it.
In spite of the complexities, however, linguistic anal
ysis of plant terms can often give interesting and impor
tant insights into the existence and directionality of
exchange. To illustrate, the Nuxalk use Wakashan names
for edible seaweed and giant kelp, species which do not
occur in Nuxalk territory and thus were probably
acquired by trade (Compton, 1993). Also, it is known that
the Nlaka’pamux obtained camas by trade, but such trade
could have taken place with peoples from the British
Columbia coast, or from the interior of Washington, or
both. Trade with Washington peoples is more likely, at
least as the original and/or more important source, since
at least one of the names for camas is linguistically re
lated to those in other Interior Salish languages (Turner
62 / Nancy J. Turner, Dawn C. Loewen Anthropologica XL (1998)
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
and Kuhnlein, 1983; Tbrner et al., 1990). Similarly,
the Oweekeno probably obtained camas through a
Kwakwaka’wakw intermediary rather than directly from
the Coast Salish, since the Oowekyala name is cognate
with the Kwak’wala name but not with the Salishan name
(Compton 1993).
Linguistic patterns also help elucidate transfers of
knowledge. The name used by Ditidaht people for
Cottonwood is not analyzable in the Ditidaht language,
but is analyzable in Hesquiaht. Like the Hesquiaht, the
Ditidaht make a salve of cottonwood buds in deer fat, and
it is likely that if the name was transferred from the
Hesquiaht to the Ditidaht, the use was as well (Turner et
al., 1983). Another interesting situation involves the
Hanaksiala/Haisla use of edible seaweed (Compton
1993). Not only is the name for this species said to come
from the Coast Tsimshian, but a Tsimshian story con
cerning knowledge of its use was given to one consultant
by his grandfather, who translated the story from
Tsimshian into Hanaksiala. Compton believes that this
information suggests a Tsimshianic origin of edible sea
weed use among the Hanaksiala. Compton (1993) pro
vides a number of important insights into the transference
of plant names between various North Wakashan and
neighbouring groups.
A variation on this theme was described by Hess
(n.d.). Sometimes, if the speakers of one language excel
in a particular technique or craft, their neighbours may
borrow their words relating to that activity or artifact.
For example, the Straits Salish are exceptional reef
netters, and their name for that activity is derived from the
name for willow, because these branches are used to an
chor the nets. The Northern Lushootseed, whose territory
is adjacent to the Straits’, have a name for willow which is
very similar to the Straits name. However, the Southern
Lushootseed name for willow is completely different. This
example also illustrates the importance of borders in
demonstrating clear instances of diffusion. Turner et al.
(1987) note that there are communities on the Stl’atl’imx/
Secwepemc, Stl’atrimx/Nlaka’pamux, Nlaka’pamux/Oka
nagan and Stl’atrimx/Halq’emeylem borders that are func
tionally bilingual, and plant names and ethnobotanical tra
ditions in the communities reflect these mixtures.
Finally, linguistic analysis of plant names can suggest
broad patterns of past movement and interchange among
different cultural groups. In a preliminary analysis of one
Wakashan language (Ditidaht) and two Salishan lan
guages (Straits and Lushootseed), Hess (n.d.) found that
a number of plant names were borrowed by the Ditidaht
from the Salish peoples.15 Hess suggests that if this pat
tern is found to hold for the majority of borrowed plant
names, it may indicate the possibility of Ditidaht expan
sion at the expense of Salish territory, assuming a rela
tively stable distribution of the plants in question.
A complex situation was also identified in a compara
tive study of Interior Salishan tree names (Turner, Ig
nace and Compton, 1997). Even though the Secwepemc
language is most closely related linguistically to the
Stl’atl’imx and Nlaka’pamux languages, fewer tree names
are cognate among these three languages than among
Secwepemc, Okanagan, Flathead, Moses-Columbian and
Coeur d’Alene. This fact may give insight into the pat
tern of movements of these groups away from the proto
Salishan homeland, as the Secwepemc and the four
southeastern Salish groups all, over hundreds or thou
sands of years, had to traverse the Interior Dry Belt,
where certain tree species such as western red cedar
were absent. However, some trees have names shared
among Secwepemc, Nlaka’pamux and Stl’atl’imx, while
those of other trees with similar distributions are not.
Turner, Ignace and Compton (1997) conclude that trade
networks were probably involved in the development of
these linguistic anomalies.
Ecological Implications of Plant Exchange
Clearly the presence and abundance of plant resources
available in each Indigenous group’s territory affected
which resources were used or exchanged and in what
quantities. However, the converse of this statement?to
what extent did Indigenous peoples influence the distri
bution and abundance of native plant species??has too
infrequently been considered in the anthropological and
biological literature. Likely, people did accidentally and/
or intentionally disperse plants to new locations and con
sequently increased their range, or increased the number
of locations occupied by a plant species in a given area
(i.e., increases in frequency/abundance). There are vol
umes of evidence regarding such impacts, both deliberate
and accidental, by Europeans (e.g., Crosby, 1986) and the
effects of non-human animal dispersers are similarly well
considered. However, there has been a tendency to view
pre-contact worlds as “pristine wilderness” untouched
by human hands (Blackburn and Anderson, 1993; Dene
van, 1992), which may help explain the limited attention
paid to Indigenous peoples’ impacts on plant populations.
While a few studies have suggested instances of pre
contact human plant dispersal in eastern North America
(cf. Black, 1994; Day, 1953; Gilmore, 1931), few compara
ble reports have been made in the northwest. A notable
exception is a work by Wilson et al. (1988) regarding bit
terroot. This important root vegetable and item of ex
change was until recently thought to be restricted in its
Anthropologica XL (1998) Exchange of Botanical Products and Plant Knowledge / 63
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Canadian distribution to British Columbia. However, dis
junct populations were discovered in western Alberta in
1985, and were initially attributed to wind dispersal
(Kuijt and Michener, 1985, cited by Wilson et al., 1988).
Wilson et al. suggest three other reasonable hypotheses:
relictual distribution, which developed as a result of cli
mate change; intentional cultural dispersal by transplant
ing, since Indigenous groups in the area showed a
familiarity with cultivation of other species such as to
bacco; and accidental dispersal of the seeds or roots of
bitterroot by groups (such as the Ktunaxa) who regularly
crossed the continental divide. The authors suggest
other species with disjunct distributions that could be
similarly explained, including blue camas, yellow angelica
(Angelica dawsonii), Oregon-grape (Berberis aquifolium
ssp. repens) and western sweet cicely (Osmorhiza occi
dentalis). White the authors do not support conclusively
any of the three hypotheses, their conclusions in terms
of the potential importance of cultural dispersal are sig
nificant:
Localized, disjunct occurrences of plants that were eco
nomically important [for] native groups therefore can
not be assessed fully without consideration of the pos
sibility of cultural dispersal. Adventitious plantings of
such species beyond their normal range would make
economic sense in providing local supplies to supple
ment or even supplant long-distance trade, and to pro
vide “wayside stops” along seasonal migration routes.
Native use and trade would also have resulted in occa
sional accidental plantings. Such considerations are of
extreme importance to archaeologists and phytogeog
raphers because of the low level of visibility of plant
gathering cultural systems in the archaeological record.
(Wilson et al., 1988: 518)
The disjunctions noted in Wilson et al.’s work, along with
those described from the east, are generally small popu
lations, which may imply that the ecological impacts of
such dispersal are generally minor. However, the fact
that such disjunctions are isolated, and located near areas
of human habitation or migration, is what makes human
influence a recognizable possibility (Black, 1994). Other,
more extensive, populations may have begun initially as
similar small disjunctions. This is speculation, but the
potential exists for significant impacts on the ranges of
species. Also, if a subpopulation becomes well estab
lished, with the disjunction maintained, the possibility of
genetic differentiation is high.
In some cases the effect may not be so obvious. As
noted by Black (ibid.), people can increase the abundance
of a species within or adjacent to its natural distribution.
Also, people may encourage the growth of plants that
have been dispersed by more usual means. Black gives
the example of a wild strawberry patch tended by a Cree
man in an otherwise unfavourable boreal habitat. The
plant could have been established originally by means of
a bird, but the man provided it with a favourable place to
grow and thrive. The existence of an unusual low-eleva
tion population of yellow avalanche lily near Neskonlith
Lake in southcentral British Columbia may be another
example. This species is more commonly found at sub
alpine elevations in BC. It is possible that bulbs or seeds
were accidentally brought by animals or humans or pur
posefully brought by people to the more easily accessible
Neskonlith meadows long ago, and that the practices of
regular digging, burning and cultivation16 in the area over
time encouraged the remarkable abundant growth evi
dent there today.
The ethnographic and ethnobotanical literature pro
vide examples of species that were said to have been
transplanted, and particular locations where this oc
curred. Some transplantations involved traded species,
which were thus brought in from another group’s terri
tory, whereas others involved economically important
local species that were simply transplanted closer to vil
lages. In both cases, the desire for a convenient source of
an important resource was probably a prime motivation.
A possible example is camas, a bulb generally acquired
by the Nuu-Chah-Nulth through trade from the Salishan
peoples of southern Vancouver Island, but which accord
ing to Hesquiaht people was introduced and planted
around Hesquiaht village about 100 years ago. Cat-tails,
too, were said to have been transplanted into Hesquiaht
territory (Turner and Efrat, 1982). Springbank clover
was reportedly established at a site in the Kitlope Valley
(Hanaksiala territory) by a Nuxalk woman, Margaret
Siwallace (Chief Ken Hall, Haisla relative of Margaret
Siwallace, personal communication to NT, 1994). Also,
one ethnographic account suggests that peoples of the
Puget Sound region transplanted wapato, an important
root vegetable, from one area to another (Haeberlin and
Gunther, 1930). Meilleur (1979) speculated on a means
by which a species of tobacco (Nicotiana quadrivalvis, a
different species from that grown and used in southern
British Columbia, N. attenuata) came to be cultivated by
Haida and Tlingit peoples some 1 600 km north of the
species’ normal range. He suggests that the plant was
initially cultivated and traded along an east-west corridor
in the vicinity of The Dalles on the Columbia River, then
was carried up along the eastern border of the Rockies
and over to Athapaskan or Gitksan territories, which
were served by Tlingit trading parties.
64 / Nancy J. Turner, Dawn C. Loewen Anthropologica XL (1998)
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Transplantations of stinging nettle, an important
fibre plant commonly found associated with areas of
human habitation (Turner, 1978),17 provide examples of
both intra- and intergroup exchange. Compton’s (1993)
consultant Gordon Robertson stated that the Hanaksiala
and Haisla people planted stinging nettle around their vil
lages so that it would always be at hand for making
twine. Compton (1993: 295) notes further that people
visiting from the central coast communities of Kimsquit,
Bella Coola and Metlakatla “when they came to trade for
food items with the Hanaksiala, took stinging nettles
back with them.”
These types of transplants may have become much
more common following the influence of European horti
cultural techniques.18 It may be possible, with long-lived
species, to date individual plants or populations thought
to have been deliberately transplanted. However, in gen
eral it is difficult to determine with any certainty the
extent of pre-contact human impacts on the distribution
and abundance of plant species. Oral traditions may not
retain such incidents over countless generations. Also,
because the most basic biology of many plant species is
still poorly understood, there is often no basis for pursu
ing such higher-level questions as how a species got to
be where it is (Dr. Geraldine Allen, plant taxonomist,
University of Victoria, personal communication to DL,
1996). Nevertheless, the examples of possible types of
translocations discussed should be sufficient to encour
age greater consideration of potential past human im
pacts on plant ecology. This is particularly true in cases
where the species’ range appears anomalous in some way,
as in cases of disjunctions. As Gordon Day (1953: 343)
commented, “a knowledge of local archaeology and his
tory should be a part of the ecologist’s equipment.” The
reverse is, of course, true for anthropologists.
Recent Indigenous Plant Exchange
Contact with Europeans and other non-Natives brought
an increased frequency and intensity of exchange, includ
ing traditional plant resources and knowledge. This in
crease probably reached its peak around the beginning of
the 20th century (Turner and Efrat, 1982). With an ever
greater reliance by Indigenous peoples on introduced
foods, materials and medicines, and an increasing domi
nance of European language, currency and other aspects
of culture, many types of traditional plant-related ex
change dwindled.
However, a number of traditional plant resources
continued to be valued exchange items despite the gen
eral decline in native plant use and trade. For example,
Ida Jones recalled that when she was young, Ditidaht
people used to trade dried fish and other items for camas
from the Salish people in Victoria (Turner et al, 1983).
Many traditionally valued resources were also bought
with money rather than other subsistence items. Elsie
Claxton, Straits Salish from Tsawout, noted that West
Coast (Nuu-Chah-Nulth) peoples really liked camas
bulbs, and that, “a long time ago,” they would pay five to
ten dollars for a 50-pound potato sack of the cooked bulbs
(personal communication to NT, October 1996). The
same quantity of potatoes would have cost perhaps two
dollars at that time. Also, Annie York and Alice Paul
remembered that, in the early 1900s, Nlaka’pamux
women used to sell soapberries and other traditional
foods at the camps of Native hop pickers in the Fraser
Valley (Turner and Efrat, 1982; Turner et al., 1990).
More recently, Compton (1993) noted that along the
coast in 1989, a pint jar of soapberries was worth $25
CDN and a quart jar $50 CDN. Also, according to Turner
and Efrat (1982), bear-grass leaves were still being pur
chased by Hesquiaht basketmakers from people in Wash
ington, for about $1.00 per 2.5 cm (1 inch) bundle.19
Many goods are now exchanged privately among friends
and relatives from different areas; for example, Mary
Thomas, who is Secwepemc, obtains bitterroot from
friends in Okanagan territory (personal communication
to NT, 1995, 1996). She also described an example of
“sharing of access” to resources that has occurred in her
lifetime. Her uncle was married to a Ktunaxa woman,
and they and some other Ktunaxa people would travel to
Salmon Arm, in Secwepemc territory, by train during the
summer. They would stay about a month and harvest
“everything that the Secwepemc people used,” including
berries, root vegetables and salmon. In return, they
brought dried elk meat, which their Secwepemc friends
were not able to acquire locally.
Transplanting and transporting of plants and plant
propagules from one place to another is also a common
practice today. For example, Kwakwaka’wakw Heredi
tary Chief Adam Dick (personal communication to NT,
1996) recalled transplanting rooted stems of highbush
cranberry from the bog meadows at Kingcome Inlet to
his own backyard, to provide a good source of berries for
his family’s use. Secwepemc plant specialist Mary
Thomas has transplanted a number of important wild
root vegetables, including the living bitterroot brought by
friends, into her own garden. Recently, at a Nuxalk pot
latch in Bella Coola, visiting Heiltsuk chiefs were pre
sented with live Cottonwood trees as gifts. These were
planted in Bella Bella, and are growing vigourously there
today (Evelyn Windsor, Heiltsuk, personal communica
tion to NT, 1996).
Anthropologica XL (1998) Exchange of Botanical Products and Plant Knowledge / 65
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
As these last examples imply, social aspects of
Indigenous exchange have remained strong. For exam
ple, a recent report focussing on the Carrier people
noted that, despite considerable post-contact cultural
change, many fundamental patterns of traditional culture
persist, such as traditional methods of redistribution by
reciprocal giving, and sharing to ensure that everyone
has food to eat. The report concluded that participation in
this exchange system, in which kinship ties were still the
basis of association, confirmed a person’s rightful place in
the community (Archeo Tech Associates, 1993).
Plant-related exchange with non-Natives also contin
ues today. Indigenous artisans continue to sell their bas
kets, carvings (especially masks and totem poles) and
other crafts as artwork, and prices now more accurately
reflect the skill and effort involved. Exchange of knowl
edge takes place as well. Ethnobotanists continue to
learn about traditional uses of plants, and are also paying
greater attention to traditional methods of landscape and
resource management. There are also non-Native indi
viduals who seek traditional knowledge as a means of ex
ploiting potential profits generated, for example, by
medicinal plants. Fortunately, there is an increasing
awareness that the intellectual property rights of Indige
nous peoples need to be respected, and acceptable forms
of compensation developed. More realistic arrangements
for reimbursing people for their knowledge, as well as for
their time and the botanical goods they produce are
essential.
Conclusions
The exchange of plant materials, including foodstuffs,
materials and manufactured products, was an important
facet of complex exchange networks encompassing many
northwestern Indigenous peoples. Trade was important
in increasing the diversity of foods and materials avail
able to people, in obtaining products of higher quality
than would be available locally, in exchanging items of
specialized crafting, or in overcoming scheduling con
flicts. Furthermore, plant exchange was not only influ
enced by the broader cultural context, but in turn
affected that context through impacts on a group’s lan
guage and collective knowledge. These economic and
other cultural implications of plant exchange continued to
exist after contact, and are still apparent to some extent
today. Finally, plant exchange may have had significant
extra-cultural consequences, in terms of effects on the
ecology of the plants themselves, including both abun
dance and distribution.
Analysis of the development of various botanical
technologies and linguistic anomalies can reveal much
about the origins and interrelationships of the peoples
themselves. Yet many questions remain, such as: “Why
were some resources/technologies/names exchanged,
but not others?”; “What influences did traditional pat
terns of use and ownership play in plant abundance and
distribution?”; and “To what extent was trading a social
or an economic phenomenon, and was it desired, or
required, for peoples’ survival and well-being?” While
many mysteries will undoubtedly persist, rewards for
investigating such questions are equally certain.
Appendix 1: Current and Previously Used
Names for Aboriginal Groups Discussed
in Text (Not a Complete Listing)
Contemporary Name Previously Used or Alternate Name/s
Ditidaht Nitinaht
Gitksan Gitxsan, Gitk’san
Halq’emeylem Halkomelem, Cowichan, Sto:lo, or
Stalo (includes Katzie)
Heiltsuk Bella Bella, Northern Kwakiutl
Kitasoo Southern Tsimshian
Ktunaxa Kootenay (or Kootenai or Kutenai)
Kwakwaka’wakw Kwakiutl, Southern Kwakiutl, Kwagiulth
Lushootseed Puget Sound Salish, including Duwamish,
Green River, Lower Skagit (Swinomish),
Nisqually (Skokomish), Puyallup,
Skykomish, Snohomish, Snuqualmie,
Squaxin, Suquamish, Upper Skagit
Nisga’a Nishga, Niska, Nisga
Nlaka’pamux Thompson
Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nootka, Westcoast (sometimes
includes Ditidaht)
Nuxalk (-mc) Bella Coola
Secwepemc Shuswap
Stl’atl’imx Lillooet
Straits Salish includes Lummi, Samish, Clallam or
Klallam, Saanich, Songish
Taidnapam (Sahaptin) Upper Cowlitz
Tsilhqot’in Chilcotin
Tvana Skokomish
Acknowledgments
We are grateful for the valuable contributions of Aborigi
nal elders and other cultural specialists cited or quoted in
this study: Dolly Watts (Gitksan); Dora Wedge, Winnie
Atlin (Tagish); Bernadette Antoine, Louie Phillips, Mary
Williams, Annie York (Nlaka’pamux); Margaret Lester
(StTati’imx); Mary Thomas (Secwepemc); Alice Paul
(Hesquiaht); Elsie Claxton (Straits Salish); Violet
Williams (Halq’emeylem); Chief Ken Hall, Gordon
Robertson (Haisla, Hanaksiala); Evelyn Windsor (Heilt
suk); Dr. Margaret Siwallace (Nuxalk); Chief Adam Dick
(Kwakwaka’wakw). A number of individuals contributed
66 / Nancy J. Turner, Dawn C. Loewen Anthropologica XL (1998)
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
useful information by means of an ethnobiology list
server: David Bainbridge, Lyn Dearborn, Maria Emery,
Sybille Haeussler, Anna Hopkins, Sarah Mason, Dave
Ruppert and Janna Weiss.
We also acknowledge the contributions of ethnobiol
ogist Dr. Brian Compton, and plant taxonomist Dr. Geral
dine Allen. The editorial advice and criticism of Dr.
Daniel Clement and three anonymous reviewers is grate
fully acknowledged. Technical assistance was kindly pro
vided by Colin Laroque. Research for this project was
funded in part by Social Sciences and Humanities Re
search Council grants to N. Turner.
Address information for Nancy J. Turner. School
of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, BC
V8W 2Y2. Phone: (250) 721-6124; Fax: (250) 721-8985;
E-mail: NTurner@UVic.ca
Address information for Dawn C. Loewen: School
of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, BC
V8W 2Y2. Phone: (250) 721-6124; Fax: (250) 721-8985.
Notes
1 Malinowski (1922) described this effectively for Melanesian
peoples. In the Pacific Northwest, the practice of potlatch
ing provides an example of equally complex exchange.
2 Names used in the text are those thought to be currently pre
ferred by the various Indigenous groups themselves. A list of
commonly used synonyms is found in Appendix 1, and a map
of the groups in the region of interest is shown in Figure 1.
3 For example, Teit (1909) stated that the Tsilhqot’in tradi
tionally traded little with the Carrier, but that this changed
after the establishment of trading-posts in Carrier country
in the early 19th century.
4 Scientific names for plant species are given in Table 1,
unless otherwise noted.
5 Gunther (1945) stated that except for choice varieties of
dried salmon, there was no food item more widely traded by
Washington peoples than camas. The importance of camas
was also noted by Ronan (1932: 301), who noted “that when
the Flatheads went to trade with the Blackfeet they could
get more in exchange for a few bags of camas than for any
thing else: [and] that they often got a buffalo robe for a few
handsful of it.”
6 Ligusticum canbyi has a scattered and infrequent distribu
tion in relatively inaccessible habitats, therefore it is per
haps not surprising that it could have been an item of trade.
7 Part of this trail system was travelled by Alexander
Mackenzie, which resulted in its being designated the
“Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail.” While this designa
tion in some sense recognizes the importance of the trail, or
one part of it, Birch water et al. (1993) point out that it does
not acknowledge the venerable history and significance of
the trail system for the Nuxalk-Carrier peoples.
8 The potato trade was highly significant to the Europeans as
well. Mackie (1984) notes that colonists in the Victoria area
in the mid-1800s acquired most of their two staples, pota
toes and salmon, from Indigenous peoples such as the
Cowichan.
9 It is also possible that Indian hemp was a common item of
trade simply because it was constantly in demand. Teit and
Boas (1973: 255) stated: “Indian hemp, Indian-hemp twine,
and dressed skins, chiefly deerskins, were staples, and
although almost equally common to all the tribes of the
interior, were in demand almost constantly because they
were so much required for manufactures and clothing. All
commodities could be bought with them.”
10 Teit (1906: 207) similarly noted of the Stl’atl’imx that “At
the present day coiled [cedar-root] baskets are manufac
tured in great numbers by the Lillooet River and Pemberton
bands, who sell them to the whites and to the Indian tribes
of the coast-”
11 The work of Claude Levi-Strauss (1966, 1969) is notable in
demonstrating the complex linkages, borrowings and con
versions that occur among the stories and traditions of dif
ferent peoples.
12 Teit appears to imply that, for example, fish prongs were
modeled by the Tsilhqot’in after Secwepemc design. How
ever, in most instances Teit probably means his compar
isons simply as a shorthand, to avoid reiterating de
scriptions he has already made in detail for other groups,
and directionality of transfer, or transfer per se, is not
implied.
13 These “other reasons” included, ironically, participating in
non-Native cultural activities. For example, Sliammon
(Comox Salish) women from around Powell River credit
Secwepemc women of Kamloops for teaching them the art
of making coiled cedar-root baskets, as a result of interac
tions at prayer meetings in Kamloops around the turn of the
century (Kennedy and Bouchard, 1983).
14 In the period of intensified trade after contact, the necessity
for communication among many different groups including
non-Natives led to the development of Chinook jargon. A
number of Chinook jargon terms became so widely used
that the original names in many languages were forgotten
(Turner and Kuhnlein, 1983).
15 It is interesting that the opposite pattern was noted previ
ously for groups of these language families further north;
i.e., the Salishan Nuxalk language borrowed extensively
from the North Wakashan languages. For example, the
name for licorice fern in various Coast Salish languages,
variants on the Halq’emeylem name tl’esiip, is apparently
derived from the Ditidaht, tl’aa7asiip, since it is analyzable
in the latter language, as “tendency to grow on the ground”
(Turner et al., 1983).
16 See Turner (1992) for a discussion of potential positive
impacts of Indigenous harvesting and management prac
tices on plant populations.
17 Stinging nettle also simply could have been encouraged
where it grew, as it has a weedy tendency which would
make it likely to thrive in disturbed areas.
18 The phenomenally rapid and widespread acceptance of the
potato suggests that Indigenous peoples mastered gardening
techniques with impressive alacrity, and/or they were previ
ously familiar with analogous techniques. Thus, “gardening”
types of activities may have been more common in pre-con
tact times than is generally assumed (Suttles, 1951b).
Anthropologica XL (1998) Exchange of Botanical Products and Plant Knowledge / 67
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
19 However, it is felt that this “grass” is not as long or as good
quality as formerly (1\irner and Efrat, 1982).
References Cited
Albright, S.L.
1984 Tahltan Ethnoarchaeology, Burnaby, Department of
Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Publication No. 15.
Archeo Tech Associates
1993 An Aboriginal Sustenance Impact Assessment of the
Quesnel River Gold Development Project, Near Ques
nel, BC, prepared for Ministry of Energy, Mines and
Petroleum Resources, Victoria, BC.
Birchwater, S., with Ulkatcho and Nuxalk Elders
1993 Ulkatcho Stories of the Grease Trail, Anahim Lake,
Ulkatcho Culture Curriculum Committee.
Black, M J.
1994 [1978] Plant Dispersal by Native North Americans in
the Canadian Subarctic, The Nature and Status of Eth
nobotany, R.I. Ford (ed.), 2nd ed., Anthropological
Papers No. 67, Ann Arbor, Museum of Anthropology,
University of Michigan: 255-262.
Blackburn, T.C., and K. Anderson (eds.)
1993 Before the Wilderness: Environmental Management by
Native Californians, Menlo Park, CA: Ballena Press.
Boas, E
1923 Bella Bella Notes, Boas Collection of American Indian
Linguistics, Film 372, Reel 1, American Philosophical
Society Library: Philadelphia.
Burk, W.R., and T.K. Fitzgerald
1981 Puffball Usages Among North American Indians, McR
vainea, 5(1): 14-17.
Compton, B.D.
1993 Upper North Wakashan and Southern Tsimshian Eth
nobotany: The Knowledge and Usage of Plants and
Fungi among the Oweekeno, Hanaksiala (Kitlope and
Kemano), Haisla (Kitamaat) and Kitasoo Peoples of the
Central and North Coasts of British Columbia, unpub
lished PhD dissertation, University of British Columbia.
Crosby, A.W.
1986 Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of
Europe, 900-1900, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Darby, M.C.
1996 Wapato for the People: An Ecological Approach to
Understanding the Native American Use of Sagittaria
latifolia on the Lower Columbia River, unpublished MA
thesis, Portland State University.
Day, G.M.
1953 The Indian as an Ecological Factor in the Northeastern
Forest, Ecology, 34:329-346.
Decosse, S.S.
1980 Athapaskan-Tlingit Trade Relations: The Case for Bal
anced Reciprocity, unpublished MA thesis, University of
Victoria.
Denevan, W.M.
1992 The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in
1492, Annals of the Association of American Geographers,
82(3): 369-385.
Donald, L.
1997 Aboriginal Slavery on the Northwest Coast of North
America, Berkeley: University of California Press.
Douglas, D.
1914 fournal Kept by David Douglas During His Travels in
North America 1823-1827, London: William Wesley &
Son.
Drucker, P.
1951 The Northern and Central Nootkan Tribes, Bulletin
144, Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Eth
nology, Washington, DC: United States Government
Printing Office.
Earle, T.K.
1982 Prehistoric Economies and the Archaeology of
Exchange, Contexts for Prehistoric Exchange, J.E. Eric
son and T.K. Earle (eds.), New York: Academic Press:
1-12.
Edwards, G.T.
1979 Indian Spaghetti, The Beaver, Autumn 1979: 4-11.
Elmendorf, WW
1960 The Structure of Tvana Culture, Research Studies
27(3) Supplement, Pullman: Washington State Univer
sity.
Gilmore, M.R.
1931 Dispersal by Indians as a Factor in the Extension of
Discontinuous Distribution of Certain Species of Native
Plants, Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts
and Letters, 13: 89-94.
Gottesfeld, L.MJ.
1994 Wet’suwet’en Ethnobotany: Traditional Plant Uses,
fournal of Ethnobiology, 14(2): 185-210.
Greer, S.
1995 Skookum Stories on the Chilkoot/Dyea Trail, Carcross
Tagish First Nation, Parks Canada, Yukon Region.
Gunther, E.
1945 Ethnobotany of Western Washington, Seattle: Univer
sity of Washington Press.
Haeberlin, H., and E. Gunther
1930 The Indians of Puget Sound, University of Washington
Publications in Anthropology, 4(1): 1-84.
Hanna, D., and M. Henry (eds.)
1996 Our Tellings: Interior Salish Stories of the Nlha7kdpmx
People, Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.
Hess, T.
n.d. Borrowed Words and B.C. Prehistory, unpublished
manuscript, University of Victoria.
Huelsbeck, D.R.
1988 The Surplus Economy of the Central Northwest
Coast, Prehistoric Economies of the Pacific Northwest
Coast, B.L. Isaac (ed.), Research in Economic Anthro
pology Supplement 3, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press:
149-177.
Hunn, E.S., with James Selam and family
1990 Nch’i-Wana: “The Big River,” Mid-Columbia Indians
and Their Land, Seattle: University of Washington
Press.
68 / Nancy J. Turner, Dawn C. Loewen Anthropologica XL (1998)
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Hunn, E.S., NJ. Tlirner and D.H. French
1998 Ethnobiology and Subsistence, chap. 36, Handbook of
North American Indians, W.C. Sturtevant (gen. ed.), Vol.
12, Plateau, D.E. Walker (ed.), Washington, DC: Smith
sonian Institution: 525-545.
Inglis,J.T.(ed.)
1993 Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Concepts and Cases,
Ottawa: International Program on Traditional Ecological
Knowledge and International Development Research
Centre, Canadian Museum of Nature.
Kennedy, D., and R. Bouchard
1983 Sliammon Life; Sliammon Lands, Vancouver: Talon
books.
Kuhnlein, H.V, and NJ. Turner
1991 Traditional Plant Foods of Canadian Indigenous Peo
ples: Nutrition, Botany and Use, Philadelphia: Gordon
and Breach Science Publishers.
Kuijt, J., and G.R. Michener
1985 First Record of the Bitterroot, Lewisia rediviva, in
Alberta, Canadian Field-Naturalist, 99(2): 264-266.
Lee, R.B., and R. Daly (eds.)
In press The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Hunters and Gather
ers, Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Levi-Strauss, C.
1966 The Savage Mind, anonymous translation, Chicago:
University of Chicago Press. Originally published in
1962 as La Fenste Sauvage, Paris: Librairie Plon.
1969 The Raw and the Cooked: Introduction to a Science of
Mythology: I, J. and D. Weightman (trans.), New York:
Harper & Row. Originally published in 1964 as Le Cru et
le Cuit, Paris: Librairie Plon.
Mackie, R.S.
1984 Colonial Land, Indian Labour and Company Capital:
The Economy of Vancouver Island, 1849-1858, unpub
lished MA thesis, University of Victoria.
Malinowski, B.
1922 Argonauts of the Western Pacific, London: Routledge &
Kegan Paul.
Mauss, M.
1990 The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in
Archaic Societies, W.D. Halls (trans.), London: Rout
ledge. Originally published in LAnnie Sociologique,
1923-24.
Meilleur, B.A.
1979 Speculations on the Diffusion of Nicotiana quadrivalvis
Pursh to the Queen Charlotte Islands and Adjacent
Alaskan Mainland, Syesis, 12:101-104.
Mitchell, D., and L. Donald
1988 Archaeology and the Study of Northwest Coast
Economies, Prehistoric Economies of the Pacific North
west Coast, B.L. Isaac (ed.), Research in Economic
Anthropology Supplement 3, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press:
293-351.
Norton, H.H., R. Boyd and E.S. Hunn
1983 The Klickitat Trail of South-Central Washington: A
Reconstruction of Seasonally Used Resource Sites,
Reconstruction of the Southern Northwest Coast, R.E.
Greengo (ed.), Seattle: Thomas Burke Memorial
Museum, University of Washington: 121-152.
Oberg, K.
1943 A Comparison of Three Systems of Primitive Econom
ic Organization, American Anthropologist, 45: 572-587.
1973 The Social Economy of the Tlingit Indians, Seattle:
University of Washington Press.
Olson, R.L.
1935 Owikeno Field Notes, University Archives, The Ban
croft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
1954 Social Life of the Owikeno Kwakiutl, University of
California Anthropological Records, 14(3): 213-260.
Palmer, G.B.
1975 Cultural Ecology in the Canadian Plateau: Pre-Contact
to the Early Contact Period in the Territory of the
Southern Shuswap Indians of British Columbia, North
west Anthropological Research Notes, 9(2): 199-245.
Ray,V
1938 Lower Chinook Ethnographic Notes, University of
Washington Publications in Anthropology, 7(2): 29-165.
Ronan, M.
1932 Memoirs of a Frontier’s Woman, Mary C. Ronan,
unpublished MA thesis, University of Montana.
Sewid-Smith, D., and Dick, A.
In press The Sacred Cedar Tree of the Kwakwaka’wakw Peo
ple, Interview with NJ. Turner, Background Book for
Alocoa Foundation Hall of Native Americans, M. Bol
(ed.), Pittsburgh, PA: The Carnegie Museum of Natural
History.
Smith, H.I.
1920-23 The Uses of Plants by the Carrier Indians of
British Columbia, 2 vols., unpublished manuscript,
Ottawa: National Museum of Canada.
Sproat, G.M.
1987 The Nootka: Scenes and Studies of Savage Life, C. Lil
lard (ed.), Victoria: Sono Nis Press. Originally published
as G.M. Sproat, 1868, Scenes and Studies of Savage Life,
London: Smith/Elder.
Steedman, E.V (ed.)
1930 The Ethnobotany of the Thompson Indians of British
Columbia, based on field notes of James A. Teit, Wash
ington, DC: Bureau of American Ethnology, 30th Annual
Report, 1908-9: 33-102.
Stewart, H. (ed.)
1987 The Adventures and Sufferings of John R. fewitt: Cap
tive of Chief Maquinna, annotated and illustrated by
Hilary Stewart, Vancouver: Douglas & Mclntyre. Origi
nally published as J.R. Jewitt, 1824, The Adventures and
Sufferings offohn R. fewitt, Edinburgh: Arch. Constable
&Co.
Suttles, W.
1951a Katzie Ethnographic Notes, Anthropology in British
Columbia, Memoirs 2 and 3.
1951b The Early Diffusion of the Potato among the Coast Sal
ish, Southwestern fournal of Anthropology, 7(3): 272-288.
1987a Affinal Ties, Subsistence and Prestige among the
Coast Salish, Coast Salish Essays, Vancouver, BC: Talon
books, and Seattle: University of Washington Press:
15-25. Originally published in 1960, American Anthropol
ogist, 62: 296-305.
Anthropologica XL (1998) Exchange of Botanical Products and Plant Knowledge / 69
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
1987b Coping with Abundance: Subsistence on the Northwest
Coast, Coast Salish Essays, Vancouver, BC: Talonbooks,
and Seattle: University of Washington Press: 45-63.
Suttles, W. (ed.)
1990 Handbook of North American Indians, W.C. Sturtevant
(gen. ed.), Vol. 7, Northwest Coast, Washington, DC:
Smithsonian Institution.
Swan, J.
1869 The Indians of Cape Flattery, Smithsonian Contribu
tions to Knowledge No. 220, Vol. 16, Article 8, Washing
ton, DC: Smithsonian Institution: 1-108.
Teit,J.A.
1900 The Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Jesup
North Pacific Expedition, Memoir Vol. 1, Part 4, New
York: American Museum of Natural History.
1906 The Lillooet Indians, Jesup North Pacific Expedition,
Memoir Vol. 2, Part 5, New York: American Museum of
Natural History.
1909 The Shuswap, Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir
Vol. 2, Part 7, New York: American Museum of Natural
History.
Teit, J.A., and E Boas
1973 The Salishan Tribes of the Western Plateaus, Extract
from 45th B.A.E. Annual Report 1927-28, Seattle:
Shorey Book Store.
Turner, NJ.
1973 The Ethnobotany of the Bella Coola Indians of British
Columbia, Syesis, 6:193-220.
1978 Plants of the Nootka Sound Indians as Recorded by Cap
tain Cook, Nutka: Captain Cook and the Spanish Explor
ers on the Coast, B.S. Efrat and WJ. Langlois (eds.),
Victoria: Provincial Archives of British Columbia: 78-87.
1979 Plants in British Columbia Indian Technology, Hand
book No. 38, Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum.
1992 Plant Resources of the StVdtVimx (Fraser River Lil
looet) People: A Window into the Past, A Complex Cul
ture of the British Columbia Plateau, B. Hayden (ed.),
Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press:
405-469.
1995 Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples, Victoria: Royal
British Columbia Museum, and Vancouver: University of
British Columbia Press.
1996 ?Dans une hotte*. Limportance de la vannerie dans
l’economie des peuples chasseurs-pecheurs-cueilleurs
du Nord-Ouest de 1’Amerique du Nord, Anthropologie et
Socittis, 20(33): 55-84.
1997 Food Plants of Interior First Peoples, Victoria: Royal
British Columbia Museum, and Vancouver: University of
British Columbia Press.
Tlirner, N.J., and M.A.M. Bell
1971 The Ethnobotany of the Coast Salish Indians of Van
couver Island, Economic Botany, 25(1): 63-104; 25(3):
335-339.
1973 The Ethnobotany of the Southern Kwakiutl Indians of
British Columbia, Economic Botany, 27(3): 257-310.
Turner, N.J., R. Bouchard and D.I.D. Kennedy
1980 The Ethnobotany of the Okanagan-Colville Indians of
British Columbia and Washington, Occasional Paper
No. 21, Victoria: British Columbia Provincial Museum.
Turner, N.J., R. Bouchard, D. Kennedy and J. Van Eijk
1987 Ethnobotany of the Stl’atl’imx (Lillooet) Indians of
British Columbia, unpublished manuscript, Victoria:
Royal British Columbia Museum.
Turner, N.J., and B.S. Efrat
1982 Ethnobotany of the Hesquiat Indians of Vancouver
Island, Cultural Recovery Paper No. 2, Victoria: British
Columbia Provincial Museum.
Turner, N.J., and M.B. Ignace (eds.)
1993-97 Unpublished notes on Secwepemc Ethnobotany,
Kamloops: Secwepemc Cultural Education Institute.
Turner, N.J., M.B. Ignace and B.D. Compton
1997 Secwepemc (Shuswap)Tree Names: Key to the Past?
Studies in Salish Linguistics, E. Czaykowska-Higgins and
M.D. Kinkade (eds.), Germany: Mouton de Gruyter:
387-417.
Turner, N.J., and H.V. Kuhnlein
1983 Camas (Camassia spp.) and Riceroot (Fritillaria spp.):
T\vo Liliaceous “Root” Foods of the Northwest Coast
Indians, Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 13:199-219.
Turner, N.J., J. Thomas, B.E Carlson and R.T. Ogilvie
1983 Ethnobotany of the Nitinaht Indians of Vancouver
Island, Occasional Paper Series, No. 24, Victoria: Royal
British Columbia Museum.
Turner, N.J., L.C. Thompson, M.T. Thompson and A.Z. York
1990 Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage
of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia,
Memoir No. 3, Victoria: Royal British Columbia
Museum.
Watts, D.
1997 Trading for Food Among the North Coastal First
Nations, Good Cheer/Bon Temps (Cuisine Canada: The
Canadian Culinary Alliance), 3(1): 1.
Williams, M.D.
1979 The Harvesting of “Slukus” (Porphyra perforata) by
the Straits Salish Indians of Vancouver Island, Syesis, 12:
63-68.
Williams, N.M., and G. Baines (eds.)
1993 Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Wisdom for Sustain
able Development, Canberra: Centre for Resource and
Environmental Studies, Australian National University.
Wilson, M.C., L.V Hills, B.O.K. Reeves and S.A. Aaberg
1988 Bitterroot, Lewisia rediviva, in Southwestern Alberta:
Cultural versus Natural Dispersal, Canadian Field
Naturalist, 102(3): 515-522.
70 / Nancy J. Turner, Dawn C. Loewen Anthropologica XL (1998)
This content downloaded from
������������142.104.240.194 on Thu, 04 Feb 2021 08:15:24 UTC������������
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
p. 49
p. 50
p. 51
p. 52
p. 53
p. 54
p. 55
p. 56
p. 57
p. 58
p. 59
p. 60
p. 61
p. 62
p. 63
p. 64
p. 65
p. 66
p. 67
p. 68
p. 69
p. 70
Anthropologica, Vol. 40, No. 1 (1998) pp. 1-148
Front Matter
Foreword [pp. 3-5]
L’Ethnobiologie / Ethnobiology [pp. 7-34]
Mixtepec Zapotec Ethnobiological Classification: A Preliminary Sketch and Theoretical Commentary [pp. 35-48]
The Original “Free Trade”: Exchange of Botanical Products and Associated Plant Knowledge in Northwestern North America [pp. 49-70]
Clones within Clones: Cosmology and Esthetics and Polynesian Crop Selection [pp. 71-82]
“Si l’arbre ne respirait pas, comment grandirait-il?” La conception du vivant pour les Gouro de Côte-d’Ivoire, exemple de l’arbre [pp. 83-98]
Alfred F. Whiting: textes choisis/Selected Essays [pp. 99-108]
Les fondements historiques de l’ethnobiologie (1860-1899) [pp. 109-128]
Book Reviews / Comptes rendus
Review: untitled [pp. 129-131]
Review: untitled [pp. 131-133]
Review: untitled [pp. 133-134]
Review: untitled [pp. 134-135]
Review: untitled [pp. 135-137]
Review: untitled [pp. 137-139]
Review: untitled [pp. 140-140]
Review: untitled [pp. 141-143]
Review: untitled [pp. 143-144]
Review: untitled [pp. 144-146]
Review: untitled [pp. 146-146]
Review: untitled [pp. 146-147]
Review: untitled [pp. 148-148]
Back Matter
PURPOSEFUL READING (3-2-1) REPORT Version 2.0
Lightly Adapted from a template by Geraldine Van Gyn.
Question 1:
In your own words
, what are the 3 most important concepts, ideas or issues in the reading? Briefly explain why you chose them.
Concept 1 (In your own words) (2 marks)
Concept 2 (In your own words) (2 marks)
Concept 3 (In your own words) (2 marks)
Question 2: What are 2 concepts, ideas or issues in the article that you had difficulty understanding, or that are missing but should have been included?
In your own words
, briefly explain what you did to correct the situation (e.g. looked up an unfamiliar word or a missing fact), and the result. Cite any sites or sources used in APA format.
Issue 1 (In your own words) (1 mark)
Citation 1 (in APA format) (1 mark)
Issue 2 (In your own words) (1 mark)
Citation 2 (in APA format) (1 mark)
Question 3: What is the main economic story of the reading? (Economics studies the allocation of scarce resources.)
Story (In your own words) (2 marks)
ADMINISTRATIVE PROGRAMS AND CHANGES IN BLOOD SOCIETY DURING THE RESERVE
PERIOD
Author(s):
Esther S. Goldfrank
Source: Applied Anthropology, Vol. 2, No. 2 (JANUARY—MARCH 1943), pp. 18-23
Published by: Society for Applied Anthropology
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44135057
Accessed: 05-02-2021 12:06 UTC
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
Society for Applied Anthropology is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and
extend access to Applied Anthropology
This content downloaded from 142.104.240.194 on Fri, 05 Feb 2021 12:06:55 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
18 APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
ADMINISTRATIVE PROGRAMS AND CHANGES IN BLOOD SOCIETY
DURING THE RESERVE PERIOD
by
Esther S. Goldfrank
Post-war reconstruction poses innumer-
able problems – and past experience gives no com-
plete answer to any of them. Yet an examination oí
evena limited field of administration may high-light
some of the many difficulties that must be faced
when a comprehensive economic and educational
program is being considered for a small group, a
tribe, or a nation.
The Blood Indians,1 aBlackfoot tribe, who
in historic time frequented the western plains of the
United States and Canada, were particularly favored
by circumstance. Their country was well-stocked
with the buffalo upon which they depended for food,
shelter, and clothing; their early possession of the
horse and comparative freedom from white pressure
gave ample opportunity for profit from an expand-
ing fur trade. 2 Technical skill and individual brav-
ery were duly recognized, but the accumulation of
wealth was necessarily limited by the exigencies of
their nomadic life. Wealth remained fluid, but it was
not equally distributed; the many tales of intra-tribal
violence in the pre-reserve period are evidence that,
in spite of cooperative mechanisms, competitive
trends were increasingly asserted. Horse wealth,
whether actual or translated into privilege by pur-
chase became the major determinant of status. 3
Contrary to the experience of certain oth-
er Plains tribes, who once established on a reserve
settled down to more or less stable economy,4 the
recent history of the Blood is marked by rapid
change. This situation aids in evaluating traditional
attitudes in terms of social programming; it re-
veals what kind of rewards bring favorable responses
and why.
1877-1894.
In 1877, the Blood were placed upon their
reserve in Alberta, Canada. In 1878 a winter count
reads, “this year the buffalo went out of sight.” The
warriors settled peacably on government land. They
were encouraged to farm or herd,^ if the two cows
that were allotted to a family of five can be so-
called, but neither program met with success. By
1884, 1500 Blood were farming only 275 acres, and
most of the labor wąs still supplied by the whites;**
and that same year, the agency sold off the few re-
maining cattle, glad enough to remove another “source
of expense and anxiety.” ‘
The tribe was on relief. They gratefully
accepted the meager government rations that in-
sured- equality ona minimum subsistence level. But
the disparity in wealth due to the unequal ownership
of horses remained the dominant factor in their
economic life. The outlawing of raiding had cut the
supply line and access to any new wealth was diffi-
cult. The horse wealth was frozen in the hands of
those who had horses in 1877, and it was they who
benefited from any natural increase. With their
horses they could still purchase ceremonial privilege
and social advantage upon which personal prestige
depended. Their children were beautifully clothed;
Case material included in this paper was collected in the summer of 1939 on the Blood Reserve in conjunc-
tion with the Anthropological Field Laboratory of Columbia University which was directed by Dr. Ruth Bene-
dict. I wish to thank Mr. Harry Biele and Miss Marjorie Lismer, who generously permitted me to consult
their field notes, and Mr. Pugh, agent on the reserve for ten years, who assisted us in many ways. Except
where otherwise noted, the references below areto the Annual Reports on Indian affairs contained in the Ses-
sional Papers of the Dominion of Canada.
2′ Oscar Lewis: The Effects of White Contact upon Blackfoot Culture , Monographs of the American Ethnological
Society, N. Y. 1942.
3* Clark Wissler: Ceremonial Bundles of the Blackfoot Indians, Anthropological Papers of the American Museum
of Natural History, N. Y. 1912, ‘Vol. VII, Pt. 2, p. 276//.
Esther S. Goldfrank, Historic Change and Social Character: A Study of the Teton Dakota, American Anthro-
pologist, Menasha, Wis., 1943, Vol. 45, #1, pp. 67-84.
18 78, Vol. 8, #10, p. XV// and p. XLVI; see also appendix CXXXIV .
6* 1884, Vol. 3, #*, p. IV.
7 • Op . cit. , p. 83.
This content downloaded from 142.104.240.194 on Fri, 05 Feb 2021 12:06:55 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
JANUARY-MARCH 1943 19
their ‘ïavorites” or “children of plenty” as Uhlen-
beck translates minipoka, were honored with
charms, forelocks, and pipes. They became the
partners of older men in military societies such as
the Horn; they formed small cliques within their
age-grades which set them off as a snobbish elite,
and at the same time, served to protect them from
the envious assaults of their less fortunate com-
rades. Their rich fathers tried to cement their po-
sition by marrying them to children equally favored.
The poor had great difficulty in getting a
wife at all. Polygamy, though illegal, still existed.
A report of 1882 states, “most of the young men who
have no horses cannot get married, and therefore
steal from someone rich in women.”®
A few ways remained for making a living.
Shamanism was still a popular means of support, but
practice did not always follow immediately upon a
successful vision quest. A man could also work for
whites or become a scout or farmer in the govern-
ment service; and if he hoped for quick rewards, he
could improve his position by marrying a rich woman
often some ten or fifteen years his senior. A very
ambitious man might combine all of them. But op-
portunities for remunerative work were still scarce;
farming and what little herding there was may have
raised the subsistence level, but they brought no
substantial increase in income. In general, a young
man’s position was increasingly insecure. To find
a place in the new society he had to revert to pat-
terns of the past even when they were forbidden. The
1887 – 1888 report reads, “war parties (were) com-
posed mostly of young men from 16-25 years of
age.” 9 Actually these were raids upon neighboring
herds, and usually the government cut short a brave
career with a jail sentence.
Although both rich and poor were on ra-
tions, the horse wealth of a rich man made it possi-
ble for his son to find a place in the society. The
horse owner could still put up a bride price; he
could still honor his son with gifts and ceremonial
purchases. The social stratifications incipient in
the buffalo days became more marked during these
years.
It has frequently been said that these In-
dians of the Plains did not accept the government
program because they were so wedded to their no-
madic life that they could not be persuaded to settle
down and farm or look after their cows. A review of
the official reports makes their lack of cooperation
patent; but it also lends reason to their attitude.
Cultivation of recommended but climatically unsuit-
able plants was one long headache: the growing
season was short; early frosts were frequent; sum-
mer hail and grasshopper blights destroyed the
crops while they stood in the fields. The milk from
two cows could hardly be expected to induce a fam-
ily that had depended upon the hunt to give up the
few pleasures of their former nomadism that still
remained to them, – visits to friends, rodeos, and
the social compensations of the sun-dance.
1894 – 1910.
The new economy continued to be a desul-
tory affair. The tribes annual income in 1895 was ap-
proximately $7500.10 But another program was al-
ready being inaugurated. In 1894, another effort was
made to encourage herding. Three of the most influen-
tial men and owners of large horse herds, were per-
suaded to exchange their ponies for ‘Trulls, cows, heif-
ers, and calves.” Twenty-three head apiece were is-
sued to two of them; the other received eighteen. ^
Time and the inevitability of a settled life upon the re-
serve may have made the Blood more ready to accept
the responsibility of herding now than in the past, but
the main reasons for the success of this program must
be looked for elsewhere. Onlyafew of their hundreds
of animals were of real use for farming, transporta-
tion, and riding. On the other hand, the Blood had seen
the success of a similar program of cattle herding
among the neighboring Piegan. The rich herders knew
that an exchange of twenty for twenty would bring quick
benefits and would not radically reduce their manip-
ulative horse wealth. There was a great clamor for
cattle; but the man without horses remained the man
without cows.
The new program stimulated a general in-
terest in herding; nine hundred head of cattle still
due under the old treaty of 1877 were claimed;^ a
8# 1883, Vol. 4, #5, p. 176.
1888, Vol. 13, #15, p. 80.
10 • 1896, Vol. 10, #14, p. 296.
Op cit., p. 272//.
12# 1905, Vol. 11, #27, p. 202.
This content downloaded from 142.104.240.194 on Fri, 05 Feb 2021 12:06:55 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
20 APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
loan system was introduced, but the good start that
the owners of large horse herds had could not be
overcome by lending a man one or two cows for a
couple of years. ^ Haying became a necessary and
lucrative occupation, and the haying camps pleas-
antly recalled the hunting days of the past. So suc-
cessful was this herding program that by 1902 only
51-1/2 acres were still being cultivated, 14 and in
1906, the Blood had more than 7500 cattle ^ and a
cash income of about $40,000 annually. *6
Interest in Shamanism waned. There were
now more satisfactory ways of earning a living.
Many of the younger men were drawn into the indus-
try as helpers, and to some degree their position in
the society was reestablished in terms of the old
buffalo days. Again their services were in demand
and they were assured board and lodging, some cloth-
ing, and if an employer was generous, a horse as an
annual bonus. These helpers were often the younger
or poorer relatives of rich herders and for this
reason expected preferential treatment. In spite of
the unattractiveness of the wage and the small hope
of riches, some of the more ambitious also sought
these jobs; the hope always remained that loyal serv-
ice would be rewarded by a convenient marriage.
But although the poor son-in-law might
raise his status by marrying the daughter of a rich
man, there were many times when he complained of
continued exploitation after such a marriage. “Re-
spect” did not always follow. Certain brave souls
might break from the situation, but during this peri-
od the ways and means of getting ahead, if you were
born poor, were still few. Frustrations were many.
One husband in his unsuccessful effort to combat his
rich brother-in-law’s influence went so far as to
fake a love affair, don women’s clothes, and simulate
suicide.
Old ways of spending were exaggerated.
Favorites were showered with expensive gifts and
raiment. A saddle costing $80 to $100, silver spurs,
special boots, finely beaded blankets, all might be
lavished on a small and favored son. He was initi-
ated to many ceremonial objects for which large pay-
ments were made not only in horses, but in fine
goods. As the herds grew, the payments became
more ostentatious; the Long Time Pipe, alone, sold
several times for 100 horses.
Nor was it enough for a prosperous Blood
to have one favorite. Many had two or more.
Pointed Plume said he wanted “to treat his two boys
alike.” Others frankly stated they wanted to show
how rich they were. To all it gave great satisfaction
to add to prestige by conspicuous spending.
The less successful families aped their
wealthier neighbors. They too had give-aways, but
these were on a lesser scale; they too had their
favorites, but these children had to be content with
small honorings. They might receive an otter skin,
even a weasel tail suit, or they might wear their
umbilical cord in a little beaded bag as the “real”
favorites did, but the meager efforts of their parents
to “keep up with the Jones'” never received recogni-
tion. Only when the spending was great and continu-
al, only when many pipes and bundles had been
bought, was a child considered a “real” favorite by
the Blood.
Gifts flowed freely, but the circle within
which they flowed remained, as before narrow and
selected. The rich gave to the rich, to their close
relatives, or to those to whom they were under ob-
ligation for some favor. Shaming remained a con-
venient mechanism for discouraging the demands of
the less fortunate and for limiting the much- vaunted
generous giving.
In this period of 1894 – 1910, the bulk of
the wealth still rested in the hands of the horse
owners who in the first seventeen years of the re-
serve succeeded in freezing the only valuable form
of property that remained to the Blood after the
treaty of 1877. However, with the increased oppor-
tunities for making a living, social differences be-
came less conspicuous. But the dominance of the
large horse and cattle owners was never threatened.
As the economy expanded, the rich spent more
lavishly, and those who shared in the new wealth im-
itated as successfully as they could the behavior of
the wealthy tribesmen. The new herding economy
functioned within the framework of pre- reserve val-
ues.
1910-1920.
After the turn of the century, it was def-
initely established that the soil and climate of the
Blood reserve were well adapted to the cultivation of
fall wheat. Shortly before 1910, the land was thrown
13# 1902, Vol. 11, #27, p. 132.
14, Op cit. , p. 220.
15 * 1907-8, Vol. 14, #27, p. 162.
16′ Op cit p. 161.
This content downloaded from 142.104.240.194 on Fri, 05 Feb 2021 12:06:55 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
JANUARY-MARCH 1943 21
open for farming. The cattle herders objected vi-
olently to the reduction of their grazing fields, ^ but
the agency, interested primarily in obtaining the
largest income possible, was not deterred. The
younger men, ,łthe working element” as the report
calls them, backed the new plan and rushed in their
applications. *8 This “working element” saw its first
big chance to make good since the buffalo days. It
was a composite of half-breeds, who had shared in
a small way, if at all, in the property distributions
of their Blood relatives, a number of full-bloods,
whose families could offer them little, and a few
ambitious and farsighted cattle owners, mostly from
those very chiefly families who at first had fought
the new program most bitterly. The bulk of the
herders, however, were content with their lucrative
herds and their share in the income from hay. Their
poorer but not too distant relatives preferred helping
them to embarking upon a new and untried ca-
reer.
Rewards, however, were even more im-
mediate than in the second herding program. The
first year, three farmers averaged over $1000 on
farms of about 40 acres.*** But prices of all prod-
ucts advanced in the rising market; by 1920, the to-
tal income was over $250,000,20 and almost one-half
came from farm products. The decade of 1910 – 1920
was the era of greatest participation and income
spread that the Blood enjoyed during the reserve
period.
Those who had herds continued to honor
their sons and daughters with lavish payments in
both horses and goods for ceremonial bundles and
privileges. The new rich had favorites “the American
way.” They were content to honor their children with
extravagant outfits, a fine saddle horse, a fine saddle.
The few horses they had were used in farming or
transportation; they bought none to validate their new
position by ceremonial purchase. A money economy
completely divorced from the former horse economy
now flourished on the reserve.
1920 –
At the end of the decade two catastrophes
affected the Blood. The post-war depression caused
a sudden drop in commodity prices. Both farmers
and herders suffered equally. But the harsh winters
of 1919 and 1920 created a much more fundamental
change in the fabric of tribal life. The cold prac-
tically annihilated the cattle herds. At one stroke,
the accumulated capital of the herders was wiped
out. For the farmers the blow was temporary; they
still had their land, and after the difficult years, a
good income although a smaller one could be derived
from wheat. But a herd could not be replaced in a
day, nor in a year. Some few herders had partici-
pated in the new agricultural program,. but the ma-
jority had only their horse wealth to fall back on.
They gave up in despair. The wheat farmers bought
up the cattle that survived.^*
The loss of cattle in the cold winters of
1919 and 1920 meant the loss of all cash income to
the herders; but enough horses remained to carry on
the traditional exchange and purchase. Again on re-
lief, the erstwhile herders could still achieve pres-
tige in the old way, but with this difference: the
horse was no longer a symbol of real wealth. The
agency was quick to recognize this. Horse ex-
changes and payments are not entered in the official
books, but transactions in wheat and cattle are duly
recorded. For the first time in the history of the
Blood, the man with horses was not necessarily the
rich man. Yet he continued to buy eagerly, even
compulsively, into societies although he could not
always complete the purchase. Today in spite of
constant validation, his position is less secure. He
still gets “respect”, but “respect” wears thin when it
is not bolstered by wealth. Real wealth, then as now,
was in the hands of those men who had gone into
farming around 1910.
The history of wheat farming has been none
too rosy either. After a continued rise during the
twenties, the value of farm products on the Blood
reserve tumbled from $100,000 in 1930 to $24,000
in 1932.23 The drought that followed continued to
discourage the farmers, although prices recovered
somewhat. In 1939, many farmers as well as herd-
ers, were on relief. Not unlike the situation in our
own West, land was being concentrated in the hands
of a few. One farmer cultivated 600 acres, net in-
come $9000; another sharing with his son farmed
17 • 0p. cit . , p. 162.
18 • 1919, Vol. 15, #27, p. 169.
19, 1910, Vol. 17, #27, p. 174.
20 • 1920 , Vol. 8, #27, p. 76.
21 * 1922, Vol. 8, #27, p. 50.
22′ 1931, p. 72.
23 • 1933.
This content downloaded from 142.104.240.194 on Fri, 05 Feb 2021 12:06:55 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
22 APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
400 acres, net income $3000. From the first fig-
ure there was still deductible support for a sick
brother’s family and compensation for a helper, but
the latter may be accepted as final.
The situation is beginning to tell. The best
land has been allotted. A young and ambitious
Blood must either turn again to wages, as indeed
even the sons of rich farmers have done, or if he is
not satisfied with the marginal land still available,
he must wheedle an idle farm from a more fortunate,
if less ambitious tribesman. He may get it as a
loan, or on a rental basis, but he is never certain
how long he will be permitted to crop it. The more
successful the young farmer is, the more eager the
renter will be to reclaim his land and try his hand
at it again.
To understand the behavior of an individu-
al and his treatment by others, it is necessary to
ascertain not only his present status, but how that
status was achieved. Among the Blood, more and
more, wealth has become the determining factor, but
increasingly it is wealth divorced from the old horse
economy. The man with many initiations to his credit
is still honored by a privileged seat at the left of his
host, but it is with the successful man, be he herder
or farmer, full-blood or half-breed, that the young
men wish to identify.
All the old distinctions between rich and
poor are still drawn. The rich daughter-in-law is
served; the poor one does the work. The poor son-
in-law is disparaged. Even the impoverished herd-
er or unsuccessful farmer, in memory of a better
day, will storm when his daughter marries a poor
orphan. A poor sister-in-law said of her rich one,
“She always makes me work for her at her house,
but she never does anything when she visits me. ” A
poor young wife who may make a simple and justi-
fied request will be sarcastically told, “Go home,
you minipoka. 1|M The real “favorite” may exploit his
childhood privilege in the face of little criticism,
even after he has reached adulthood.
The beautiful and discontented wife of a
poor man may brazenly flaunt her affair with her
rich lover, but the unhappy wife of a rich man will
find some more dignified way of showing her dissat-
isfaction. When her husband philanders, she may
refuse to cook his food; she may roll up in her own
blanket and deny him his conjugal rights; she may
leave him, or she may entertain his mistress, ply
her with fine gifts, and receive the approbation of
society “because she shows no jealousy.”
Ideally a man who can control his jealous
impulses is also admired. A chief or member of
the Horn Society is roundly applauded if he conforms
to this difficult social expectation; but the poor hus-
band who sits by and silently witnesses the drunken
love-making of his wife and her rich lover receives
no respect for his restraint.
Even the attitude of a mother toward her
“favorite son” may be influenced by her own wealth
and position. A spoiled and wealthy woman may for-
bid her favorite the house; she may take his horses
and disinherit him if she disapproves of his mar- •
riage; but a less financially secure woman, even if
she is known as “manly- hearted”, may uphold the
authority of her favorite at all cost, as the one sure
means of maintaining family prestige.
The changing status of the various groups
within the society is revealed by an analysis of
marriage trends. Thirty years ago marriages still
followed the earlier pattern. The wealthy cattle men
continued to select mates from their own circle.
The poor married each other; half-breed married
half-breed, or an orphaned member of the tribe.
Sometimes, it is true, an ambitious but poor young
man would succeed in marrying a wealthy but con-
siderably older woman; sometimes a father of a
poor but beautiful daughter would succeed in mar-
rying her off to a wealthy husband; sometimes a
rich herder would prefer a poor son-in-law whose
labor he could exploit. But the lines remained
clearly drawn. Not even the !lnewly rich” were able
to crash the “old society.”
Today another trend is visible. Numerous
marriages have taken place between the children of
the ,łnewly rich” and the children of those cattle-
breeding families who went into farming around
1910. These are the families that have cash in-
comes, good houses, good clothes, good automobiles.
It is now the impoverished horse owner who is the
undesirable. His children are marrying the poor
and the orphaned.
The rapid changes in Blood economy
during the reserve period make the tribe a fruitful
field for investigating administrative policy. With-
in an unchanging competitive framework, program
and accident at different periods of time affected
various groups in the society differently.^^ The re-
^ ‘ Ralph Linton, Acculturation and Processes of Culture Change in Acculturation in Seven American Indian
Tribes, ed. by Ralph Linton, N. Y. 1940, p. 468.
This content downloaded from 142.104.240.194 on Fri, 05 Feb 2021 12:06:55 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
JANUARY-MARCH 1943 23
sponse oí these groups to government policy was
dictated primarily by two factors, tradition and re-
ward, The first did not necessarily obstruct ac-
ceptance; in many instances it strongly recommended
it. Reward, if great enough, needed no apologist, but
it was weighed in relation to advantages already of-
fered by the society. These advantages were real,
not sentimental. The antagonism of the cattle herd-
ers to the agricultural experiment in 1910 was due
to their desire to preserve their considerable success
in stock-breeding, not to any bond with their more
remote hunting past. And again, the quick divorce of
a money economy from a horse economy by those
who began to farm in 1910 must be laid, not to any
innate intellectual superiority, but to the fact that
they had had the smallest stake in the benefits of-
fered by their society.
In essence, the Canadian Government was
interested in establishing an adequate subsistence
level and improving the general tribal income. In
practice, such an over-all policy, at times, perpetu-
ated an inequitable situation. Amore intimate knowl-
edge of the early economy of the Blood might have
caused some hesitancy in exchanging twenty cows
for twenty horses.
The special conditions of the reserve did
not protect the Blood, any more than they have other
similar groups, from the disasters of a falling
market. In 1939, when field material was collected,
amelioration still depended primarily on rations.
Extraordinary abuse of land, however, has required
more specific measures; one man who had succeed-
ed in accumulating 700 horses, almost one-fifth of
the entire horse strength of the tribe, was persuaded
to remove his herds from the farm lands in the
south, and “purchase” grazing fields in the north.
Throughout the reserve period, Blood so-
ciety maintained its former individualistic charac-
ter. For this reason, the implementation of a gov-
ernment program did not depend entirely on the as-
sistance of a tribal intermediary, such as the com-
munity leader of the Navajo, 25 the pueblo priests, or
their secular surrogates. Among the Blood, when
chiefly authority failed to win cooperation, the ad-
ministration could still hope for success by appeal-
ing directly to interested members of the tribe.
Psychological generalizations based on
one period of time and on the study of one group
within a society inevitably obscure the real reasons
for change and development. However, if such gen-
eralizations grow out of a careful historical analy-
sis which exposes the inner dynamics of a changing
social configuration, they can be of inestimable help
in formulating future administrative policies. Such
communities as the Blood Reserve, comparatively
simple in structure yet responsive to change, offer
an unusual opportunity for combining all these ap-
proaches. Sufficient historical material is available
and enough anthropological field work has been done
in the past and in the present to give validity to per-
sonality studies referred in time. Careful inter-
pretation should add greatly to our understanding of
those factors that determine successful programing
or retard it.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL ENGINEERING: ITS USE TO ADMINISTRATORS1
by Eliot D. Chappie
INTRODUCTION
Those of us who work as anthropologists
on problems of present-day society are often asked
two questions: first, What is anthropology? and,
second, What good is it? The confusion in the mind
of the layman implied by his need to ask these ques-
tions is, of course, due to the fact that he associates
anthropology with such apparently useless occupa-
tions as measuring skulls or studying the unwashed
cannibals, and the anthropologist has done little to
disabuse him of these notions. We get a certain de-
light out of shocking people by the esoteric nature of
our activities, and the wide diversity of subjects with
which we deal makes it difficult to see how we can
hope to dispel the confusion and yet continue our tra-
ditional activities. Nevertheless, we all believe that
anthropology does constitute a single subject.
When our interrogators press us to differ-
entiate anthropology from social and psychological
studies, we usually reply that anthropologists view
man as a whole, a phrase which is rarely more than
a way of rationalizing our assorted subjects under a
single head. Nevertheless, I believe that this phrase
can be given a precise definition and that satisfactory
answers can be given to both the questions posed
25. Solon T. Kimball and John H. Provinse, Navajo Social Organization in Land Use Planning, Applied Anthro-
pology, Boston, pp. 18-25.
Address delivered before The American Anthropological Association, December 28, 1940.
This content downloaded from 142.104.240.194 on Fri, 05 Feb 2021 12:06:55 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
p. 18
p. 19
p. 20
p. 21
p. 22
p. 23
Applied Anthropology, Vol. 2, No. 2 (JANUARY—MARCH 1943) pp. 1-42
Front Matter
WARTIME EMPLOYMENT AND CULTURAL ADJUSTMENTS OF THE ROSEBUD SIOUX [pp. 1-9]
WHO IS FIT FOR COOPERATIVE FARMING? Notes on Selection for Cooperative Rural Settlements [pp. 10-17]
ADMINISTRATIVE PROGRAMS AND CHANGES IN BLOOD SOCIETY DURING THE RESERVE PERIOD [pp. 18-23]
ANTHROPOLOGICAL ENGINEERING: ITS USE TO ADMINISTRATORS [pp. 23-32]
APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY IN LATIN AMERICA [pp. 33-35]
NEWS OF DEVELOPING RESEARCH METHODS [pp. 35-37]
SECTION ON REPORTS AND MEMORANDA: DEALING WITH JAPANESE-AMERICANS [pp. 37-41]
EDITORIAL STATEMENT [pp. 41-42]
Back Matter
“Thepolicy which we have . . . . maintained towards the Indians, and which ought to
be maintained at all hazards and under all circumstances, is most rigidly to keep
faith with them.” Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister.
BY
R. N. WILSON
A story of “Chicanery, Infidelity and the Prostitution of Trust”
Transcribed, curated and with additions by Chris Willmore
OTTAWA / VICTORIA
1921 / 20
20
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
2
Table of Contents
Our Betrayed Wards ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
4
The Treaty of 1877……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
The Treaty of 1883………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5
The Bloods Become Ranchers ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6
The Bloods Become Farmers ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
7
Creditable Advancement ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
8
The Advent of Mr. Meighen ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
Surrender of Land Demanded ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
Coercive Measures …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
Indian Farming Officially Obstructed……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
9
Disreputable Tactics …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
Officially Blacklisted …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
10
The Cardston Lease Affair ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
Sharp Practice …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
11
Pretty Low-Down ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11
A Well-Disposed People …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
12
Prussianism ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12
Weakening the Indian Act …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12
Peremptory Seizure of Reserve Lands …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
3
Land Leased to Government’s Friends …………………………………………………………………………………………………
13
Eviction of Indians ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13
Unlimited Leases ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
14
A Super-Official in Charge………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14
Terrorizing the Indians……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
15
Cattle Management ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 15
Round-Up Obstructed ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 15
Indian Agent Warns the Government ………………………………………………………………………………………………….
16
Criminal Neglect ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 16
Brainless Interference ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
17
Indian Chief Appeals to Ottawa ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17
Disobedient Officials …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 17
A Destroyed Industry ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
Waste of Invaluable Hay …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
18
Neglect to Record Brands ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18
Freezing Their Feet ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
19
Calamitous Losses …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19
No Sympathy for Indians …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 19
Destruction of Indian Horses ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 20
The “Fortunate Indian” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 20
Suppression of the Facts……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 20
Destruction of the Bull Herd ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 20
A Falsified Return………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
21
The Rise and Ruin of a Vital Industry …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21
Reduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
23
Juggling with Trust Money ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 23
Seizure of Private Funds …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
24
A Poor Place to Leave Cash………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 24
Still More Dishonor ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
25
Seizure of Indian Machinery ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
26
Unjust Discrimination ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 26
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
3
An Iniquitous Transaction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 26
Deprived of Official Leadership …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
27
A Disastrous Appointment ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 27
Indians Memorialize the Government …………………………………………………………………………………………………
28
“Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied” …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 28
Another Demand for Land …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 28
More Intimidation …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
29
Nepotism Run Wild …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 29
The Plain Duty of the Government ………………………………………………………………………………………………………
30
……………………………………………………………………
31
Farming Lease Surrenders of 23rd March and 30th May, 1918 ……………………………………………………………… 31
Establishment of a Government Farm …………………………………………………………………………………………………
33
Indian Production ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
34
Grazing Leases ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
35
Destruction of the Indian Cattle Herd ………………………………………………………………………………………………….
37
Destruction of Indian Horses ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
39
……………………………………………………….
45
J.A.J. McKenna to Clifford Sifton, January 5, 1904 (I) …………………………………………………………………………….. 45
J.A.J. McKenna to Clifford Sifton, January 5, 1904 (II) …………………………………………………………………………….
46
R. N. Wilson to J.A.J. McKenna, March 25, 1904 ……………………………………………………………………………………
47
John D. McLean to J. A. J. McKenna, July 18, 1904 ……………………………………………………………………………….. 47
J. A. J. McKenna to John D. McLean, July 22, 1904 ……………………………………………………………………………….. 47
Frank Pedley to J. A. J. McKenna, July 27, 1904 …………………………………………………………………………………….
48
J. A. J. McKenna to John D. McLean, September 7, 1904……………………………………………………………………….. 48
…………………………………………………
50
September 18, 1905 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 50
July 10, 1906 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
53
May 27, 1907 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
55
May 31, 1908 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
58
June 6, 1909 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
61
June 7, 1910 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
65
June 11, 1911 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
68
Original text by Robert Nathaniel Wilson (1863 – 1944)
Transcription and additions by Chris Willmore
A Skeride Publication
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
4
Our Betrayed Wards
–––––––––––
A MEMORANDUM written in the interests of his friends and neighbors, the
Blood Indians, by R. N. Wilson, of Standoff, Alberta (Indian Agent from 1898 to 1911
for the Blood and Peigan Indians) as an effort to ventilate – with the object of securing
redress – certain complaints of that people against the present administration of
Indian
Affairs.
“The Indians are especially under the guardianship of Parliament. . . . . It is
the duty of the Government to protect the Red Men, it is the duty of the Government
to see that they get full justice.” – Sir John A. Macdonald, Prime Minister.
“The Reserve should be preserved exclusively for the Indians. If they possessed
more than they desired, to agree to its sale or being leased was an entirely different
matter.” – Hon. Alexander McKenzie, Prime Minister, 1877.
The Treaty of 1877
In the introduction to his excellent volume on the Indian Treaties of Canada,
the Honourable Alexander Morris says: “One of the gravest of the questions presented
for solution by the Dominion of Canada, when the enormous region of country
formerly known as the North-West Territories and Rupert’s Land was entrusted by
the Empire of Great Britain and Ireland to her rule, was the securing of the alliances
of the Indian tribes and maintaining friendly relations with them.”
The much-desired alliances and friendly relations with the Indians inhabiting
the great expanse of country between Lake Superior and the Rocky Mountains were
established by means of seven treaties, officially known by the numerical order in
which they were concluded.
These were:
Treaty No. 1 – Concluded in 1871 at the Stone Fort.
Treaty No. 2 – Concluded in 1873 at Manitoba Post.
Treaty No. 3 – Concluded in 1873 at the northwest angle of Lake of the Woods.
Treaty No. 4 – Concluded in 1874, at Qu’Appelle.
Treaty No. 6 – Concluded in 1875 at Lake Winnipeg.
Treaty No. 7 – Concluded in 1877 (The Blackfoot Treaty).
In 1876, after the signing of Treaty No. 6, there remained in what is now
Southern Alberta a large tract of country inhabited by the Bloods, Blackfoot and
Peigans, three kindred tribes speaking a common language, and the Stonies and
Sarcees, who were two small tribes of “foreign” Indians, residing there in amicable
association with the powerful Blackfoot tribes.
The territory then held by these five tribes is practically all of Alberta lying
between the International Boundary line and the Red Deer River, and its area was
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
5
50,000 square miles according to the estimate of the Minister of the Interior, the
Honourable David Mills, in his annual report for 1877.
As the Blackfoot tribes were much feared, and as it was known that the Sioux,
nearby in the United States, following their victory over the ill-fated General Custer,
were endeavouring to effect a confederacy of all the plains Indians against the whites,
the securing of a treaty with them by our Government was considered to be a matter
of vital importance.
Thus we find that the Government first sent a party to prepare the way for the
Treaty Commissioners of a following year. Explaining the cost of this deputation, Mr.
Cartwright told the House of Commons: “It was considered advisable last summer to
send certain parties in advance of the Commission to propitiate the Indians who were
warlike.”
The Honourable David Laird, Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West
Territories, and Colonel J. F. McLeod, C.M.G., Commissioner of the North-West
Mounted Police, were appointed Commissioners to negotiate with the Blackfoot and
associated Indians for the cession to Canada of the aboriginal title to the said lands,
estimated to be 50,000 square miles, which they did in 1877 at a large meeting of the
Indians held at the Blackfoot Crossing of the Bow River, east of Calgary.
Chief Commissioner Laird, in his report to the Government, referring to one of
his meetings with the Indians preliminary to the signing of the Treaty, says: “We
further explained the terms outlined to them yesterday, dwelling especially upon the
fact that by the Canadian law their reserves could not be taken from them, occupied
or sold without their consent.” (See page 257, Morris’ Treaties of Canada with the
Indians).
The Chief Commissioner is also reported to have said to the Indians, on
September 17th, 1877, while negotiating this Treaty: “A Reserve of land will be set
apart for yourselves and your cattle upon which none others will be permitted to
encroach.” (Morris, page 268).
The Blackfoot Treaty (No. 7), was signed on the 22nd September, 1877, and
amongst other considerations it provided for one large permanent reserve on the Bow
River and South Saskatchewan to accommodate the Blackfoot, Bloods and Sarcees,
also a large area for ten years.
The Treaty of 1883
Subsequently these three tribes were given separate reserves, concerning
which change Sir John A. Macdonald, Prime Minister, said to the House of Commons
in 1885: “Originally these Reserves were chosen to meet the views of
the
Indians.
They had to be coaxed into the Treaty and selected their own locality, the lands where
the bones of their ancestors lie being their favourite reserve,” and “We have with
success induced them (Bloods, Blackfoot, etc.) to surrender that immense area along
the South Saskatchewan which they were to have for ten years. That was found a
barrier to settlement (probably because it was within the C.P.R. zone W.) and the
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
6
Indians have been induced to surrender that very large section and take up separate
reserves.” Hansard, page 3374, 18851.
When finally surveyed, the five separate reserves retained by the Indians
under the Blackfoot Treaties were of the following areas in square miles:
Blood Reserve ————————– 547½
Blackfoot “ ————————– 4
70
Peigan “ ————————– 181
Stony “ ————————– 109
Sarcee “ ————————– 108
These with two small timber limits of 11½ and 6½ miles respectively, make in the
aggregate 1,433½ square miles, or less than 3% of the land ceded to Canada by the
Treaty.
The separate Reserve for the Blood Indians was located between the St. Mary’s
River and the Belly River in Southern Alberta, and was formally fixed in another
Treaty, made at a General Council of the Blood Indians on the 2nd day of July, 1883,
the Canadian Government being represented by Lieutenant-Governor Dewdney and
Colonel J. F. McLeod, C.M.G. The present writer, then a member of the old North-
West Mounted Police Force, was on duty at this Council and an interested spectator
of the Treaty making.
In this Treaty of 1883, in the fifth paragraph, following a geographical
description of the present Blood Reserve, are the words “to have and to hold the same
unto the use of the said Blood Indians forever.”
These words in the Treaty of 1883 merely expressed the meaning of the term
“Reserve” that was attached to it by all of the parties to these Treaties, and were
consistent with the assurance given to the Indians by Governor Laird as repeated
above in paragraphs 9 and 10 of the memorandum, which understanding was for
thirty-five years thereafter accepted and honoured by the different administrations
of the Government of Canada holding power during that period.
The Bloods Become Ranchers
Meanwhile, in 1894, the Bloods, being no longer the savages of a few years
before, were persuaded to make a beginning in the cattle business, which they did by
exchanging ponies for heifers. Minister of the Interior T. M. Daly, who had visited the
Blood Reserve, told the Commons: “The Peigans, Blood and Blackfoot are going to
1 From the debates of July 14, 1885: “There is a difficulty in moving the Indians from the reserves.
Their reserves were originally given under treaty, and it is with great difficulty we can get them to
give up reserves. Originally, these reserves were chosen to meet the views of the Indians. They had to
be coaxed into a treaty, and selected their own locality, the lands where the bones of their ancestors
lie being their favorite reserves. We have, with success, induced them to change, and to surrender that
immense area running along the South Saskatchewan, one mile on each side, which they were to have
for ten years. That was found an almost insupportable barrier to the settlement of the country, and
the Indians have been induced to surrender that very large section and to take up separate reserves.
These Indians are the Blackfeet and Bloods, but though belonging to one great nation, they do not get
on very well together, and we have to put them on separate reserves.”
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
7
become great ranchers. They are even selling their ponies to buy cattle.” Hansard,
page 5555, 1894.
Subsequently, in order to assist indigent Indians and returned school boys with
a start in the cattle business, the Government purchased breeding cattle with money
voted by Parliament for the purpose and issued them to the Indians under a “loan
system,” the feature of which was that an Indian would be given, say, five two-year-
old heifers on condition that in some future year the Department could demand from
their progeny five other two-year-old heifers in return, all the rest of the progeny of
the original five heifers being the clear private property of the Indian.
Minister Daly’s prophecy, so far as it concerns our subject, was so well founded
that in 1916, though they had suffered very heavy losses in two disastrous winters,
notably that of 1910-11, we find the Bloods in the lead of all Canadian Indians
engaged in cattle raising, the Annual Report of the Indian Department for 1917, page
29, saying: “The largest herds are held by the Blood Indians, who own upwards of
4,00 head of the finest beef cattle in the west.”
During this period the Indians were induced by the Department to breed up
their horses, to which end as many as thirty improved stallions, supplied by the
Government, were in use on the Blood Reserve at one time, until in the course of
twenty years or so, the Indian pony was to a very large extent replaced by a useful
type of general purpose horse. According to the report of the Indian Department for
1917-182 the horses of the Blood Indians numbered more than 3,600.
About 1904, as the Blood Indians had more grazing facilities on their Reserve
than their own stock could utilize for some time to come, there was submitted to them
a proposition to grant grazing rights to a single company to graze for ten years 7,000
cattle for an annual payment of $5,000 cash and some other consideration. The Bloods
gave their approval to this scheme at a general meeting of the tribe called for the
purpose, and a Company was organized by Donald McEwan, of Brandon, to utilize
the said grazing rights, which Company operated for its term of ten years, when said
Company, or it successor, secured a renewal at an increased rental, so that in 1917
they were paying the Blood Indians $10,000 per annum for the privilege of grazing
10,000 head of cattle on the
Reserve.
The Bloods Become Farmers
In 1907, their live stock interests being on a satisfactory footing, the Bloods
turned to farming, and as they had on hand $8,000 or $10,000 derived from the
McEwan lease, they decided to purchase a large steam plowing outfit for their
breaking and to utilize the McEwan income as a revolving fund from which to give
reimbursable assistance to new farmers until the fund had financed a fair start in
agriculture for every capable Blood Indian who desired to farm. With the sanction of
the Department they went ahead, with such success that though their farming was
brought to a standstill for several years by severe drought, we soon read in the Indian
Department Report: “The Blood Indians during the season of 1916, by their own
2 I am unable to find this figure in the Indian Department reports for 1917 and 1918.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
8
efforts and without any financial aid from the Government of Canada, produced
65,150 bushels of wheat on 2,600 acres, and 26,980 bushels of oats on 768 acres. They
grew approximately 7,150 bushels of table vegetables, harvested 7,600 tons of hay
and green fodder, and prepared 2,820 acres of summer-fallow and new breaking for
the next year’s crop.”
Creditable Advancement
This with one exception was the largest yield of grain on any Reserve in
Canada, and the Blood Indians maintained the same standing in 1917 for wheat, and
increased their hay crop to 10,000 tons.
The value of the Blood Indian beef production in 1917 was $60,000, being the
largest of any Indian
Reserve in Canada.
The Advent of Mr. Meighen
In 1917, Mr. Meighen became Superintendent General of Indian Affairs. That
year marked the abandonment by the Indian Department, so far at least as the Blood
Reserve was concerned, of the traditional Canadian policy of Indian administration,
and it marked the end of the prosperity of the Blood Indians, who, from that time
forward, were not to be permitted to enjoy the peaceful possession of their
Reservation as guaranteed to them by Treaty. The established and successful
Canadian policy of advancing the Indians on their Reserve was abandoned in favor
of a policy of Indian Reserve exploitation in the interests of covetous white men.
Surrender of Land Demanded
On the 15th February, 1918, following an official campaign of great pressure,
the Blood Indians were asked to vote on a proposition to sell about 90,000 acres of
their Reserve, which proposition they had already voted unfavorably on in the
preceding June.
Coercive Measures
By enrolling as voters a number of boys under age, by boldly purchasing votes
with tribal funds and official favours, and by intimidating other Indians, the officer
in charge of the operation managed to show a small majority in favour of the land
sale.
The Head Chief, representing the true majority of the tribe, at once filed at
Ottawa charges of fraud, bribery and intimidation and requested the Department not
to accept the surrender without an investigation of his charges, following which
protest no further action was taken by the Department with the document and it was
not sent up to the Council for acceptance.
Any attempt to give an adequate description of the compulsion that was
exerted upon the Bloods in this surrender campaign of 1917-18 would require more
space than we have at our disposal for this memorandum, but a few illustrations will
serve to show the dangers to which Indians are exposed when a Government official
considers that it is “up to him” to secure land from them by hook or crook
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
9
Indian Farming Officially Obstructed
The first measure taken to force the Bloods to sell land was to stop the
development of their farming enterprise, to appropriate and use for other Agency
purposes the aforesaid lease funds upon which the farming extension was dependent,
and to inform the Indians that no more land would be broken up for new farms until
they sold part of the Reserve.
Thus, in 1916 and 1917, when western Canada was being “stumped” by public
speakers urging greater production of grain, the Blood Indians, while they had a good
crop from their old land, were not permitted to respond to the greater production
appeal, though they had the land, machinery, horses, plenty of willing men and the
necessary capital to operate their traction breaking plow outfits.
There was no reason for holding back the farming development at that time
other than the determination of the officials in charge to “freeze” the Indians into a
land sale, it being understood, of course, that the more they utilize their Reserve the
less likely are the Indians to sell it.
The irony of the predicament of the Blood Indians in 1917 will be appreciated
upon reading the closing paragraph on page 1049 [of the] Hansard of April 23rd, 1918,
in which Mr. Meighen says: “We would be only too glad to have the Indian use this
land if he would. Production by him would be just as valuable as production by anyone
else. But he will not cultivate this land and we want to cultivate it for him; that is all.
We shall not use it any longer than he shows a disinclination to cultivate the land
himself.”
As there is no reason to doubt the sincerity of the Minister in making that
statement, it is clear that the Indians were the victims of mischievous
misrepresentation, because they were then making good use of their Reserve and had
for many years shown not only willingness but genuine eagerness to extend their
farming and stock-raising industries to the utmost.
Disreputable Tactics
The land surrender matter was constantly mixed up with other Agency
business, Indian after Indian being made to understand that fair and ordinary
treatment at the hands of the Department was dependent upon signing a pledge to
vote “Yes.” For instance, one of the opposing faction, an honest, hard-working Indian,
was told: “If you come down here (to the Agency) and vote against the surrender, your
family will starve next winter,” while another opponent of the land sale was offered
an appointment of Minor Chief if he would change his vote from “Nay” to “Yes,” a
Minor Chief’s medal being held up before his eyes during the conversation. Individual
cases of bribery and intimidation, however, would fill a book.
The ration house maintained on the Reserve by the Department for the double
purpose of assisting the destitute and providing a medium for the distribution of the
beef and flour of the self-supporting Indians was, during this period, turned into a
vote-getting machine. Aged and infirm Indians who had for years been on the
Department’s “premanently destitute” list had their rations shut off entirely and were
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
10
forced to become beggars in order to live, while able-bodied Indians prominent among
the “land seller” faction were to be seen carrying out of the ration house sacks of beef
heavier than they could handle without assistance.
In this extraordinary campaign of official duress, the charge was made that
trust monies belonging to non-assenting Indians were by the manipulation of official
Agency records transferred to the credit of “land sale” supporters, thus administering
a punishment and a reward with the same stroke.
Implements purchased with tribal funds and therefore the property of the
whole tribe were used to buy surrender votes, and the Agent’s power to assist his
Indians with credit orders upon merchants and dealers for vehicles, tents, machinery
and the like, was used to a remarkable extent in vote getting.
Officially Blacklisted
Indians who could not or would not consent to land sales were blacklisted and
systematically persecuted. Some of them, with money on deposit in the Agency
derived from their personal earnings, were not permitted to withdraw their money
while they remained on the “wrong” side of the controversy, and, contrariwise, other
Indians who had no deposits whatever but were “right” in the official estimation were
permitted to draw money at the Agency as cash advances against future earnings
that were not even in sight. As Agency cash on hand or in the bank is almost entirely
made up of balances from earnings held in trust for individual Indians, the effect of
the above discrimination was to give the “Yeas” the use of the “Nays’” money.
The immense power of the Government, which on an Indian Reservation – as
a reader of the above will have observed – is so far-reaching and enters into the
intimate affairs of everyday Indian life so much that it practically controls the well-
being of every inhabitant was, during this period, exercised by an unusually
resourceful official to make miserable the lives of the “Nays” and their families, while
the “Yeas” basked comfortably in the sunshine of official favour.
Such was the situation on the Blood Reserve, with its 1,100 Indian inhabitants
sharply divided by the policy of the Department into two antagonistic and excited
groups, still awaiting the reply of the Government to the Chief’s protest against the
fraudulent land sale vote of 15th February, when the Indian Department launched
its “Greater Production” campaign on the Reserve in 1918.
The Cardston Lease Affair
The first “Greater Production” leasing scheme and the only one submitted to
the Blood Indians for their consent, was a proposition that the Government be
permitted to lease to white men for farming purposes, for a period of five years, a
block of about ten sections (about 6,000 acres) close to the town of Cardston.
As this ten-section farming lease was presented to the Indians as a patriotic
measure, it was assented to by a large majority led by the Head Chief, who had
opposed the out and out sale of Reserve lands, said assent being given at a General
Meeting of the tribe called for the purpose on 31st March, 1918, in accordance with
The Indian Act.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
11
The two conditions then voted upon of particular interest to the Indians were,
(1) that all rental proceeds of the lease should be paid to the Indians in per capita
distribution of cash; and (2) that all straw grown on the leased land should become
the property of the Indians for the feeding of their own cattle.
After the said ten sections had been leased by the Department to white farmers
and the Agent had advised the Indians that the rentals therefrom would bring them
during the term of the lease annual per capita payments of about $24, it was arranged
that the Department should distribute $6 per capita on account.
This payment was made on the 30th May, 1918, but before receiving the money
the Indians were unexpectedly required to sign a paper which was not explained to
them. Some thought that it was a receipt for the $6, others were told something else,
but all signed because they were informed by the Agent that unless they did so the
money would be sent back to Ottawa and no payment made until another
year.
Sharp Practice
At the conclusion of the payment, the Head Chief, who does not speak or read
English, was handed a copy of the paper which they had signed, and upon taking this
away for translation, it then became known for the first time that they had signed
another farming lease of a quite different character, cancelling the first one, taking
from the Indians the straw and changing the $6 payment on account into a payment
in full.
An important point to be noted here is that this fraudulent loss of the straw
produced on several thousand acres of lessees’ crop in the following year was a
contributing cause of the disaster which overtook the Blood Indian cattle as
hereinafter sh
own.
Pretty Low-Down
After being deprived of 75 per cent. or 80 per cent. of their benefits from this
ten-section farming lease by the substitution of one legal document for another, the
victims expected prompt and full payment of that little which was left to them, the
annual $6 per capita promised in the name of the King to be paid on or about the 1st
of April, but the western officials in the Department held back the payment for five
weeks in each of the years 1919 and 1920 to enable a Government employee armed
with a rifle to traverse the Reserve and obtain the consent of each dog owner, under
a threat of shooting his or her dog, to the deduction of dog taxes from the said $6.
The Indians requested the Department to discard the document that was
substituted and to settle with them according to the original and only legal one, but
the Government made no response to their appeal. As the revenue from this
particular farming lease does not appear to be shown in the Auditor General’s
Reports, the claim of the Indians for $24 per capita annually for five years, instead of
the $6 per capita now being paid to them, is based, as to amount, upon the Agent’s
statement in 1918 to his Indians, and it is assumed to be correct because the
Department has not intimated anything to the contrary during the two years that
this grievance has been before it.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
12
A Well-Disposed People
It should be observed that the Blood Indians promptly agreed to the only two
leasing propositions that were ever formally submitted by the Indian Department for
their consideration. One was the Donald McEwan proposition, as per paragraph 213
above, which was the only grazing lease ever asked of the Bloods by the Government,
but it was cheerfully granted and amicably continued for fifteen years. The other was
the ten-section farming lease just dealt with in paragraphs 42 to 504, which was also
freely conceded by the Blood Indians as soon as the desire of the Government was
conveyed to them.
Prussianism
As there was, therefore, no ground whatever upon which the Blood Indians
could be considered as “recalcitrant” in such matters, the policy of ruthlessness then
adopted by those in authority and still in force on the Blood Reserve is quite
inexplicable unless we believe that it was deliberately planned to put the Blood
Indians out of the cattle business and to otherwise reduce them in order to force them
through poverty to sell land, the peaceful enjoyment of which was guaranteed to them
in solemn treaty by the Dominion of Canada.
Ruthlessness is a strong term which should not, and would not, be applied to
Indian administration were there not so many authentic cases of official harshness
to justify it, fortified by the callousness with which responsible officials have ignored
the complaints of the unfortunate victims of the Department’s right-about change of
policy.
Weakening the Indian Act
Speaking in the House of Commons on the 23rd April, 1918, the responsible
Minister, Mr. Meighen, is reported to have said: “Of course the policy of the
Department will be to get the consent of the Band, wherever possible, and to meet
the Bands in such spirit and with such methods as will not alienate their sympathies
from their guardians, the Government of Canada.”5 The Minister was then asking
3 The last paragraph of The Bloods Become Ranchers.
4 Comprising The Cardston Lease Affair, Sharp Practice and Pretty Low-Down.
5 From the Hansard (8-9 George V, 1918, Vol. CXXXII), p. 1048: “The Indian Reserves of Western
Canada embrace very large areas of land far in excess of what they are utilizing now for productive
purposes. We have well under way in that country a campaign for the utilization of those reserves, for
stock raising, for grain production, and, for the present, of course, in many cases, merely for summer
fallowing. But we do not want to have this campaign entirely at the mercy of the Indian bands
themselves. We do not want to have those bands stand in our way and say to us: Notwithstanding the
necessities of to-day, you must keep off all this vacant land unless we choose to give it up to you and
ourselves forego the great privilege of roaming on it in its old, wild state. We want to be able to utilize
that land in every case; but, of course, the policy of the department will be to get the consent of the
band wherever possible, and to meet the bands in such spirit and with such methods as will not
alienate their sympathies from their guardian, the Government of Canada. We do not anticipate that
we shall come into very serious conflict with any band. It is only the more backward bands that offer
any objections at all to the utilization of their land.”
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
13
Parliament for power to lease Indian Reserve lands to white people without the
consent of
the Indians.
Owing apparently to the scarcity in the House of Commons of Members who
have made an intimate study of Indian affairs, the long-established and always
necessary safeguards surrounding Indian lands were removed from the Indian Act
without anyone in the House seemingly being aware of the fact that they were
assenting to the “scrapping” of so many of Canada’s Indian Treaties, though several
Members did express their suspicion that the new legislation foreshadowed a raw
deal to the Indians.
Peremptory Seizure of Reserve Lands
And the raw deal was not long delayed. While the ink was barely dry on the
farming lease so cheerfully granted by the Blood Indians, as we have shown, the
Indian Department astonished both Indians and whites by suddenly adopting “strong
arm” methods in the Spring of 1918, the first of which was to peremptorily dispossess
the Indians of the 90,000 acres which they had so recently declined to sell, and to
lease it out to white men for the grazing of sheep, cattle and horses. In order to give
this arbitrary action a color of reasonableness at Ottawa, the executive officers of the
Department trumped up the utterly false charge that the Blood Reserve was empty
and unutilized, in face of the fact, well known to them, that there were at the time
grazing on the Reserve close on to 17,000 head of cattle and horses, belonging to the
Indians and the old leasing company that was paying them $10,000 per annum for
grazing rights.
Land Leased to Government’s Friends
Contrary to the Minister’s assurance to Parliament that tenders would be
called for “in every case where there is time and circumstances permit,” these leases
were let privately, though there was no reason for haste, unless it was a desire to get
the land into the hands of certain parties before the public knew anything about it.
Mr. Martin Woolf, the Liberal M.P.P. for Cardston, in an address in the Alberta
Legislature that year, charged that the Blood Reserve leases were made a political
matter of by the Dominion Government and granted to his present and past political
opponents. A scrutiny of the political records of the beneficiaries would no doubt settle
that point.
Eviction of Indians
The area covered by these grazing leases included the homes of many Indians
who were ordered to vacate in favour of the lessees, while others were dispossessed
of their fenced pasture fields. Hay lands used by many Indians, some for 20 and 25
years, and upon which they depended for cattle feed and their own living, were also
handed over to the white lessees to be used by them as hay lands.
This 90,000 acres of leased land was located in two blocks, one of about 40,000
acres of heavy grass land at the south-western edge of the Reserve, and the other of
about 50,000 acres of short grass at the northern end.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
14
The 40,000-acre block contained much of the best hay land on the Reserve and
also the winter range of the Indian cattle which grazed out all the year round and
resorted to the shelter, open springs and high grass of this locality in times of extreme
cold, deep snow, and storm.
A twelve-mile fence was promptly built by the lessees or by the Government to
prevent further access to this area by the Indian cattle, but the white lessees were
not compelled to keep their stock within it and the sheep were grazed in many flocks
of thousands each over the central unleashed portion of the Reserve upon which the
Indian cattle and horses were now concentrated.
Unlimited Leases
The northern 50,000-acre block leased was the less desirable land of the
Reserve, therefore, in order to give the lessees the maximum of advantage over the
Indians it was left unfenced so that the lessees’ stock were free to leave it and graze
over the unleased central part upon which the Indian cattle were dependent for grass.
Many of these north-end leases were frank “dummies” by means of which a lessee
would be rented an open unfenced section or two, drive as many cattle or horses as
he pleased to it and then leave them to graze at will on the unleased land.
As many of the Blood Indians had been long enough in the cattle business to
perceive that this systematic and wholesale overstocking of their Reserve would
result in disaster to their own live stock interests, they made strong protests to the
Agent, especially against the presence of sheep on their cattle range, but could obtain
no satisfaction.
A Super-Official in Charge
It should be observed that on February 16th, 1918, the Government had by
Order-in-Council appointed a Special Officer to take charge of “Greater Production”
on western Indian Reserves under the personal direction of the Minister and
operating independently of the regular organization of the Indian Department, the
first of whose duties was, as per the said Order-in-Council, “to make proper
arrangements with the Indians for the leasing of Reserve land which may be needed
for grazing, for cultivation, or for other purposes and for the compensation to be paid
therefor.” (I. D. Report for 1919, page 10). – Appendix, paragraph 236.
These duties were not performed with regard to the said 90,000 acres of leases,
as no arrangement of any sort was proposed to or discussed with the Blood Indians,
who knew nothing of any intention to place sheep on their Reserve until the sheep
were actually there in thousands and those Indians who resided within the said area
were ordered to vacate their homes in favour of the Governments’
lessees.
As for compensation to the tribe for the lands so leased or to individual Indians
for losses sustained by the confiscation of their personal holdings, nothing of the sort
was proposed then, or has been during the three years that have since elapsed with
the confiscation in full force.
6 The second paragraph in the Grazing Leases section of the Memorial of 1920.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
15
As nearly all of the individual sufferers from the confiscations were on the
“black list” created for the land sale campaign, the “Greater Production” grazing
leases were in the first place presented to the Bloods in the light of punishment for
“recalcitrancy,” and nothing has been done since, such as the offer of compensation,
to remove that aspect from the situation. Thus the Indians were left to consider
themselves the victims of ruthlessness.
When some of the Indians were expressing in appropriate language their
opinions of the lack of wisdom in crowding their cattle range with sheep, and their
indignation at the rough dispossessions to which they were being subjected, the Agent
sent an exaggerated report to Ottawa causing the Government to fear that the
Indians contemplated taking the law into their own hands and expelling the invaders
form their Reserve, a measure which the Bloods, who are a tractable people, had not
even considered.
Terrorizing the Indians
In consequence of said report of the Agent, however, a higher officer of the
Department appeared upon the Reserve with three armed policemen and the belated
information that the leases had been granted as a war measure and would be
maintained by force if necessary, to accentuate which the Head Chief of the Bloods
was told that: “Anyone who even objects to what is being done on the Blood Reserve
or anyone who advises anyone else to object will be arrested and prosecuted,” which
was a considerable threat to make in support of a bunch of predatory leases that were
absolutely devoid of moral sanction and of doubtful legality when written.
Cattle Management
For about 16 years the Blood Indian cattle, though belonging to a large number
of individual owners, have been handled under what is called the range herd system,
one feature of which was the holding of two roundups each year for the various
purposes of branding the calves with the numeral brands of their mothers, dipping
all cattle for mange, and counting. The necessary expenses have always been paid out
of the cattle management fund kept up by a percentage tax on beef sales, which fund
also provided the salary of the white stockman in general charge of the cattle, the
wages of his Indian assistants and the cost of whatever hay was required to feed such
of the cattle as could not remain out on the open range all winter.
Previous to 1919 such routine duties as roundup work, with expenses paid from
locally raised funds, were performed as a matter of course in their proper season
without the necessity of obtaining special authority from Ottawa, but following the
disorganization of the Department incidental to the so-called “Greater Production”
activities, the then Agent at the Blood Reserve states that he received orders not to
incur any expense whatever exceeding $10 without special permission from Regina.
Round-Up Obstructed
In 1919, when Spring roundup time arrived, and the Agency roundup outfit
was all ready to begin the important work of calf branding, dipping the whole herd of
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
16
3,700 or more for mange, as then required by the regulations of the Department of
Agriculture, and counting the whole herd by brands in order to make a new official
cattle record to be signed by the recently appointed Indian Agent, the Government
took the extraordinary course of refusing to permit the usual or any expenditure for
said work and gave orders to the effect that the Agent could take his office staff and
other such help and do the roundup work on foot.
This refusal of funds was maintained after it had been explained that the work
was technical, requiring eight or ten riders skilled in handling range cattle, and each
rider with at least six saddle horses. That Spring roundup work, so vital to the cattle
business of the Blood Indians, would not have been done at all had not the McEwan
ranch successors come forward and paid the Indian roundup expenses as well as their
own.
Indian Agent Warns the Government
Under date of June 3rd, 1919, the Indian Agent of the Blood Reserve reported
to his superior on the discouraging prospect of getting hay, owing, as he expressed it,
to the reserve “being pretty well pastured off,” which meant that the Reserve was
overstocked by the lessees to the point of endangering the interests of the Indians. It
does not appear that any attention was paid to this communication.
A month later, on July 3rd, the Agent repeated his warning, this time making
the definite statement that the hay crop was going to be very short, that he did not
think that there would be enough for the wintering of the Indians’ stock, and
mentioning as additional causes the large acreage cut over for hay in the previous
year and the effects of a “dry spell” then experienced.
Criminal Neglect
As the first duty of the Government was to protect the interests of the Indians,
one would expect that the situation disclosed by those two reports would be met by
the prompt cancellation of the grazing leases that were responsible for the rapidly
increasing trouble, but nothing was done to show that the responsible authorities
took any interest in the matter.
When in 1919 the proper time arrived to hold the short Fall roundup to brand
with the brands of their mothers the calves born since the Spring roundup, or too
young at that time for branding, the required authority was gain withheld by the
Government, the method of obstruction in this case being the non-acknowledgment
of official letters from the Blood Agency on the subject. While awaiting the needed
authority of the Government, the Fall roundup was postponed from week to week,
until winter set in and the large number of calves remained unbranded and were thus
lost to their Indian owners because by the following Spring roundup they would be
weaned and not following their mothers.
As each cattle owner paid his share of the management expenses from his
revenue from beef sales, it followed in practice that whatever hay he delivered at the
winter cattle feeding points was treated as a separate transaction and paid for out of
said management fund, so that in putting up the 2,000 tons, or thereabouts, of hay
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
17
normally needed to winter their cattle, the Blood Indian haymakers who owned cattle
and those who were not cattle owners received the same price per ton, which,
however, by common consent, was usually half or less than half of the current market
price of hay.
Brainless Interference
For the hay-making season of 1919, the local officials on the Blood Reserve
received orders that no hay was to be furnished from the cattle management fund but
that the range herd system was to be changed forthwith to a system of individual care
and management, to which end orders were given for each Indian owner to take his
cattle home and look after them.
Without dwelling upon the consequences that would have arisen from the fact
that many of the cattle were the property of widows, orphans and of children absent
at the boarding schools, the proposed innovation was of senseless impracticability
because the cattle were wild and could not be kept at the individual homes of the
Indians without special preparation in the way of strong fences, corrals, etc., the
construction of which would have entailed individual outlay of money that the
Indians did not possess.
Moreover, the Reserve had by now been so extensively overstocked that the
cattle were in no condition to stand the amount of driving about that this ill-advised
order entailed, and there was not sufficient grass at or near the homes of the
individual owners to feed them even had it been otherwise possible to keep them
there.
Indian Chief Appeals to Ottawa
These circumstances the Head Chief outlined in a telegram to the Minister and
suggested that owing to the shortage of grass, 3,000 tons of hay would be no more
than a safe provision, much of which he said could be put up by the Indians at a
nominal price per ton. In response to his telegram, the Chief received immediately
the encouraging reply from the Deputy that the matter was being given urgent and
immediate attention.
Disobedient Officials
If, as he supposedly did, the Minister gave immediate and urgent orders that
enough hay be procured to protect the Indian cattle, those orders were not carried
out, and after the hay-making season had been consumed in palpable trifling with
the situation, the Blood Indian cattle went into the winter with an insufficient
amount of feed.
A Destroyed Industry
Thus the Department, by permitting certain of its executive officers to
arbitrarily interfere with a business of which they were totally ignorant, viz., range
cattle management in Alberta, sanctioned the destruction of a creditable industry
that had been painstakingly fostered by itself from a start of 50 heifers until the herd
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
18
numbered thousands and had become the main support of a large Indian population.
Eighteen months of wholesale overstocking of the Reserve as shown had the
inevitable result of running the grass and hay and though the local agent had twice
warned his superiors of this condition and though there was a six weeks’ cancellation
clause in the leases, the lessees had too much “pull” and were not molested.
All warnings having failed to induce the Government to cancel its “Greater
Production” leases and restore the Reserve to the use of the Indian owners, and it
being evident at the beginning of the Winter that the hay supply was about two-thirds
short, the Government decided to remove a thousand head of Indian cattle to save
them from starvation, the McEwan lease successors having hurried their cattle from
the Reserve for the same reason, leaving the “Greater Production” lessees
undisturbed.
Instead of securing cars before gathering the 1,000 head of cattle, orders were
received to gather and hold them for instructions, which meant feeding them the
invaluable hay that had been secured with so much difficulty and which, as stated,
was already insufficient to winter the weak cattle that would have to be steadily fed
later on in the season.
Waste of Invaluable Hay
The Indians complained that the 1,000 head of cattle were thus held and fed
for several weeks awaiting shipping instructions from Regina, repeatedly applied for,
during which period they had to be fed up to twenty loads of hay each day. As hay
prices were then, on account of the drought of that year, soaring to unheard of figures,
the total quantity of hay fed to these cattle before shipment had a very high
replacement value (baled hay at many times the normal cost had to be shipped in
later on from far distant points), and if it were taken into account the large number
of Indian cattle that subsequently died for want of that hay, it would probably be
found that the needless holding of these cattle cost more than the price that 600 of
them were presently sold for.
Cars having finally been procured for shipping, 600 of these animals were sold
for 5c to 5¼c per pound, delivered at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, to which point the
Indians were charged with the freight, together with whatever losses occurred on the
way. This was less than half the normal value of the cattle, but as the Indian
Department officials in charge of the shipping did not take the trouble to identify the
brands on the cattle, but merely counted the number placed in each car, they might
as well have given them way for nothing so far as benefit to individual Indian owners
was concerned.
Neglect to Record Brands
The individual cattle brands of the Blood Indians are numerals and at the time
that these cattle were shipped the brands were indistinguishable owing to the growth
of winter hair and could not be accurately read by anyone without clipping on each
animal the area of the brand, which clipping was not done in this case. The
responsible officers after vainly attempting to read the brands without clipping
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
19
contented themselves with merely counting the animals, therefore, the 600 head of
cattle were lost to the rightful owners and any statement of individual ownership
subsequently prepared for the Department and Indians would have to be fictitious
because founded upon guesswork.
Freezing Their Feet
The other 400 head of Indian cattle crowded off their Reserve by the “Greater
Production” leases were, to save them from starvation, shipped by rail to the Stoney
Reserve, west of Calgary. These were criminally given en route a mid-Winter dipping
for mange, and delivered with frozen feet at their destination where 150 of them are
reported to have died, the survivors being returned to the Blood Reserve in the
following summer with a bill against them of $4,300. All of this loss and cost was
imposed upon the unfortunate Blood Indians rather than disturb the “Greater
Production” lessees, who had, within twelve months, been permitted by the
authorities to remove from the Blood Reserve thousands of tons of cattle feed which
under any system of fair dealing would have been retained for the use and profit of
the Indians.
Calamitous Losses
According to the published Report of the Department for 1919, the Bloods had
in the Spring of that year a total of 3,742 cattle which of course would not include the
Fall calves lost through maladministration as per paragraph 777. In the following
Spring the survivors were counted and found to number about 1,200, later claimed
by officials to be 1,300, which after allowing for 600 sold and a maximum of 250
slaughtered for beef, left a shortage of more than 1,580 which had starved to death
on their Reserve from which the Government had, as stated, within one year allowed
strangers, backed by armed police, to remove thousands of tons of fodder. (See also
paragraph 488).
No Sympathy for Indians
“I do not think we need waste any time in sympathy for the Indians,” said
Minister Meighen when, on the 23rd April, 1918, he was putting through the House
of Commons the legislation which made these atrocities possible. The Honourable
Minister had no cause to worry. There was no sympathy for the Indians. With 17,000
head of cattle and horses grazing upon it in 1917, the Blood Reserve was already
stocked to its average safe capacity for all-the-year grazing in that climate, and the
issuing by the Department in 1918 of the 39 additional grazing leases which ruined
these unfortunate people was either an act of wanton recklessness of Indian rights or
of deliberate intention to punish the Indians. If the latter, it was certainly successful.
7 The second paragraph in Criminal Neglect.
8 The second paragraph in Sharp Practice.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
20
Destruction of Indian Horses
And the losses were not confined to cattle. Throughout the forty years of their
occupation of the Reserve, the Blood Indians wintered their horses of all classes by
grazing out on the open range, none being stabled except when in use. During this
winter of 1919-20 their horses died of starvation in such numbers that by Spring no
less than 600 fatalities had been reported for record. A deplorable feature of this
phase of the calamity was the fact that the work horses were the heaviest sufferers,
a total of 454 work horses being reported dead of starvation up to the arrival of the
green grass. Some of the Indians who were farmers lost all of their teams, while many
had nothing left with which to either ride, drive or work, and were thus obliged for
the first time in their lives to travel the long distances of that country on foot.
The “Fortunate Indian”
“The Indian is very fortunate,” said the Honourable Minister to the House of
Commons. “He has all he had before, and now, in addition, he has the rental for this
land,” to which the Indian replies: “You have killed my cattle and my horses, by
taking from me the grass that I had before, and though three years have passed I
have yet to see the first dollar of the promised grazing rental.” A large sum of money
was received by the Department from the grazing leases but none of it was paid to
the Indians and it has been of no benefit to them as it was kept in a general fund at
Regina or Ottawa, entirely beyond the control of the Indians, and was mostly wasted
by the Government in fruitless efforts to repair the damage caused by the ill-advised
leases. A reading of the somewhat elaborately camouflaged Account in the Auditor-
General’s Report, 1919-20, pp. 1-137 and 1-183 will show that about $58,807 was
expended for cattle management, mainly on imported baled hay, when $15,000 would
have been ample had there been no “Great Production” (?) leases.
Suppression of the Facts
When last Spring (1920) the Blood Reserve was encumbered with the carcasses
of cattle that had died of starvation, some of the Indians who had been to school read
in the public press an announcement by one of the executive officers of the
Department of Indian Affairs that the cattle losses on the Blood Reserve were but 5
per cent. or 6 per cent., whereas at that date there were hundreds of carcasses that
the Indians were forbidden to skin, though the hides were then in active demand at
good prices. Young Indians offered to remove these hundreds of hides at 50c each and
turn them over to the Government for sale, but were forbidden. If that ruling was not
made for the purpose of suppressing the real losses of the Blood cattle by starvation,
what was the reason for wasting so many valuable hides? (They were then worth
several dollars each).
Destruction of the Bull Herd
The pure-bred bull herd of the Blood Indians is variously reported as
numbering from 66 to 82 in 1919, but we will give the authorities the benefit by
accepting the lower figure for the purpose of this complaint. As these bulls
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
21
represented a large amount of capital, special care should have been taken to preserve
them, instead of which we find another instance of wanton destruction of Indian
property. 35 were sold, apparently to Gordon, Ironside & Fares, as “canners” at about
5c per pound (no extra charge for pedigrees), the discreditable sale being smoothed
over by reporting that the animals were old, whereas from the purchases of bulls
shown in the Auditor-General’s Reports it is seen that the majority of the 66 must
have been in their prime.
A Falsified Return
After disposing of 35 bulls as above, the authorities sold to a friend one of the
best in the herd for $50, recording the purchaser under a fictitious name and classing
this bull also as old, though the complaint states that he was a three-year-old bull
which had recently cost the Agency more than $450. It is a noteworthy circumstance
that the sale of this animal, with the false report to the Government covering it, and
the sacrifice sale of the other 35 pedigreed bulls, together with that of the 600 cattle,
are reported to have been all put through by the Commissioner’s office at Regina from
whence an officer was specially sent to the Blood Reserve who operated independently
of the local Indian Agent. The latter officer stated that the details of these
transactions were kept from him so completely that the Blood Agency was unable to
furnish the Department with the usual cattle returns called for at the end of the fiscal
year, three months after said sales, and that he, the Indian Agent, was forced to sign
these papers in blank and forward them to the Commissioner’s office for the insertion
of information unknown to and withheld from him. The Indian Agent is supposed to
be the responsible representative of the Government in all local affairs.
This left at least 30 pure-bred bulls on the Reserve for the Winter, presumably
the pick of the herd, and though the Government’s executive officers fed hundreds of
tons of hay to the Gordon & Ironsides cattle, which need not have been fed to them
before sale, they neglected to properly feed the Indian bulls and allowed 22 of these
valuable young pedigreed animals to starve to death, leaving but 8 survivors the
following Spring. Then they turned around and purchased 6 inferior animals at a cost
of between $200 and $300 each from the same parties to whom had been recently sold
for $50 the bull so superior that he is said to have been worth any three of the 6. An
inspection of the seven animals would no doubt prove or disprove that estimate.
The Rise and Ruin of a Vital Industry
The cattle raising industry of the Blood Indians, from its modest beginning of
50 heifers in 1894 had, under careful and efficient management, with the active
assistance of the Department, made a steady growth – high quality of the stock being
considered as important an objective as large numbers – until in 1904 their cattle
reached the total of about 4,000 head of exceptionally well bred animals. Then they
passed through a high wave of prosperity, touching the 7,000 mark more than once
during the next seven years, but two disastrous winters brought the record total down
to below 4,000 again in 1911, which was not much if at all exceeded afterward, and
we find the official count of 1919 showing 3,742 head.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
22
In the history of the Alberta range cattle business there have occurred a few
severe winters that caused exceedingly heavy losses. Two such hard winters were
those of 1908-09 and 1910-11. In one of these the Blood Reserve was covered for a
protracted period with deep snow with a hard crust which the cattle could not break
through in order to reach the ample supply of grass underneath. In the other winter
snow storms of unprecedented fury drove the cattle in thousands clear off the Reserve
and into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where heavy losses occurred. Grazing
with the Indian cattle on the Reserve during both of these bad winters were the cattle
of the Donald McEwan Ranching Company in charge of their experienced and high-
salaried manager, with a full crew of skilled cowboys (working alongside of the
Indians under the Department’s stockman), but though everything possible was done
for the cattle, the Company’s losses were quite as high as those of the Indians. There
was no maladministration there. There is no parallel between those old losses and
the losses herein complained of, because in the Winter of 1919-20 the damage was
almost entirely due to scarcity of feed of which the Blood Indians had an ample supply
until, as charged, they were heartlessly deprived of it in the interests of white men.
It is of great significance that the Indians lost no horses worth mentioning in the bad
winters of 1908-09 and 1910-11 because there was plenty of grass and the horses,
following their habits, were able to break through the snow to it with their feet and
otherwise protect themselves. In 1919-20 the horses died in hundreds for the simple
reason that the Reserve had been eaten off bare by the sheep and cattle of the
38
“Greater Production” leases and the Indian horses and cattle literally starved to
death.
During the high wave period in 1904-1910 inclusive, the Blood Indians branded
no less than 9,212 calves, or an average for the seven years of over 1,300 calves per
annum. The best single year was 1909, when at the annual dipping for mange the
Bloods found by careful count and tally by brands that they owned more than 7,300
cattle, and that year they branded more than 1,600 calves. Last year, owing to the
maladministration of the Government, their calf branding was reduced to 130, two
years of so-called “Greater Production” having set them back more than 22 years, as
we have to back in the records as far as 1898 in order to find a calf branding as small
even as 190.
The final example that we have to here relate of the malevolence which seems
to have pursued the ill-fated Blood Indian cattle to their destruction at the hands of
the executive officers of the Department, and which brings that portion of our story
down to 1920, is that the authorities would not, or at least did not, by the purchase
of an adequate number of bulls last year, provide for the proper breeding of the female
cattle that survived the disaster of the previous winter; thus the unfortunate Indians
were by said executive officers deprived of whatever chance they otherwise had of a
normal and natural recovery from the losses which had been so discreditably imposed
on them.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
23
Reduction
While, as we have shown, the Blood Indian as a stock grower was being
eliminated, or while, at any rate, his participation in that industry was being reduced
to the minimum that would justify the charge that he was a holder of surplus and
unutilized land, another set of operations were in progress directed at the profits
which the individual Indians had already secured from their farming and cattle
interests. The effect of not being permitted to enjoy the financial benefit of success in
good years, added to the disappointment of bad years, would be, of course, to
discourage all effort on the Reserve and to dispose its Indian owners toward selling
land, which seems to be the single settled policy of certain officers of the present
Government towards the Bloods.
Juggling with Trust Money
The Indians complain that in September, 1918, the year before the principal
calamity, the executive officers of the Department gathered up on the Blood Reserve
and sold a mixed lot of Indian cattle, including three-year-old steers, two-year-old
steers and young breeding cows, the orders being to “take everything that is fat.” For
these cattle the authorities are said to have received more than $42,000, the steers
in the shipment being sold for $168 each, at the then price of about 14c per pound,
live weight.
Blood Indians whose private property these cattle were have been unable to
secure an accounting of the said $42,000. The owners were bluntly informed that the
“Indian share” would be $50 a head and after a delay of about six months credits on
that basis were carried to some of their accounts. They subsequently learned that the
said executive officers had taken about $20,000 of these personal Indian funds and
had re-invested it in other cattle which were, after long being fed with hay, in turn
sold for about $20 a head less than they had cost in the first place, the loss from this
absolutely unwarranted speculation with trust moneys falling upon the Blood
Indians.
The object in selling in 1918 that $42,000 lot of cattle is not known. It was not
done to provide needed revenue for the Indian owners, as is shown by the subsequent
use made of the money, and it was not done to free the Reserve of surplus beeves,
because they had no more steers than were required for domestic consumption and
they had to take unmatured two-year-old steers and about ninety cows to make up
the shipment.
In consequence of having made the above sale of cattle, including, as stated,
all steers down to two-year-olds, there was no beef supply left for the ensuring winter
and for many months the Department’s executive officers brought in and slaughtered
large numbers of the Indians’ young cows in calf, throwing out the unborn calves day
after day to the serious loss of the Indians, and to the astonishment of those of them
who had heard so much of the importance of “Greater Production” of food supplies on
Indian Reserves.
Another lot of Indian cattle were sold for about $15,000 by said executive
officers of the Department, and of this sum but $2,000 or $3,000 was credited to the
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
24
accounts of the Indians who owned the money, and no explanation given of the
balance, though the Indians learned indirectly that the greater part of the funds had
been used to buy cattle, concerning the branding or disposal of which no information
was available.
Seizure of Private Funds
During this campaign of compulsion that the Department’s executive officers
were pursuing on the Blood Reserve in order to force the Indians into a land sale,
thousands of dollars of personal Indian income derived from beef and grain sales and
on deposit at the Agency in trust for them individually, were peremptorily seized by
said officers for the ostensible purpose of re-investment in breeding cattle. Protests
of the Indians against this unjustifiable use of their private moneys were repeatedly
made, but were met with the statement that it was the order of the Government and
must be obeyed. Some Indians objected that they had already had enough cattle,
others that they wanted to handle their own money, but protests availed nothing and
the cash was arbitrarily deducted from their accounts in single amounts of $300 and
more, the total running into thousands of dollars which, after repeated appeals to the
Government for adjustment, are still outstanding. The laws of Canada seem to
provide no method by which Indians can, as a matter of right, secure a hearing of
such claims.
The Indian victims of this irregularity were not allowed to “clap eyes” on the
cattle alleged to have been purchased with their money. Some few cattle were actually
bought by the Government with some of this money, but instead of passing them over
to the Department’s stockman for branding and delivery to the Indians who were
entitled to them, they were handled in such a way that Indians who made repeated
trips to the Agency for the purpose of getting these cattle did not succeed in even
seeing them. Eventually some of these Indians were informed that the cattle had
died, others that the animals had been turned out on the range, but most of them
believe, and with good reason, that the heifers charged to them were mythical, which
belief became a practical certainty when subsequent roundups failed to disclose their
presence on the Reserve.
A Poor Place to Leave Cash
The Indians also charge in this connection, a charge which, like many of the
others, can easily be proven from the Agency books, that money was, without their
consent, taken from their individual deposits and used to purchase cattle which were
then branded with the Government or tribal brand only, so that when they would be
subsequently sold or otherwise turned into revenue the proceeds would go into some
general fund and be quite lost to the individuals whose money had bought them. This,
of course, was direct confiscation of cash deposits, and as a result of these
confiscations of cash, as described in this and the preceding two paragraphs, there
are hundreds of Blood Indians who believe today that the most unsafe place for them
to leave their money is in the hands of the Department of Indian Affairs, which for so
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
25
many years in the past possessed, as it was then entitled to possess, their full
confidence.
It is not intended to herein suggest that the Department’s officials personally
benefitted from any of these irregularities, the main object of which seems to have
been to cripple the Indians, while in some cases possibly a secondary purpose was to
secure funds for unauthorized local expenditure that could not be met by Head Office
grants. So far as the Indian was concerned, it mattered little what was done with the
money of which he was so unjustly delivered, because he was the permanent loser in
any case.
Still More Dishonor
Another bright scheme then adopted in the general plan of reduction in the
income and assets of the Blood Indians, was to make a ruling that all progeny of cattle
issued to Indians in long past years under the loan system as explained in Paragraph
189, should be declared to be the property of the Government, under the pretence that
the word “loan” in those old agreements did not merely created a debt of the original
number of heifers issued, but that it covered their progeny for all time to come.
Accordingly, as beef steers and other cattle, such as dry cows, that originated
under the loan system, were sold or butchered, the Government boldly confiscated
the proceeds from the unfortunate Indians who’d had for so long considered
themselves cattle owners, and turned the money back into Consolidated revenue or
some such receptacle in Ottawa where we find in the Auditor-General’s reports for
1918 and 1919 the sum of $14,695.25 received from the Blood Agency for “Beef sold,”
with another amount from the same source shown in the next year.
Here we see a former administration of Indian Affairs going to Parliament for
money with which to purchase cattle to be given to needy wards of the nation under
certain definite promises, and a few years later this present administration of Indian
Affairs brushes aside the promises, confiscates the cattle, turns them into cash and
returns it to the Public Treasury, presenting a complete reversal of sound public
policy, as indefensible as it was retrogressive.
The General Scheme of “Greater Production” on Indian Reserves, as
inaugurated by the Department in 1918, embraced four phases which were put into
effect on the Blood Reserve:
1. The leasing of 6,000 acres of land for farming purposes, as dealt with in
paragraphs 42 to 5010;
2. The destructive grazing leases mentioned in paragraphs 56 to 6911;
3. The taking over of about 5,000 acres of the Reserve by the Government to
farm on its own account; and
4. The assisting of Indians to extend their individual farming.
9 The second paragraph of The Bloods Become Ranchers.
10 The Cardston Lease Affair, Sharp Practice, and Pretty Low-Down.
11 Peremptory Seizure of Reserve Lands, Land Leased to Government’s Friends, Eviction of Indians,
Unlimited Leases, A Super-Official in Charge and Terrorizing the Indians.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
26
The last mentioned feature of the “Greater Production” activity, while it was
really the only commendable undertaking of the four, was also the most neglected,
and the farming efforts of the Indians were interfered with, retarded and discouraged
in a number of ways in favour of the Government farm which was given right of way
over everything. A few illustrations will show how this was done.
Seizure of Indian Machinery
The two large traction plowing outfits owned by the Indians and bought with
their money, which had been kept in enforced idleness for two years by the
Department as stated in paragraphs 30 to 3412, were, in the Spring of 1918, taken,
without the consent of the Indians, and used for plowing sod on the Government farm
at a time when they should have been doing similar work for the Indians under Class
4 of the “Production” scheme, which Indian plowing was in consequence delayed until
the months of August and September, long after the proper season for breaking or
plowing sod, when it had to be done under the most unfavorable circumstances, it
being well understood that in Southern Alberta breaking land, to be of value, must
be done in the Spring or early Summer while moisture is still in the top soil and the
grass unmatured.
In the Fall of 1918, though their grain harvest was much reduced by drought,
the Indians were note permitted to thresh their own wheat, with their own threshing
outfit, purchased by themselves, until said machinery had first been used to thresh
the harvest on the Government farm, so that shrinkage caused by delay and bad
weather would fall upon the Indian farmers.
Seed drills in use by the Indians, and bought with their own money, were taken
from them by the Department’s executive officers and sent to the Government farm,
where no less than 13 drills were to be seen seeding at one time while Indian farmers
a short distance away were forced to seed their farms broadcast by hand.
Unjust Discrimination
Further evidence along the same line is seen in the fact that at the time of the
seed drills incident the Department’s executive officers furnished No. 1 Prize Wheat
to seed the Government Farm, but obliged the Indians to do their seeding with No. 3
Wheat.
Moreover, many of the new Indian farms started under Class 4 of the “Greater
Production” scheme would have remained unfenced throughout their first crop year
had not the local Agent misunderstood instructions from his superior and furnished
the Indians an advance of wire with which to protect their crops, for which action he
was officially censured.
An Iniquitous Transaction
In the same Fall (1918) the officials in charge of the Government Farm sold to
one of the grazing lessees a quantity of flax straw on condition that said officials
12 Indian Farming Officially Obstructed.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
27
should force the Indians to sell to the said lessee 1,000 tons of their privately owned
hay at $10 per ton, when hay was then selling on the open market at from $15 to $18
a ton, with a heavy demand. The hay permit clause in the Indian Act was invoked in
order to apply the necessary pressure upon the Indians who, after much protest,
delivered the hay to the said lessee. The Indians were subsequently informed that
the flax transaction netted the Government Farm about $900, so in this single
instance the Indians were personally mulcted in the sum of from $5,000 to $8,000 in
order that the Government Farm might gain $900.
Deprived of Official Leadership
A grievance of less importance than many of the others is that for some years
past the Department has left unfilled the vacancies in the ranks of the 15 Minor
Chiefs of the Bloods provided for in the Treaty of 1877 and now reduced by death to
about half of that number. The Indians report that last Fall they were officially
advised that these vacancies were soon to be filled by the Government but that the
selections would not be made until another land sale vote was polled. The impression
left on their minds was that these promotions were to be used as bribes.
Last year, at the request of the Indians, the Department decided to give up the
5,000-acre Government Farm established in 1918 under Class 3 of the “Greater
Production” scheme and divide it amongst some of the numerous members of the band
who had always desired to farm the land. The officials issued to Indians a block of
said plowed land at the north end of the Reserve unconditionally because the
Government had failed to grow a crop on it in three seasons, but with regard to
several thousand acres of said Government Farm situated at the southern end, where
the land is good and crops can be nearly always grown, the said officials merely took
the names of the Indian applicants for this land and said that it would not be finally
allotted until after the next land sale vote. These Indians also understood, though
nothing was plainly stated, that getting their farms would be dependent upon voting
as desired by the Government, and it will be interesting to see how the men on that
particular list did vote at the third polling which occurred a few days ago.
A Disastrous Appointment
As the Order-in-Council of 1918 appointing an Indian Commissioner (see
Appendix, paragraph 2313) virtually handed over to him the Indian Affairs of three
Provinces to be managed by him directly under the Minister, and independently of
the established organization of the Indian Department, it followed that since that
time the headquarters office at Ottawa had practically no authority over the live stock
and farming interests of the Blood Indians, so vital to them, and the Department
seems to have also relinquished its control of their other affairs, outside of
educational matters. To the unusual character of said appointment is due, beyond
doubt, the principal of the troubles of the Blood Indians, as it is inconceivable that
the Ottawa officials of the Department who had with marked success controlled the
13 The second paragraph in Grazing Leases in the petition below.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
28
Blood Agency for thirty or more years, would, with their experience, have thrown the
Reserve wide open, as was done in 1918, and destroyed the Indian stock.
Indians Memorialize the Government
A Memorial, setting forth most of the foregoing complaints, and some others,
was presented to the Minister of the Interior on behalf of the Blood Indians on the
31st May last, to which the Indians subsequently added and filed with the Indian
Department a ratifying document bearing the signatures of 200 members of the Tribe,
including the Head Chief and all of the Minor Chiefs, which latter document also
authorized the present writer to take such measures on their behalf as might be
necessary to properly ventilate their grievances. (See Appendix).
In the Memorial, the Indians requested that their Reserve be returned again
to their peaceful possession as provided by Treaty and that they be compensated for
the losses sustained by them in consequence of the Treaty-breaking leases, or,
alternatively, they requested that the administration of their Reserve since 1917 be
thoroughly investigated by a Judge acting as Commissioner with court powers under
The Inquiries Act, Chapter 104 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1906.
“Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied”
The Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs, in June last, forwarded the
Blood Indian Memorial, together with a report upon it by his Deputy, to the Indian
Commissioner at Regina for his report, but this latter official was permitted to ignore
the matter and had not reported upon it to February of this year.
Up to the present time the Government has declined to admit its responsibility
for the losses sustained by the Indians in consequence of the “Greater Production”
leases and by failing to cancel the leases it has declined to restore the Reserve to their
use as memorialized to do.
Another Demand for Land
While continuing to avoid discussion of the Memorial with the Indians, and
without replying to it, the Government informed them, last Fall, that the only way
open to them by which they could free themselves of their misfortunes would be to
surrender part of their Reserve, from which it was inferred that the 90,000 acres
would be kept from them until they had surrendered and that reparation, if made,
would be from the sale proceeds of their own land.
This announcement was followed during the recent winter by the usual
preparatory campaign, in which the Indian voters were made to feel the pangs of
hunger, while the many thousands of dollars of their confiscated and misappropriated
funds were still withheld from them, until at the end of last month, their powers of
resistance were seemingly at a minimum, their finances being at about the lowest
point in the year.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
29
More Intimidation
The propitious moment having apparently arrived for another attack upon
their land holdings, the Indian Commissioner appeared at the Blood Agency,
accompanied, it is reported, by a force of no less than ten Mounted Policemen, in order
to record another vote on the land surrender, the demand this time being, according
to a recent item in the Press, 126,000 acres, but to their credit the Indians declined
to be intimidated by the display of armed force and voted down the proposition,
according to said newspaper report, by a poll of 144 votes to 99, or a majority of 45
against the land sale, which would seem to be an appropriate way to meet the “strong
arm” business methods of a misguided Indian administration.
Nepotism Run Wild
It would be unfair to the case of the Indians to conclude this Memorandum
without mentioning that in their heretofore futile efforts to obtain a hearing of these
numerous complaints – any one of which would have been very promptly investigated
and disposed of under the Indian administration of former years – no reasonable
explanation of the immovability of the Government has been heard other than the
explanation of the “man on the street,” that, as rendering justice to the Blood Indians
would involve an admission of blunder or fault upon the part of a public official who
is well known to be a protégé and relative by marriage of the Leader of the present
Government, it is considered in Governmental circles to be much more desirable that
the Indians should suffer than that any of themselves should risk the displeasure of
the Premier by attempting to relieve them.
The weight of this point is not dependent upon showing that there has been
direct interference or a “hands off” order from the Premier, who has indicated the
position with sufficient clearness in various exaggerated statements to the House of
Commons concerning the services of said relative. (Hansard, July 5th, 1919, pp. 46
64
– 4669)14.
There is no intention here to criticize the mere appointment or promotion in
the public service of a friend or relative by a Minister, but if said appointee blunders
in administration, causing serious losses to a third party, the latter’s claim to a
hearing should not be denied in the interests of the personal connection, and if such
relationship between two public officials is used to prevent a Tribe of unfortunate
Indians from securing common justice from the Government – of a kind identical to
14 The original cites incorrect page numbers (4814-4819). This is probably a reference to Meighen’s
praise for W. M. Graham found on pages 4664-4669: “Hon. ARTHUR MEIGHEN (Superintendent
General of Indian Affairs): Mr. Chairman, […] I would give the House a statement of the Greater
Production Work on Indian farms in Western Canada which has been carried on since February 16,
1918, under the charge of Mr. W. M. Graham. […] [N]o more successful enterprise has ever been
launched in Canada, or, up to the present time at all events, no better managed enterprise. The results
will be good from the point of view of returns from the money invested; they will be better still from
the point of view of the good resulting to the Indian, who is taking more interest in his work than he
did and is keeping busy instead of idle. But the greatest value of all accrues so far as the nation is
concerned in the tremendous increase that Mr. Graham has been able to secure in the actual product
of the soil upon those Indian reserves in Western Canada.”
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
30
that which white persons are securing through our Courts every day – it become
nepotism of a particularly vicious character. In this connection it is notable that a
series of questions concerning the Blood Reserve, recently asked by Members in the
House of Commons, brought forth in sixteen cases answers which were either so
palpably evasive, so glaringly misleading or were so frankly mendacious as to indicate
that under the present administration Departmental officers are either not permitted
to speak the truth to Parliament or that they are afraid to do so in connection with
certain matters.
The Blood Indians still hope that the Government will be induced to release
them from the intolerable situation described herein and to restore to them their
Reserve and its affairs in a condition equal to that in which it was when the
Government took it over at the outset of its “Greater Production” campaign in 1918.
The Indians are not asking the Government to accept any unsupported
statements as facts. Some of these charges can be proven from the official records at
Ottawa, many can be proven by the books of the Blood Agency, while a larger number
of the most serious complaints will require the taking of the sworn testimony of many
witnesses on the Blood Reserve, which for obvious reasons, must be done before a
Judge or some tribunal quite independent of the Department of Indian Affairs and of
the Government.
The Plain Duty of the Government
The proposition that is presented to the Government in this case is really a
very simple one. 200 Indians, constituting a two-thirds majority of the adult males of
their Tribe, headed by their Principal Chief and all of their Minor Chiefs, have made
written charges of maladministration of their affairs, and have memorialized the
Government for relief or for an impartial investigation. If the Indians are to be flatly
denied redress in such a matter, what are their rights, and how can they be exercised?
OTTAWA, ONT., APRIL 7th, 1921.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
31
APPENDIX
The Blood Indian Memorial of 31st May, 1920
–––––––––––
To The Honourable Arthur Meighen, P.C., K.C.,
Minister of Indian Affairs,
Ottawa.
The Memorial of the Blood Indians inhabiting the Blood Reserve in Southern
Alberta, respecting certain grievances relating to the administration of their affairs
and the Reserve, showeth:
That your Memorialists occupy a Reserve set apart for them in 1877 under
Treaty Number 7 and an amended Treaty made on the 2nd July, 1883, lying between
the Belly River and St. Mary’s River in Southern Alberta, having an area of 547.5
square miles.
Your Memorialists, numbering about 1,150 souls, are and have for many years
been engaged in farming on the said Reserve and in raising cattle and horses thereon.
Farming Lease Surrenders of 23rd March and 30th May, 1918
In the year 1918, in consequence of an agitation for the greater production of
food stuff rendered necessary by the war, it was suggested to your Memorialists that
they should surrender to His Majesty the King, for a period of five years or until the
expiration of one year after the conclusion of the war, a portion of their said Reserve
to be used for the purpose of producing grain, and at a Council of the Chiefs and
principal men of your Memorialists, duly called and held on the 23rd of March, 1918,
for the purpose of assenting thereto, a surrender of about 6,080 acres of your
Memorialists’ Reserve was made to His Majesty the King, for the purposes aforesaid.
The said surrender provided amongst other things:
(a) That such surrendered lands should be leased to such person or persons as
would pay the greatest yearly rental therefor;
(b) That, after deducting the expenses of management all moneys received from
such leasing should be paid in cash equally amongst your Memorialists;
(c) That the Lessees should not take more than two crops consecutively off any
land farmed, the land to be summer-fallowed the third year from breaking the sod;
(d) That all noxious weeds should be destroyed each year before seeding;
(e) That all straw grown on leased lands should be kept by the Lessees for the
cattle of your Memorialists;
(f) That the Indian Agent of the Reserve should be entitled to enter said leased
lands with your Memorialists’ cattle to feed the same with such straw;
(g) That at the expiration of said leases said lands should be returned in good
agricultural condition, and that all improvements made thereon by the Lessees
should become the property of your Memorialists at the expiration of the said leases.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
32
Between the date of the making of the said surrender on the 23rd day of March,
1918, and the 30th day of May, 1918, the lands so surrendered were leased by His
Majesty the King to various white men, and your Memorialists were informed by their
agent that the annual rentals to be received from said leases would approximately
amount to $30,000, or on the average, after deducting expenses of management, to
about $24 per head annually of your
Memorialists.
That your Memorialists having been promised by the Indian Commissioner an
advance payment on account of said rentals of $10 a head were subsequently notified
by the Indian Agent that they would be paid only $6 per head, and your Memorialists
having assembled on or about the 30th day of May, 1918, with their families and tents
at the Indian Agency, pursuant to order so to assemble issued by the Indian Agent,
for the purpose only, as your Memorialists believed, of receiving payment of said $6
per head, were then informed by said Indian Agent that unless your Memorialists
would sign a document then presented to them, but which was not translated or
explained to them, the expected payment of $6 per head would not be made.
Your Memorialists being thus faced with the alternative of either signing said
document or not receiving said payment, signed the said document of the purport of
which they were not then aware.
Subsequently your Memorialists learned that the document which they had
been induced to sign under the circumstances aforesaid, was a new surrender of the
said 6,080 acres of their said Reserve upon terms and conditions very materially
different from and far less favorable to your Memorialists than those contained in the
said surrender of the 23rd day of March, 1918.
The said surrender of the 30th day of May, 1918, did not contain the terms of
the said surrender of the 23rd day of March, 1918, set forth in paragraph four (4)
hereof and lettered (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g), but instead thereof contained the
following terms, viz:
(h) His Majesty shall pay to each member of your Memorialists’ Band the sum
of $6 in each year for six years or so long as the said surrender shall remain in force;
(j)15 The Government to have the free use of whatever land on the Reserve it
may require for the greater production of food producing grain, on condition that
Indian labor shall be utilized as far as possible and feasible at current rates; the land
to revert when the Government no longer requires the same for greater production of
food producing grain.
Under the surrender of the [30th day of May]16, 1918, your Memorialists would
have been entitled to the annual distribution of only about $6,900, resulting in the
very serious loss of $20,700 per annum.
Under the surrender of the 23rd day of March, 1918, His Majesty the King was
required to lease the said lands to such person or persons as would pay the greatest
yearly rental, the whole benefit of which, less management expenses, belonged to
your Memorialists, whereas under the surrender of the 30th day of May, 1918, the
amount receivable by your Memorialists is fixed at $6 per head per annum, and no
15 There is no (i) in the original, presumably to avoid confusion with Roman numerals.
16 The original here reads ‘23rd day of March’.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
33
provision is made for the distribution amongst your Memorialists of any balance
which may remain at the expiry of the leases.
Under the surrender of the 23rd day of March, 1918, your Memorialists were
entitled to all the straw grown on the leased lands for fodder, while under the
surrender of the 30th day of May, 1918, such straw belongs to the respective lessees
of the lands.
The surrender of the 30th day of May, 1918, contains no provision for rotation
of crops, or for summer-fallowing, or for the keeping down of noxious weeds.
Establishment of a Government Farm
Under the provisions of the surrender of the 30th day of May, 1918, about 4,800
acres of your Memorialists’ Reserve were taken, by the Department of Indian Affairs,
for the purpose of farming the same in aid of greater production of food-producing
grains, and although your Memorialists were not aware, when they signed the said
surrender, that they had agreed to permit the Government to use so much of their
Reserve for that purpose as it might require, your Memorialists do not object to the
said surrender on that account, as they would willingly have agreed to such a
provision had they been requested so to do, though they are aware of no reason why
they should not have a compensation for the use of said land, but your Memorialists
aver that the mode in which the said 4,800 acres have been farmed has been of serious
damage and loss to them because while prior to the year 1918 your Memorialists
enjoyed the services and instruction of three Government Farm Instructors – whose
entire services were utilized for their benefit – when the Government began to
operate said 4,800 acres it did not appoint a new Farm Instructor for the district
known as Farm 3 in the place of the Farm Instructor for such a district who had
resigned, but instead of so doing, appointed a foreman for said Government Farm
whose whole time and attention was and is devoted thereto, whereby Indians in said
district known as Farm 3 were and are deprived of the services of a farming instructor
as enjoyed by them up to 1918, and because your Memorialists were wholly deprived
of farm machinery which they had formerly used and which was purchased with their
funds and which machinery was placed on said Government Farm, the consequence
whereof being that many of your Memorialists who are sowing grain this year are
obliged to sow the same broadcast by hand, though no less than 13 seed drills are in
operation on the Government Farm.
In further support of your Memorialists’ contention that the existence of the
said Government Farm on the Blood Reserve is detrimental to the farming interests
of your Memorialists, they say that in 1918 two large traction plowing outfits, the
property of your Memorialists, were taken without the consent of your Memorialists
and used for plowing sod on the Government Farm, though said machinery was
urgently needed by your Memorialists for similar work, which was in consequence
delayed until the months of August and September, long after the proper season for
breaking or plowing sod, when said work of your Memorialists had, if done at all, to
be accomplished under the most unfavorable conditions, much to the detriment of
your Memorialists’ interests, it being well understood that breaking, to be of value,
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
34
must, in Southern Alberta, always be done in the Spring and early Summer while
moisture is still in the top soil and the grass unmatured.
Furthermore, your Memorialists complaint hat in the Fall of 1918, though
their grain harvest was much reduced by drought, they were not permitted to thresh
their own wheat with their own threshing outfit until said machinery had first been
used to thresh the harvest on the Government Farm, the rule seeming to be that the
Government Farm has the “right-of-way” over everything.
Your Memorialists further complain in this connection that in the Fall of 1918
the officials in charge of the Government Farm sold to one of the grazing lessees a
quantity of flax straw on condition that said official should force your Memorialists
to sell to the said lessee 1,000 tons of their privately owned hay at $10 a ton, when
hay was then selling on the open market at from $15 to $18 a ton with heavy demand.
The hay permit clause in the Indian Act was invoked in order to apply the necessary
pressure upon your Memorialists, who, after much protest, delivered the hay to said
lessee. Your Memorialists subsequently were informed that the flax transaction
netted the Government Farm about $900, so in this single instance your Memorialists
were personally mulcted in the sum of from $5,000 to $8,000 in order that the
Government Farm might gain $900.
Your Memorialists state that the gross mismanagement of the said
Government Farm has from its inception been a disgrace to the Blood Reserve, in
support of which your Memorialists, to give a single illustration, say that the wheat
crop on the said Government Farm last Summer was permitted to stand unfenced
from seeding time to the beginning of August, just before the harvest, during which
period thousands of cattle and horses grazing upon it destroyed wheat conservatively
estimated at a value of $50,000. This amazing negligence was explained to your
Memorialists by the Indian Agent as due to his inability to secure from the
Commissioner the necessary authority to fence the crop, though said Commissioner
was aware that the grain was standing unprotected all this time in the midst of a
densely over-stocked cattle range. As a consequence, hundreds of acres of said
Government Farm were unfit to cut at all, and on that portion which was harvested
they managed to thresh a yield of about six bushels to the acre, as compared with
between 25 and 30 bushels to the acre threshed by the lessees on the farming lease a
few hundred yards away.
Indian Production
Your Memorialists represent that they were the first Indians in Canada to
adopt the system of large scale production of grain on Indian Reserves by the use of
traction engines, which they did in the year 1907 with such success that it was later
extended by the Department to other Indian Reserves in the West, and the
Department of Indian Affairs in its annual report for 1917 was able to make the
following favorable reference to the farming enterprise of your Memorialists: “The
Blood Indians during the season of 1916, by their own efforts and without any
financial aid from the Government of Canada, produced 65,150 acres of wheat on
2,600 acres, and 26,980 bushels of oats on 768 acres. They grew approximately 7,150
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
35
bushels of table vegetables, harvested 6,700 tons of hay and green fodder, and
prepared 2,320 acres of summer-fallow and new breaking for the next year’s crop.
This, with one exception, was the largest yield of grain on any Indian Reserve
in Canada, and your Memorialists maintained the same standing in 1917, for wheat,
and increased their hay crop to 10,000 tons. Your Memorialists also mention that in
1917 the value of their beef production was $60,000, being the largest of any Indian
Reserve in Canada.
Your Memorialists in the development of their farming interests had provided
themselves from their own funds with two large steam threshing outfits, several
traction plowing outfits and one of the most extensive and complete equipments of
modern farming machinery to be found anywhere in Canada, financial means for
operating expenses only being needed to complete the intended extension of said
farming enterprise until it covers the total farming capabilities of your Memorialists.
Thus, in 1918, when the Department decided to speed up grain production on the
Reserve of your Memorialists, all that was necessary so to do was for the Government
to financially assist the farming development already well advanced, instead of the
Government starting to farm the Reserve of your Memorialists on its own account,
there being many of your Memorialists then and now anxious to be given an
opportunity to farm.
Grazing Leases
By an amendment of the Indian Act passed in 1918, the Superintendent-
General of Indian Affairs, when any land in a Reserve, whether held in common or
by an individual, is uncultivated, and the Band or individual is unable or neglects to
cultivate the same, may, without a surrender, grant a lease of such lands for
agricultural or grazing purposes.
On February 16th, 1918, an Order-in-Council was passed appointing Mr. W.
M. Graham as Indian Commissioner in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, with
the following duties and powers:-
(a) To make proper arrangements with the Indians for the leasing of Reserve
lands, which may be needed for grazing, for cultivation, or for other purposes, and for
the compensation to be paid therefor;
(b) To formulate a policy for each Reserve;
(c) To issue directions and instructions to all inspectors, agents and employees
in furtherance of that policy;
(d) To make purchases and engage or dismiss any extra or temporary
employees, and market the yield of grain and live stock, and in effect to have sole
management of this work subject to the approval of the Superintendent-General of
Indian Affairs, to whom he shall report fully at close and regular intervals;
(e) To make recommendations to the Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs,
looking to the greater efficiency of such of the Indian service in the said provinces as
is not related to the said special work.
Under the powers granted by the said amendment the Indian Commissioner
took possession of about 90,000 acres of your Memorialists’ Reserve, composed of two
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
36
blocks of approximately equal area, one at the south-western end of said Reserve
along the Belly River, and the other at the northern end of said Reserve extending
from the Belly to St. Mary’s River. The area so taken at the south-western end of the
Reserve included the winter grazing range for your Memorialists’ cattle, numbering
over 3,600 head, and also included their winter watering-places, all of which were
shut off from use by your Memorialists by a twelve-mile line fence.
The area at the south-western end of said Reserve was fenced off from the rest
of said Reserve and some of it was rented to sheep raisers who, notwithstanding said
fence, steadily pursued the practice of driving their flocks of sheep, numbering
thousands, in north-easterly direction slowly across the unleased portion of the
Reserve to the St. Mary’s River, which being reached, such flocks would then be
driven slowly back to the starting point, in consequence whereof the herbage in the
line of route was eaten or destroyed, and the tract traversed became unfit for
pasturing cattle, as cattle will not graze after sheep have passed over a pasture. In
this manner a very large portion of the Reserve was rendered useless for your
Memorialists’
cattle and horses.
The area of said Reserve taken at the north end thereof was leased to sheep,
cattle and horse raisers and was not fenced, and said stock-raisers allowed their cattle
to feed to south of the leased territory, over your Memorialists’ grazing ground,
overstocking the same, whereby the fodder thereon was so depleted that there did not
remain sufficient to support and feed your Memorialists’ cattle and horses.
In order to provide the area which was leased for grazing as aforesaid, many
of your Memorialists, who lived in the area chosen, were dispossessed of their
holdings and forced to abandon their houses, and fenced pastures which had been
used by them for many years, were leased to such sheep herders in addition to which
hay land used by your Memorialists for over 25 years and on the product whereof
your Memorialists largely depended for cattle feed and their own living, was also
leased to such lessees and used by them for and as hay land. These lessees are said
to have paid an annual rental of $250 per square mile, and they have sold and hauled
off the Reserve thousands of tons of hay, the product of these lands, at $15 per ton
and upwards, which should have been retained for the feeding of your Memorialists’
cattle and horses.
While under the aforesaid Order-in-Council it was stated as the duty of the
Commissioner “to make proper arrangements with the Indians for the leasing of the
said land and for the compensation to be paid therefor,” your Memorialists complain
that with reference to the above mentioned grazing and hay leases of 90,000 acres,
no arrangement of any sort was proposed or discussed with your Memorialists who
knew nothing of any intention to place sheep on their Reserve until the sheep were
actually there in thousands, and those of your Memorialists who were resident within
the said area were ordered to vacate their homes in favor of the Commissioner’s
lessees.
When some of your Memorialists expressed their indignation at such rough
dispossession, the Commissioner appeared upon the scene with three policemen and
the belated information that the said leases had been granted as a war measure, and
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
37
he then had conveyed to your Memorialists’ Head Chief the threat that anyone who
“even objected to what was being done on the Blood Reserve, or anyone who advised
anyone else to object, would be arrested and prosecuted,” which threat had the effect
of quieting your Memorialists until the present time. As for compensation for the
lands so leased, your Memorialists have yet to learn that such is contemplated.
Destruction of the Indian Cattle Herd
For about fifteen years your Memorialists have managed their cattle, a herd of
more than 3,600 in number, under the range herd system, holding round-ups each
year for the various purposes of branding calves, dipping for mange and counting.
The necessary expenses have always been paid out of your Memorialists’ cattle
management fund, which has hitherto been used also for the purchase of hay for
feeding such cattle as might be unable to remain out on the open range all winter.
Last Summer the Commissioner announced that no money would be paid from the
said funds or from any other funds within his control for the purchase of hay for your
Memorialists’ cattle, and as this drastic ruling imperiled the very existence of said
cattle herd, the Head Chief of your Memorialists telegraphed to yourself an appeal,
to which he received at once the encouraging reply that the matter was being given
immediate and urgent attention. Notwithstanding said assurance, your Memorialists
assert that a reasonable effort was not made to provide the necessary hay, and your
Memorialists’ cattle went into the winter with an inadequate supply of feed, owing to
the Commissioner’s negative interference with the cattle business of your
Memorialists as shown.
In 1919 when Spring round-up time arrived and the round-up outfit was all
ready to begin the important work of calf-branding, dipping the whole herd of 3,600
for mange, as required by the regulations of the Department of Agriculture, and
counting the whole herd by brands in order to make up for the Department a new
official cattle record to be signed by the recently appointed Indian Agent, the
Commissioner refused to permit the usual or any expenditure for said work, and gave
orders to the effect that the Agent could take his office staff and other permanent
help and do the round-up work on foot, which refusal of funds was maintained after
it had been explained to the Commissioner that the work was technical, requiring
eight or ten riders skilled in handling cattle, and each rider with at least six saddle
horses. This Spring round-up work, so vital to the cattle business of your
Memorialists, would not have been done at all had not a private firm of white men
advanced and paid the costs.
Your Memorialists further state that in the Fall of 1919 when the proper time
arrived to hold the short Fall round-up to brand with the brand of their mothers the
calves, estimated to be about 300, born since the Spring round-up, or too young at
that time for branding, the required authority was again withheld by the
Commissioner, whose method of obstructing in this case is said to have been non-
acknowledgment of official communications from the Blood Agency on the subject.
While awaiting the needed sanction of the Commissioner, the branding was
postponed from week to week, until winter set in and the 300 calves remained
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
38
unbranded and were lost to their Indian owners, because at the next round-up said
calves being weaned will not be following their mothers, even if still on the Reserve,
which is doubtful, in view of the fact that the Reserve of your Memorialists is no
longer an Indian Reserve in a proper sense, but a common continually being ridden
over and the stock thereon molested by numberless lessees and employees of lessees
claiming the right so to do under the Commissioner’s leases.
One of the lessees of your Memorialists’ Reserve was permitted to remove his
cattle during the recent winter without proper inspection of the brands thereon,
which cattle your Memorialists are informed were taken some to the United States
and some to a point on the Canadian side of the International line. From this latter
herd, your Memorialists recovered and brought home 20 head of their cattle which
had been wrongfully taken away from the Reserve, giving your Memorialists
reasonable ground to fear that a number of their cattle were driven away with the
lessee’s herd which went to the United States under similar circumstances.
During the recent Winter of 1919-20, by order of the Indian Commissioner,
several hundred head of your Memorialists’ cattle were gathered on the Reserve,
shipped form the district and sold for less than half their normal value in order to
save them from starvation. As the individual brands of your Memorialists on said
cattle were then indistinguishable, owing to the growth of mid-Winter hair, and could
not be accurately read by anyone without clipping on each animal the area of the
brand, which clipping was not done, this large shipment of cattle, said to number 600,
was also lost to those of your Memorialists who were the rightful owners.
As a further consequence of the destructive conditions imposed upon your
Memorialists’ cattle industry as heretofore shown, a second herd of some four
hundred of your Memorialists’ cattle, making a total of about 1,000 head in the last
two items, had to be gathered up during the recent Winter and shipped by rail to a
northern Reserve to save them from starvation on your Memorialists’ own Reserve,
from which the Commissioner’s lessees had, within twelve months, removed
thousands of tons of fodder.
Your Memorialists also say that in consequence of said mismanagement, your
officials are at the present time butchering for sale and for consumption on the Blood
Reserve a large number of two-year-old steers, the property of your Memorialists,
which are so emaciated from starvation that they weight about 350 pounds dressed,
bringing to your Memorialists a gross return of only $35 each, whereas but for the
said leases, said steers could be left on the range of your Memorialists until they
dressed from 800 to 1,000 pounds of prime beef, worth in excess of $100.
Your Memorialists further complain that in September, 1918, the
Commissioner had gathered up and sold a mixed lot of your Memorialists’ cattle,
including three-year-old steers, two-year-old steers, and young breeding cows, for
which there is said to have been received the sum of $44,000 – the steers in this
shipment being sold for about $168 each. Your Memorialists, whose private property
said cattle were, have not been able to secure an accounting of said $44,000. Your
Memorialists were bluntly informed that the “Indian share” would be $50 a head, and
after a delay of about six months, credits on that basis were carried to your
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
39
Memorialists’ accounts. Your Memorialists were subsequently informed that the
Commissioner had other cattle purchased with a portion of said $44,000 which cattle
were, after long being fed with hay, in turn sold for about $20 a head less than they
cost in the first place, said loss from the unwarranted speculation falling upon your
Memorialists.
Your Memorialists also say that in consequence of having made the above sale
of cattle, including all steers, down to two-year-olds, there was no beef supply left for
the ensuing winter, and that for many months the Department’s officials brought in
and slaughtered large numbers of your Memorialists’ young cows in calf, throwing
out the unborn calves with the offal, to the serious loss and astonishment of your
Memorialists who had heard so much of the importance of food production.
In the annual report of the Department of Indian Affairs for 1917, it was
stated: “The largest herds are held by the Blood Indians, who own upwards of 4,000
head of the finest beef cattle in the West.” Your Memorialists believe that in
consequence of the gross mismanagement of and senseless interference with the
cattle industry of your Memorialists during the last two years, the above statement
of the Department could no longer be made, even were the figure cut in half. About
the 10th of this month some of your Memorialists read in the public press an
announcement by the Indian Commissioner that last Winter’s cattle losses of your
Memorialists were but 5% or 6% whereas, at the date of said announcement, there
were hundreds of your Memorialists’ cattle lying dead of starvation at the Blood
Reserve, which carcasses your Memorialists were forbidden to skin, though the hides
are in active demand at good prices. Young men of your Memorialists offered to
remove these hundreds of hides form the carcasses at fifty cents each, and turn the
hides over to the Government for sale, but were forbidden. If this ruling was not made
for the purpose of suppressing the real losses of your Memorialists’ cattle, your
Memorialists would like to know what was the reason for wasting so many valuable
hides.
Destruction of Indian Horses
Your Memorialists state that throughout the forty years of their occupation of
the Blood Reserve their horses of all classes were wintered by grazing on the open
range, no horses being stabled except when in use. During this Winter of 1919-20, the
horses of your Memorialists died of starvation in such numbers that by Spring no less
than 538 fatalities had been reported for record. A most deplorable feature of this
calamity lies in the fact that the work horses of your Memorialists were heaviest
sufferers, a total of 454 work horses being reported dead of starvation up to 12th inst.
When the new grass was just beginning to grow. Some of your Memorialists who are
farmers have lost all of their teams, while many of your Memorialists have nothing
left with which to either ride, drive or work, and are thus obliged for the first time in
their lives to travel long distances on foot.
Your Memorialists are mindful that the district in which their Reserve is
situated was subject to a drought in 1919 with shortage of grass imposing unusual
hardship upon live stock owners generally, but this does not affect that fact that in
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
40
their case your Memorialists had on their Reserve in their Winter range and
elsewhere an amount of grazing amply sufficient to have carried their cattle and
horses through to the present time had they not been dispossessed of it as described,
in order that the live stock of white men might be saved while that of the Indians
died.
Your Memorialists complain that under the new system of administration to
which they herein object, the peace of your Memorialists’ Reserve has been seriously
threatened by the practice of white men carrying firearms on said Reserve for the
intimidation of your Memorialists, in support of which they state that an agent
carried a revolver, an engineer went armed with an automatic pistol, a lessees’ rider
pointed a revolver in the face of one of your Memorialists merely because he was
hunting horses on the central unleased portion of the Reserve, and a sheep herder is
reported to have fired several shots with a rifle at one of your Memorialists who was
driving the sheep out of his own pasture field.
Your Memorialists represent that whereas under the Treaty of the 22nd day of
September, 1877, they are entitled to two Head Chiefs, and fifteen Councillors,
vacancies therein caused by death have not been filled for many years, and at present
there is only one Chief and the councillors number eight only, much to the detriment
of the affairs of your Memorialists, who are thus deprived of the necessary official
leadership provided for them by Treaty.
Your Memorialists contend that the amendment of 1918 to Section 90 of the
Indian Act, which empowers government officials to peremptorily dispossess Indians
of their pasture fields, their hay lands, and their homes, and by means of private
leases to hand all of these over to white men, to be used for exactly the same purposes
as the dispossessed Indians were using them, is morally unsound and a breach of the
Treaty of 1877, which provided your Memorialists with a Reserve for their exclusive
use until voluntarily surrendered, which was not only the understanding of the
parties thereto when the Treaty was signed, but was so interpreted and honored by
every Government of Canada for forty years thereafter.
Your Memorialists desire to add that in the aforegoing there is no intended
suggestion of the personal dishonesty of any Government official, the whole effort of
your Memorialists herein being directed against the policy and methods of
administration under which your Memorialists are rapidly becoming paupers.
Your Memorialists therefore pray,
(1) That all grazing leases covering portions of your Memorialists’ Reserve
granted since the 16th day of February, 1918, be forthwith cancelled.
(2) That the regulations relating to the impounding of trespassing live stock
may be enforced as formerly.
(3) That the surrender of the 30th day of May, 1918, be declared null and void
and not binding upon your Memorialists, and that the surrender of the 23rd day of
March, 1918, be declared valid.
(4) That the Government Farm on your Memorialists’ Reserve be divided up
amongst Indians belonging to your Memorialists who desire to farm, and that your
Memorialists be assisted both financially and by the appointment of Farm Instructors
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
41
to extend to the utmost, as they earnestly desire to do, their system of farming said
Reserve.
(5) That the individual owners of hay who were compelled to sell their hay in
the Fall and Winter of 1918 to grazing lessees at from $5 to $8 per ton below the
market price, be partially recompensed for their loss at the rate of $5 per ton.
(6) That a count of your Memorialists’ cattle be made in July of this year, and
that losses sustained by individual cattle owners as ascertained by a comparison of
the results of such counting with the count made at the round-up of 1919, be made
up to them in cattle.
(7) That he losses sustained by your Memorialists by reason of the starvation
and death of horses, be made up to the individual losers by replacing the dead work
horses and compensating them in money for other horses which died owing to the
causes alleged in the Memorial.
(8) That an accounting be ordered as to the disposition of the $44,000
mentioned in the 37th paragraph of this Memorial, or of such sum as may have been
realized from the sale mentioned in said paragraph.
(9) That your Memorialists and their affairs may be entirely removed from the
jurisdiction of the Regina Office, under which they have in two years been almost
ruined, and that the control of their affairs be returned to the Ottawa Office, which
directed the Blood Agency up to 1918, and under which all their progress was made.
(10) That an election to fill the vacancies in the offices of Chief and Councillors
of your Memorialists’ Band be directed to be held forthwith.
(11) That steps be taken to procure the repeal by Parliament of the amendment
to Section 90 of the Indian Act, passed in 1918, since the necessity for the exercise of
the powers thereby conferred does not exist, and because the exercise of such powers
has been detrimental to the best interests of your Memorialists.
Or alternatively,
(12) Your Memorialists pray that a full and complete judicial investigation of
the administration of your Memorialists’ Reserve since the 31st day of December,
1917, and especially of the grievances herein set forth, be ordered to be held, and that
for such a purpose a commission issue to the District Judge of the District of Macleod
under the Inquiries Act, Chapter 104, of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1906.
And your Memorialists will ever pray,
Signed at Ottawa, May 31st, 1920.
(Signed) SHOT-ON-BOTH-SIDES17,
Head Chief of the Blood Indians.
Per his Attorney,
R. N. WILSON.
And on behalf of your Memorialists,
(Signed) R. V. SINCLAIR, K.C.,
Their Solicitor.
17 Chief Shot-on-both-sides died in 1956.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
42
–––––––––––
WE, the undersigned Blood Indians, hereby give our support to the Memorial
of May 31st, 1920, presented upon our behalf to the Government by R. N. Wilson and
to such other measures as he may decide to take in that connection:
1. Shot-on-Both-Sides, Head
Chief.
2. Young Pine, Minor Chief.
3. One Spot, Minor Chief.
4. Many White Horses, Minor
Chief.
5. Weasel Fat, Minor Chief.
6. Running Wolf, Minor Chief.
7. Running Antelope, Minor Chief.
8. Heavy Shield, Minor Chief.
9. Left Hand, Minor Chief.
10. Eagle Plume
11. Heavy Head
12. Riding in the Door
13. Mike Snake Eater
14. Rough Hair
15. Morning Owl
16. Owns Different Horses
17. Black Forehead (Younger)
18. Joe Aberdeen
19. Stephen S. Fox
20. Chas. Goodrider
21. Tom Morning Owl
22. Tom Russell
23. Maurice Many Fingers
24. Gros Ventre Boy
25. Howard Hind Man
26. Mike Blood
27. Aloysius Crop Ear Wolf
28. Sinew Feet
29. Holy Singer
30. Geo. Big Wolf
31. Walter Singer
32. Johnny Pace
33. Round Nose
34. Soup
35. Willie Red Crow
36. White Man
37. Henry Black Water
38. Yellow Feet
39. Fred Tail Feathers
40. Striped Wolf
41. Mike Oka
42. Many Bears
43. Goose Chief
44. Tall Man
45. Frank Good Striker
46. Good Striker
47. Albert Chief Calf
48. Ghost Chest
49. First Charger
50. Bruised Head
51. Tom Many Feathers
52. White Wolf
53. Fred Spotted Bull
54. Louis Owl Boy
55. John Red Crane
56. Medicine Crane
57. Hairy Bull
58. Jack Eagle Bear
59. Many Mules
60. Julius Iron Horn
61. Jim Healy
62. Bert Medicine Crane
63. Brown Chief Calf
64. White Man Running Around
65. Joe Eagle Rib
66. Heavy Runner
67. Paul McDonald
68. Black Forehead (Elder)
69. Joe Gambler
70. Musk Rat
71. Jimmy Knife
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
43
72. Big Swallow
73. Crazy Cow
74. Melting Tallow
75. Sun Dance
76. George Long Time Squirrel
77. Eagle Child
78. Green Grass Bull
79. Black Rabbit
80. Bob Tall Chief
81. Big Wolf
82. James Wells
83. Robert Shore
84. Cross Child
85. Plain Woman
86. Yellow Shine
87. Takes the Gun Strong
88. White Man Left
89. Percy Creighton
90. Jack Low Horn
91. George Vielle
92. Big Calf
93. Felix Stevens
94. Weasel Tail
95. Black White Man
96. Black Eagle
97. Black Plume
98. Chief Mountain
99. Weasel White Buffalo
100. Chief in Timber
101. Bob Riding Black Horses
102. Tom Eagle Child
103. Iron Shirt
104. Harry Mills
105. Joe Chief Body
106. Calling First
107. Crane Chief
108. Steel
109. Bear Shin Bone
110. Henry Big Head
111. Charles Blood
112. Scraping White
113. Pete
114. White Calf Chief
115. Chas. Davis
116. Ronald Hoof
117. Hind Bull
118. Joe Beebe
119. Chief Owl
120. Chris Bull Shields
121. Emile Small Face
122. Ben Strangling Wolfe
123. Donald Gomoose
124. Hungry Crow
125. The Gambler
126. Long-Time Squirrel
127. Calf Robe
128. Wolf Child
129. Calling High
130. Blue Wings
131. Joe Heavy Head
132. Little Shine
133. Day Rider
134. Johnny Healy
135. George Strangling Wolf
136. Joe Healy
137. Wm. Heavy Runner
138. Percy White Bull
139. Jim White Bull
140. Ronald Day Chief
141. Eagle Speaker
142. Jim Russell
143. Knife
144. Lawrie Plume
145. Paul Russell
146. Medicine Singer
147. Stephen Oka
148. Dick Standing Alone
149. Nick White Calf
150. Charlie Wolf Robe
151. Old Shoe
152. Bumble Bee
153. Plume
154. Black Horses
155. White Feather
156. Geo. Prairie Chicken
157. J. Crow Chief
158. Willows
159. Nick King
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
44
160. Alfred Wolf Robe
161. Three Guns
162. Joe Eli
163. Ronald Gets Wood
164. Tallow
165. Cecil Tallow
166. Gets Wood at Night
167. Willie Scraping White
168. Morning Bird
169. Rabbit
170. Mike Yellow Bull
171. John Cotton
172. Bob Plaited Hair
173. W. Wadsworth
174. Jack Hind Bull
175. Weasel Shoe
176. Jim Spear Chief
177. Remi Undermouse
178. Falling Over a Bank
179. Leonard Sweet Grass
180. Running Coyote
181. Shot Close
182. Alex Little Shield
183. John Spotted Eagle
184. Mike Mountain Horse
185. Big Boy
186. John Day Chief
187. Bottle
188. Young Bottle
189. Feather on the Head
190. Wolf Sitting
191. George Dog Child
192. Mortimer Eagle Tail Feathers
193. Percy Plainwoman
194. Jim White Man Left
195. James Takes the Gun Strong
196. Sam Hairy Bull
197. Jimmy White Man
198. Paul Melting Tallow
199. John Many Chief
200. Big Nose
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
45
APPENDIX
Correspondence regarding leases on the Blood Reserve18
–––––––––––
J.A.J. McKenna19 to Clifford Sifton, January 5, 1904 (I)
Referring to our conversations respecting the McEwen and Company’s lease of
the grassing privileges on the Blood Reserve, I beg to set forth what was disclosed in
respect thereto when I met the Indians and discussed with them the proposal to lease
to Mr. Wolfe and others, of Cardston, a portion of the reserve for agricultural
purposes. One speaker in voicing the objection of the Indians to the alienation of any
portion of the reserve, complained of being annoyed by white men seeking to secure
possession or the use of the land. I told him that no white man had any right to go
upon the reserve and urge the Indians to part with any of their land, and that in the
event of their being so troubled in the future, they should report to the Agent, who
would take the proper action.
This pleased the Indians, but the new Agent, Mr. R. N. Wilson, being desirous
of knowing what had given rise to the complaint asked the Indians if they had any
particular case in mind. The answer was the grazing lease. I then said that I
understood that the Indians had consented to the lease, and that of course under it
the lessees had the right to put cattle on the reserve. The Indians at once made the
argument that as the lease provided that it would go into immediate effect upon
execution, it was now null and void, because the lessees had not begun operations
under it. I endeavoured to reason with them, but found a very general and strong
feeling against the arrangement. I was to leave the reserve that day, but the new
Agent feared that trouble might be occasioned [for] him in connection with the lease,
and at his request I remained over to give the Indians on the following day an
opportunity of stating their position.
The next day accordingly there was a much larger gathering of Indians. One of
the head chiefs was present, but “Crop Eared Wolf” did not appear. Man after man
arose and objected to the lease, on the ground that it had been given by the chiefs
without their consent, and that as every member of the band had an equal interest
in the land and the grazing, a general consent should have been obtained. It was
urged in extenuation by the second chiefs who spoke that they consented to the lease
because they were under the impression that Mr. T. P. Wadsworth, who accompanied
Mr. McEwen, was an officer of the Government and that he was representing the
Government in securing the lease.
Day Chief, when all had finished, confined himself to saying that if there was
anything crooked about the lease he desired it cancelled. I asked him what he meant
by “crooked.” He answered that if Mr. Wadsworth did not represent the Government
the Chiefs were misled. I pressed him further, and he said that “Crop Eared Wolf”
18 From Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume 3571, File 130, Pt. 19). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
19 James Andrew Joseph McKenna (1862 – 1919), then Assistant Indian Commissioner.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
46
secured his consent by telling him that he had an assurance that if the lease were
granted the two head chiefs, one second chief and an interpreter would have a free
trip to Ottawa. He asked that I investigate the matter, and expressed his readiness
to leave it entirely in my hands.
While I was making a general address to the Indians Day Chief asked to be
allowed to speak again. He then said that he had forgotten to tell me there had been
a promise of a money payment to the chiefs over and above the consideration
stipulated in the lease. He said that “Crop Eared Wolf” told him that the chiefs were
to receive money in addition to the trip to Ottawa; but he added that up to the present
he had not received any.
On the subject of the lease I confined myself to saying that I would report to
you what had been said to me.
I may add that I have reason to believe that after it was decided that the lease
was to be allowed, money was transmitted to McLeod and passed to “Crop Eared
Wolf.”
J.A.J. McKenna to Clifford Sifton, January 5, 1904 (II)
I visited the Blood reserve and took up with the Indians the proposal of the
Messrs. Wolfe, Wolfe, Hammer and others to lease a portion of the reserve for
agricultural purposes. The land applied for is a portion of a reserve containing 3000
acres cut off by a proposed line of railway for which a right of way has been provided.
I found the Indians absolutely opposed to the alienation in any way of any
portion of the reserve. I pointed out to them that it was not a proposal to convey any
portion of the reserve, but merely to reserve the part referred to at a rental for, say,
ten or twenty years; that at the end of such period the land improved by the lease-
holders would be theirs to make use of as they pleased, and that in the meantime
they would have, by way of rental, a revenue that I did not think could otherwise be
derived from the land. I went so far as to say that while the proposal was to pay a
rental of 35¢ an acre I thought that, on the principle of a twenty-years’ purchase at
$10 an acre, they might get 50¢ an acre rental per annum. But they would not at all
entertain the proposal.
They gave as a reason that they cut hay upon that portion of the reserve; but
apart from that it was quite evident that they have definitely made up their mind not
to part, even by way of lease, with the use of any portion of the reserve. The Blood
Indians are extremely sensitive upon this point.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,–
Your obedient servant,
(Signed) J. A. J. McKenna
Asst. Indian Commissioner.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
47
R. N. Wilson to J.A.J. McKenna, March 25, 1904
A few days ago I received a visit from Mr. Tom Brown, the manager of Donald
McEwen & Company, who informed me that their cattle will begin to arrive here on
the 5th April.
The Indians have since their conference with you been under the impression
that the lease was off and every week they have been enquiring for an official
announcement to that effect.
No word from yourself or the Department on the subject creates an awkward
situation for me to occupy on the arrival of the McEwen cattle, for you assured the
Indians that White man’s cattle could not graze on the reserve without their consent,
and then you took a poll of the tribe with the result that there was an almost
unanimous refusal of consent. You may remember telling them that all they had to
do was to report strange cattle to the agent, who would have them put off. The
situation is complicated by the fact that the best of the self-supporting squad are
bitterly opposed to the lease.
John D. McLean20 to J. A. J. McKenna, July 18, 1904
I am directed to inform you that the Donald McEwen Company have assigned
to the Department their interest in the 3,000 acres cut off from the Blood Reserve by
the St. Mary’s River Railway. It is intended that this land be used for grazing
purposes by the settlers of the Cardston district; and I am to request that you will go
there, see the people of the district, and ascertain what arrangements can best be
made in the public interest that will meet the views of the settlers as to the granting
of grazing privileges on the land referred to.
I may add that it is desired that the settlers generally shall benefit by the
arrangement, and that the privileges arising therefrom be not monopolized by a few.
J. A. J. McKenna to John D. McLean, July 22, 1904
I shall take the earliest opportunity of visiting Cardston, but in the meantime
I should be pleased to be advised as to whether the Department is free to grant
grazing privileges on the said 3000 acres without the concurrence of the Indians. The
McEwen lease consists in a memorandum of agreement between certain
representatives of the Blood Indians and Donald McEwen, and provides inter alia
that the party of the second part shall not sub-let without the authority of the
Superintendent General. I gather from your letter that the intention is not that the
party of the second part should sub-let to the settlers, but that grazing permits should
be issued by the Agent on terms and conditions to be arranged. It is important that I
should be clearly advised as to whether the Deaprtment is in a position to carry out
any arrangement which may be effected with the settlers without further reference
to the Indians, or whether such arrangement is to be subject to the consent of the
Indians.
20 John Duncan McLean (1873 – 1948) was then Secretary of the Department of Indian Affairs.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
48
Frank Pedley21 to J. A. J. McKenna, July 27, 1904
Regarding the granting of Grazing privileges on the 3000 acres of the Blood
Reserve cut off by the Railway, I beg to state that it is considered that the Department
has the right to issue Grazing Permits on the said land without the concurrence of
the Indians.
Messrs. Donald McEwen & Co., have assigned to the Department all rights
granted them covering the 3000 acres in question, which rights being held by the
Department may be granted on such terms and conditions as may be considered
advisable.
J. A. J. McKenna to John D. McLean, September 7, 1904
On Thursday and Friday last I had interviews with settlers at Cardston, and I
drove over and examined the 3000 acres of land cut off by the railway, which
according to your letter it was desired should be made available for grazing purposes
for the settlers under an arrangement that would be best in the public interest and
would meet the views of the settlers.
I found that the settlers would not be satisfied with such privileges of grazing
on this land as were held by the McEwen Co. on the Reserve. The tract is so situated
as to make it quite apparent that an open lease would really be of no appreciable
benefit to the settlers, indeed would put them in no better position than they are at
present. Nothing but a closed lease would do, that is, a lease excluding Indians as
well as others from making use of the land.
The Indians are in the habit of frequently visiting Cardston and using the tract
as a camping ground. On account of the railway fence their horses can grass there
without fear of their straying back to their locations on the Reserve. It is obviously
detrimental to the interests of the Indians to have them camping near Cardston. The
sale of liquor is prohibited in Cardston under local option, and while I have no reason
to doubt the statements made to me that no liquor is sold to the Indians from the two
hotels in the Town, I fear that unprincipled dealers and half-breed visitors from
across the line use themselves as instruments for supplying Indians liquor at a great
profit to themselves and a great loss to the Indians.
I assume, of course, that the Department would not entertain a proposal to
issue closed leases to the settlers without the consent of the Indians. If that were done
the Indians, to emphasize their opposition, would make larger and more frequent use
of the tract, and we would have to call upon the Police to protect the lessees. The
settlers see this themselves clearly. But I say this without any intention of conveying
the impression that it would not be a difficult and delicate matter to secure the
consent of the Indians to the sale of the land, although I am quite satisfied that it
would be in their best interests to dispose of it.
It occurred to me that the best plan of disposal would be to have the tract
subdivided into 40-acre plots, such plot to be divided into plots of 10 acres, and the
10-acre plots put up at public auction. In this way a high price would be obtained for
21 Frank Pedley (1885 – 1920) was then Deputy Superintendent General of the Department of Indian
Affairs.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
49
the lots adjoining the town, and there would be secured a good average price for the
whole tract, notwithstanding the fact that a considerable portion of it is very poor
land. I discussed this idea with the settlers and they were quite taken with it, but I
made it clear that it would require considerable slow and careful discussion with the
Indians through official channels to secure the consent. They concluded that in the
hope of having the land released for sale it would be wiser for them to abandon the
idea of grazing leases and not to press for immediate action.
If the suggestion that I make is approved of, I will communicate with the Agent
and authorize him to take occasion to explain the matter to the Indians before a
formal submission of the question is made. If the question were submitted now it
would not be entertained.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
50
APPENDIX
Reports on the Blood Reserve by R. N. Wilson, Indian Agent22
–––––––––––
September 18, 1905
Sir, – I have the honour to submit the annual report of this agency for the fiscal
year ended June 30, 1905, together with the usual statement of agricultural and
industrial statistics and inventory of government property.
Reserve. – The Blood reserve is situated between the Belly and St. Mary rivers,
and from the forks of these streams runs in a southern direction for about forty miles
to within fourteen miles of the international boundary. It contains an area of over 540
square
miles or some 354,000 acres of splendid grazing land. The two rivers form the
boundary lines on the north, east and west sides and furnish an abundant supply of
fresh clear water. The south boundary is fenced with a line of barbed wire fifteen
miles long. There is no building timber upon the reserve, but the river bottoms in
places have cotton-wood trees and a fair growth of willow, which form good cattle
shelters during the cold weather. It is the largest Indian reserve in the Dominion.
Tribe. – The Blood Indians are the principal branch of the Blackfoot nation or
family in the great Algonkian linguistic stock. The Blackfoot nation consists of the
Blood, Blackfoot and Peigan tribes, located in Alberta, and a subdivision of the latter
tribe known as the South Peigans, who are United States Indians located in Montana
immediately south of the line. These three tribes, with their allies, the Gros Ventres
and the Sarcees, form the Blackfoot confederacy, a powerful combination which for a
century held by force of arms against all comers an extensive territory reaching from
the Missouri river north to the Red Deer and from the Rockies east to beyond the
Cypress hills. The protection of their vast territory against invasion imposed upon
these Indians a life of almost constant warfare with the numerous enemies which
surrounded them on all sides, and developed in the people a proud and imperious
spirit which after twenty-five years of reservation life is still the prominent
characteristic of the Bloods.
Population. – The population of the reserve at the annuity payments in
November last was 1,204.
Health and Sanitation. – There have been no epidemics during the year, and
it may be said that the general health of the Indians has been satisfactory. The Rev.
Sisters in charge of the hospital attached to the Roman Catholic mission have done
good work in nursing the sick patients under their charge, about two hundred and
seventy-five patients having been admitted to that institution during the year.
Owing to our short and mild winter, compared with that of other parts of the
country, these people are enabled to live an open-air life in tents for the greater
portion of the year, which is very beneficial to their health. They are continually
22 From the Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs, 1905 – 1911.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
51
instructed to keep their surroundings clean and to burn up all refuse. Though there
is a tendency on the part of the majority to neglect, while in winter quarters in their
houses, such important considerations as ventilation, light and cleanliness, our
efforts to improve these conditions are not without encouraging results.
Occupations. – The care and management of cattle and haymaking are the
principal occupations, although the Indians earn considerable by freighting coal and
other supplies for the agency, the R.N.W.M.P. and neighbouring ranchers. Over four
thousand tons of hay were put up by the Bloods last season for their own use and for
sale, which alone represents a vast amount of labour. They supplied to the
department over $11,000 worth of beef, and their total earnings for the year
amounted to more than $40,000, most of which is represented by transactions
originating at or passing through the agency
office.
Stock. – It has long been recognized that in connection with the cattle industry
lies a great hope for the future of these Indians. The grazing capabilities of their
magnificent reservation and the natural interest of the Indians in live stock
encourage the belief that in the ownership of large herds of cattle will be found a
solution to most of the problems with which we are now confronted in connection with
their management. To this end the department has for some years furnished annually
a number of heifers to be issued to the Indians in a special effort to make cattle-
owners of such members of the tribe as can with safety be entrusted with the care of
horned stock. While this branch of our work is no more than half done, we have a
creditable showing for the expenditure incurred to date. This spring we have branded
1,049 calves, bringing our total to more than 6,000 head of cattle. While striving to
increase the number as rapidly as possible, careful attention has been paid to the
matter of quality, as is evidenced by the fact that we maintain a herd of 135
thoroughbred bulls. These are Shorthorns, Herefords and Galloways, most of which
were imported from Manitoba and Ontario, but our best and cheapest bulls are those
purchased by the department during the last two years at the annual public auction
of thoroughbred cattle held at Calgary, under the auspices of the Department of
Agriculture.
Eleven stallion supplied by the department are kept on the reserve for the
improvement of the Indian horses.
Buildings and Implements. – While an improvement in the dwelling-houses of
the Indians is apparent, the high price of lumber in this district makes progress in
that direction slow.
Nearly all of the frame buildings of the agency have been painted white, with
roofs of mineral red, adding much to the appearance of the place.
A substantial addition of two rooms was made to the clerk’s house during the
year, which, with repairs and minor improvements, makes that official’s quarters
very comfortable.
About 700 acres of additional land for gardens and grain fields have been
fenced by the Indians this year. The fencing in of large tracts by individual Indians
for pasturage is discouraged as having a tendency to destroy the grazing value of the
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
52
reservation, but the breaking and fencing of land for agricultural purposes is
encouraged and assisted in every way.
To their already large working equipment the Indians added during the year,
thirty-six sets of harness, thirteen wagons, eight mowers, nine rakes, seven ploughs
and fifteen
saddles.
Education. – Two boarding schools are supported by the department in
connection with this agency, one under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church
and the other of the Church of England, with an aggregate attendance of seventy
pupils. From these schools and from the reserve direct are obtained recruits for the
industrial schools at Calgary and High River, which contain at present thirty-six
pupils from this reservation.
Temperance and Morality. – The greatest evil we have to contend with in this
connection is the illegal traffic in liquor to Indians, which in late years has grown to
such an extent as to become a very serious matter. Special measures have been of
late adopted by the department with a view to checking this disgraceful traffic,
including the employment of two Indian constables under the agent’s control and a
provision to reward the informers in cases where convicted persons serve
imprisonment in default of a fine, thus correcting a weakness found in the operation
of the Indian Act, which makes the reward dependent upon payment of the fine.
These changes have been so beneficial that in three months no less than seventeen
persons have been convicted for supplying intoxicants to Indians of the reserve.
The complete stamping out of this liquor evil will no doubt be a very difficult,
if not impossible, matter, but we have every reason to believe that the permanent
adoption of the methods now in use will make the illicit dealers’ occupation a much
more dangerous one and drunken Indians much less common than has been the case
for some years past. In fact a marked improvement has already been noticed.
Much depends upon the attitude of magistrates towards this offence. Some of
them do not seem to realize the seriousness of it, judging from the proportions of
minimum sentences imposed.
Progress. – In the direction of self-support a substantial beginning has been
made. A considerable number of the Indians have ceased to draw free beef rations
from the department, but consume beef entirely of their own raising, while others
with smaller herds contribute in part to their support. Owing to this self-sustenance
a reduction of 120,000 pounds of beef was effected in free food issues during the past
year.
I have, &c.,
R. N. WILSON,
Indian Agent.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
53
July 10, 190623
Sir, – I have the honour to submit the annual report of this agency for the fiscal
year ended June 30, 1906, together with the usual statement of agricultural and
industrial statistics and inventory of government property.
Reserve. – The Blood reserve is situated between the Belly and St. Mary rivers,
and from the forks of these streams runs in a southern direction for about 40 miles to
within 14 miles of the international boundary. It contains an area of over 540 square
miles or some 354,000 acres of splendid grazing land. The two rivers form the
boundary lines on the north, east and west sides and furnish an abundant supply of
fresh, clear water. The south boundary is fenced with a line of barbed-wire fencing 15
miles long. There is no building timber upon the reserve, but the river bottoms in
places have cotton-wood trees and a fair growth of willow, which form good cattle
shelters during the cold weather. It is the largest Indian reservation in the Dominion.
Tribe. – The Blood Indians are the principal branch of the Blackfoot nation or
family in the great Algonkian linguistic stock. The Blackfoot nation consists of the
Blood, Blackfoot and Peigan tribes, located in Alberta, and a subdivision of the latter
tribe known as the South Peigans, who are United States Indians located in Montana
immediately south of the line. These three tribes, with their allies, the Gros Ventres
and the Sarcees, form the Blackfoot confederacy, a powerful combination which for a
century held by force of arms against all comers an extensive territory reaching from
the Missouri river north to the Red Deer and from the Rockies east to beyond the
Cypress hills. The protection of their vast territory against invasion imposed upon
these Indians a life of almost constant warfare with the numerous enemies which
surrounded them on all sides, and developed in the people a proud and imperious
spirit which after twenty-five years of reservation life is still the prominent
characteristic of the Bloods.
Population. – The population of the reserve at the annuity payments in
November last was 1,181.
Health and Sanitation. – There have been no epidemics during the year, and
it may be said that the general health of the Indians has been satisfactory. The Rev.
Sisters in charge of the hospital attached to the Roman Catholic mission have done
good work in nursing the sick patients under their charge.
Owing to our short and mild winter, compared with that of other parts of the
country, these people are enabled to live an open-air life in tents for the greater
portion of the year, which is very beneficial to their health. They are continually
instructed to keep their surroundings clean and to burn up all refuse. Though there
is a tendency on the part of the majority to neglect, while in winter quarters in their
houses, such important considerations as ventilation, light and cleanliness, our
efforts to improve these conditions are not without encouraging results.
Resources and Occupations. – The care and management of cattle and
haymaking are the principal occupations, though the Indians earn considerable by
freighting coal and other supplies for the agency, the Royal Northwest Mounted
Police, and neighbouring ranchers. Over 3,000 tons of hay were put up by the Bloods
23 Much of this is repated verbatim from the previous year’s report.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
54
last season for their own use and for sale, which alone represents a vast amount of
labour. They supplied to the department over $9,710 worth of beef, and their total
earnings for the year amounted to more than $41,000, most of which is represented
by transactions originating at or passing through the agency office.
Stock. – It has long been recognized that in connection with the cattle industry
lies a great hope for the future of these Indians. The grazing capabilities of their
magnificent reservation and the natural interest of the Indians in live stock
encourage the belief that in the ownership of large herds of cattle will be found a
solution to most of the problems with which we are now confronted in connection with
their management. To this end the department has for some years furnished annually
a number of heifers to be issued to the Indians in a special effort to make cattle-
owners of such members of the tribe as can with safety be entrusted with the care of
horned stock. While this branch of our work is not yet complete, we have a creditable
showing for the expenditure incurred. This spring we have already branded over
1,300 calves, bringing the total up to more than 7,500 head of cattle owned by the
Blood Indians, and the season’s branding is still in progress. While striving to
increase the number as rapidly as possible, careful attention has been paid to the
matter of quality as is evidenced by the fact that we maintain a herd of 155
thoroughbred bulls. These are Shorthorns, Herefords and Galloways, many of which
were imported from Manitoba and Ontario; but our best and cheapest bulls are those
purchased by the department during the last three years at the annual public auction
of thoroughbred cattle held at Calgary under the auspices of the Department of
Agriculture.
Eleven stallions supplied by the department are kept on the reserve for the
improvement of the Indian horses.
Buildings and Implements. – While an improvement in the dwelling-houses of
the Indians is apparent, the high price of lumber in this district makes progress in
that direction slow.
A few acres of additional land for gardens have been fenced by the Indians this
year. The fencing in of large tracts by individual Indians for pasturage is discouraged
as having a tendency to destroy the grazing value of the reservation, but the breaking
and fencing of land for agricultural purposes is encouraged and assisted in every way.
To their already large working equipment the Indians added during the year,
30 wagons, 1 plough, 6 mowers, 4 rakes, 20 sets of harness and a large number of
saddles.
Education and Religion. – Two boarding schools are supported by the
department in connection with this agency, one under the auspices of the Roman
Catholic Church and the other of the Church of England, with an aggregate
attendance of 70 pupils. From these schools and from the reserve direct are obtained
recruits for the industrial schools at Calgary and High River, which contain at
present 37 pupils from this reservation.
Temperance and Morality. – The greatest evil we have to contend with in this
connection is the illegal traffic in liquor to Indians, which in late years has grown to
such an extent as to become a very serious matter. Special measures have been of
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
55
late adopted by the department with a view to checking this disgraceful traffic,
including the employment of two Indian constables under the agent’s control and a
provision to reward the informers in cases where convicted persons serve
imprisonment in default of a fine, thus correcting a weakness found in the operation
of the Indian Act, which makes the reward dependent upon payment of the fine.
These changes have been so beneficial that in three months no less than seventeen
persons have been convicted for supplying intoxicants to Indians of the reserve.
The complete stamping out of this liquor evil will no doubt be a very difficult,
if not impossible, matter, but we have every reason to believe that the permanent
adoption of the methods now in use will make the illicit dealers’ occupation a much
more dangerous one and drunken Indians much less common than has been the case
for some years past. In fact a marked improvement has already been noticed.
Much depends upon the attitude of magistrates towards this offence. Some of
them do not seem to realize the seriousness of it, judging from the proportions of
minimum sentences imposed.
Progress. – In the direction of self-support a substantial beginning has been
made. A considerable number of the Indians have ceased to draw free beef rations
from the department, but consume beef entirely of their own raising; while others
with smaller herds contribute in part to their support. Owing to this self-sustenance
a reduction of 196,000 pounds of beef was effected in the free food issues during the
last two years.
I have, &c.,
R. N. WILSON,
Indian Agent.
May 27, 1907
Sir, – I have the honour to submit the annual report of this agency for the fiscal
year (of nine months) ended March 31, 1907, together with the usual statement of
agricultural and industrial statistics and inventory of government property.
Reserve. – The Blood reserve is situated between the Belly and St. Mary rivers,
and from the forks of these streams runs in a southern direction for about 40 miles to
within 14 miles of the international boundary. It contains an area of over 540 square
miles or some 354,000 acres of splendid grazing land. The two rivers form the
boundary lines on the north, east and west sides and furnish an abundant supply of
fresh, clear water. The south boundary is fenced with a line of barbed wire fencing 15
miles long. There is no building timber upon the reserve, but the river bottoms in
places have cotton-wood trees and a fair growth of willow, which form good cattle
shelters during the cold weather. It is the largest Indian reservation in the Dominion.
Tribe. – The Blood Indians are the principal branch of the Blackfoot nation or
family in the great Algonkian linguistic stock. The Blackfoot nation consists of the
Blood, Blackfoot and Peigan tribes, located in Alberta, and a subdivision of the latter
tribe known as the South Peigans, who are United States Indians located in Montana
immediately south of the line. These three tribes, with their allies, the Gros Ventres
and the Sarcees, form the Blackfoot confederacy, a powerful combination which for a
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
56
century held by force of arms against all comers an extensive territory reaching from
the Missouri river north to the Red Deer and from the Rockies east to beyond the
Cypress hills. The protection of their vast territory against invasion imposed upon
these Indians a life of almost constant warfare with the numerous enemies which
surrounded them on all sides, and developed in the people a proud and imperious
spirit which after twenty-five years of reservation life is still the prominent
characteristic of the Bloods.
Population. – The population of the reserve at the annuity payments last
December was 1,168.
Health and Sanitation. – There have been no epidemics during the year. One
case of small-pox was reported, the patient being a child, who recovered. The affected
house was duly quarantined, and no further cases developed. The Rev. Sisters in
charge of the hospital on the reserve have continued their good work in attending the
patients under their care.
Resources and Occupations. – The care and management of cattle and
haymaking are the principal occupations, though the Indians earn considerable by
freighting coal and other supplies for the agency, the Royal Northwest Mounted
Police, and neighbouring ranchers. More than 3,000 tons of hay were put up by the
Bloods last season for their own use and for sale, which alone represents a vast
amount of labour, and from the sales of hay the Indians realized over $5,700. They
sold over $7,900 worth of beef; in freighting and wages they earned $2,200, from the
sales of ponies they realized $2,700, and at the Raymond beet-fields their earnings
amounted to $9,000. Their total earnings for the year amounted to $37,373.38, most
of which is represented by transactions originating at or passing through the agency
office.
One of our Indians named Black Horse, has a small coal mine on the banks of
the St. Mary’s river, from which he makes his living by mining and selling coal to the
schools and settlers in the neighbourhood.
Stock. – It has long been recognized that in connection with the cattle industry
lies a great hope for the future of these Indians. The grazing capabilities of their
magnificent reservation and the natural interest of the Indians in live stock
encourage the belief that in the ownership of large herds of cattle will be found a
solution to most of the problems with which we are now confronted in connection with
their management. To this end the department has for some years furnished annually
a number of heifers to be issued to the Indians in a special effort to make cattle-
owners of such members of the tribe as can with safety be entrusted with the care of
horned stock. While this branch of our work is not yet complete, we have a creditable
showing for the expenditure incurred. Last season we branded for the Indians over
1,600 calves, and their cattle have increased from 3,519 head in 1903 to their present
number of 7,621. While striving to increase the number as rapidly as possible, careful
attention has been paid to the matter of quality as is evidenced by the fact that we
maintain a herd of 170 thoroughbred bulls. These are Shorthorns, Herefords and
Galloways, many of which were imported from Manitoba and Ontario; but our best
and cheapest bulls are those purchased by the department during the last four years
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
57
at the annual public auction of thoroughbred cattle held at Calgary under the
auspices of the Department of Agriculture.
Although the winter just past was the most severe in twenty years and cattle
losses unusually heavy, our cattle came through with probably the slightest losses of
any in this district. This was in part due to the hardy quality of our cattle and partly
to the superior condition of the range within the limits
of the reservation.
Twenty-nine stallions supplied by the department are kept on the reserve for
the improvement of the Indian horses.
Buildings and Implements. – While an improvement in the dwelling-houses of
the Indians is apparent, the high price of lumber in this district makes progress in
that direction slow. Quite a number, however, have improved their homes during the
past year either by the erection of new houses or the improvement of old ones. Chief
Ermine Horses has built a 28 x 28 frame cottage, with five rooms; Frank Red Crow
has built a smaller frame house for himself, and several others are preparing to build
houses of the same description.
A few acres of additional land for gardens have been fenced by the Indians this
year. The fencing in of large tracts by individual Indians for pasturage is discouraged
as having a tendency to destroy the grazing value of the reservation, but the breaking
and fencing of land for agricultural purposes is encouraged and assisted in every way.
Owing to the success with which fall wheat has been grown for four or five
years in Southern Alberta, it is felt that these Indians should try their hands at
farming. As it has been decided to put under immediate cultivation a larger acreage
than can be broken with Indian horses in any reasonable time, the Indians have
purchased, with their own funds, a first-class steam ploughing outfit of 32 horse
power, turning ten furrows, which will be mainly used for breaking land for
subsequent cultivation with horses. A good start in this new direction has been made,
as more than 400 acres of excellent land has already been well broken this spring
with the steam plough. The first 50 acres was early seeded to oats, and the rest,
together with whatever is meanwhile broken, will be sown with fall wheat in August.
To their already large working equipment the Indians added during the year,
3 wagons, 13 sets of work harness, 7 mowers, 4 rakes, 1 32-horse-power traction
engine, 1 ten furrow engine gang plough, 6 disc harrows, 4 single disc seeders, 1
twelve foot land pulverizer and 4 three-section sets of lever harrows.
Education and Religion. – Two boarding schools are supported by the
department in connection with this agency, one under the auspices of the Roman
Catholic Church and the other of the Church of England, with an aggregate
attendance of 80 pupils. From these schools and from the reserve direct are obtained
recruits for the industrial schools at Calgary and High River, which contain at
present 33 pupils from this reservation.
Temperance and Morality. – The vigorous campaign against the traffic in
intoxicants to Indians, which was instituted by the department’s directions a year
ago, has had a satisfactory effect. The many convictions which occurred last year
drove some of the illicit dealers from the district, and others were apparently put out
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
58
of business, with the result that it is much more difficult for these Indians to buy
liquor now than it was a year or two ago.
Progress. – Towards the goal of self-support further progress has been made
during the year, and we now have 200 Indians who have ceased to draw any free food
allowances from the department, and 134 additional ones contribute in part to their
own support. Assistance in the shape of food-supplies issued to able-bodied Indians
is being steadily reduced, in accordance with the policy which has been pursued for
several years, with the result that a comparison of the issues of free beef in 1902-3
with those of the year just ended shows a reduction or saving of 273,000 pounds for
the single year. By adhering to the policy of throwing the Indians upon their own
resources as soon as their cattle herds and other means of support enable them to
sustain themselves, all the able-bodied Indians of this reservation will within a very
few years be self-supporting, and the department will be relieved of the necessity of
assisting any but the permanently destitute members of the tribe, such as the aged
and the blind.
I have, &c.,
R. N. WILSON,
Indian Agent.
May 31, 1908
Sir, – I have the honour to submit the annual report of this agency for the fiscal
year ended March 31, 1908, together with the usual statement of agricultural and
industrial statistics and inventory of government property.
Tribe. – The Blood Indians are the principal branch of the Blackfoot nation or
family in the great Algonkian linguistic stock. The Blackfoot nation consists of the
Blood, Blackfoot and Peigan tribes, located in Alberta, and a subdivision of the last
named tribe known as the South Peigans, who are United States Indians located in
Montana immediately south of the international line. These three tribes with their
allies the Gross Ventres and the Sarcees, formed the Blackfoot confederacy, a
powerful combination which for a century held by force of arms against all comers an
extensive territory reaching from the Missouri river north to the Red Deer and from
the Rockies east to beyond the Cypress hills. The protection of their vast territory
against invasion imposed upon these Indians a life of almost constant warfare with
the numerous enemies which surrounded them on all sides and developed in the
people a proud and imperious spirit which after twenty-eight years of reservation life
is still the
prominent characteristic of the Bloods.
Reserve. – The Blood reserve is situated between the Belly and St. Mary’s
rivers, and from the forks of these streams runs in a southern direction for about 40
miles to within 14 miles of the international boundary. It contains an area of 540
square miles or some 354,000 acres of splendid land. The two rivers form the
boundary line on the north, east and west sides, and furnish an abundant supply of
fresh clear water. The south boundary is fenced with a line of barbed wire fencing 15
miles long. There is no building timber upon the reserve, but the river bottoms in
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
59
places have a fair growth of cotton-wood and willow, which form good shelter for cattle
during cold weather. This is the largest Indian reservation in the Dominion.
Population. – The population of the reserve at the annuity payments last
November was 1,178, being an increase of 10 for the year.
Health and Sanitation. – There have been no serious epidemics during the year
and the general health of the Indians has been fair. The birth rate was 45 per 1,000
and the death-rate 35.
There is a good and commodious hospital on the reserve, sustained by the
government and in charge of the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity, where attention
is given to patients requiring hospital treatment, the institution being regularly
visited by the physician provided by the department.
That scourge of the Indian race, tuberculosis, in its two forms of scrofula and
consumption of the lungs, is responsible for much of the sickness that occurs on this
reservation. For the handling of this and other infections and contagious diseases we
have an isolation hospital containing two small wards and a nurse’s room.
Occupations. – Heretofore, the principal occupations of the Bloods have been
cattle-raising, haymaking and freighting, to which must now be added farming, which
will probably in a few years be the most important work engaged in by the Indians of
this reservation as will be explained below under the head of ‘Progress.’
The Raymond beet sugar industry has for several years furnished employment
for a large number of the Bloods in the spring and fall. Last spring several hundreds
of them were engaged for a month thinning beets in the fields, and in the month of
October practically the whole population of the reservation was busy harvesting beets
in the same fields. As whole families can be employed in pulling and topping beets,
as well as in thinning them, the work is more profitable to the Indians than
occupations in which the labour is restricted to the men.
Black-horses still operates the coal mine which has been working for many
years, and acquires a considerable income from the sale of coal to the public.
Stock. – Owing to the exceptional grazing capabilities of this magnificent
reservation, it has long been recognized that in connection with the cattle industry
lies a great hope for the future of these Indians, a belief that is encouraged by the
natural fondness of the plains’ Indians for live stock. Being convinced that in the
ownership of large herds of cattle will be found a solution to most of the problems
with which we have had to contend in connection with their management, the
department for some years furnished annually a number of heifers which were issued
to the Indians in a special effort to make cattle-owners of such members of the tribe
as could with safety be intrusted with the care of horned stock. This work is not
finished, as there are still many young Indians to be given the necessary start, but
the showing to date is quite satisfactory. At the last round-up we branded 1,146
Indian calves, and carefully counted the whole herd, which was found to number
5,537 head, showing that our losses during the preceding bad winter were much
lighter than the average throughout the district. In the management of these cattle
special attention has been given to the matter of quality, which has entailed the
purchase and maintenance of an expensive herd of thoroughbred bulls, numbering at
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
60
the present time 157 head. A few are Galloways, but most of the older bulls are
Shorthorns, while most of the young animals purchased during the last three years
are Herefords. All these bulls are pedigreed stock. Some we bought in Ontario and
Manitoba, but the best and cheapest bulls are those purchased by the department at
the annual public auction sale of thoroughbred cattle held at Calgary under the
direction of the Department of Agriculture.
Like most Indians of the plains, the Bloods own considerable numbers of native
horses, and in order to improve their quality the department keeps on the reservation
twenty-nine stallions, which are loaned out to the Indians under appropriate
conditions.
Education and Religion. – In connection with this agency the department
supports two boarding schools, one in charge of the Church of England, and the other
under the Roman Catholic Church, the aggregate attendance being 90 pupils. From
the latter school and from the reserve direct are obtained recruits for the industrial
school at High River, which contains 21 pupils from this reservation.
In religious belief and practice the Bloods are mostly pagan.
Progress. – The extensive and successful growing of fall wheat in South Alberta
during the last five or six years having demonstrated the practicability of that
industry to the occupations of the Blood Indians, it was decided to go actively into
farming last year. As the Bloods are a large community any work undertaken by them
must be on a fairly large scale to be worth while. It was, therefore, thought advisable
to place under immediate cultivation a large acreage, and as the initial work of
breaking the sod is too heavy for Indian horses to accomplish, except in a limited way,
the Indians, upon the advice of the writer, decided to purchase with tribal funds a
first-class steam ploughing outfit consisting of a 32 h.p. traction engine and a ten
furrow engine gang plough, the intention being to use the steam rig for breaking only,
all subsequent work to be done by the Indians with horses. The machinery arrived in
due course, and with it 820 acres were broken up for fifteen Indians, who, after
thoroughly disking the land, seeded in the month of August an average of forty acres
each with fall wheat, the rest being reserved for oats, which were put in this spring,
making a total of 820 acres for the first crop. The 600 acres of wheat obtained a good
start last fall and came on in the spring with a splendid growth. At the time of writing
it is in a perfect condition, there not having been a patch winter-killed on any of the
fifteen farms. All the Indian farmers have insured their crops against hail. Under the
system adopted these farms are located in groups to facilitate the use of the steam
plough, which works to better advantage on a long furrow of a mile or more, to permit
economy in implements and to enable the supervision to be done with greater ease
and by less men than would be possible were the farms scattered all over the reserve.
While the first fifteen farms are thus adjoining each other in a solid block, there is no
community of interest in the ownership of the joint fence that was built by the fifteen
Indians to inclose the whole area and in the use of implements. Each man owns his
own farm, and, after it is once broken for him, works it individually without having
any interest in the work or produce of any of the adjoining farms.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
61
A second block of land, containing 432 acres, is being broken about 15 miles
from the first one, and this will, when finished within a few days, be issued to eight
Indians selected from a large number who have applied for it. The intention is to
continue the breaking until every working Indian on the reserve is supplied with
whatever acreage he is capable of cultivating, there being of course a great difference
in what individuals can handle.
Though a clamorous minority of the older Indians, headed by some of the
principal chiefs, were opposed to the farming scheme, the working element, which is
in the majority, is so favourable to the project that the applications for land now
aggregate as much acreage as the steam plough will be able to break in two years.
The policy of placing each Indian upon his own resources as soon as they are
sufficient for the sustenance of himself and family, has been steadily maintained. The
Bloods who are entirely self-supporting now number 269, and a large number are
semi-self-
supporting.
To illustrate the extent of the reduction that has been effected in free food-
issues at this agency, it may be stated that five years ago the issue of free beef
amounted to more than 451,000 pounds, while during the fiscal year just ended the
free beef issued totalled but 139,00 pounds, a saving of 312,000 pounds in the year.
Temperance and Morality. – The results are still apparent of the department’s
campaign of two years ago against the traffic in intoxicants to Indians, as there are
few cases of drunkenness now reported.
The morality question is at present a more serious one on this reservation, the
transgressors being principally young married people who, after quarrelling,
separate and insist upon availing themselves of the old tribal right to take other
partners. As it is only necessary for them to dispense with formal marriage in the
second union in order to evade the statutes, these cases are sometimes difficult for an
Indian agent to handle.
I have, &c.,
R. N. WILSON,
Indian Agent.
June 6, 1909
Sir, – I have the honour to submit the annual report of this agency for the fiscal
year ended March 31, 1909, together with the usual statement of agricultural and
industrial statistics and inventory of government property.
Tribe. – The Blood Indians are the principal branch of the Blackfoot nation or
family in the great Algonkian linguistic stock. The Blackfoot nation consists of the
Blood, Blackfoot and Peigan tribes, located in Alberta, and a subdivision of the last
named tribe known as the South Peigans, who are United States Indians located in
Montana immediately south of the international line. These three tribes with their
allies the Gross Ventres and the Sarcees, formed the Blackfoot confederacy, a
powerful combination which for a century held by force of arms against all comers an
extensive territory reaching from the Missouri river north to the Red Deer and from
the Rockies east to beyond the Cypress hills. The protection of their vast territory
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
62
against invasion imposed upon these Indians a life of almost constant warfare with
the numerous enemies which surrounded them on all sides and developed in the
people a proud and imperious spirit which after 28 years of reservation life is still the
prominent characteristic of the Bloods.
Reserve. – The Blood reserve is situated between the Belly and St. Mary’s
rivers, and from the forks of these streams runs in a southern direction for about 40
miles to within 14 miles of the international boundary. It contains an area of 540
square miles or some 354,000 acres of splendid land. The two rivers form the
boundary line on the north, east and west sides, and furnish an abundant supply of
fresh clear water. The south boundary is fenced with a line of barbed wire fencing 15
miles long. There is no building timber upon the reserve, but the river bottoms in
places have a fair growth of cotton-wood and willow, which form good shelter for cattle
during cold weather. This is the largest Indian reservation in the Dominion.
Population. – The population of the reserve at the annuity payments last
November was 1,174, being a decrease of 4 for the year. The birth-rate was 42 per
1,000 and the death-rate 47.
Health and Sanitation. – Last fall we had an outbreak of scarlet fever, followed
by an epidemic of measles, and though every reported case was quarantined, there
were many deaths among the children. As these epidemics occurred after the annuity
payments, the mortality connected with them will not be fully ascertained until the
annual census is taken in October immediately before the next payment, and will be
shown in the next report.
There is a good and commodious hospital on the reserve, sustained by the
government and in charge of the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity, where attention
is given to patients requiring hospital treatment, the institution being regularly
visited by the physician provided by the department.
Tuberculosis, that scourge of the Indian race, in its two forms of scrofula and
consumption of the lungs, is responsible for much of the sickness that occurs on this
reservation. For the handling of this and other infections and contagious diseases we
have an isolation hospital containing two small wards and a nurses’ room.
Occupations. – The principal occupations of the Bloods are cattle-raising,
farming, haymaking and freighting.
The effort in the direction of farming
inaugurated in 1907 was rewarded with complete success, a first-class crop being
harvested last fall on all of the 600 acres seeded to fall wheat, with the result that
the aggregate earnings of the tribe were much increased. From one source and
another, including beef and farm products, these Indians earned over $68,000 during
the year..
The Indian named Black-horses still operates the coal mine on the St. Mary
river which he has been working for many years, and from which he derives an income
sufficient for the support of his large family.
Stock. – Owing to the exceptional grazing capabilities of this magnificent
reservation, it has long been recognized that in connection with the cattle industry
lies a great hope for the future of these Indians, a belief that is encouraged by the
natural fondness of the plains’ Indians for live stock. Being convinced that in the
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
63
ownership of large herds of cattle will be found a solution to most of the problems
with which we have had to contend in connection with their management, the
department for some years furnished annually a number of heifers which were issued
to the Indians in a special effort to make cattle-owners of such members of the tribe
as could with safety be intrusted with the care of horned stock. This work is not
finished, as there are still many young Indians to be given the necessary start, but
the showing to date is quite satisfactory. At the last round-up we branded 1,6
67
calves, and carefully counted the whole herd, which was found to number 7,348 head.
In the management of these cattle special attention has been given to the matter of
quality,
which has entailed the purchase and maintenance of an expensive herd of
thoroughbred bulls, numbering at the present time 146 head. A few are Galloways,
but most of the older bulls are Shorthorns, while most of the young animals purchased
during the last three years are Herefords. All these bulls are pedigreed stock. Some
we bought in Ontario and Manitoba, but the best and cheapest bulls are those
purchased by the department at the annual public auction sale of thoroughbred cattle
held at Calgary under the direction of the Department of Agriculture.
Like most Indians of the plains, the Bloods own considerable numbers of native
horses, and in order to improve their quality the department keeps on the reservation
37 stallions, which are loaned out to the Indians under appropriate conditions.
While the cattle-owning members of the tribe have for five years raised all the
beef required for the consumption of the whole tribe, they never sold any beef animals
to outsiders until last fall, when two sales were made, both to Messrs. Bater and
McLean, of Winnipeg. The first shipment of 102 head of prime export steers brought
the record figure of $65 per head, and these were exported to Liverpool, where the
beef was much admired and is said to have sold for half a cent more per pound than
any other beef then on the market, which speaks well for the quality of Blood Indian
cattle. The second shipment of 100 head was of inferior quality to the first lot, but
sold for 455 per head, which was also a high figure. All these steers were, of course,
range-bred animals that had never had any feed other than the grass on the prairie
of the reservation.
Education and Religion. – In connection with this agency the department
supports two boarding schools, one in charge of the Church of England, and the other
under the Roman Catholic Church. From the latter school and from the reserve direct
are obtained recruits for the industrial school at High River.
In religious belief and practice the Bloods are mostly pagan.
Progress. – The marvelous success with which the extensive growing of wheat
has been attended in recent years in this part of the province having established the
practicability of adding that industry to the occupations of the Bloods, it was decided
to go actively into farming in 1907. As the Bloods are a large community, any work
undertaken by them must be on a fairly large scale to be worth while. It was,
therefore, thought advisable to place under immediate cultivation a large acreage,
and, as the initial work of breaking the sod is too heavy for Indian horses to
accomplish, except in a limited way, the Indians, upon the advice of the writer,
decided to purchase with tribal funds a first-class steam ploughing outfit, consisting
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
64
of a 32 horse-power traction engine and a ten furrow engine gang plough, the
intention being to use the steam rig for breaking only, all subsequent work to be done
by the Indians with horses. The machinery was put in operation in the spring of 1907,
and 820 acres were broken up and issued to fifteen Indians, who, after thoroughly
disking the land, seeded in the month of August an average of 40 acres each with fall
wheat, the rest being reserved for oats in the following spring, making 820 acres for
the initial crop. The wheat made a good fall growth; came nicely through the winter,
and was ready for cutting before the end of July. A 40-60 threshing-machine having
been purchased with tribal funds, to be operated by our large traction engine, stook
threshing was begun in August, each Indian’s farm being threshed separately, the
spout of the separator emptying direct into portable granaries, of which each farmer
had one or two, according to the bulk of his corp. From the 60 acres 23,000 bushels of
No. 1 Red were threshed; the largest individual yield being that of Emile Bull Shield,
who got 48 bushels to the acre. At the conclusion of the threshing the wheat was sold,
hauled 10 or 12 miles to a siding on the reserve and shipped to Fort William, the
twenty cars being loaded in thirty days. Out of the proceeds of the crop each Indian
paid back to the trust fund all advances that had been made to him, including cost of
breaking land, seed, fencing, granaries; and after all settlements each had a very
substantial balance to his credit in the bank, where considerable of it still is.
Chief Running Antelope, who bought out one of the other Indians while the
crop was growing and thus harvested 80 acres, had a cash balance of $1,309.46 after
paying all debts or advances of every nature. Emile Bull Shield came next, with a
similar net balance of $1,203.59. Tallow took third place, with clear profits of
$1,200.81, and the others retained balances of varying amounts according to their
crop. The money was in the case of most individuals well spent, in the erection of new
dwellings, the purchase of horses, new wagons, harness and other articles of lasting
benefit. Those of the farmers who were not already self-supporting became so after
the sale of their grain.
While this wheat crop of 1908 was growing, the steam ploughing outfit broke
up two other blocks of land, containing a little over 400 acres each, which were divided
into fourteen farms, issued to that number of Indians, disked and seeded by them,
and, though these crops did not show as good growth last fall as those of the previous
year, the grain is now growing well, and a good yield is expected.
This year the plough is again in operation and at the date of writing has broken
an additional 400 acres, bringing the cultivated area up to 2,000 acres, which will
doubtless be materially increased before the end of the season. The intention is to
continue the breaking until every working Indian on the reserve is supplied with
whatever acreage he is capable of cultivating, there being, of course, a great difference
in what individuals can handle.
Under the system adopted, these farms are located in groups to facilitate the
use of the steam plough, which works to better advantage on a long furrow of a mile
or more, to permit economy in implements, and to enable the supervision to be done
with greater ease and by less men than would be possible were the farms scattered
all over the reserve. Thus, while the first fifteen farms are adjoining one another in a
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
65
solid block, there is no community of interest except in the ownership of the joint
fence that was built by the fifteen Indians to inclose the whole area, and in the use of
implements. Each man owns his own farm, and after it is once broken for him, works
it individually without having any interest in the work or produce of any of the
adjoining farms.
The general policy of placing each Indian upon his own resources as soon as
they are sufficient for the sustenance of himself and his family, has been steadily
maintained, with the result that those of the Bloods who are entirely self-supporting
now number 301, and a large number are semi-self-supporting.
Temperance and Morality. – The ease with which these Indians can procure
whisky and other intoxicants in the neighbouring towns of Macleod, Lethbridge and
Cardston, is exceedingly detrimental to the welfare of the people, and a matter of
continual worry to those in charge of them.
I have, &c.,
R. N. WILSON,
Indian Agent.
June 7, 1910
Sir, – I have the honour to submit the annual report of this agency for the fiscal
year ended March 31, 1910, together with the usual statement of agricultural and
industrial statistics and inventory of government property.
Tribe. – The Blood Indians are the principal branch of the Blackfoot nation or
family in the great Algonkian linguistic stock. The Blackfoot nation consists of the
Blood, Blackfoot and Peigan tribes, located in Alberta, and a subdivision of the last
named tribe known as the South Peigans, who are United States Indians located in
Montana immediately south of the international line. These three tribes with their
allies the Gross Ventres and the Sarcees, formed the Blackfoot confederacy, a
powerful combination which for a century held by force of arms against all comers an
extensive territory reaching from the Missouri river north to the Red Deer and from
the Rockies east to beyond the Cypress hills. The protection of their vast territory
against invasion imposed upon these Indians a life of almost constant warfare with
the numerous enemies which surrounded them on all sides and developed in the
people a proud and imperious spirit which after 28 years of reservation life is still the
prominent characteristic of the Bloods.
Reserve. – The Blood reserve is situated between the Belly and St. Mary’s
rivers, and from the forks of these streams runs in a southern direction for about 40
miles to within 14 miles of the international boundary. It contains an area of 540
square miles or some 354,000 acres of splendid land. The two rivers form the
boundary line on the north, east and west sides, and furnish an abundant supply of
fresh clear water. The south boundary is fenced with a line of barbed wire fencing 15
miles long. There is no building timber upon the reserve, but the river bottoms in
places have a fair growth of cotton-wood and willow, which form good shelter for cattle
during cold weather. This is the largest Indian reservation in the Dominion.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
66
Population. – The population of the reserve at the annuity payments last
November was 1,149, being a decrease of 25 for the year. The birth-rate was 47 per
1,000 and the death-rate 61. The decrease mentioned above includes 9 absentees,
leaving a natural decrease of 16.
Health and Sanitation. – The general health of the Indians has been fair.
There is a good and commodious hospital on the reserve, sustained by the
government and in charge of the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity, where attention
is given to patients requiring hospital treatment, the institution being regularly
visited by the physician provided by the department.
Tuberculosis, that scourge of the Indian race, in its two forms of scrofula and
consumption of the lungs, is responsible for much of the sickness that occurs on this
reservation. For the handling of this and other infections and contagious diseases we
have an isolation hospital containing two small wards and a nurses’ room.
Occupations. – The principal occupations of the Bloods are cattle-raising,
farming, haymaking and freighting.
The Indian named Black-horses still operates the coal mine on the St. Mary
river which he has been working for many years, and from which he derives an income
sufficient for the support of his large family.
Stock. – Owing to the exceptional grazing capabilities of this magnificent
reservation, it has long been recognized that in connection with the cattle industry
lies a great hope for the future of these Indians, a belief that is encouraged by the
natural fondness of the plains’ Indians for live stock. Being convinced that in the
ownership of large herds of cattle will be found a solution to most of the problems
with which we have had to contend in connection with their management, the
department for some years furnished annually a number of heifers which were issued
to the Indians in a special effort to make cattle-owners of such members of the tribe
as could with safety be intrusted with the care of horned stock. This work is not
finished, as there are still many young Indians to be given the necessary start, but
the showing to date is quite satisfactory. At the last round-up we branded 980 calves
and carefully counted the whole herd, which was found to number 5,285. In the
management of these cattle special attention has been given to the matter of quality,
which has entailed the purchase and maintenance of an expensive herd of
thoroughbred bulls, numbering at the present time 143 head. A few are Galloways,
but most of the older bulls are Shorthorns, while most of the young animals purchased
during the last three years are Herefords. All these bulls are pedigreed stock. Some
we bought in Ontario and Manitoba, but the best and cheapest bulls are those
purchased by the department at the annual public auction sale of thoroughbred cattle
held at Calgary under the direction of the Department of Agriculture.
Like most Indians of the plains, the Bloods own considerable numbers of native
horses, and in order to improve their quality the department keeps on the reservation
37 stallions, which are loaned out to the Indians under appropriate conditions.
While the cattle-owning members of the tribe have for six years raised all the
beef required for the consumption of the whole tribe and have also made several
important shipments of export cattle to Liverpool.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
67
Temperance and Morality. – The ease with which these Indians can procure
whisky and other intoxicants in the neighbouring towns of Macleod, Lethbridge and
Cardston, is exceedingly detrimental to the welfare of the people, and a matter of
continual worry to those in charge of them.
Progress. – The marvelous success with which the extensive growing of wheat
has been attended in recent years in this part of the province having established the
practicability of adding that industry to the occupations of the Bloods, it was decided
to go actively into farming in 1907. As the Bloods are a large community, any work
undertaken by them must be on a fairly large scale to be worth while. It was,
therefore, thought advisable to place under immediate cultivation a large acreage,
and, as the initial work of breaking the sod is too heavy for Indian horses to
accomplish, except in a limited way, the Indians, upon the advice of the writer,
decided to purchase with tribal funds a first-class steam ploughing outfit, consisting
of a 32 horse-power traction engine and a ten furrow engine gang plough, the
intention being to use the steam rig for breaking only, all subsequent work to be done
by the Indians with horses.
The machinery was put in operation in 1907, and a total of 2,392 acres were
broken up and placed under cultivation in that and the two following seasons. From
the initial crop in 1908 the Indian farmers raised 23,000 bushels of No. 1 Red Winter
wheat off 600 acres. Last year they raised 24,000 bushels, which unfortunately
suffered from frost about two weeks before harvest and consequently graded low; but
the grain was held until February and sold upon a bulge in the market at a high price
that netted the Indians more money for their frozen wheat than they received for the
No. 1 the year before.
The Bloods have their own threshing outfit, a 40-60 separator with latest
attachments having been purchased with tribal funds for operation with the large
traction engine. Stack-threshing is the method followed, each Indian’s farm being
threshed separately, the spout of the separator emptying direct into portable
granaries, of which each farmer has one or two according to the bulk of his crop.
Under the system adopted, these farms are located in groups to facilitate the
use of the steam plough, which works to better advantage on a long furrow of a mile
or more, to permit economy in implements, and to enable the supervision to be done
with greater ease and by less men than would be possible were the farms scattered
all over the reserve. Thus, while the first fifteen farms are adjoining one another in a
solid block, there is no community of interest except in the ownership of the joint
fence that was built by the fifteen Indians to inclose the whole area, and in the use of
implements. Each man owns his own farm, and after it is once broken for him, works
it individually without having any interest in the work or produce of any of the
adjoining farms.
The general policy of placing each Indian upon his own resources as soon as
they are sufficient for the sustenance of himself and his family, has been steadily
maintained, with the result that the Bloods who are entirely self-supporting now
number 25 per cent of the whole population, of which 50 per cent are semi-self-
supporting.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
68
I have, &c.,
R. N. WILSON,
Indian Agent.
June 11, 1911
Sir, – I have the honour to submit the annual report of this agency for the fiscal
year ended March 31, 1911, together with the usual statement of agricultural and
industrial statistics and inventory of government property.
Tribe. – The Blood Indians are the principal branch of the Blackfoot nation or
family in the great Algonkian linguistic stock. The Blackfoot nation consists of the
Blood, Blackfoot and Peigan tribes, located in Alberta, and a subdivision of the last
named tribe known as the South Peigans, who are United States Indians located in
Montana immediately south of the international line. These three tribes with their
allies the Gross Ventres and the Sarcees, formed the Blackfoot confederacy, a
powerful combination which for a century held by force of arms against all comers an
extensive territory reaching from the Missouri river north to the Red Deer and from
the Rockies east to beyond the Cypress hills. The protection of their vast territory
against invasion imposed upon these Indians a life of almost constant warfare with
the numerous enemies which surrounded them on all sides and developed in the
people a proud and imperious spirit which after 28 years of reservation life is still the
prominent characteristic of the Bloods.
Reserve. – The Blood reserve is situated between the Belly and St. Mary’s
rivers, and from the forks of these streams runs in a southern direction for about 40
miles to within 14 miles of the international boundary. It contains an area of 540
square miles or some 354,000 acres of splendid land. The two rivers form the
boundary line on the north, east and west sides, and furnish an abundant supply of
fresh clear water. The south boundary is fenced with a line of barbed wire fencing 15
miles long. There is no building timber upon the reserve, but the river bottoms in
places have a fair growth of cotton-wood and willow, which form good shelter for cattle
during cold weather. This is the largest Indian reservation in the Dominion.
Population. – The population of the reserve at the annuity payments last
November was 1,122, being a decrease for the year of 27. The birth-rate was 46 per
thousand, and the death-rate 71.
Health and Sanitation. – The general health of the Indians has been fair.
There is a good and commodious hospital on the reserve, sustained by the
government and in charge of the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity, where attention
is given to patients requiring hospital treatment, the institution being regularly
visited by the physician provided by the department.
Tuberculosis, that scourge of the Indian race, in its two forms of scrofula and
consumption of the lungs, is responsible for much of the sickness that occurs on this
reservation. For the handling of this and other infections and contagious diseases we
have an isolation hospital containing two small wards and a nurses’ room.
Occupations. – The principal occupations of the Bloods are cattle-raising,
farming, haymaking and freighting.
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
69
The Indian named Black-horses still operates the coal mine on the St. Mary
river which he has been working for many years, and from which he derives an income
sufficient for the support of his large family.
Stock. – Owing to the exceptional grazing capabilities of this magnificent
reservation, it has long been recognized that in connection with the cattle industry
lies a great hope for the future of these Indians, a belief that is encouraged by the
natural fondness of the plains’ Indians for live stock. Being convinced that in the
ownership of large herds of cattle will be found a solution to most of the problems
with which we have had to contend in connection with their management, the
department for some years furnished annually a number of heifers which were issued
to the Indians in a special effort to make cattle-owners of such members of the tribe
as could with safety be intrusted with the care of horned stock. This work is not
finished, as there are still many young Indians to be given the necessary start, but
the showing to date is quite satisfactory. At the last round-up we branded 1,470
calves. In the management of these cattle special attention has been given to the
matter of quality, which has entailed the purchase and maintenance of an expensive
herd of thoroughbred bulls, numbering at the present time 148. A few are Galloways,
but most of the older bulls are Shorthorns, while most of the young animals purchased
during the last three years are Herefords. All these bulls are pedigreed stock. Some
we bought in Ontario and Manitoba, but the best and cheapest bulls are those
purchased by the department at the annual public auction sale of thoroughbred cattle
held at Calgary under the direction of the Department of Agriculture.
The cattle-owning members of the tribe have for seven years raised all the beef
required for the consumption of the whole tribe and have also made several important
shipments of export cattle to Liverpool. During the past season we sold for the
Liverpool market one shipment of 200 head of Indian steers at $78 per head f.o.b.
here, which is a record price for range animals that had grazed every winter since
they were calved.
The 1,470 calves branded in 1910 is the largest number that the Bloods have
ever raised in a single year. But I regret to say that, owing to the exceptional severity
of last winter, there is no prospect of such a successful branding being repeated this
year. The unusually fierce storms of January, coupled with deep snow in that, and
the succeeding months, caused such heavy losses among the cattle on these ranges
that a count like this year can hardly fail to show a decrease in the herds, particularly
with regard to female stock.
Like most Indians of the plains, the Bloods own considerable numbers of native
horses, and in order to improve their quality the department keeps on the reservation
46 stallions, which are loaned out to the Indians under appropriate conditions.
Temperance and Morality. – The ease with which these Indians can procure
intoxicating liquor is, I regret to say, increasing in the towns of Macleod, Lethbridge
and Cardston, and this unfortunate feature is not only a source of disturbance and
continual worry to the officials in charge of the Indians, but it is exceedingly
detrimental to the interests of the department’s wards. There are several reasons
why the traffic in intoxicants to Indians flourishes at present more unchecked than
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
70
in former years, the most potent of which is to be found in the changes which have
occurred in connection with the police service of western towns. Formerly when this
work was done exclusively by detachments and patrols of the Northwest Mounted
Police they, as employees of the Dominion government, paid particular attention to
the protection of the Indians from the liquor traffic. In recent years, however, the
larger organization has relinquished police work in the towns and cities in favour of
the municipal constables, who, in the writer’s experience, very rarely take any
interest in the enforcement of the Indian Act. As a consequence it is easier for Blood
Indians to procure a dozen bottles of whisky under present conditions than a single
bottle a few years ago when the purchasers and vendors had to dodge the patrols and
detectives of the Mounted Police.
Progress. – The marvelous success with which the extensive growing of wheat
has been attended in recent years in this part of the province having established the
practicability of adding that industry to the occupations of the Bloods, it was decided
to go actively into farming in 1907. As the Bloods are a large community, any work
undertaken by them must be on a fairly large scale to be worth while. It was,
therefore, thought advisable to place under immediate cultivation a large acreage,
and, as the initial work of breaking the sod is too heavy for Indian horses to
accomplish, except in a limited way, the Indians, upon the advice of the writer,
decided to purchase with tribal funds a first-class steam ploughing outfit, consisting
of a 32 horse-power traction engine and a ten furrow engine gang plough, the
intention being to use the steam rig for breaking only, all subsequent work to be done
by the Indians with horses.
The plan was followed with success, and in 1908 the initial crop was harvested
from 600 acres producing 23,000 bushels of No. 1 Red Winter wheat. Next year they
raised 24,000 bushels, and farming having now become so popular, the Indians
themselves requested that a second steam ploughing outfit be purchased from their
tribal funds, which was acceded to by the department, and a 36 H.P. steam tractor of
the latest and strongest pattern was bought last year. There are now 3,000 acres
under cultivation on the reserve, farmed by 39 individual Indians. Additional land is
being broken this year to accommodate fifteen more applicants, and, unless the
breaking is retarded by scarcity of fuel in consequence of the present strike of coal
miners, there should be 54 Blood Indian farmers with crops to harvest next year.
The Bloods have their own threshing outfit, a 40-60 separator with latest
attachments having been purchased with tribal funds for operation with the large
traction engine. Stack-threshing is the method followed, each Indian’s farm being
threshed separately, the spout of the separator emptying direct into portable
granaries, of which each farmer has one or two according to the bulk of his crop.
Under the system adopted, these farms are located in groups to facilitate the
use of the steam plough, which works to better advantage on a long furrow of a mile
or more, to permit economy in implements, and to enable the supervision to be done
with greater ease and by less men than would be possible were the farms scattered
all over the reserve. Thus, while the first fifteen farms are adjoining one another in a
solid block, there is no community of interest except in the ownership of the joint
OUR BETRAYED WARDS
71
fence that was built by the fifteen Indians to inclose the whole area, and in the use of
implements. Each man owns his own farm, and after it is once broken for him, works
it individually without having any interest in the work or produce of any of the
adjoining farms.
The general policy of placing each Indian upon his own resources as soon as
they are sufficient for the sustenance of himself and his family, has been steadily
maintained, with the result that a fair proportion of the Bloods are entirely self-
supporting; but this feature of their management has in late years been somewhat
overdone, as it has recently been necessary to return to the free ration list a few
individuals who were for a time able to support themselves from their cattle herds,
but were unable to continue doing so owing to the reduction of the cattle through
unnatural losses.
Your obedient servant,
R. N. WILSON,
Indian Agent.
A Blood Reserve
Sourcebook
Drawn from Settler
Records
Curated by Chris
Willmore
2
Table of Contents
Fifteen years (1913 – 1928) ………………………………………………………………………………………………4
The death of Crop Eared Wolf (April, 1913) …………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
“There would still be plenty of room” (May, 1913) ………………………………………………………………………………… 6
“Applications for more than 150,000 acres” (June, 1913) ……………………………………………………………………….. 6
“Where the most people would be benefitted” (September, 1913) …………………………………………………………. 7
“30,000 head of stock are ready” (October, 1913) …………………………………………………………………………………. 8
“Vexed with the board of trade” (October, 1913) ………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
“My plans for the future farming on the Blood Reserve” (August, 1914) ………………………………………………….. 8
A report on the Blood Reserve in 1914 (March, 1914) ………………………………………………………………………….. 10
“These Indians could well spare that portion” (November, 1914) ………………………………………………………….. 12
“Growers of grain and raisers of cattle” (January, 1915) ……………………………………………………………………….. 13
A report on the Blood Reserve in 1915 (March, 1915) ………………………………………………………………………….. 14
“Robbing the Wards of the People” (April, 1915) …………………………………………………………………………………. 16
“Personally interested in a grazing lease” (April, 1915) …………………………………………………………………………. 17
“The Indians got what was coming to them” (April, 1915) …………………………………………………………………….. 18
“If ever these Indians decided to surrender any land” (June, 1915) ……………………………………………………….. 19
A report on the Blood Reserve in 1916 (March, 1916) ………………………………………………………………………….. 19
“When that time arrives” (February, 1917) …………………………………………………………………………………………. 21
“It isn’t every day” (August, 1917) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21
“Would throw open to settlers a fine tract” (February, 1918) ……………………………………………………………….. 22
“Understood to have voted” (March, 1918) ………………………………………………………………………………………… 22
Sheep on the Blood Reserve (April, 1918)……………………………………………………………………………………………. 22
“The Indians themselves are contributing” (May, 1918) ……………………………………………………………………….. 23
“A new departure” (June, 1918)…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 23
“Every inch of the Blood Indian reservation” (July, 1918) ……………………………………………………………………… 24
“A remarkable success” (November, 1918) …………………………………………………………………………………………. 25
“A scorching attack” (February, 1919) ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26
“Over 300 head of horses have died” (April, 1920) ………………………………………………………………………………. 26
“Without asking the Indians” (April, 1921) ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 27
“Persecution, bad faith and chicanery” (May, 1921) …………………………………………………………………………….. 27
“Be wise and persevere” (August, 1921) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 35
Moving the Blood Agency (May, 1923) ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 44
“The new Anglican boarding school” (August, 1924) …………………………………………………………………………….. 44
“The best satisfied and most prosperous citizens” (January, 1925) ………………………………………………………… 45
“Excellent work is being done” (June, 1925) ………………………………………………………………………………………… 45
“They are becoming real citizens” (July, 1925) …………………………………………………………………………………….. 46
“Infamous legislation” (June, 1920) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 46
“In the face about three times” (April, 1928)……………………………………………………………………………………….. 49
“Metamorphosis” (December, 1927) ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 51
Government reaction to conventions at Macleod (1924 – 1925) ……………………………………………. 57
“A conclave of sober-minded men and women” (November 13, 1924) …………………………………………………… 57
“Our land should not be leased” (November 13, 1924) …………………………………………………………………………. 57
Sgt. J. A. Webb to C. Junget (November 14, 1924)………………………………………………………………………………… 58
C. Junget to R.C.M.P. Commissioner (November 17, 1924) ……………………………………………………………………. 60
A. F. Grady to Charles Stewart (November 18, 1924) ……………………………………………………………………………. 60
Mike Mountain Horse to J.T. Faunt (November 22, 1924) …………………………………………………………………….. 61
C. Stewart to A. F. Grady (November 24, 1924) ……………………………………………………………………………………. 62
W. M. Graham to D. C. Scott (November 28, 1924) ………………………………………………………………………………. 63
J. T. Faunt to W. M. Graham (November 30, 1924) ………………………………………………………………………………. 63
A. F. Grady to C. Stewart (January 6, 1925) ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 64
3
Mike Mountain Horse to D. C. Scott (January 9, 1925) ………………………………………………………………………….. 64
Mike Mountain Horse to C. Stewart (January 24, 1925) ………………………………………………………………………… 65
D. C. Scott to Colonel C. Starnes (January 31, 1925) ……………………………………………………………………………… 66
D. C. Scott to Mike Mountain Horse (February 2, 1925) ………………………………………………………………………… 66
D. C. Scott to J. Byng (February 3, 1925) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 67
J. T. Faunt to D. C. Scott (February 15, 1925) ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 67
A. F. Grady to C. Stewart (March 7, 1925) ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 69
C. A. Arthur to D. C. Scott (March 9, 1925) ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 70
D. C. Scott to A. F. Grady (March 25, 1925) ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 70
J. T. Faunt to D. C. Scott (March 25, 1925) …………………………………………………………………………………………… 71
J. T. Faunt to W. M. Graham (April 7, 1925) …………………………………………………………………………………………. 71
C. Stewart to W. M. Graham (May 18, 1925) ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 72
C. Stewart to Mike Mountain Horse (May 18, 1925) …………………………………………………………………………….. 72
“Fast passing in Canadian history” (July 2, 1925) ………………………………………………………………………………….. 73
Rations and Cattle Killing (1888 – 1895) ……………………………………………………………………………. 74
“We killed our cattle from hunger” (March 19, 1888) …………………………………………………………………………… 74
“They immediately say it is the Indians” (January 17, 1890) ………………………………………………………………….. 77
“A question of rations and money” (January 22, 1890) …………………………………………………………………………. 77
H. Reed to T. M. Daly (January 6, 1893) ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 78
Memorandum by H. Reed (February 22, 1893) ……………………………………………………………………………………. 80
“Self Supporting Indians” (February 22, 1893)……………………………………………………………………………………… 80
H. Reed to T. M. Daly (March 11, 1893) ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 82
J. Wilson to H. Reed (March 16, 1893) ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 83
H. Reed to T. M. Daly (March 25, 1893) ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 83
“He can snap his fingers at the police” (March 29, 1893) ………………………………………………………………………. 84
“An agreement for mutual protection” (June 28, 1893) ………………………………………………………………………… 84
W. F. Cochrane to L. Vankoughnet (September 6, 1893) ……………………………………………………………………….. 85
S. B. Steele to H. Reed (June 9, 1894)………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 87
A. E. Forget to H. Reed (June 16, 1894) ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 88
H. Reed to F. White (June 28, 1894) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 89
H. Reed to J. Wilson (August 2, 1894) …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 89
H. Reed to A. E. Forget (July 4, 1894) ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 89
S. B. Steele to N.W.M.P. Commissioner (July 17, 1894) …………………………………………………………………………. 90
T.P. Wadsworth to A. E. Forget (July 28, 1894) …………………………………………………………………………………….. 90
J. Wilson to H. Reed (August 4, 1894) …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 90
A. E. Forget to H. Reed (August 8, 1894) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 92
H. Reed to A. E. Forget (August 14, 1894) ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 92
“Kill cattle to keep from starving” (August 15, 1894) ……………………………………………………………………………. 93
S. B. Steele to N.W.M.P. Commissioner (August 18, 1894) …………………………………………………………………….. 93
J. Wilson to H. Reed (August 20, 1894) ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 93
C. C. McCaul to A. E. Forget (August 21, 1894) …………………………………………………………………………………….. 95
A. M. Jarvis to Commanding Officer, Macleod (August 27, 1894) …………………………………………………………… 95
J. Wilson to H. Reed (August 28, 1894) ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 96
A. M. Jarvis to Commanding Officer, Macleod (December 16, 1894) ………………………………………………………. 97
J. Wilson to H. Reed (January 25, 1895) ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 97
J. Wilson to H. Reed (January 17, 1895) ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 98
J. Wilson to H. Reed (January 11, 1896) …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 101
“The business is constantly increasing” (December 20, 1901) ……………………………………………………………… 101
“Sold in small holdings to settlers” (July 10, 1912) ……………………………………………………………………………… 102
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
4
Fifteen years (1913 – 1928)
The death of Crop Eared Wolf1 (April, 1913)
With the passing of Crop Eared Wolf one of the last of the last of the old time
Indians is gone. The deceased Indian was chief of the Blood band whose reserve is
one of the largest in Canada. Wolf was the head of some 1,200 Indians and nothing
of importance was done without his advice and sanction. He was stern with his
people, but kind with the white man so long as nothing was said or done to interfere
with the Indian or his rights. He was a most careful guardian of Indian rights. Some
six years ago an agitation was raised among the Indians to sell the portion of their
reserve lying south in the vicinity of Cardston in southern Alberta2.
A price was offered that would have made every Indian on the reserve an
independent citizen, built them comfortable homes and given them a better status
with the white man3. This the old chief resolutely refused4 to agree to. He would have
nothing to do with the sale of Indian lands to the white man. He insisted that the
treaty gave the land to the Indians as long as water ran and grass grew, and from
this position he could not be moved.
It is said that one of the last things Crop Eared Wolf did before his death was
to call his minor chiefs and people together and make them promise that they would
never sell their land to the white man. Their tract is one of the most fertile in the
whole province of Alberta and would be valuable as a tract for colonization purposes.
Crop Eared Wolf was the proud possessor of one of the medals given to the
chiefs at the time of the visit of the governor general of Canada some few years ago.
He always wore the uniform of a chief which in modern times is blue serge with brass
buttons, and is supplied by the Indian department. He was an ardent advocate of
peace. Many a tempestuous time on the reserve was brought to a happy issue by his
intervention. At the time Charcoal was at large, Crop Eared wolf was one of the party
constantly on the watch for his capture. It was through his help that Jas. Wilson, now
registrar of the brands at Medicine Hat, then Indian agent at Macleod, was able to
finally make the capture that brought the murderer to the gallows.
1 From CROP EARED WOLF, OLD BLOOD CHIEF CALLED BY DEATH. (1913, April 22). The
Calgary Herald, p. 8.
2 “The government […] has made two propositions to the Indians. One is to purchase a small strip on
the south end between the St. Mary’s River and the railway line comprising about 3,200 acres, and the
other to purchase a larger strip, four by sixteen miles. This last strip begins at Cardston and skirts
along the St. Mary’s River to near Caldwell.” INDIANS SELLING PART OF THE BLOOD RESERVE.
(1907, June 11). The Edmonton Journal, p. 12.
3 “The government proposes to give the Indians $12,000 for the small strip. This they propose to divide
among the Indians in cash which would give to every man, woman and child the sum of $10.00 per
head. The sum of $800,000.00 is offered for the larger strip which is to be given to the Indians as
follows: 300 houses at $500 per house, and the amount of barns, stables, etc., and the balance to be
placed to the credit of the Indians.” Ibid.
4 “Crop Ear Wolf, the main chief of the tribe has been to Macleod and sent a letter to the Indian
Department at Ottawa setting forth the objection of the Indians to the proposed sale.” Ibid.
5
The old chief was, of course, a brave man. On more than one occasion he has
shown the writer the scars of many a severe test. His breast is covered from the
armpits to his very throat with thong marks but never in one of the ordeals did he
flinch or show anything but the bravery that would one day elect him chief of his
Indian band.
Crop Eared Wolf had rather a greater sense of the fitness of things than is
usually found in an Indian. It is said that on one occasion a missionary from one of
the stations near the reserve took an interpreter with him and called on the old chief
for the purpose of taking his picture. Wolf was very indignant. He explained through
the interpreter that it would have been all right if he had asked the camera man to
visit him for the purpose set forth, but it was a violation of good taste for him to come
unsolicited. Crop had an aversion to having his face snapped and the photographer
had to go home without gaining the end he came for.
It might surprise most people to know that Crop Eared Wolf had a house as
well furnished as the average home in most towns or cities. Carpets covered the floors.
The wigwam with its open fire was replaced with the kitchen with its modern range.
Instead of sleeping on a blanket on the ground, this Indian and his squaw had their
comfortable mattress and iron bedstead. Lamps lit the house, blinds covered the
exterior from becoming weather-beaten, cooking utensils hung up int heir proper
places and a table was set to which the Indian agent, farm instructor or any one else
might sit up.
While Crop Eared Wolf was averse to selling any part of the Indian lands, he
was not in favor of allowing the whole to lie idle. When the Indian department, under
R. N. Wilson, inaugurated a plan by which the Indians would work a portion of the
land the old chief was one of the first to fall heartily in line and work for the
accomplishment of the purpose. As a result of his efforts large tracts were broken in
different localities on the reserve and Indians are working it for the production of
crops. In later years he has worked with the agent, Mr. Hyde, in preventing the old
sun-dance, a pagan festival in which the Bloods would be sporting themselves now if
permission were granted.
Crop Eared Wolf became an adherent of the Roman Catholic faith and in his
latter days was ministered to by Father Bauax, of the Stand Off mission. At his
funeral a band of Indian boys consisting of 15 instruments, played “Nearer My God
To Thee.” The direct cause of death was cancer. It is rather amusing that the Indians
should call it lump jaw, for the reason that it was on the jaw about the place a cow
throws out a lump when infected with lump jaw. Crop Eared Wolf was a patient
sufferer, wand while he suffered much pain during the last several months, his end
was peaceful, and unlike so many of his predecessors in the chief office of the Indian
band, he has not gone to the happy hunting ground, but to the abode of his Father in
Heaven.
The funeral was attended by all the Indian department staff on the reserve as
well as by many friends of the old chief from Macleod and other places. His burial
was at Stand Off in the cemetery of the Roman Catholic church there.
6
“There would still be plenty of room”5 (May, 1913)
For a long time there has been a movement on foot to have the 350,000 acres
of the most fertile land of Southern Alberta, known as the Blood Reserve, thrown
open to the farmers of the south. The answer has always been that this could not be
without the unanimous consent of the Indians. But heretofore the government has
always leased a large portion of the reserve to ranchers, receiving therefor about one
cent per annum per acre. At present, McKeown & Co. hold the lease and have sub-let
it to Gordon, Ironside and Fares, the Winnipeg cattle dealers. It was on this tract of
land that the Winnipeg firm ran a herd of several thousand head of Mexican steers a
couple of years ago.
The lease expires in July next. The farmers in the vicinity of the reserve border
desire that the lease not be renewed on expiry. They wish to have the privilege of
leasing small tracts for farming and ranching purposes, and would be willing to pay
from five to eight cents per acre per annum. About 300,000 acres of the land are
available for this purpose. There are few Indians now on the reserve, and even though
some thousands of acres were leased, there would still be plenty of room. Memorials
are being prepared by the farmers of the district in the vicinity of the reserve which
will be forwarded to the department of Indian affairs, setting forth the above facts.
Hon. Duncan Marshall will also be memorialized, the farmers seeking his aid in the
movement. The Indians are said to have held meetings when the disadvantages of
the big leases were explained to them, and have declared in favor of the small leases.
“Applications for more than 150,000 acres”6 (June, 1913)
Farmers throughout Southern Alberta have awakened to the possibility of the
opening up of the Blood Reserve to small leases, and are [filing applications] to the
Indian Department to be forwarded through the Associate Boards of Trade of
Southern Alberta, in large numbers.
“I am in receipt of applications for more than 150,000 acres,” said Secretary
Finley this afternoon. “They are coming from all parts of the southern district, and
from all around the reserve, and in most cases are for tracts in size in keeping with
the amount of stock the applicants plan to run. This speaks well, for it shows that the
intent in all cases, is to utilize the leases for their own livestock and not to sublet
them, as was done when the last lease was granted.”
Meeks Brothers, of Raymond, in a letter that accompanied their application for
10,000 to 20,000 acres, wrote: “We commend you in this very thoughtful undertaking
and do hope you are successful in this matter.” […]
5 From MOVEMENT TO LEASE BLOOD INDIAN RESERVE IN SMALLER PORTIONS. (1913, May
29). The Calgary Herald, p. 1.
6 From FARMERS AFER LAND LEASES ON BLOOD RESERVE. (1913, June 20). The Edmonton
Journal, p. 5.
7
“Every farmer in the Leavitt district is enthusiastic over the work the Associate
Boards of Trade is doing on their behalf in this campaign to open the Blood Reserve
to small grazing interests,” [said W. G. Smith, a rancher of Leavitt].
“We have a committee out visiting every farmer and they are signing them up
for the amount of acreage they would care to lease and the number of animals they
would run on the lease. The same is being done in the Cardston district, and from
what I hear, they are going to do everywhere around the reserve before the end of the
week.
“Every farmer resents the attitude of the big grazing interests, in endeavoring
to convey to the Indians through their old time stockmen, the impression that the
small farmer with the possibility of the erection of fences and the division of the
reserve into small grazing tracts would mean the ultimate loss of the lands to the
Indians; and we are going to show them the sincerity of the farmers and send
representative men, whom they know, to the Indians and set them right. Why, the
leasing of these lands to farmers at 2 to 8 cents an acre annually for grazing purposes
will make that entire tribe of Indians rich, and they know it, for they will compare
the prospective income with that they have had through the big interests’ leases, and
it will convince them that the best thing for them is the farmer enjoying these
privileges.
“I have filed with Secretary Finley an application to forward to the Indian
department at Ottawa for the lease of one township, or 23,040 acres, on which I shall
run for a time some 1500 head of cattle, and at other seasons some 600 head of sheep.
I am ready to take a lease right off, too, at any reasonable rate of annual payments
the government may prescribe provided they are not too severe in requirements that
make a lease prohibitive to a small farmer or stock man.”
“Where the most people would be benefitted”7 (September, 1913)
Hon Dr. Roche, the minister of the interior, […] made it clear that it was his
desire and [the] wish of the department to place grazing privileges where the most
people would be benefitted, and he intimated that conditions had been unsatisfactory
in the past and a new arrangement would be made, looking to the permitting of small
stock owners and farmers to run their stock on the reserve at a reasonable charge per
head. Dr. Roche openly stated that the land would not be granted to the former
holders, and in fact he included all large cattle concerns in his remarks. Intimation
was also made that the forest reserve sheep grazing lands would be opened.
7 From ROCHE WOULD PLACE GRAZING PRIVILEGES. (1913, September 5). The Edmonton
Journal, p. 6.
8
“30,000 head of stock are ready”8 (October, 1913)
Word has been received here that Gordon, Ironsides & Fares, of Winnipeg, sub-
lessees of the Blood reserve’s grazing lands, under D. McEwen & Co., of Ottawa, have
issued a call for tenders on their entire holdings of cattle, saddle horses and round-
up outfit, now on the reserve. This means that the long fight made by the associated
boards of trade asking for a right to farmers to graze their cattle on these lands in
preference to the large cattle interests, probably will be granted by the minister of
the interior.
The minister indicated on his recent western trip that the lease would not be
granted to the former holders, who now announce their sale, which is to take place
before November 1. The herd numbers 3,000 head of cattle. If the lease is granted to
the farmers, nearly 30,000 head of stock are ready to go on the reserve.
“Vexed with the board of trade”9 (October, 1913)
Officials on the Blood Indian Reserve, which adjoins Cardston on the north,
are vexed with the board of trade of Cardston for sending representatives to the
reserve on matters of business without first consulting the department. Inspector
Swinford, who is in charge pending the appointment of a new agent, threatens that a
recurrence will be prosecuted. It seems that several members of the board of trade
went to Stand Off to confer with the band on matters related to grazing leases, and
called the chiefs without seeing the agent or farm instructors.
“My plans for the future farming on the Blood Reserve”10 (August, 1914)
Written by W. J. Dilworth, Indian Agent for the Blood Agency, to Duncan C. Scott,
then Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs.
Sir,
I beg to inform you herewith of my plans for the future farming on the Blood
reserve, for your approval or otherwise.
Tho this has been the worst year in the history of farming operations in this
district our Indians are still prepared to go on with farming. And I am pleased to have
them do so. For while there is farming the Indians have employment, and manual
labor performed by the Indians means advance. Moreover, employment on the home
reserve will be far more effective advance than if the Indians were driven off the
reserve to work and spend their money thus made in intoxicants, etc.
8 From BIG CATTLEMEN WILL SELL WHOLE OUTFIT. (1913, October 22). Calgary Herald, p. 13.
9 From DISREGARD RULES. (1913, October 20). The Calgary Herald, p. 7.
10 From Dilworth, J. D. (1914, August 22). [Letter to Duncan C. Scott]. Department of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development Fonds (RG 10, Volume 4080, file 474,347). Ottawa: Library and Archives
Canada. Written by William John Dilworth (1869 – 1961).
9
This excessively dry season has not been without its compensating features. It
has shown Indians that if they must farm, they must farm well, and if they do farm
well they are assured of having some crop even under the very adverse conditions
that prevailed this year. It has also taught me that it would not be advisable to
increase the area under cultivation at Farm # 1 near the agency. As on account of the
light and sandy nature of this soil, conditions are too adverse, farming with Indians,
to make any rapid progress. The opposite prevails at Farms # 3 and # 4. The farmers
there have some really good crop, grown under conditions of practically no rain.
I am of the opinion that if possible both engines should be put to work breaking
sod next season as soon as spring sets in, and kept at it while proper conditions
prevail. Both engines have been thoroughly repaired and are in good condition to do
a season’s breaking. I am of the opinion that this breaking should be done in two
places; at Farm # 3 and at Farm # 4. These two locations are beside what has already
been broken, [and] are close to water. Splendid clay soil, plenty of hay within reach,
and [they] are the best places on the reserve for the Indians to build homes. Farming
here is sure of a crop every year. I intend to move as many would-be farmers as
possible to Farm # 3’s location, with the object of not only bettering the condition of
the Indian, but also consolidating the settlements as much as possible. As conditions
are at present the agency office is set off on one side of the reserve, where the least
amount of activity is. I would have operations confined to a smaller area so that
conditions were correct for the removal of the agency buildings to the neighbourhood
of Farm # 3, not many years in the future. As the buildings now around the agency
will before many years have to be abandoned and new ones built, Farm # 3 would be
the desirable location, being nearer the center of operations. Also, if at any time the
Blood Indians desire to sell any of their land, it would be better that the end near the
agency should be sold, and by the removal permanent improvements could be kept
where the centre of activity would be.
I would like to break up 1500 acres if the funds are available in the locations
indicated on the rough map enclosed. I will have the Indians keep all seed necessary
this year. I am closing the Blacksmith shop today and all refunds possible will be
made between now and the season’s close.
Should it be the Desire of the Department that I go on with the work as
indicated next year, I beg to suggest that this fall some time the parts indicated on
the map be surveyed into quarter sections if possible; and if the Department have a
surveyor working in the west, I would like to have this work done.
I think I can safely assure the Department that breaking sod will not be so
expensive as it has been in the past few years, as I have had considerable experience
along these lines, and know that I can reduce the expense from what the records show
to have been the cost since 1910.
Kindly permit me to hear from you about this matter at your earliest
convenience, that I may make preparations for the next season.
10
A report on the Blood Reserve in 191411 (March, 1914)
Prior to 1917, Indian Agents would publish detailed narratives of the year’s events
in the Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs. This was Agent Dilworth’s
report for the year ending March 31, 1914.
Health and Sanitation – Comparatively speaking the health of the Blood
Indians has been good for the past year; no serious infections or contagious disease
being prevalent. Nevertheless, there is a heavy mortality among infants and young
children due to bronchial and intestinal troubles, occasioned largely through the sole
use as a food diet of beef and bannock. Until these Indians realize that domesticated
beef is not so healthy for them as the buffalo meat was in the old days, and change
their diet to one mixed with vegetables, so long will mortality exist.
The health of the reserve is looked after by a resident physician and a well
regulated hospital conducted by the Sisters of Charity. Many of the older Indians
have no faith in white man’s medicine, but prefer the administrations of their own
medicine men, whose favorite cure is bleeding. The Blood Indians are a much more
cleanly people than the world at large realizes. The cleanliness of their yards would
shame many a white farmer. Yearly, deaths from tubercular and scrofulous troubles
are becoming less, due in a large measure to the good influences of school children on
the reserve.
Occupations. – Twenty-five years ago the sole occupation of the Blood Indians
was to go to the ration-house for their beef and flour, in fact it was stated by many
people who were then acquainted with their habits of life that they would never be
capable or desirous of following any industrious pursuits; to-day nearly one-half of
the tribe support themselves, one-sixth are engaged in farming, one-half in stock-
raising, and nearly every adult puts up every year a large quantity of hay for sale.
They also do a large amount of freighting for outside farmers. A coal mine is operated
on the reserve. Though still spasmodic in their efforts, nearly all the males
accomplish yearly a large amount of work.
Farming. – The Blood Indians have now about 5,000 acres under cultivation.
Some are good farmers, some indifferent. All are well supplied with implements and
take as good care of their machinery as their white neighbours do of theirs. There is
a healthy tendency to increase the farming area, and, if the present rate of progress
is kept up, a few years hence the younger Blood Indians will be one large farming
community, each with a good and comfortable home. Nearly every able-bodied man
has a wagon, a mower, and a rake. Crops during the past season were poor, due in a
large measure to the ravages of the eel worm on winter wheat. A Blood Indian thinks
a great deal more of, and will take better care of, the plot of land that he has developed
himself than he does of a ready-made farm.
11 From Dilworth, W. J. (1914). REPORT OF W. J. DILWORTH, INDIAN AGENT FOR THE BLOOD
AGENCY, ALBERTA. In Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs for the year ended March
31 1914. Ottawa: J. de La Tache.
11
Stock-rasising. – The Blood Indians have for a number of years raised all the
beef required on the reserve. Their herd is made up of the beef types only. Through
careful selection of sires this herd is now one of the very best range herds in the North
West. The Indian does not take care of his cattle individually, but they are handled
as a band herd. Their horses have shown some improvement through the use of
stallions loaned them by the department, but not as much as they should have, as the
Indians in a large measure sold their horses as they pleased, with the result that they
got a chance to exercise their traits for profligacy, which they surely did in this case.
They have now approximately 3,000 head of horses where they once had 20,000.
Buildings. – Ninety per cent of the Blood Indians live in log houses during the
winter months, and in tents during the summer. The log hut with mud floor and sod
roof is now a thing of the past. Instead, all houses are floored and have plenty of air
space through the construction of gable roofs on the houses. Some of the farmers have
clean. well-built, comfortable frame houses painted inside and out, and well
furnished.
Characteristics and Progress. – The Blood is a dignified Indian. This self-pride
is in many ways a detriment to his progress, giving him a tendency to scorn
innovations; yet show a Blood Indian how he can make money, and he will work, but
not in a persevering manner. He will not plod along doggedly towards any desired
end, but rather wishes to proceed too rapidly; his expectations no being realized as
soon as anticipated, he sometimes becomes discouraged. The present generation
requires plenty of hard manual labour; by that means and that alone they will
progress. They have been brought in some measure to realize that upon their own
shoulders they must bear the burden of making a livelihood for themselves and their
families; but they must be brought to a more stern realization of that fact. Hard and
steady work will do much to improve conditions mentally, morally and physically.
There has been steady advance and with judicious management there will continue
to be progress.
Temperance and Maturity. – Drunkenness is decreasing only in ratio to the
watchfulness of the officers and men of the R.N.W.M.P. and of the reserve scouts. As
long as tramps, half-breeds, and people who ought to have better principles, eke out
a precarious existence in the neighbouring towns of MacLeod, Lethbridge, Cardston
and Pincher Creek, by supplying intoxicants to the Indians, so long will there be
drunkenness among the Bloods.
Moral conditions are slowly changing for the better. Family relations and the
marriage tie still remain loose. Until the men of the Blood Indians are brought to
fully realize that the women of the tribe are not the property of the men, so long will
there be loose marriage relations. Happily education is rapidly changing old ideas in
this respect and cleaner moral conditions may be looked for.
12
“These Indians could well spare that portion”12 (November, 1914)
From a report by J. A. Markle, government inspector, sent to Duncan C. Scott.
Sir:-
I have the honour to make the following report of an inspection made of the
Blood Agency and Reserve between the 27th October and the 10th instant.
I perused the Agent’s letter to the Department dated August 22nd, and agree
with the main opinions expressed therein. I would like to see the best farming land
within the northern ½ of township 4, all of townships 5 and a portion of township 6
in ranges 24 and 25 sub-divided into 80 acre lots. A portion of the land referred to
was subdivided a number of years ago but is not sufficient for the requirements of the
Indians who desire, or may at a later date [desire], to farm. I would confine the sub-
dividing to the area stated herein with a view of confining the farming area as
compactly as possible. Farming operations can be supervised more cheaply and
expeditiously when close together than when scattered. Moreover, at some distant
period the Indians owning this reserve will be disposed to surrender a portion of it,
and they are more likely to be willing to cede areas without improvements thereon
than areas on which they are residing. These Indians could well spare that portion of
their reserve lying northerly of the center of township 7 and southerly of the center
of township 4. No more encouragement should be given to the Indians to farm in the
vicinity of the Agency, townships 7 and 8, for the land therein is not suitable to Indian
farming and no results follow, outside of loss of work. This has been my opinion from
the outset of the farming on this reserve, but the agents thought differently until
recently, and their opinions prevailed. The threshing return for this season at Farm
1 was only ½ bushel per acre of spring wheat, while at Farm 3 the average yield was
16 bushels and at Farm 4, 15 bushels. This has convinced Mr. Dilworth that grain
growing by Indians in the vicinity of Farm 1 is likely to be a failure 4 seasons out of
5.
In [the] event surveyors are sent to this reserve to sub—divide lots for the
locations of farms, I advise that they start work not later than April 1st next, so that
any new breaking may be done next season at suitable points. Furthermore, I suggest
that locations be reserved for new agency headquarters easterly of Farm 3, and
reservations, 160 acres, [be] made for new boarding schools. While it may be years
before either new agency buildings or schools are supplied, it is well to look into the
future in this particular, as well as [in] many other matters, for this precaution may
save a good deal of worry to some one in the days to come.
Yours obediently,
Sgn. J. A. Markle, Insp.
12 From Markle, J. A. (1914, November 13). [Letter to Duncan C. Scott]. Department of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development Fonds (RG 10, Volume 4080, file 474,347). Ottawa: Library and Archives
Canada. Written by John A. Markle (1851 – 1927).
13
“Growers of grain and raisers of cattle”13 (January, 1915)
The Indians on the Blood Reserve, situated between the Belly and St. Mary’s
rivers in Southern Alberta, are coming to the front as growers of grain and raisers of
cattle. The gaudy Indian warrior has discarded the war paint and the war path to
guide the plough. The reserve is the largest in Canada, containing some 354,000 acres
of good agricultural land, and the wards of the government who inhabit it are said to
be worth over $5,000 per capita. If they continue to show the interest in agriculture
that has produced for them such abundant harvests, they will before long, easily
double their per capita wealth. It is now about seven years since farming was taken
up as an occupation, but in that time the Indians have been able to prove their ability
to grow grain that compares favorably with that of their white neighbors along the
reserve.
This year Agent Dilworth estimates a yield of 20,000 bushels of wheat, besides
a big crop of oats. Considering the sparse yield in some parts of Alberta this year, this
is a tremendous crop for the red men.
In addition to grain the Indians have also put up 4,000 tons of hay. This was
harvested under exceptionally favorable conditions and ready sale is being found for
all that is not needed for the stock on the reserve. A contract was filled with Gordon,
Ironside & Fares, the lessees of the grazing on the reserve, for 1,500 tons, and the
Royal Northwest Mounted Police at MacLeod for 180 tons. For this latter a price of
$12 a ton was paid.
This year 105 head of steers were sold to James Watson of Great Falls. The
steers averaged $103 a head, which very nearly approaches a record price for grass
fed steers. The lot averaged 1,650 pounds in weight. As a result of the deal the Blood
Indians are nearly $11,000 better off. A heifer will be purchased in place of each steer
in order that the size of the herd may not be reduced.
The cattle on the reserve are doing well, no bulls but pure breds of the beef
strains being used. All the beef needed for rations among the Indians is raised on the
reserve. The cattle are handled as range stock in one large herd with a stockman in
charge and Indians to assist him. A few individual Indians own their own cattle and
take care of them.
The Bloods have a sufficient number for their own use, and from time to time
the agent issues permits to sell ponies. Their horses are improving through the use
of stallions provided by the Indian department. One Indian, Alex Stevens, out of the
profits of his farming last year purchased 40 sheep, of which he has taken good care
and profited accordingly. Many of the Indians that are not engaged in farming go to
Raymond, the sugar town, and find employment in the beet fields.
This is the tribe of Indians that has contributed $1,000 out of a sum of $4,000
funded for their benefit, toward the cost of war within the British Empire. At a large
council held recently, the tribe offered itself, and the Indians volunteered individually
to serve in whatever way the King might command.
13 From FARM OPERATIONS OF RED MAN SUCCESSFUL. (1915, January 28). The Crossfield
Chronicle, p. 4.
14
A report on the Blood Reserve in 191514 (March, 1915)
Agent Dilworth’s report for 1915.
Health and Sanitation. – The general health of these Indians has been
comparatively good, though as usual there has been a heavy death toll, from
tubercular troubles among adults, and from bronchial and intestinal troubles among
infants and children.
The health of the band is looked after by a resident physician and a well
regulated hospital conducted by the Sisters of Charity.
All the Indians are required to clean up around their premises and to burn all
refuse. They are yearly becoming more sanitary in their habits. All the Indians get
their water-supply from the mountain-fed streams surrounding the reserve, which
accounts for the total absence of typhoid.
Occupations. – About one-fifth of these Indians engage in farming, half are
stock-owners, and nearly all able-bodied men yearly put up and sell a large amount
of hay. During the year about 200 families were induced to plant and take care of a
potato and garden patch.
Farming. – No new land was broken during the year; the efforts were directed
rather in getting the land already broken into better condition. All Indian farmers
worked well and faithfully in the preparation of their fields, which during the earlier
part of the season, gave promise of producing a good crop; but continued and
excessive drought burned up all grain planted at the lower end of the reserve; while
at the upper end of the reserve, on heavier soil, a fair crop was harvested. Winter
wheat this year as last proved a failure through some disease. It would appear as if
the spring sown variety would supersede the winter variety. A propitious tendency
exists among the Indians to increase the farming area, a sign pointing distinctly
towards progress.
Stock-raising. – The Bloods own one of the best beef herds in the Northwest.
During the year there was sold 105 head of three, four and five year old steers for an
average price of $104 a head. These steers at point of unloading weighted before fed
or watered 1,550 pounds. In addition to this, all beef was raised that is used on the
reserve.
A change was made during the year in the wintering grounds of the herd, the
winter camp formerly located on the exposed valleys of the St. Mary’s river being
transferred to heavy brushed, well opened, watered valley of the Belly river adjacent
to the farms at the upper portion of the reserve. All cattle fed in this yard came
through the winter in splendid condition and without loss. Cattle on the range also
came through the winter without loss, though thin in flesh.
14 From Dilworth, W. J. (1915). REPORT OF W. J. DILWORTH, INDIAN AGENT FOR THE BLOOD
AGENCY, ALBERTA. In Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs for the year ended March
31 1915. Ottawa: J. de La Tache.
15
Haymaking. – This industry for the past fifteen years has been an important
and profitable one for these Indians – in fact it was owing to the presence of abundant
grasses on the reserve that these Indians made their first progressive move along
industrial lines. During this past year the industry reached record proportions, the
Indians harvesting in splendid condition over three times the amount of hay
harvested in any single previous year. In all 10,000 tons were harvested between July
15 and September 15, and the Indians were as a result $30,0000 better off. A fair idea
of how our haymakers’ work can be gathered from the operations of one day. There
being no hay at the agency end of the reserve, I went to the hay camp and asked that
all all haymakers bring one load each to the agency headquarters, eighteen miles
distant. On that day 105 tons were delivered and stacked in splendid order, the prize
containing 7,940 pounds.
Buildings. – Approximately 90 per cent of these Indians live in fairly
comfortable log houses during the winter months, about 5 per cent in good, well built
roomy frame houses; nearly all live under canvas in the summer. Each year sees an
increasing number of houses being built of more roomy and better ventilated designs.
There is now little overcrowding in close, ill ventilated houses during the cold winter
nights.
Characteristics and Progress. – This tribe is one of the few Indian tribes that
have not been subdued by the sword. They are loyal to the Crown, in fact their proffers
of assistance to the “Grandson of the Great White Queen” in this war would shame
many white communities.
They are naturally a proud and dignified people; they will work well when
remuneration is in sight; in fact, our largest problem is to provide sufficient work for
the many willing hands. They are intensely superstitious, and hard to wean away
from their pagan beliefs and practice. The great problem to solve for the present
generation is to teach them to work. Manual labour will do more than any other single
agency to civilize them, and obliterate their nomadic and pleasure-loving habits; it
will make them home-makers rather than camp-movers.
Generally speaking, I believe there is reason for satisfaction in the progress
made during the year. Their business affairs are in better condition, there is less of
pauperization, [and] they have been taught that the ration-house must not be the
limit of their outlook. There is a healthy tendency towards individual home-making
and to settle down in their own home separately and removed from their relatives,
and a greater tendency to have their children educated.
Temperance and Morality. – There has been a decrease of one-third in
convictions for drunkenness as compared with the previous year. This can be
attributed largely to the fact that the Indians were kept at home on their reserve and
at work for a greater portion of the time. Some improvements in moral condition are
noticeable, there being less homes broken up by marriage separations; but still their
mental and moral development is not such as can differentiate between right and
wrong; fear of detection and swift punishment for wrong-doing is still the thought
that restrains.
16
“Robbing the Wards of the People”15 (April, 1915)
Ottawa, April 11. – “How Bob Cruise Annexed a Homestead” is the subject of
the first of a series of fourteen articles by T. R. Ferguson, compiled after exhaustive
research into the mysteries of Hon. Frank Oliver’s administration of the public
domain. […] “Robbing the Wards of the People” would be a suitable title for the second
instalment of Commissioner Ferguson’s report. The hero in this graft exposure is
Frank Pedley, formerly superintendent of Indian affairs, who, when the exposure
came, resigned his position. He now is one of the chief Liberal organizers and social
leaders in the capital. This investigation had to do with grazing privileges on the
Blood Indian reserve, near Macleod, and the connection therewith of Pedley, who, at
the time the transaction was engineered, occupied the important position of deputy
superintendent-general of Indian affairs.
Shocking as it sounds, the said Pedley displayed more zeal in feathering his
own nest than in noble aborigines, or in seeking that the scales of justice were held
evenly between various applicants for those privileges. Perusal of the evidence in the
Pedley case explains the sudden termination, last year, of that official’s connection
with the department.
The essential facts in the case, as reported, briefly stated, are as follows. In
1903 several applications were made for grazing privileges on the Blood reserve. One
of the applications on file in the department was made in December, 1902, by J. F.
McLaughlin of Toronto, who had associated with him Charles Miller, barrister, of
Toronto. This application was vigorously pressed, and it is clear from the evidence
that they interviewed Pedley in connection with it, and had reason to be hopeful that
it would be granted. In fact, they went so far as to organize a cattle company and
engaged a foreman to look after their interests. However, Pedley had other plans. He
wanted a slice of these privileges himself, as things had been a little tight with him
around that period. This no doubt occurred to him as the simplest and easiest method
of relieving the financial stringency. Application was put in on behalf of one Donald
McEwen, by a firm of Ottawa solicitors, Latchford, McDougasll and Daley, and
appealed more to his high sense of duty. This application was not made until April,
1903. Pedley’s preference is explained by the clearly-proven fact that the application
was in reality made on behalf of his bosom friend, the redoubtable Peter Ryan, of
Toronto, with whom he had had numerous transactions in recent years.
Pedley, while still deputy superintendent-general of Indian affairs, became, as
the evidence conclusively shows, beneficial owner of a one-sixth interest in the Blood
reserve privilege, and he became owner of this interest by virtue of the assignment of
the same to him by Peter Ryan, his old college chum. This six per cent. interest was
held by A. C. Bedford-Jones, a lawyer of Toronto, for four years, when, with the
knowledge and approbation of Pedley, it was sold to Charles Miller, for $1,000, which
money was paid over to Pedley, Jones retaining $100 for looking after the legal
15 From Jobbery in Western Lands Under Liberal Government. (1915, April 21). Red Deer News, p. 7.
17
affairs. This connection of Peter Ryan with the deal is definitely established by
various agreements which are on the departmental files.
One of these agreements, dated December, 1903, is between Peter Ryan and
Donald McEwen, as parties of the first part, and Gordon, Ironside & Fares, of
Winnipeg, parties of the second part. The latter firm agreed to stock the reserve for
10 years (the life of the lease) and after certain payments and agreements were
carried out, the shares of the respective parties in the profits were to be divided as
follows: forty per cent. to Ryan and McEwen, and 60 per cent. to Gordon, Ironside &
Fares. The evidence of Pedley was very contradictory, but in the end he admitted
having received $1,000 that was paid for one-sixth interest, but refused to admit that
Jones had been acting as trustee for him. The evidence of Ryan and Pedley was also
contradicted in many points, but Ryan admits that he was the real owner of the
grazing lease. This deal was not the extent of Pedley’s operations, but that is another
story.
“Personally interested in a grazing lease”16 (April, 1915)
The disposition of the public domain under the regime of the late government
has been under investigation for a couple of years by T. R. Ferguson, K.C., of
Winnipeg. […] The cases occurred in the time when the Hon. Frank Oliver was
minister of the interior. […] The second case relates to Frank Pedley of Ottawa,
former Deputy Superintendent of Indian affairs, and in this the finding is that Mr.
Pedley, while acting in his official capacity, was personally interested in a grazing
lease on the Blood Indian reserve near Macleod, Alta. […] In 1903 a number of
applications for these privileges were made, and the applicants included J. F.
McLaughlin of Toronto, with whom was associated Charles Miller, barrister of that
city. It is stated that a company was formed for ranching.
Another application on behalf of Donald McEwan nominally, but really for
Peter Ryan of Toronto, was put in by Latchford, McDougall and Daly, barristers of
Ottawa. The commissioner finds that a one-sixth interest in the grazing privilege was
assigned by Mr. Ryan to Mr. Pedley, and held in trust for Mr. Pedley by A. C. Bedford
Jones, a Toronto barrister, for four years. It was then sold to Charles Miller for a
thousand dollars, and the money, less one hundred dollars for legal expenses, was
paid to Mr. Pedley.
The commissioner finds that on the departmental files there is an agreement,
dated 1913, between Peter Ryan and Donald McEwan on the one part and Messrs.
Gordon, Ironsides and Fares on the other, whereby the latter were to stock the reserve
during the ten years of the lease. The shares of the parties were to be divided,
following certain details, 40 per cent. of the profits going to Ryan and McEwan and
60 per cent. to Gordon, Ironsides and Fares. The report states that Messrs. Pedley
and Ryan contradicted one another on material points, but that Mr. Ryan admitted
being the owner of the lease. Mr. Pedley denied that Jones had acted as his trustee.
16 From DISPOSAL OF PUBLIC LAND IN THE WEST. (1915, April 12). The Ottawa Citizen, p. 5.
18
“The Indians got what was coming to them”17 (April, 1915)
The ex-minister, [Frank Oliver,] took up the case of the Blood Indian reserve.
There was no question, he said, of the propriety of the leasing of grazing rights on the
reserve to McEwen of Brandon, Peter Ryan of Toronto, and a Winnipeg cattle firm.
There was no question that the price paid for the privileges was not fair, but the whole
report was an attempt to prove that Frank Pedley had a beneficial interest in the
transaction. […] Mr. Pedley’s connection with the transaction had been this. Mr.
Peter Ryan owned the Bank of Commerce money on Pedley’s endorsation. The bank
pressed for payment and Ryan had assigned part of his interest in the leases secured
to Mr. Bedford Jones. Mr. Jones had sold it to Mr. Miller for $1,000, and had applied
the money to reduce Ryan’s indebtedness to the Bank of Commerce. For this, said Mr.
Oliver, Mr. Pedley’s name had been dragged through the Conservative press as if he
were a horse-thief instead of an honest citizen.
Dr. Reid – “Doesn’t the report show that Pedley got something out of it?
Mr. R. B. Bennett – “He admitted a good deal more.” […]
Mr. Oliver said […] there had been no suggestion that the men got an acre of
Indian lands for less than it was worth. “The Indians got what was coming to them,”
said Mr. Oliver. The only question concerned was that of the propriety of government
officials meddling in government property. He did not approve of that and never had
permitted it while minister. […]
[Dr. Roche] considered the case of the Blood Indian reserve. Mr. Peter Ryan,
he said, had admitted in his evidence that he had executed a deed of trust in favor of
Mr. Bedford Jones, who held in trust for Pedley one-sixth interest in the lease. This
had afterwards been sold to Mr. Miller for $1,000, which he had handed over, less
$100, to the then superintendent-general of Indian affairs. There were other Indian
lands for which blank tenders had been filled in Toronto with fictitious names and
then sent to Mr. Smart, then superintendent-general of Indian affairs, who became
the purchaser himself in association with the other two men concerned. The sum of
$84,000 in all had been cleared by these gentlemen in connection with the Moose
Mountain and other lands. If Mr. Oliver thought that was all right, Dr. Roche had a
different idea.
17 From SOME AMAZING REVELATIONS IN THE HOUSE. (1915, April 15). The Ottawa Citizen, p.
5.
19
“If ever these Indians decided to surrender any land”18 (June, 1915)
A report from J. A. Markle, government inspector, to the Department of Indian
Affairs.
Sir, –
I have the honour to make the following observations on an inspection made of
the Blood Agency during this month.
In […] my report of Nov. 13th last, I also suggested that the northern ½ of
township 4, all of township 5 and portions of township 6 in ranges 24 and 25 be
subdivided into 80 acre lots. I stated my reasons for so advising. Mr. Surveyor
Hamilton arrived on the reserve about the 12th and started work on the 14th instant,
where directed, and which is the eastern half of township 4, range 26. My desire was
to keep the southern portion of the reserve free from improvements so that if ever
these Indians decided to surrender any land the southern ½ of township 4 and all of
township 3 would not be improved and be a bar against a surrender. Moreover, the
closer farming operations are confined the less expense it will be to the Department
or to the Indians. It is doubtless true that the soil along the Bull Horn is good, but
there is abundance of good land within the area described by me.
Your obedient servant,
Sgd. J. A. Markle, Inspector.
A report on the Blood Reserve in 191619 (March, 1916)
Agent Dilworth’s report for 1916. This would be the last detailed Agent’s report
written on the Blood Reserve published in the Annual Report of the Department of
Indian Affairs. From 1917 onward, reports are far more general.
Occupations. – The occupations of these Indians are farming, stock-raising,
hay-making, and agricultural labour off the reserve.
Farming. – This occupation started some seven years ago, is now the most
important one of the tribe, and last year reached its highest record. Owing to
propitious weather conditions, and the well sustained and purposeful effort of the
Indian farmers themselves, a large harvest was gathered in good season, and twice
the acreage prepared for the coming year’s crop was seeded this year. Also 1,000 acres
was broken from sod to allow fourteen new farmers to make a start.
18 From Markle, J. A. (1915, June 23). [Letter to Duncan C. Scott(?)]. Department of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development Fonds (RG 10, Volume 4080, file 474,347). Ottawa: Library and Archives
Canada.
19 From Dilworth, W. J. (1916). REPORT OF W. J. DILWORTH, INDIAN AGENT FOR THE BLOOD
AGENCY, ALBERTA. In Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs for the year ended March
31 1916. Ottawa: J. de La Tache.
20
Stock-raising. – The Blood Indians own one of the best beef-type herds in the
Northwest. This herd supplies the rationing requirements of the reserve, some
350,000 pounds [of] beef annually.
The horse herds have increased in numbers and improved in quality, dourine
discovered amongst them two years ago having been practically obliterated.
Haymaking. – Haymaking, which last year reached record proportions, was
this year curtailed owing to the abundance of feed in the district and consequent lack
of demand. The Indians, however, in addition to supplying the requirements of the
reserve, were able to sell their surplus at fair prices.
Agricultural Labour. – White settlers off the reserve having heavy crops, and
labour being scarce, in the first week in August I sent every able-bodied Indian not
required to perform the labour on the reserve, off the reserve for three months or until
harvesting operations were completed. Some 150 teams and 200 men availed
themselves of the labour at remunerative wages and with satisfaction to their
employers.
Implements. – These Indians take good care of implements purchased by their
private earnings, but poor care of implements purchased for their use out of band
funds.
Buildings. – Each passing year sees a marked improvement in the housing
conditions. New houses are being built yearly, and all are more roomy, better
ventilated and lighted. As a result of this last season’s farming operations, a number
of new farm houses and stables are in course of erection.
Health and Sanitation. – As there is yearly an improvement in the housing
conditions, and as the Indians are yearly changing their diet from one wholly meat to
one made up of vegetable and cereal foods, there is an improvement in the general
health. Scrofulous cases are less and less prevalent amongst children. Tuberculosis
is not so frequently met with. During the year the numbers of the band increased.
While the old diseases are not so frequent or virulent in form, yet there have appeared
for the first time cases of appendicitis, three patients having been operated upon
successfully.
Characteristics and Progress. – These Indians are naturally a pleasure-loving
people, and so far in their development, old men especially, look upon the
adventurous days of the past as the ideal life. These old men are boastful and
vainglorious of their former exploits and adventures. These ideals are being rapidly
changed. Each passing year sees them more content to keep up a sustained and
purposeful effort at some industrious pursuit. The toil and the moil of a busy life is
weaning them away from their former desires, it is encouraging them to make a
home, individual and separate from their relations; is developing their physique,
mentality and moral habits, and is giving them the stick-to-it-iveness that makes for
lasting benefits, independent of help outside their own efforts.
Progress in the direction of applied efforts has been marked throughout the
year, in that it has gone a long way towards obscuring the ideals of the past, and
decisive in obliterating those acquired instincts that tend to make of these Indians
public parasites and private mendicants.
21
Temperance and Morality. – As the year has been a busy one, there has been
much less of intemperance and immorality than has been usual.
“When that time arrives”20 (February, 1917)
J. A. Markle, government inspector, to the Department of Indian Affairs.
Sir, –
I have the honour to submit the following report of an inspection made of the
Blood Agency last month.
There were about 480 acres of new land broken last season and 2200 acres
summer-fallowed, or summer ploughed. For some years past I desired farming
operations to be carried along with a view of concentrating this work, i.e. new farms
and new breaking located in the central portion of the reserve. My opinion was, [and]
is still, that at some future data these Indians will be disposed to surrender portions
of their reserve and that when that time arrives fewer obstacles are likely to be in the
way of a surrender if improvements to land [are] made nearer the center than near
to the extreme ends of the reserve. My views, however, on this point did not prevail.
There are about 10 acres under alfalfa, 5 acres under timothy and 210 acres under
western rye grass.
Your obedient servant,
Sgd. J. A. Markle, Insp.
“It isn’t every day”21 (August, 1917)
It isn’t every day in the history of Southern Alberta that a deal for more than
4,000 head of stock and 349,800 acres of range is consummated. But such a
transaction has just been put through whereby Ray Knight, leading stockman of the
south, and J. D. Watson, known to every cattleman from Winnipeg to the coast as the
former buyer for the Vancouver-Prince Rupert Packing Company, become owners of
the Alberta herds of Gordon, Ironsides and Fares, Winnipeg packers, and their
grazing privileges on the Blood reserve south and west of the city.
The deal was consummated a week ago. There are at least 4,000 cattle in the
outfit. There may be more along with the stock and range. The new owners take over
a string of cow-horses and have already engaged a dozen or more riders who have
been in charge of the old outfit.
A couple of years ago the firm of Gordon, Ironsides and Fares renewed their
lease on the grazing privileges of the Indian reserve. Lately, however, their packing
business has grown – so greatly that they were willing to talk business when
approached to sell their Alberta business. Just how much money is involved in the
20 From Markle, J. A. (1917, February 7). [Letter to Duncan C. Scott(?)]. Department of Indian Affairs
and Northern Development Fonds (RG 10, Volume 4080, file 474,347). Ottawa: Library and Archives
Canada.
21 From Immense Land Deal is Closed in the South. (1917, August 1). The Red Deer News, p. 6.
22
deal will not be definitely known until the cattle are counted out. However, on a
conservative estimate, it will take between three and four hundred thousand to swing
the purchase, making it easily the biggest transaction of the kind in western Canada
this year.
“Would throw open to settlers a fine tract”22 (February, 1918)
If the Indians of the Blood reserve show by their vote that they are willing, the
Dominion government will this fall sell a block of land at each the north and south
ends of the reserve, each block approximating 50,000 acres in extent. An upset price
of $20 per acre will be placed on the land. The Indians were to have voted yesterday
on the proposal, but owing to the small numbers present the vote was adjourned to
February 28.
Ray Knight, who with J. D. Watson, is the lessee of the grazing rights of the
reserve, stated that he understood such a proposal was on foot, but he did not think
that the amount of land involved was quite so large, nor did he think that the Indians
would vote away their birthright.
The proposed northern block, if sold, would throw open to settlers a fine tract
of land between Lethbridge and Macleod. On the south end the proposed block is west
of Cardston, close to the Old Man river. The land is the choicest in southern Alberta.
The whole reserve consists of 349,000 acres, so that the proposal is to dispose of about
30 percent of it. This would still leave some 250,000 acres on which about 8,000 Blood
Indians are domiciled. The Lethbridge board of trade has been working for a long
time to have all or part of the reserve set apart for bona fide settlers, and the present
effort on the part of the government may be the result of the local body’s activity.
“Understood to have voted”23 (March, 1918)
The Indians of the Blood Reserve are understood to have voted this week on
the sale of 52,000 acres from the north part of the reserve and 51,000 from the south
part. The land would be surrendered to the Government, subdivided and sold by
public auction, if approved by the Indians.
Sheep on the Blood Reserve24 (April, 1918)
Levi Jensen and Harry Goodwin, of Kimball, moved about 4,000 head of sheep
on to the Blood reservation leases which they have obtained, passing their herds
through the town early this morning. It is understood that Mr. Jensen and Mr.
Goodwin have obtained a large lease of about a dozen sections for sheep grazing
22 From BLOOD RESERVE TO BE OPENED UP FOR SETTLEMENT SOON. (1918, February 18).
The Calgary Herald, p. 11.
23 From THE BLOOD RESERVE. (1918, March 2). The Financial Post of Canada, p. 15.
24 From ARE MOVING SHEEP TO BLOOD RESERVE. (1918, April 24). The Calgary Herald, p. 15.
23
purposes. Quite a number of sheep men have obtained leases on the southwest corner
of the Blood reserve. Inasmuch as there is no place in Canada set apart for sheep, it
appears opportune for the industry to be fostered, at least to a certain degree,
although this land could probably have been farmed to advantage.
It is understood that Messrs. W. E. Pitcher, A. J. Stoddard, J. W. Kearl, et al.,
have secured farming leases of land adjoining Cardston on the north, and will this
summer break up several sections and plant it to fall wheat for next year’s harvest.
By the occupation of the southwest part of the Blood Indian reserve by farmers and
ranchers, the town of Cardston will materially benefit thereby, the chief necessity
being at present good roads over the Blood reserve.
“The Indians themselves are contributing”25 (May, 1918)
Close to 100,000 acres of new land is being broken this year on the Indian
reserves in Saskatchewan and Alberta, it was stated today by W. M. Graham, chief
of the department of Indian affairs in Western Canada, and while a portion of this
amount must be credited to the government, the Indians themselves are contributing
to the greater production campaign in new breaking to a considerable extent.
The federal government has leased considerable tracts from the Indians, both
in this province and Alberta, and is in turn leasing the land out to farmers for grain
production and for grazing purposes, with the object of increasing the production of
wheat and beef. In one reserve alone, the Blood reserve, 93,000 acres have been leased
out for this purpose.
“A new departure”26 (June, 1918)
Indian Commissioner Graham, of Regina, is visiting the Blood Indian Reserve
in Southern Alberta. The Bloods are horse Indians, a tribe of the Blackfeet, and they
formerly enjoyed the reputation of being the best horse rustlers and the most
turbulent Indians in Canada. In the early days thousands of horses were owned by
the Bloods. Subsequently, the department prevailed on the Bloods to go in for cattle,
for probably the Blood reserve constitutes the biggest and best ranches in Canada. It
contains a great variety of the most nutritious pasture in the world, and much of the
high land is particularly adapted for sheep.
A new departure has been recently taken under Mr. Graham’s comprehensive
and varied scheme for fostering greater production of food on the reserve by the
introduction of some thousands of sheep, and among other things Mr. Graham is
visiting the reserve with an eye on this new sheep industry.
25 From BIG ACREAGE INDIAN LAND BEING BROKEN. (1918, May 29). Edmonton Bulletin, p. 1.
26 From SHEEP AND CATTLE REPLACING HORSES ON BLOOD RESERVE. (1918, June 4). The
Saskatoon Daily Star, p. 3.
24
“Every inch of the Blood Indian reservation”27 (July, 1918)
Sir – I was much interested in your editorial of yesterday’s issue, entitled, “A
Bad Report.” But, Mr. Editor, it is not at all necessary to force our returned soldiers
to go on land that is unsuitable28 for soldier cultivation.
In your issue of March 14 on this year there appeared29 the following news
item:-
“LETHBRIDGE, March 14. – An urgent petition to the Dominion government
to save the new areas to be thrown open in the Blood reserve from the hands of
speculators is being forwarded to Ottawa by the Board of trade here. The idea is
favored that returned soldiers should be given an opportunity of securing this
splendid land.”
The reserve referred to contains about 575 square miles of as good land as is
to be found anywhere in the world, and it is all ready for the plough. That it is
“splendid land” may be inferred from what Joseph F. Smith, of Salt Lake City,
president of the Mormon church, said on August 5, 1913, when he was over here in
Canada dedicating the site for the Mormon temple at Cardston. “The president was
very much struck with the beauty and fertility of the land which comprises the Indian
reserve. Viewing it from his seat in the car, he said to the people round him, ‘It makes
me feel bad how our own government treated the Indians. But this land here we will
pay for. When the Indians are ready to sell we will pay for it. We won’t begrudge any
money they ask for it.’ From the above statement, made by the head of the Mormon
church, it would seem that they intend, if possible, to obtain possession of the Blood
reserve.” See Morning Albertan, August 5, 1913.
In your issue of April 24, 1928, there appeared another interesting news item:
“CARDSTON, April 23. – Levi Jensen and Harry Goodwin, of Kimball, moved
about 4,000 head of sheep on to the Blood reservation leases which they have
obtained, passing their herds through the town early this morning. It is understood
that Mr. Jensen and Mr. Goodwin have obtained a large lease of about a dozen
sections for sheep grazing purposes. Quite a number of sheep men have obtained
leases on the southwest corner of the Blood reserve. . . . This land could probably have
been farmed to advantage. It is understood that Messrs. W. E. Pitcher, A. J. Stoddard,
J. W. Kearl, et al., have secured farming leases of land adjoining Cardston on the
north. . . . By the occupation of the southwest part of the Blood Indian reserve by
farmers and ranchers, the town of Cardston will materially benefit thereby, the chief
necessity being at present good roads over the Blood reserve.”
27 From Shearer, W. (1918, July 11). Opposes Leasing of Blood Lands. The Calgary Herald, p. 6.
Written by William Shearer (1892 – 1961).
28 “W. Bouchner, who travelled […] as a commissioner […] for the purpose of sizing up the land in
places where the government has reserved blocks near the railways for soldier settlement, makes a
detailed report. If he speaks truly there does not seem to be anything specially inviting in that country
for the soldiers. […] Provision should be made for their settlement elsewhere and the reserved lands
placed on the list for homesteading again.” A BAD REPORT. (1918, July 9). The Calgary Herald, p. 6.
29 BAR SPECULATORS. (1918, March 14). The Calgary Herald, p. 1. This brief box is quoted below in
full by W. Shearer.
25
Besides the men mentioned above, who have secured from the government
leases of this splendid land, I have the names of nine others who have secured leases
on the same reserve, and they are all Mormons. They have all secured their leases
since the Lethbridge Board of Trade sent the following telegram to Ottawa: “Provided
Blood Indians favorable, suggest certain portion land set aside for sale might be
reserved against soldiers’ applications.”
I maintain, Mr. Editor, that in view of what our returned soldiers have endured
and suffered for the Empire, an in view of the world-wide glory they have brought to
our Dominion, every inch of the Blood Indian reservation should be put at their
disposal.
I also maintain that it is scandalous to offer our returned soldiers such land as
you describe in your editorial, when about 350,000 acres of such magnificent land lies
right here at our very door waiting to be cultivated.
WILLIAM SHEARER.
Calgary, Alta., July 10, 1918.
“A remarkable success”30 (November, 1918)
An official report made to Hon. Arthur Meighen by Mr. W. M. Graham, who
was appointed commissioner to take charge of the greater production campaign on
the western Indian reserves, shows that the campaign has been a remarkable success
and that preparations are being made for production on a greater scale than ever next
season.
Five greater production farms have been located on western reserves and a
large amount of land has been plowed this fall ready for seeding. The farms are
situated as follows:
Gleichen, Alberta, Blackfoot Reserve, 2,500 acres; Cluny, Alberta, Blackfoot
Reserve, 5,500 acres; McLeod, Alberta, Blood Reserve, 5,000 acres; Edenwold, Sask.,
Muscowpetung Reserve, 3,600 acres; Broadview, Sask., Crooked Lakes Reserve,
3,600 acres; Sintaluta, Sask., Assiniboine Reserve, 1,000 acres.
Sixteen large gas tractors were used continuously almost night and day to
bring this land under cultivation. Bunk and cook houses have been built to
accommodate men and granaries are being erected. It will take thirty-six thousand
bushels of wheat to seed this land. The best pure-bred Marquis wheat alone is being
used.
In addition to preparing this extensive area for wheat, Mr. Graham has been
devoting considerable time to the work of increasing beef production. Last March 384
head of stock were purchased and were grazed on the File Hills Reserve. They were
recently sold and showed approximately an increase of one hundred thousand pounds
of beef, and also netted the greater production account a profit of $10,000.
As a result of the department’s efforts, fourteen thousand acres of prairie land
were brought under cultivation by the Indians, while the Indians on the various
30 From INDIANS HELPING TO INCREASE CROPS. (1918, November 26). Montreal Gazette, p. 10.
26
reserves summer-fallowed over ten thousand acres. The area prepared for crop in this
one season is estimated by Mr. Graham as about four times as great as would have
been effected under ordinary conditions. The western Indians have now over twenty
thousand head of cattle.
Besides the work among the Indians, in the neighborhood of twelve thousand
acres were leased to white settlers and have been prepared and ready for seeding
next season. Over two hundred thousand acres have been leased for pasturage at a
rate profitable to the Indians and the department.
The following land is now ready for this coming season:
Greater production farms, 21,200 acres; broken by Indians, 14,000 acres;
broken by white men, 12,000 acres; summer-fallowed by Indians, 10,000 acres.
“A scorching attack”31 (February, 1919)
EDMONTON, Feb. 13. – A scorching attack on various departments of the
federal government was the feature of a lengthy address in the house today by Martin
Woolf, government member for Cardston, who […] attacked the federal department,
unnamed, which had permitted the leasing of huge tracts of land in the Blood Indian
reserve to certain individuals. […] He pointed out that the house had adopted
Opposition Leader George Hoadley’s resolution last year asking to withhold these
lands from homesteading until they could be made available for soldiers; as a result,
they were divided up among big cattlemen for grazing purposes. […] He read some of
the names [of the leaseholders] and their political pedigrees32: W. P. Smith, six
sections; W. H. Steen, four sections; Chris. Jensen, six sections; Ephraim Hart, four
sections; Marston Bros., four sections; Knight and Watson, who got a lease from
Gordon Ironsides and Fares for blanket privileges to graze 10,000 cattle on it during
the summer with the right to put up hay to carry them over the winter. […] One lease
for farming of 5,000 acres he knew was for five years.
“Over 300 head of horses have died”33 (April, 1920)
On the Blood reserve over 300 head of horses have died this winter, and at the
present time the Indian farmers are wondering how they will manage to put in their
crops this year. Many of the Indians are making a little money disposing of the hides
31 From Dominion Government Criticized for Leasing Blood Reserve Lands. (1919, February 14). The
Calgary Herald, p. 14.
32 “Mr. Conroy, a lessee of lands on the Hobbema reserves, has written that all the leases on the two
reserves there were given to opponents of the Dominion Government. Whatever may be the merits or
dements of the policy of grazing leases, which apparently are for short terms, it is reasonably clear
that the Department did not use them for purposes of party patronage. Whether the land is suitable
for farming for returned veterans, or anybody else, remains to be seen.” NOT USED FOR PARTY
PATRONAGE. (1919, March 14). The Red Deer Advocate, p. 4.
33 From BANK MANAGER IN MACLEOD IS MOVED. (1920, April 26). The Calgary Herald, p. 15.
27
of the animals; also they have been very busy catching and obtaining the skins of
beavers, lynx, muskrats and other furbearing animals which have been plentiful this
year, thereby making a living for the winter.
“Without asking the Indians”34 (April, 1921)
Grazing leases on the Blood Reserve will be continued throughout this year,
according to an announcement by Premier Meighen, in the Dominion house. […] In
1918 leases were first granted through the authority of an order-in-council, without
asking the Indians, but ample ground was left to support the animals of the Indians.
The leases can be terminated on six weeks notice in writing. The leases are granted
for one year only.
“Persecution, bad faith and chicanery”35 (May, 1921)
A remarkable story, containing allegations of persecution, bad faith and
chicanery by the government of Canada, in regard to the relations of this country
with the Indians of the Blood Reserve, is told by Mr. R. N. Wilson, of Standoff,
Alberta, who is in Ottawa on behalf of the Indians in an effort to get some of their
numerous wrongs redressed. Mr. Wilson describes himself as an Indian trader who
has known these Indians intimately for the past forty years. He was originally a
member of the R.N.W.M.P.36 when in 1881 he met his first Blood Indian. He was sent
in 1882 on duty to the Blood Reserve, where he learned to speak the language of those
Indians, and after securing his discharge from the force in 1884 opened up a general
trading store at Standoff, adjoining the reserve in southern Alberta, in which district
he has resided practically ever since, and always in business associations with the
Indians, more than thirteen years being spent in the Indian service of the
government, from which he resigned in 1911.
“I am merely a friend and neighbor of the Indians,” said Mr. Wilson when he
showed a Citizen representative a power of attorney from the head chief of the Blood
tribe and credential signed by two hundred Blood Indians, including all of the chiefs
and comprising two-thirds of the adult male residents of the reservation, authorizing
him to act for and represent them in urging their complaints upon the attention of
the government. […]
ADVENT OF HON. MR. MEIGHEN
In the course of the interview, sometimes quoting from a memorandum which
he has prepared in an effort to ventilate this subject, Wilson contended that the
34 From WILL CONTINUE GRAZING LEASES BLOOD RESERVE. (1921, April 14). The Macleod
Times, p. 1.
35 From Anonymous & Wilson, R. N. (1921, May 6). INDIANS OF THE BLOOD RESERVE MAKE
ALLEGATIONS OF SCANDALOUS TREATMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. The Ottawa Citizen, p.
17. Written by Robert Nathaniel Wilson (1863 – 1944), who served as an Indian agent on the Peigan
and Blood reserves from 1898 to 1911.
36 Royal North-West Mounted Police.
28
[Treaty] made by the Dominion government with the Blood Indians explicitly gives
the Indians the personal and exclusive use of their lands until and unless they
voluntarily surrender it, and that this was not questioned by any government of
Canada until Hon. Mr. Meighen became superintendent-general of Indian affairs in
1917. That year marked the abandonment by the Indian Department, at least as [far
as] the Blood reserve was concerned, of the traditional Canadian policy of Indian
administration, and it marked the end of the prosperity of the Blood Indians, who
from that time forward were not permitted to enjoy the peaceful possession of their
reserve as guaranteed to them by treaty.
The Bloods, who are one of the most important Indian tribes in Canada, were
the principal [stock] raising Indians of the Dominion, as well as being the second
[most notable] farming tribe in the country when in 1918 the department abandoned
its policy of advancing Indians on their reserve in favor of a policy of Indian reserve
excision in the interests of covetous white men. In February, 1918, during an official
campaign of pressure, the Blood Indians asked to vote on the proposed [sale of] about
30,000 acres of their reserve, a question which they had voted down in the preceding
[year]. By enrolling as voters a [group] of boys under age, by purchasing votes with
tribal funds and favors, and by intimidating Indians, a small majority in [favor] of
the land sale was shown, which was immediately protested by the head chief on the
grounds of bribery, intimidation and fraud.
COERCIVE MEASURES
“A few illustrations will show the dangers to which Indians are exposed when
a government official considers that it is ‘up to him’ to secure land from them by hook
or crook. The first measure taken to force the Indians to sell land was to stop the
development of their farming enterprise, to appropriate and use for other agency
purposes the funds upon which the farming extension was dependent, and to inform
the Indians that no more land would be broken up for new farms until they sold part
of the reserve. Thus in 1916 and 1917, when Western Canada was being ‘stumped’ by
public speakers urging greater production37 of grain, the Blood Indians, while they
had a good crop from their old land, were not permitted to respond to the greater
production appeal, though they had the land, machinery, horses, plenty of willing
men and the necessary capital to operate their traction breaking plow outfits. The
37 A concerted campaign by different levels of Canadian government that began during World War I:
“Co-operation of the provincial governments in the campaign for greater production was asked, on
behalf of the Dominion Government. […] The objects aimed at in the campaign for greater production
[…] may be defined as follows: To plant this spring every acre possible of wheat, oats, barley and rye.
To bring into cultivation every acre possible of new land for a crop in 1919. To increase cattle, hogs
and sheep to the greatest possible extent. To secure cultivation of gardens and vacant lots in town and
city, with a view to raising the maximum amount of vegetables, this purpose to be accomplished
through municipal or existing organizations in such a manner as will insure proper supervision. To
encourage every household in small towns and villages to raise one pig through the season, with a
view to utilizing all garbage for food. […] For achieving these objects […] Provincial Governments to
[…] undertake the work of ascertaining the form of assistance which may be required by their farmers,
in order to secure, in 1918, the breaking of a definite increased acreage of new land more than would
normally be broken for next year’s crop.” CO-OPERATION OF PROVINCES RESULT OF
CONFERENCE. (1918, February 18). The Montreal Gazette, p. 9.
29
irony of the predicament of the Blood Indians in 1917 will be appreciated upon
reading the closing paragraph38 on page 1049 Hansard of April 23rd, 1918, in which
Mr. Meighen says: ‘We would be only too glad to have the Indian use this land if he
would; production by him would be just as valuable as production by anybody else.
But he will not cultivate this land, and we want to cultivate it; that is all. We shall
not use it any longer than he shows a disinclination to cultivate the land himself.’
“The land surrender matter was constantly mixed up with other agency
business, Indian after Indian being made to understand that fair and ordinary
treatment at the hands of the department was dependent upon signing a pledge to
vote ‘Yea.’ For instance, one of the opposing faction, an honest, hardworking Indian,
was told: ‘If you come down here (to the agency) and vote against the surrender, your
family will starve next winter,’ while another opponent of the land sale was offered
an appointment of minor chief if he would change his vote from ‘Nay’ to ‘Yea,’ a minor
chief’s medal being held up before his eyes during the conversation.
“The ration house maintained on the reserve by the department for the double
purpose of assisting the destitute and providing a medium for the distribution of the
beef and flour of the self-supporting Indians, was during this period turned into a
vote-getting machine. Aged and infirm Indians who had for years been on the
department’s ‘permanently destitute’ list had their rations shut off entirely and were
forced to become beggars in order to live, while able-bodied Indians prominent among
the ‘land seller’ faction were to be seen carrying out of the ration house sacks of beef
heavier than they could handle without assistance.”
Mr. Wilson says that in this campaign of official duress, the charge was made
that trust monies belonging to non-assenting Indians were by the manipulation of
official agency records transferred to the credit of “land sale” supporters, thus
administering a punishment and a reward with the same pen stroke. “Implements
purchased with tribal funds and the property of the whole tribe were used to buy
surrender votes, and the agent’s power to assist his Indians with credit orders upon
merchants and dealers for vehicles, tents, machinery and the like, was used to a
remarkable extent in vote getting. Indians who would not consent to the land sale
were black-listed and systematically persecuted. Some of these with money on deposit
at the agency, derived from their personal earnings, were not permitted to withdraw
their money while they remained on the ‘wrong’ side of the controversy and,
contrariwise, other Indians who had no deposits whatever but were ‘right’ in the
official estimation were permitted to draw money at the agency as cash advances
against future earnings that were not even in sight. As agency cash on hand or in the
bank is almost entirely made up of balances from earnings held in trust for individual
Indians, the effect of the above discrimination was to give the ‘Yeas’ the use of the
‘Nays’’ money.
LANDS LEASED TO GOVERNMENT’S FRIENDS
“The immense power of the government, which on an Indian reservation is so
far-reaching, was during this period exercised to make miserable the lives of the
38 I have edited this quote to match the relevant passage on page 1049 of the Debates of the House of
Commons (Hansard) for April 23, 1918.
30
‘Nays’ and their families while the ‘Yeas’ basked in the sunshine of official favor. The
head chief, representing the true majority of the tribe, at once filed at Ottawa charges
of fraud, bribery and intimidation and requested the department not to accept the
surrender without an investigation of his charges, following which protest no further
action was taken by the department with the document, and it was not sent up to the
council for acceptance. While the Indians were awaiting a reply from the department
to the protest of their chief, they were astonished to see white men appearing on their
reserve with many thousands of sheep and claiming the right to do so under leases.
Then it developed that the government had peremptorily expropriated and leased out
the 90,000 acres which the Indians had so recently declined to sell, and in order to
give this arbitrary action a color of reasonableness the executive officers of the
department trumped up the utterly false charge that the Blood reserve was empty
and unutilized, in face of the fact, well known to them, that there were at that time
grazing on the reserve close on to 17,000 head of cattle and horses, belonging to the
Indians and an old leasing company that was paying them $10,000 per annum for
grazing rights.”
“The Blood reserve was already stocked to its average safe capacity for all the
year around grazing in that climate,” says Mr. Wilson, “and the issuing by the
department in 1918 of 38 additional grazing leases was an act either of wanton
recklessness of Indian rights or of deliberate intention to punish the Indians. If the
latter, it was certainly successful.”
Serious reflections are made by him upon the manner in which these leased
lands went into the hands of friends of the present government. “Contrary to Mr.
Meighen’s assurance to parliament,” he states, “that tenders would be called for ‘in
every case where there is time and circumstances permit,’ these leases were let
privately, though there was no reason for haste, unless it was a desire to get the land
into the hands of certain parties before the public generally knew anything about it.
Mr. Martin Woolf, the Liberal M.P.P. for Cardston, in an address in the Alberta
legislature that year, charged that the Blood reserve leases were made a political
matter of by the Dominion government, and [were] granted to his present and past
political opponents. The area covered by these grazing leases included the homes of
many Indians who were ordered to vacate in favor of the lessees, while others were
dispossessed of their fenced pasture fields. Hay lands used by many Indians, some
for 20 and 25 years, and upon which they depended for cattle feed and their own
living, were also handed over to the white lessees to be used by them as hay lands.”
“GREATER PRODUCTION”
Mr. Wilson describes vividly how the white lessees were allowed to impose
upon the Indians. “While the Indian cattle were kept off the white man’s land, the
white man’s cattle and sheep were allowed to graze on the Indian lands. The Indians
made strong protests in this connection to the Indian agent of the reserve, but could
get no satisfaction. On 16th February, 1918, an order-in-council was passed stating
that a special officer would take charge of greater production on Indian lands and
would make ‘proper arrangements with the Indians for the leasing of reserve land
which may be needed for grazing, for cultivation or for other purposes, and for the
31
compensation to be paid therefor.’ These duties were not performed with regard to
the 90,000 acres of leases, as no arrangement of any sort was proposed to or discussed
with the Blood Indians, who knew nothing of any intention to place sheep on their
reserve until the sheep were actually there in thousands, and those Indians who
resided within the area were ordered to vacate their homes in favor of government
lessees. As for compensation to the tribe for the lands so leased or to individual
Indians for losses sustained by the confiscation of their personal holdings, nothing of
the sort was proposed then, or has been during the three years that have since elapsed
with the confiscations in full force. When some of the Indians were expressing in
appropriate language their opinions of the lack of wisdom in crowding their cattle
range with sheep, and their indignation at the rough dispossession to which they were
being subjected, the agent sent an exaggerated report to Ottawa, causing the
government to fear that the Indians contemplated taking the law into their own
hands and expelling the invaders from the reserve, a measure which the Bloods, who
are a tractable people, had not even considered. In consequence of the report of the
agent, however, a higher officer of the department appeared upon the reserve with
three armed policemen and the belated information that the leases had been granted
as a war measure and would be maintained by force if necessary, to accentuate which
the head chief of the Bloods was told that ‘anyone who even objects to what is being
done on the Blood reserve or anyone who advises anyone else to object will be arrested
and persecuted,’ which was a considerable threat to make in support of a bunch of
predatory leases that were absolutely devoid of moral sanction and of doubtful
legality when written.
CALAMITOUS LOSSES
“Eighteen months of wholesale overstocking of the reserve had the inevitable
result of ruining the grass and hay. The local agent warned his superiors of this
condition in his May report and again in his report for June, but though there was a
six weeks’ cancellation clause in the leases, the lessees had too much pull and were
not to be molested. All warnings having failed to induce the government to cancel its
‘greater production’ leases and restore the reserve to the use of its Indian owners, at
the beginning of the winter of 1919-20 the sacrifice of the Indian cattle herd began.
Six hundred were sold for less than half their normal value, and practically lost to
their Indian owners owing to the failure of the officials who shipped them to take the
trouble to properly identify the brands on the animals. The individual cattle brands
of the Blood Indians are numerals, and at the time that these cattle were shipped the
brands were indistinguishable owing to the growth of winter hair, and could not be
accurately read by anyone without clipping on each animal the area of the brand,
which clipping was not done. The I.D. report for 1919-20 shows the sum of $20,463
from this sale as being held in a tribal account at Ottawa, where it apparently rests
yet owing to the fact that the real owners of the money are unknown. Another 400
head of Indian cattle crowded off their reserve by the ‘greater production’ leases were,
to save them from starvation, shipped by rail to the Stony reserve west of Calgary,
fed there until the following summer, when they were returned by rail, minus a
shortage of 150 head, to the Blood reserve, all this cost and loss being imposed upon
32
the unfortunate Bloods rather than disturb the ‘greater production’ lessees who had
within twelve months been permitted by the authorities to remove from the Blood
reserve thousands of tons of cattle feed, which under any system of fair dealing would
have been retained for the use and profit of the Indians.
“In 1919 the Blood Indians had 3,472 cattle; in the following spring the
survivors were counted and found to number about 1,200 which, after allowing for
the 1,000 sent away, left a heavy shortage that had starved to death on their reserve
from which the government had within the year allowed strangers, backed by the
police, to remove thousands of tons of fodder. Moreover, the Indians were forbidden
to skin animals that had died of starvation, though the hides were worth several
dollars each. The Indians believe that the government gave this order to conceal the
great losses suffered by Indian cattle through their feed being taken from them by
the white lessees.
“The losses were not confined to cattle. Throughout the forty years of their
occupation of the reserve, the Blood Indians wintered their horses of all classes by
grazing out on the open range, none being stabled except when in use. During this
winter of 1919-20, their horses died of starvation in such numbers that by spring no
less than 538 fatalities had been reported for record. A deplorable feature of this
phase of the calamity was the fact that the work horses were the heaviest sufferers,
a total of 454 work horses being reported dead of starvation. Some of the Indians who
were farmers lost all of their teams, while many had nothing left with which to either
ride, drive or work.
THE “FORTUNATE INDIAN”
“’The Indian is very fortunate,’ said Hon. Mr. Meighen in the house; ‘he has all
he had before and now, in addition, he has the rental for this land,’ to which the
Indian replies, ‘You have killed my cattle and my horses, by taking from me the grass
that I had before, and though three years have passed I have yet to see the first dollar
of the promised grazing rental.’
“A large sum of money was received by the department from the grazing
lessees, but it has been of no benefit to the Indians as it was kept in a general fund
and was mostly wasted by the government in fruitless efforts to repair the damage
caused by the ill-advised leases. A reading of the somewhat elaborately camouflaged
33
account in the auditor general’s report for 1919-20, pp. I-13739 and I-18340, will show
that $58,807 was expended for cattle management, mainly on imported baled hay,
when $15,000 would have been ample had there been no G. P. leases.
“Of their 66 pure-bred bulls, 35 were sacrificed in a sale at 5c or 5 1-4 cents per
pound, and 22 of the high-priced animals were allowed to starve to death. One
valuable bull was sold for $50 to someone under a fictitious name and reported as
‘old,’ while he in reality was a young animal quite recently purchased for $300.
THE CARDSTON LEASE AFFAIR
“The only ‘greater production’ leasing scheme submitted to the Blood Indians
for their consent was a proposition that the government be permitted to lease to white
men for farming purposes, for a period of five years, a block of about 10 sections of
land (about 6,000 acres) close to the town of Cardston. As this 10-section farming
lease was presented to the Indians as a patriotic measure, it was assented to by a
large majority led by the head chief, who had opposed the out and out sale of reserve
lands. The two conditions then voted upon of particular interest to the Indians were:
(1) That all rental proceeds of the lease should be paid to the Indians in per capita
distribution of cash; and (2) that all straw grown the leased land should become the
property of the Indians for the feeding of their own cattle. After the said 10 sections
had been leased by the department to white farmers, and the agent had advised the
Indians that the rentals therefrom would bring them during the term of the lease
annual per capita payments of about $24, it was arranged that the department should
distribute $6 per capita on account. This payments was made on the 30th May, 1918,
but before receiving the money the Indians were unexpectedly required to sign a
paper which was not explained to them. Some thought that it was a receipt for the
$6, but all signed because they were informed by the agent that unless they did so
the money would be sent back to Ottawa and no payment made until another year.
At the conclusion of the payment, the head chief, who does not speak or read English,
was handed a copy of the paper which they had signed, and upon taking this away
for translation it then became known for the first time that they had signed another
farming lease of a quite different character, cancelling the first one, taking from the
Indians the straw and changing the $6 payment on account into a payment in full.
39 The entry for “Haying operations, etc.” of the Blood Indians of Alberta, on this page, totals $31,000
and consists of the following: “hay, 3,220·114 tons, $34,107.70, no quantity stated, $1,271.30; royalty
on hay, 114¼ tons at $2; straw, 367·916 tons, $2,787.70; green feed, 510·78 tons, $11,160.33; oil cake,
30 tons, $2,220; rebuilt hay press, $400; baling wire, 6,835 lb., $516.80; baling hay, 1,516·64 tons
$6,049.71; baling straw, 27·175 tons, $122.28; weighing, $152.70; stacking, $379.50; wages of men
baling, at $2, $2.50 and $3 a day, $4,602.34; hauling feed, $2,375; sundry labour, $554.03; rider, 79½
d., $159; rent of quarters for crew, 5 m., $50; fuel, $97.60; board and provisions for men, $2,041.46;
travel and outlay of men, $277.66; stabling, horse feed, etc., $347.70; skinning dead animals, $17.50;
fencing stacks, $48; freight, $1,960.92; demurrage, $6; postage, $12.50; telephone tolls and telegrams,
$44.30; hardware, supplies and repairs, $247.85; various items, $254.48; advertising for hay, $1.50;
interest on bank overdrafts, $303.90, dipping 417 head cattle at 50 cts., brand inspection, $50, feed,
$159, board of men, $57.90, insurance, $2, sundry labour, $12; total, $73,885.16; less charged as
follows: – 1920-21, $755.24, Acct. 442, Blood Ranch Acct., $17,400”.
40 One interesting line item from the Blood Ranch Account detailed on this page: “Grazing dues, Gordon
Ironside Fares Co., $10,000; hides sold, $3,000.10”.
34
An important point is that this loss of straw produced on several thousand acres of
the lessees’ crop was a contributing cause of the disaster which overtook the Blood
Indian cattle.
“After being deprived of 75 per cent. or 80 per cent. of their benefits from this
10-section farming lease by the substitution of one legal document for another, the
victims expected prompt and full payment of that little which was left to them, the
annual $6 per capita, promised in the name of the King to be paid on or about the
first of April, but the western officials of the department held back the payment for
five weeks in each of the years 1919 and 1920 to enable a government employee armed
with a rifle to traverse the reserve and observe the consent of each dog owner, under
a threat of shooting his or her dog, to the deduction of dog taxes from the said $6.
“The Indians requested the government to discard the document that was
substituted and to settle with them according to the original and only legal one, but
the government made no response to their appeal.
SEIZURE OF MONEYS
“The Indians complain that in September, 1918, the year before the principal
calamity, the executive officers of the department gathered up on the Blood reserve
and sold a mixed lot of Indian cattle, including three-year-old steers, two-year-old
steers and young breeding cows, the orders being to ‘take everything that is fat.’ For
these cattle the authorities received more than $40,000, the steers in the shipment
being sold for $168 each, at the then price of about 14c per pound live weight. Blood
Indians, whose private property these cattle were, have not been able to secure an
accounting of the $40,000. The owners were bluntly informed that the ‘Indian share’
would be $50 a head, and after a delay of about six months, credits on that basis were
carried to some of their accounts. They subsequently learned that about $20,000 of
these personal Indian funds had been taken and reinvested in other cattle which
were, after long being fed with hay, in turn sold for about $20 a head less than they
had cost in the first place, the loss from this absolutely unwarranted speculation with
trust monies falling upon the Blood Indians. Another lot of Blood Indians’ cattle were
sold for about $15,000 by the executive officers of the department, and of this sum
but $2,000 or 43,000 was credited to the accounts of the Indians who owned the
money, and no explanation given of the balance, though the Indians learned
indirectly that the greater part of the funds had been used to buy cattle, concerning
the branding or disposal of which no information was available.
“Thousands of dollars of personal Indian income derived from beef and grain
sales and on deposit at the agency in trust for them individually were peremptorily
seized for the ostensible purpose of reinvestment in breeding cattle. Protests of the
Indians against this unjustifiable use of their private moneys were repeatedly made,
but were met with the statement that it was the order of the government and must
be obeyed. Some Indians objected that they already had enough cattle, others that
they wanted to handle their own money, but protests availed nothing and the cash
was arbitrarily deducted from their accounts in single amounts of $300 and more, the
total running into thousands of dollars which, after repeated appeals to the
35
government for adjustment, are still outstanding. The laws of Canada seem to provide
no method by which Indians can, as a matter of right, secure a hearing of such claims.
SURRENDER AGAIN DEMANDED
“While continuing to avoid discussion of the memorial with the Indians, the
government informed them last fall that the only way by which they could free
themselves of their misfortunes would be to surrender part of their reserve, from
which it was inferred that the 90,000 acres would be kept from them until they did
so, and that reparation, if made, would be from the proceeds of their own land. This
announcement was followed during the recent winter by the usual preparatory
campaign, in which the Indians were made to feel the pangs of hunger, while the
many thousands of dollars of their confiscated and misappropriated funds were still
withheld from them. At the end of last month, the finances of the Indians being at
about the lowest point in the year, it was considered that the propitious moment had
arrived for another attack on their land holdings, so the Indian commissioner
appeared, accompanied, it is reported, by a force of twenty Mounted Policemen, to
record the vote, but the Indians, to their credit, refused to be intimidated by the great
display of armed force and voted down the proposition, according to the report, by 144
votes to 99, a majority against the land sale, which would seem to be an appropriate
response to the ‘strong-arm’ business methods of a misguided Indian administration.”
“Be wise and persevere”41 (August, 1921)
“Mokokit-ki-aekakimat – be wise and persevere,” advised old Head Chief
Ermine Horses, as he concluded a pow-wow among his people, the Blood Indians, a
few years ago. Such pointed phrasing as this might reasonably be expected to have
come from the pen of Ralph Waldo Emerson, or from our contemporary essayist,
Orison Swett Marden; but paradoxically enough, it is but a commonplace quotation
from the many wise sayings among the Bloods. No old Indian of this tribe ever
concludes a speech without this entreaty, “mokokit-ki-aekakimat.” Hence it is not to
be wondered that the Bloods have attained the distinction of being the most
progressive, the most industrious and the most independent tribe of Indians in
Alberta, and perhaps, in the entire northwest.
Numbering eleven hundred and fifty individuals, the Bloods occupy a reserve
in Southern Alberta five hundred and ten square miles in extent, or an area one-half
the size of Holland. If the Blackfoot, Piegan and Sarcee reservations were to be placed
on the Blood reserve, a 50,000 acre calf pasture would be left over. Of this vast area,
hundreds of thousands of acres are under cultivation by the Indians themselves, and
a few thousand acres are leased to outsiders for grazing or grain-growing purposes.
Many will wonder how the Bloods have been able to hold on to this large tract
of land against the periodic “opening-ups” which have been instituted by the
government in recent years. But after visiting the Bloods, going over every foot of
41 From Long Lance, S. C. (1921, August 27). Blood Indians are Most Independent and Hold Their
Reserve Intact. The Calgary Herald, p. 20. Written by Sylvester Clark “Buffalo Child” Long Lance
(1891 – 1932).
36
their reserve and mingling with them for several days, the writer confidently
concluded that this successful tenure was consequent solely upon “being wise and
persevering.” The Bloods, unlike some tribes, have not received much individual aid
from the government, with regard to having houses built for them and being provided
with individual sets of farm implements and team; but they have attained to the same
degree of development through their own personal efforts, which betrays a desirable
trait of character not by any means common to all tribes of Indians. This peculiar
trait is independence. The Bloods are independent to an extreme degree; and it is this
wise, persevering independence that has enabled them to hold on to their domains,
while most other Indians have conceded large strips of their territory to be opened up
by the government.
The Bloods seem to have ideas of their own when it comes to land values, and
in spite of the fact that negotiations have been, and are still being carried on between
them and the Dominion government to the end that a certain portion of their reserve
might be opened up for settlement, they have always found a pound of flesh lacking
somewhere in the bargain and have tenaciously maintained their side of the
argument to the last detail, with the result that they still hold their land as it was
granted to them in the treaty of ’77.
In spite of the fact that the Bloods are identically the same tribe of Indians as
the Blackfeet, and, really speaking, are, like the Piegans, only a band of that tribe
that happened to be on their present location when peace was established and the
treaty of 1877 was signed, they, nevertheless, seem to have acquired a desirable kick
in their make-up that is not enjoyed to the same degree by their two brother bands.
The younger Bloods appreciate the value of education more than any other tribe in
the west, and are actually aggressive in clamoring for more knowledge. This is indeed
strange for Western Canadian Indians, who in the main eye the white man’s book-
learning with something resembling suspicion.
“Give us an advanced education. We need a new school with modern
conveniences. What the United States can do with their Indians, I am sure Canada
can do the same, and better, with hers.” Thus spoke Mike Mountain Horse, son of the
chief of the Bloods, at the 1921 reunion of the Old Boys’ Association, of the St. Paul’s
Blood Indian school.
Joe Beebee, another old boy, told how one Indian had graduated in the United
States as a lawyer; one had been elected a senator and many held high positions, to
which Emile Bull Shields, an ex-student, replied:
“We, too, are beginning to see daylight; we know a little what to do; in the early
days we never tried; we used to make funny remarks about the missionary, but today
we listen to him and learn from him.”
The Blood views with ironical humor the feathered nests that most Indians
like to wallow in, under the protecting wings of the government; as will be gleaned
from the following poem written by Joe Beebee and recited to the amusement of his
fellow comrades at one of the students’ reunions:
37
“Oh, I wish I was an Indian
With a tall and graceful form,
A Hudson’s Bay white blanket
To shield me from the storm.
I wish I was a Siwash,
A Blackfeet or [a] Plute,
Instead of being a white man,
An unprotected brute.”
The Blood legend telling of how they and the Piegans happened to band off
from the parent Blackfeet tribe and become separate tribal units, runs as follows:
Back in the past there lived a chief with three sons, each the leader of a clan
of the tribe. The Indiasn were passing through an extremely hard year and found it
practically impossible to secure enough meat to keep them from starving. The chief
called in his three sons and told one of them to take his band and go west, another to
go south and a third to go east, and not return until they had killed enough game to
keep the tribe from perishing. The sons gathered their bands and went their ways as
instructed, covering hundreds of miles of territory. During their wanderings, each of
them discovered a particular hunting ground that suited him best, bagged their game
and returned with their spoils. The father, upon noticing that the soles of the
moccasins of one band were covered with black, called them Blackfeet. A second band,
having acquired a bloodthirsty nature during their encounters with other strange
tribes, were called the Kai-Nais, or Bloods. However, the manner in which the
Piegans derived their name is not clearly related.
It is known that the bands returned to their respective hunting grounds and
remained there roaming over wide-given areas until the treaty of ’77, when the
government stopped them where they were and said to each of them: “You remain
where you are, on so many acres of land in this vicinity, bounded by so-and-so.” Thus
the Blackfeet were placed on their reserve stretching from Namaka to Bassano; the
Bloods on a strip running from Cardston to slightly above Macleod; and the Piegans,
on a square section of land embracing about six townships and lying between the
Blood reserve and Pincher Creek.
One of the greatest forces for good among the Blood Indians is the St. Paul’s
school, which is conducted under the supervision of Principal Rev. S. H. Middleton,
and run under the auspices of the Anglican church. […] Rev. Middleton is remarkably
progressive in his educational work. Ever on the alert for new ideas from the larger
Indian schools in the United States, he collects important facts from all over the
continent, weeds out the dross and assimilates the better points in his own
institution. He keeps himself in close touch with everything Indian, with the result
that his knowledge of the red man, his ways and his peculiarities has widened into a
philosophy. […]
The school is situated on the west bank of the Belly river, so named after the
Indian, Mo-ko-wa-ni, about 15 miles southeast of Macleod, and immediately across
the river from the agency buildings. It is able to accommodate 60 pupils and the
38
necessary staff, but the buildings are far from being adequate for school purposes –
or for that matter, any purposes of human habitation. They are antiquated remnants
of the old log huts that were used in the old days, covered with boarding and painted
white, and although they do not present an unpleasant appearance from a distance,
their immediate appearance and interiors are woefully ramshackled and deteriorated
beyond repair. Many of the floors are actually bulged up by the pressing earth
beneath; in consequence of the settling of the buildings, and the lines of the exterior
sag pitifully with age.
However, preparations are now on foot to erect one of the finest schools in all
Canada for the Blood and Piegan Indians, but considerable disagreement exists with
regard to the most suitable location of the proposed institution. Some would like to
have the school farther up the river in the neighborhood of the present Catholic
school, and the reserve hospital, others would have it situated closer to the Piegan
reserve, and a further portion of those who have a say in the matter would rather see
the new system of building erected on the present school site, which, it must be
admitted, seems to be topographically the best location on the reserve. However, if
the agency should be moved farther west in pace with growing tendency of the Indians
to move west, the natural geographic location of the new school would be farther west.
The more favorable character of the soil in the western portion of the reserve
is causing more Indians to move their homes every year, and already the majority of
the Bloods reside west of the agency, the vicinity of which is becoming rather isolated.
A drive from the agency through the western portion of the reserve takes one
past scores of excellent crops, farm houses and horse and cattle ranches, all of which
are owned and operated by the Bloods. The Indians were haying when the writer
visited the reserve, and hundreds of them, old and young, could be seen working
silently on immense stacks of the golden stems, mowing and cutting, or turning the
summer fallow. They were “haying” about 50 tons every day, said Agent Faunt.
So striking was the appearance of one golden field of rye along the route
through the reserve, the writer requested that the car should be stopped for a closer
examination. Here, he saw what was undoubtedly one of the best crops of rye in the
whole of Alberta if not the ace of the 1921 yield. Although harvesting was a few weeks
off yet, the mingled green and gold stalks reached well into an ordinary man’s chest.
This wonderful crop had been grown in the face of the drought that has prevailed all
summer in the southern part of the province.
Charlie Pace’s camp and horse ranch could be seen in the distance, and when
his herd was finally passed, it was surprising to notice that most of the horses were
of the larger type and that although the herd contained a few pintos, there were none
of the ordinary cayuses, so commonly owned by Indians present. This fact was
remarked upon by the writer, which brought forth from the agent the information
that the majority of the Indians refused to have anything to do with cayuses; they
would not allow any to be brought on the reserve and when they picked their horses
they invariably chose the larger type.
39
A little farther on another productive looking farm was passed, and the writer
was soon to learn that this belonged to Jim Three Persons, the champion bucking-
horse rider of the world, who had turned from saddle horses to the plow.
The greater production farm started by the government during the war was
still being run full blast; but now by the Indians and for the Indians. The grain raised
on the farm is sold and the proceeds are used for starting new farmers. Six new
farmers had already been given their starts this year, explained the agent.
The Bloods, not having surrendered any of their land to be sold for tribal funds,
do not possess the tribal wealth enjoyed by the Blackfeet, nor the lease money
accruing to the Sarcees. Therefore, there is not yet any systematized way of providing
new farmers with homes and complete farming outfits. Although many of the Bloods
have established themselves on farms by dint almost solely of their own efforts, the
agent always finds practical means of providing the more promising young men with
sufficient equipment with which to begin their farming career – and the above is one
of the methods now being employed.
The graduates of the St. Paul’s school make the best farmers, said the agent;
as their training at the school peculiarly fitted them for the work. Not only had they
gained a good elemental knowledge of farming at the school, but they had also
acquired something of even greater importance; a sense of self-discipline which
taught them necessity for personal effort and work. Further, the girls had learned
the essentials of domestic cleanliness while at school and they were, therefore, able
materially to help their husbands by devoting strict attention to the home, which was
a prominent factor in successful farming. This might be considered a flattering
tribute to Mr. Middleton and his staff of co-workers.
Having traveled from 10 o’clock in the morning until 6 that evening through
70 miles of the reserve, the writer was driven into Waterton Lakes park just as the
sun was making a forced retirement behind the higher peaks of the Rockies. A
beautiful little camp composed of the older girls from St. Paul’s school and Rev.
Middleton’s and Agent Faunt’s families, had brought the party to this out-of-the-way
lake valley in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. St. Paul’s had closed for two months
during the summer, and these girls, ranging all the way from 10 to 18 years of age,
had been brought out to this garden spot that they might remain under the influence
of the school atmosphere and not be retarded by contact with tepee life during their
vacation.
They were, indeed, a happy looking lot, and well should they have been; for
they were provided everything that the modern white child enjoys at summer resorts.
Boating, mountain climbing, games and, at night, sing-songs around tbe blazing
camp fires, were among the scores of diversions at their disposal. This summer camp
is a permanent institution of the St. Paul’s school, which has acquired through the
efforts of Rev. Middleton, six lots at the lower end of the park, on which tehre have
been erected two bungalows – one for the girls and one for his family.
It the people of the world could have seen this group of dusky daughters of the
plains, not yet one generation away from savagery, seated around a big log camp fire
that night, singing “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary,” and many of the latter songs,
40
the words of which even the writer does not know, they would have been everlastingly
impressed. Like all Indian girls, they are [a] very shy and non-committal lot, and by
one not acquainted with Indians, it could easily have been presumed that they could
not speak a word of English, judging from the silence with which they would possess
themselves as they flitted past the main cottage, making their way to and from the
river below. […]
Later on in the night, as the writer sat in the dark, screened verandah of Rev.
Middleton’s bungalow, […] he heard a low, sonorous strain of music coming from the
Indian girls’ bungalow, a few feet away. It swelled and died away against the rocks
on the far side of the lake.
“What is that?” he inquired of the Rev. Middleton, who was engaged in laying
out his camp clothes inside the bungalow. “Oh, that’s the girls singing Vespers before
retiring. They always say their prayers and sing their vespers before going to bed, no
matter whether any of the instructors are around or not.” (“Well,” soliloquized the
writer under his breath, “I wonder how many white children are so true to the
principles of their school, when they are away on their summer vacations?”)
In an ancient Indian tepee, an old-time Indian sits,
With his little grandchild resting by his side,
The boy asks his grandsire why must he go to school
And ‘neath the white man’s rule for years abide
The old chief’s face grows serious, but silently he smokes,
And says in language simple, sweet and mild:
“The old-time days are over, the buffaloes are gone;
No more will Indians hunt them o’er the plains,
The great and boundless prairies,
With their rolling hills and dales,
Are now bound fast in civilization’s chains.
“No more shall we roam the country, with no one to deny
Or tell us where and when we are to go;
The white brother’s laws and customs
Have engulfed us in their clasp
And the Indians’ days are passing sure but slow.
“No more shall we fight our battles, or count the scalps we won,
(The old chief’s hand strays fondly to his belt);
No more we’ll kill the beaver or the gaunt grey timber wolf,
Or treasure up the handsome weasel pelt;
Those days are passing, passing;
We live ‘neath white man’s laws,
And, therefore, you must learn the white man’s ways–
It’s wisdom that will count in future days.
41
And that is just the reason why you must go to school,
And let the white chief teach you all he can;
Mokokit-ki-sekakimat – be wise and persevere,
And they’ll say with pride:
‘There’s one grand Indian,
Hie, hie, hie, hie, h-i-e!’”
Unfortunately, all of the older Indians do not look upon the school in the
favorable light conveyed in the above roughly constructed lines. The attitude
displayed by the dissenters whose children are taken from them is that of a
benefactor. This minority still claims that by placing a child in school he is conferring
a great favor on the principal. However, such cases are few and far between among
the Bloods today, states Rev. Middleton; and the maturing of the coming generation
will render them still less frequent.
Being an offshoot of the Blackfoot tribe, the Blood Indians’ chief dance is the
sun dance. In the old days this dance, which lasted for two or three weeks, was
attended with much bloodshed, and for that reason has been so discouraged by the
government that it is much tamer and much less frequently held now than formerly.
However, the Indians insist that they should be allowed to hold it at least once a year,
which is usually acquiesced in by the government officials and the Mounted Police;
for, as the Indians do not know how to perform our modern dances, it is practically
the only diversion they have.
The sun dance, which is centred in the medicine lodge, is the great festival of
the year; a time of happy meetings, feasting and the exchange of presents. It is a
deeply religious affair, and its execution is taken mor seriously than any of the rites
of the white man’s church. And this is not to be wondered at, when the awful pain
and suffering, and sometimes death, which attended the dance in its original form, is
taken into consideration. In times of stress – when a relative lay at the point of death,
or when a warrior was facing a dangerous operation – he would make a vow for the
medicine lodge that if the outcome should be successful or if his relative should
recover, he would undergo severe physical torture in the sun dance. This was usually
accomplished by inserting leather thongs into one’s hide, tying the other end to a pole
and working upon it until the flesh gave away and freed the dancer.
The vow for the medicine lodge must always be taken by a good woman.
Extremely fortunate is the woman who is chosen to preside over the medicine lodge,
for she is considered by her tribesmen to be the purest woman among them. When
the vow is made to her, she offers up a prayer to the sun, and in case of the fulfilment
of the prayer, she builds a medicine lodge, in which the vow must be carried out by
the petitioner.
About the time the berries ripen the tribe comes together and [members] pitch
their tepees in a great circle, and in the centre the medicine lodge is built. In the old
days the ceremony usually lasted four days and four nights, during which the person
who had taken the vow would neither eat nor drink, except once in sacrifice. But all
42
during this time he would dance frantically around the pole in an endeavor to break
away the strips of flesh which held the rawhide thongs in his chest.
Several ideas prevail among the Indians as to the origin of the medicine lodge.
Some say that it was designated by the Great Spirit as an everlasting feast42 unto
him, and others interweave an ancient romance between a disfigured warrior and a
beautiful maiden into the story depicting its origin.
In the latter derivation it is related that way back into the past there lived a
poor young brave with no parents and with an ugly scar across his face, for which
reasons the Indians called him “Ukski,” or “Scar Face.” His appearance, coupled with
his extreme poverty, made him the butt of all jokes and he was taunted everywhere
he went. There lived at the same time a beautiful girl, the daughter of a chief. Every
handsome young buck wanted to marry her, but she refused them all, claiming that
the sun had forbidden her to marry, as she was the daughter of the sun.
Scar Face, determining to make an end of the disgraces which had been heaped
upon him since his boyhood, resolved to ask the beautiful sun girl to marry him, and
thus give little reason for being considered unfortunate by his fellow tribesmen. When
proposed to, the sun girl replied that she would marry him under the condition that
he should go to the sun and ask his permission, and at the same time have him
remove the scar from his face.
The legend bears considerable detail of Scar Face’s journey to the sun and how
he gained the good graces and gratitude of the celestial body by saving his son, the
North Star, from drowning in the great waters. But the meat of it relates that the
sun informed him that it was the lord of all that the eye could see on the earth, and
told him that the sign by which all of his, the Sun’s people, were known, was the
medicine lodge. “Go back,” said the Sun, “and if any of your people are sick or about
to die, promise to build a medicine lodge if the person recovers. The lodge shall be
built like the world, round, with arched sticks, one-half to be painted red for me, and
the other half black, for the moon.”
The Sun then rubbed some medicine on the young man’s face and the scar
disappeared. He then gave Scar Face two crow feathers and said that they would be
the sign of the girl he was giving him, and that they were always to be worn by the
husband who took the vow for the sun dance. The rubbing of the medicine on the face
of the dancers is always carried out before a dance, as everyone who has witnessed
the festival knows.
The making of the braves is always carried out in the sun dance, and in the old
days they went through the above described tortures to show that they were worthy
of the order of the brave.
The Blood Indians of today do not, of course, carry out the tortures attending
the old sun dances, but they hold them in a milder form. They have a special place
provided for their different dances, which is not interfered with by officials of the
reserve; as it is recognized that, without the white man’s many diversions to make
life worth living, the red man must have some means of his own for getting rid of his
excess energy.
42 The original has ‘least’ here.
43
Rev. Middleton aims gradually to replace these dances by teaching the younger
Indains the modern steps, and he believes that once a sufficient number have learned
to waltz and perform the other dances they will prefer them to their own. While at
Waterton Lakes, he and Mrs. Middleton escorted the girls to the dancing pavilion
occasionally to give them an opportunity of catching on to the white man’s dances, by
observation. Like all other Indians, the Bloods are good mimics, he said, laughingly,
and they would be practicing these dances no sooner than they had got away to
themselves.
Socials are held at the school every Friday evening, and he intends very shortly
to add a period of dancing to this evening’s programme of entertainment.
One place of merit on the Blood reserve, left unmentioned so far, is the reserve
hospital, run by the agency under the supervision of the Catholic church. This
institution is a model of efficiency and cleanliness, and devotes special attention to
the lying-in ward, where the Indian women undergo child birth, and at the same time
are taught the principles of midwifery and the necessity for sanitation in this respect.
The Catholic school is situated just across the road from the hospital.
In closing this article it is right to state that no little of the progress being made
by the Bloods is due to the efforts of the two very practical men who look after the
business, educational and spiritual sides of their affairs. Rev. Middleton and Agent
Fount are both young men with progressive ideas peculiarly fitting them for the
positions which they hold. Mr. Faunt has been with the Bloods about six years, during
which time he has brought about several vital improvements in their well-being. He
has done much to teach the less scrupulous Indians the value of money and of the
chattels and properties which they hold. Instead of having the cattle branded [as
government property], as has been the practice in the past, he is now giving each
Indian his quota of cattle to breed, care for and sell, which is calculated to bring out
more individuality on the part of the ranchers.
Rev. Middleton is assisted at St. Paul’s school by a very competent instructor,
J. R. Heron, and a staff of teachers and instructors composed of L. Wood, Miss
Stapleton, Miss Wilkins and Miss Wood.
The Bloods, with their huge reserve, their usually good health and their
invincible spirit of independence, might easily be called the aristocracy of the Indians
of Western Canada. They are overcoming the shock of civilization in a remarkable
manner, and with no apparent present decrease in their number, they should be able
to hold their own among the civilized forces of the future with comparative ease.
44
Moving the Blood Agency43 (May, 1923)
Residents of Macleod are up in arms over the rumour current here that the
new $100,000 Indian school on the Blood Reserve is to be built at a point three miles
from Cardston and that the Blood Agency buildings are to be at an early date moved
across the reserve to a point within seven miles of Cardston. People of this town and
district are naturally asking what advantages are to accrue to the agency or the
Indians by reason of the proposed moving of the agency site – especially in view of
the fact that the majority of the reserve’s population is resident on tilled44 lands west
and south-west of the present agency site and much nearer it than they would be to
the proposed new location near Cardston. It would be of interest locally if a definite
reason could be figured out to justify the expense45 of moving the present agency when
it would appear this expense could be obviated by building the new school at a point
near the agency as now located and contiguous to St. Paul’s Mission and the Roman
Catholic Mission, both of which have been powers for good in Indian Education – why
would not the continuance of the community as now established and with the addition
of the new school be perfectly satisfactory and do away with much expense in moving
– Why?
“The new Anglican boarding school”46 (August, 1924)
The new Anglican Indian boarding school on the south end of the Blood Indian
reservation is now nearing completion, and will be one of the most up-to-date
equipped colleges in Western Canada. It is a large red-bricked edifice of rectangular
type, with three floors and accommodation for one hundred and fifty pupils and a
staff of sixteen. The building is modern in every way, with hot and cold water, electric
light, steam heat, shower baths and other latter day improvements. There is a big
auditorium, where meetings, concerts and other gatherings will be held. One of the
features of the new school will be the gymnasium, which, when completed, will be one
of the finest in Canada. The school will be named after the old Indian mission on the
43 From WHY MOVE THE BLOOD AGENCY. (1923, May 31). The Macleod Times, p. 2.
44 “The Indians on the Blood Reserve, under Indian Agent Faunt, have magnificent crops, and
threshing operations are being carried on there. They have their own machinery, which is being paid
for out of the proceeds of the Blood Reserve farms. A number of Indians have private fields of grain
which are threshed by the reserve outfit, the cost of same being borne by the individual. Mr. Faunt
states that this year’s output will break all records for production on the Blood Reserve.” FINE CROPS
ARE BEING THRESHED. (1923, September 21). The Calgary Herald, p. 24.
45 “Bennett-White Construction Co., of Calgary, announced Friday afternoon that the company had
just been awarded two contracts in the province, amounting in all to $67,000. One is for the erection
of a group of agency buildings at the Blood Indian reserve near Cardston at a cost of $27,000.”
AGENCY BUILDING WILL BE ERECTED AT BLOOD RESERVE. (1923, September 29). The
Calgary Herald, p. 14.
46 From NEARLY FINISH INDIAN SCHOOL BLOOD RESERVE (1924, August 28). The Calgary
Herald, p. 11.
45
north end of the reserve, St. Paul’s, with Rev. S. Middleton, B.A., noted Indian
educationist, as principal.
The boys will be fully instructed in farming of every description, as there will
be a large experimental farm attached to the school, which will be managed by
competent farm instructors. Already many hundred acres have been summer-
fallowed and a large acreage put into wheat this spring, which will soon be ready for
harvesting.
The girl pupils will be given a full course in housekeeping and domestic science
by a staff of fully qualified teachers. The pupils will receive a complete course in
education up to Grades 10 and 12.
The new edifice is situated within about four miles of Cardston, and is
attracting a large number of tourists, as it is only a short distance from the main trail
to Waterton Lakes. The building will be completed this year, and arrangements are
already made for occupation in the next few months.
“The best satisfied and most prosperous citizens”47 (January, 1925)
Five or six years ago the eleven or twelve hundred Indians of the Blood reserve
in Southern Alberta were causing the department of Indian affairs all sorts of trouble.
They were discontented with their conditions, had apparently lost all faith in the
officials of the department, and were about ready to go on the war path. Now,
according to a report received by the department, summarizing results of the last two
or three years of most successful farming operations48 under the direction of the
Indian commissioner, W. M. Graham, the reserve contains some hundreds of the best
satisfied and most prosperous citizens of the Dominion. It is one of the most thriving
communities in Southern Alberta.
“Excellent work is being done”49 (June, 1925)
Indians on the Blood Reserve are breaking considerable new land this season,
from 1,500 to 2,000 acres. In most cases excellent work is being done. In fact, most
whites could profitably emulate methods used by the Indians, who, under intelligent
supervision, are raising good crops.
Certainly no exception can be taken to Indian Agent Faunt’s contention that
the sooner all the Indians get into the farming game, the better for all concerned.
Tom Three Persons, famous as a rider of the wild and woolly bronc, has proved
beyond doubt that he can ride a bucking plow as well as a bucking horse. He is today,
perhaps, one of the largest individual farmers on the Reserve, with his 150 acres into
crop and about 100 acres of summer fallow.
47 From Indians Farm Successfully. (1925, January 28). The Oyen News, p. 5.
48 “On the Blood Reserve the Indians have been moved to the southern area to secure the benefit of
better soil. During the past two years these Indians have spent over $100,000 in additional
equipment.” PROGRESS OF THE RED MAN. (1925, April 1). The Red Deer News, p. 2.
49 From HEAP RICH INDIAN. (1925, June 25). The Macleod Times, p. 4.
46
Joe Bull Shield is a close second, however, if not on a par with Tom. That Joe
is trying to make good use of the profits from his 6,300 bushels of wheat, raised last
year, is evident. He is building a barn and a good house on his place at farm four.
As he glides by in his Wyllis-Knight sedan, with the engine purring like a cat
before an open fire on a winter night, it causes one to reflect upon the advancement
made by the Indians in the last quarter century.
“They are becoming real citizens”50 (July, 1925)
A journey from Cardston across the Blood Indian Reserve, reveals the most
splendid country in Alberta, or in Canada for that matter, in passing over this
wonderful tract of land, which is a veritable wonderland. The Blood Indians bid fair
to become the richest people on the face of the earth. If as the Duke of Argyle wrote,
in that splendid “Dominion Hymn,” “Our sires, – won, with master hand, far more
than gold in Mountains – the Glorious prairie land,” there was one corner of it they
were kind enough to leave to the original owners, and these Blood Indians are reaping
the full benefit.
But the outstanding feature of the ride across the Reserve, is not the waving
fields of luxuriant grain, nor the big herds of fat cattle, nor the vast numbers of
excellent horses, both saddle and work animals of the best types, but it is the
imposing spectacle of St. Paul’s Residential School at the side of the road as one leaves
the town of Cardston, and then to pass on a mile or so more and again come into view
of another vast structure being built in like manner as St. Paul’s, the new Roman
Catholic school near the Agency Buildings.
This splendid new R. C. school is now going up rapidly and typifies the progress
being made by the Indians in that department of life, the intellectual, which is worth
more than gold or even the “glorious prairie land.” This second new school on the
borders of the town of Cardston will be a credit to the Indians, and will, with St.
Paul’s, provide ample accommodation for the entire child population of the Reserve.
A visit to the Reserve, too, is an education nowadays. The conversation with
the Indians themselves is enlightening. They are becoming real citizens, and it is a
very unusual thing to find a young Indian unable to converse in English.
“Infamous legislation”51 (June, 1920)
Mr. Owen Wister52, the distinguished American writer, in his latest and timely
volume on British-American relations, states that America’s blackest page in history
is her treatment of the R—– Indians. Few Canadians will disagree with Mr. Wister’s
50 From Rapid Progress On New R. C. School On Blood Reserve. (1925, July 27). The Lethbridge
Herald, p. 2.
51 From Wilson, R. N. (1920, June 25). INDIAN AFFAIRS. The Ottawa Citizen, p. 22. Written by
Robert Nathaniel Wilson (1863 – 1944), who served as an Indian agent on the Peigan and Blood
reserves from 1898 to 1911.
52 Owen Wister (1860 – 1938), an early and influential writer of American Western (“cowboy”) fiction.
47
condemnation of his country’s Indian policy, but most Canadians will be surprised to
learn that there is at the present time being written into the history of Canada a
black page in connection with that same subject which, if not checked, will soon
reduce this country to the level of the United States fifty years ago in Indian
administration, with the difference, of dubious credit to us, that the Americans
dishonored their Indian treaties when the Indians were warlike and strong, thus
involving their country in costly and bloody wars, while we Canadians honored our
treaties sufficiently to keep the Indians quiet until they were numerically weak,
unarmed and helpless, when by means of sundry acts of parliament under the skillful
guidance of the Hon. Arthur Meighen53 we have proceeded to make “scraps of paper”
of every treaty obligation assumed by Canada insofar as Indian landholdings are
concerned.
The safeguarding of such land as was retained by the Indians under the
descriptive name of “reserves” was the principal obligation assumed by the
government of Canada in her Indian treaties. We Canadians are not openly refusing
to acknowledge our treaty obligations because, to quote Mr. Meighen, “it is desirable,
if possible, to avoid anything in the nature of dissension, or anything in the nature of
a charge against us of infidelity.” We prefer to invade the treaty in a roundabout way,
attack them on the flank, as it were, and under cover of various catch terms such as
greater production, enfranchisement, emancipation, etc., which method enables us
sometimes to accomplish our objects without even attracting the attention of the law-
maker.
It would be interesting to know how many members of parliament were aware
that in 191854 they gave Mr. Meighen autocratic power to seize the individual
holdings of Indians on their reserves, their pasture fields, their hay lands and their
homes, and, if he were so disposed, to trade these off for the political support of the
covetous white men of the neighborhood. It is not here suggested that Mr. Meighen
would descend to such practices, but the point is that parliament has given him the
power to buy votes with Indian lands, so long as all transactions are covered by leases
arranged between the lessee and a specially provided official, without consulting the
Indian owners of the property.
Another use to which the present administration’s radical Indian legislation
can be put and which has already been exercised, is the persecution of Indians who
have refused to sell land to the government. A case in point is that of the Blood
Indians in Southern Alberta, one of the most enterprising and progressive tribes in
the Dominion. These people turned down in January, 1918, a proposition from the
government permanently to relinquish 90,000 acres of their reserve for sale. In the
following month, Parliament amended the Indian Act as above, and immediately the
heavy hand of the government fell upon the unfortunate Bloods. The 90,000 acres in
question were peremptorily seized by a special officer appointed by Mr. Meighen and
operating under himself personally, independently of the ordinary machinery of the
53 Arthur Meighen (1874 – 1950) would serve as Prime Minister in 1920, 1921 and 1926. At the time
this article was written, he was Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
54 Meighen served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs from 1917 to July, 1920.
48
department. This official proceeded to lease out the 90,000 to white men, ordering out
of their homes a score or more of the Indians, whose long established holdings
happened to be in the way, and this initial attack was followed by a campaign of
persecution which in two years has placed the affairs of these Indians in such
deplorable state that they have memorialized the government in the person of the
responsible minister, Mr. Meighen, for immediate relief from the intolerable
conditions imposed upon them, or for a judicial investigation of their grievances.
While the minister has not shown a disposition either to relieve the Indians or permit
their troubles to be investigated, there is reason to hope that he may be eventually
induced to do so.
A paragraph in our “black page” is the legislation known as Bill 14, the object
of which is supposed to be education, enfranchisement, etc., but which is another
attack upon the Indian Reserves, as it empowers the minister to declare an Indian or
tribe of Indians enfranchised by fiat from Ottawa, following which the minister
assumes the legal right to dispossess the “emancipated” s—– of his lands and dispose
of the same, the idea seeming to be that having an interest in a landed estate is
inconsistent with citizenship, or with the particular brand of citizenship that Mr.
Meighen has in store for the Indians.
The educational feature of Bill 14 is as bad as the rest of it, as it provides for
arrest and imprisonment of children in sectarian boarding schools, the only schools
in existence on most of the western reserves. In a country which boasts of its religious
freedom, it will be time enough to enforce compulsory education when we have
provided the reserves with non-sectarian national day schools. What right have we
to, as this bill does, compel an Indian to choose either a Roman Catholic or a
Protestant boarding school for his child? What if her prefers the religion of his fathers
or some white man’s faith, neither Roman Catholic nor Protestant? He should be
perfectly free to do so if our vaunted religious freedom is real. Compulsory
proselytization or compulsory Christianization is aimed at, rather than compulsory
education.
Where in Canada or in any other civilized country can the police, in the sole
interests of education, wrest a seven-year-old from its parents and incarcerate it in a
boarding school conducted by another race? The writer knows many Indian mothers
who have themselves been educated in the Indian boarding schools who emphatically
declare that no daughter of theirs will ever attend one, and the grounds of their
prejudices are well known.
Some of the schools are excellent and conducted by first class people, but all
classes of girls necessarily attend them, the depraved and the good often occupying
the same dormitory for years. In his capacity of justice of the peace of Alberta, the
writer is frequently applied to by the authorities of the Indian boarding schools in
their efforts to check the practice of young men gaining access to the girls’ dormitories
in the night time; and in one case of the sort, involving four young men, two of them
were afflicted with loathsome disease. Would Mr. Meighen compel a daughter of his
to take such risks? He certainly would not. Then let him withdraw his infamous
legislation.
49
“In the face about three times”55 (April, 1928)
One of the most important appeal cases heard in the district courts of Alberta
was heard Tuesday in Macleod before His Honor Judge A. M. Macdonald. The case
was an appeal from Magistrate Low’s finding in the hearing of Rex vs. Edwin Smith.
The defendant, Smith, who was disciplinarian at the R. C. Mission on the Blood
Reserve, was fined $10 and costs by the magistrate for assaulting one of the pupils at
the school, Albert Many Fingers. The case was appealed and in the hearing today J.
D. Matheson of Macleod and J. W. O’Brien of Cardston, appeared for the crown, while
G. E. A. Rice, of Shepherd, Rice and Fairbairn, of Lethbridge, appeared for the
defendant Smith. Judgment was reserved.
The first witness on the stand was Albert Many Fingers, who stated that he
was 17 years of age, and a pupil at St. Mary’s R. C. school on the Blood Indian
Reserve. On January 9 of this year while the pupils were marching in to breakfast,
Edwin Smith, one of the masters at the school, called him out of the line and after the
other boys had gone in to breakfast, punched him (Many Fingers) three blows on the
nose and another on the side of the face at the same time calling him an animal.
Smith refused to let witness go and wash his face, although it was all bloody, but took
him into the dining room and then told the other pupils that that would happen to
any animal who did not do what was right in the school. Witness stated that he had
never given any cause for such treatment, and during his six years as pupil at the
school had only been punished once. He also said that the principal, Rev. Father
Raux, came up to him in the dining room just after the beating and told him he was
glad to see he had been punished, and raised his hand to hit him on the head.
In cross-examination, witness denied that he had ever been disobedient, or had
talked or teased the girl pupils. He said that until that time Smith had always been
friendly with him. He (witness) had never told anyone that Smith was frightened of
him, and that he was going to fight him.
The last witness, although able to speak English perfectly, refused to answer
counsel’s questions on many occasions unless he had an interpreter, Emil Smallface,
to assist him.
The next witness was Jim Big Crow, who bore out the former witness’s
statement as to Smith calling Many Fingers an animal in the dining room and saying
that it was the punishment the rest of the animals would get if they misbehaved
themselves.
Bob Big Sorrel Horses, another pupil of the school, gave corroborative evidence
of Jim Big Crow as to Smith’s remarks in the dining room.
The Rev. W. R. Haynes, pioneer missioner of the Peigan Reserve and Missions,
was then called by the crown. He stated that he had been in charge of Indian schools
for the past 30 years. In reply to Mr. Matheson, witness did not think Smith had any
right to hit the boy with his fists. He had never done so, and never would. If there
55 From INDIAN PUPIL ASSAULT APPEAL HEARD, MACLOED: JUDGMENT IS RESERVED –
DISCIPLINARIAN OF R. C. SCHOOL, ADMITS HE PUNCHED FACE OF “BAD” SCHOOL BOY.
(1928, April 5). The Macleod Times, p. 1.
50
had been any serious trouble the lad should have been sent to the principal for
punishment. In reply to His Honor, witness emphatically stated that in his opinion
there was no difference between white boys and Indian boys. They always acted the
same; he could never see any difference, although he had taught both in Indian
schools and white schools. In cross-examination, witness admitted that if one of the
older boys had offered to fight, he (witness) would have knocked him down, then taken
him to the principal. Witness had not heard of any assault on masters at other Indian
schools.
This was all the evidence for the crown.
The first witness for the appellant was Edwin Smith himself. He stated that
Albert Many Fingers had been a source of annoyance to all the staff for several
months prior to the beating he had given him. Witness had talked to Many Fingers
about it and tried to correct him by kindness, but the boy only laughed and grinned
at witness and openly defied him on many occasions. Just prior to the 9th of January,
witness received a complaint from one of the Sisters that Many Fingers had been
carrying on indecent conversation with the girls during the master’s absence. He
therefore changed Many Fingers’ seat in the dining room so that the boy’s back was
towards the girls, but the boy only became more insolent. He also had told other lads
in the school that he (witness) was afraid, and he was going to fight him. Smith
consulted with the principal of the school as to what should be done, and the Rev.
Father told him that he would have to punish the boy himself, otherwise he would
lose all prestige with the other boys.
The next morning, which was the 9th of January, witness called Many Fingers
from the breakfast line, and told him to go into the playroom. He followed the boy in
and said that on account of his rank disobedience and insolence he would have to be
punished. The boy then put up his fists and witness immediately punched Many
Fingers in the face about three times. The boy stepped back, and there was no more
fighting.
After this he told Many Fingers he was sorry he had to do that, as he had
treated the lad with great kindness previously and he had taken advantage of it. He
then asked Many Fingers if he would obey him, and the boy replied he would, so he
told him to kneel on the floor, which was done. He did not let the boy wash his face,
as he thought it would be an example to the other big boys, especially so after Many
Fingers boasting that he would fight Smith and beat him. When he took Many
Fingers into the dining room he told the other boys that any lad who disobeyed the
rules and regulations of the school would also be punished. He had never called the
boy on any occasion an animal, and never had any thought of doing so. He considered
he took the best course in hitting the boy in the face, after seeing him put up his fists,
to maintain the dignity of the school and for further discipline and order. Witness
stated that the school teacher, A. Cody, witnessed the whipping in the playroom.
Arthur Cody, teacher of the St. Mary’s school on the Reserve, thoroughly bore
out the statements of the former witness in every point. In answer to the judge,
witness stated that in his opinion the boy certainly deserved the whipping. He had
been obstreperous for several weeks previous sand warnings had no effect on him
51
whatsoever. In witness’s opinion, Indian pupils were far harder to teach and handle
than white children. There had been no swelling on Many Fingers’ face after the fight,
as witness had cause to correct the boy shortly after for irreverence during prayer,
and there was no mark whatever on the lad’s face. He often had to correct the same
boy in school, and only a short while previous to this whipping had punished him for
running away from school.
William Mills, a pupil of the school, gave evidence as to Many Fingers boasting
that he was going to fight and whip Smith.
Judge Macdonald said he would reserve his decision, as he had not decided on
the point whether or not Smith should have punished the boy the way he did. His
Honor was convinced that Many Fingers thoroughly deserved chastisement as there
was no doubt he was a bad boy and had caused lots of trouble at the school. His actions
on the witness stand had left a bad impression with the court. In spite of his speaking
fluent English he was cunning enough when it came to a somewhat difficult question
to ask for an interpreter who could not speak as good English as himself. It was a
very important case to decide, as it would be a ruling for all other Indian schools.
There was no doubt whatever that discipline was absolutely necessary in these
schools, as in any other school, and there was also no doubt that the boy thoroughly
deserved the punishment, but the only question His Honor would have to decide on
was this: was the mode of punishment administered by Smith the correct one? His
Honor clearly stated the ruling was one of the most important he had had to decide
upon, and he reserved his decision56 on the point before mentioned.
This is the first case in Canada where an Indian child’s parent has laid
information of this kind against a school principal, master or matron.
“Metamorphosis”57 (December, 1927)
Our where the west ends, if the Rocky Mountains mark that point, Canada’s
Indian “citizens” are telling strange tales. They are not tales of war, or of the hunt,
or of horse stealing escapades. Nor are they tales of love underneath the prairie
moonlight. Yet they are tales of romance quite as fascinating as those sung to the
throb of the tom tom when the frontier was young.
The word “citizens,” you will notice, is quoted. To “crib” a line from the
breakfast food advertisement – there’s a reason. For while our Indians are real native
sons and daughters of Canada, they have no voice in public affairs. And while no
fewer than 4000 of these braves of the new era served overseas [during the Great
War], not a few making the great sacrifice, they have no vote.
56 “The appeal of Edwin Smith, disciplinarian at the Roman Catholic Indian school on the Blood
reserve, a case arising out of certain punishment meted out to an Indian student, Many Fingers, by
Smith, has been upheld by Judge A. M. Macdonald of the district court here.” RIGHT TO PUNISH
PUPIL SUSTAINED. (1928, May 3). The Edmonton Journal, p. 1.
57 From Steele, C. F. (1927, December 17). Metamorphosis of the Red Man. The Edmonton Journal, p.
33. Written by Charles F. Steele (1857 – 1932).
52
We Pale Faces point to our proud and ancient forbears, the cultured French,
the sturdy English and Scotch, the adventuresome stock of many nations that
pioneered the West in the days of the prairie schooner and plodding oxen. Splendid
roots of a mighty race they were! That we admit. And yet these trail-blazers were not
the first Canadians. When they set foot on Canadian soil they met peoples – the
Indian tribes – whose histories reached far back into antiquity.
Citizenship, full and complete, might not be a good thing for the Indian – today.
He might not make good use of that gift. That is not a problem for today. But
tomorrow – that is another story.
I have before me a copy of the weekly newspaper printed in a southwestern
Alberta town – Cardston. I read this:
“Tom Three Persons of the Blood Indian reserve drove home from town today
at the wheel of a new sedan.”
This little item about Tom and his sedan wasn’t much to look at. It was buried
in the middle of a column of social and personal stuff, wasn’t even given a heading to
earmark its real news. In fact, an Indian driving a motor car wasn’t news – at
Cardston. And yet Tom Three Persons at the wheel of his new sedan somehow
summed up the whole story of Indian development in Canada.
Changed, indeed, are the Indians of today. They are doing remarkable things;
they are telling strange tales.
Now, take Tom Three Persons. Tom is one of the 400 out on his reserve. If the
Indians had a “Who’s Who” Tom would be listed. He is a famous Indian. A few years
ago he won the Canadian riding championship at the Calgary stampede and has been
a hero ever since. He learned to ride mean horses on the range. Tom is still riding the
range, but it is at the wheel of an automobile.
Certainly, Tom can afford that car, for this upstanding Indian farmer threshed
3,573 bushels of hard spring wheat in the fall of 1926. When he bought the sedan he
was not extravagant. Tom needed the car in his business, for he is farming and
ranching on a big scale. “It’s coming to Tom. He’s worked hard and he’s a good Indian,”
one of Tom’s neighbors remarked as the erstwhile bronco buster tackled another sort
of “cow pony,” one that worried him more than did Dynamite in the Calgary
championships.
One often hears the remark that it is a pity the red man is passing. The pity is
unnecessary, for the red man is not passing. Under the fostering policy of the
Canadian authorities, a policy based on that Magna Carta of our Indian tribesmen,
the proclamation of King George III. on October 7, 1762, the native races are
increasing. There are now over a hundred thousand Indians in Canada, located on
1,570 reserves, tribal home lands representing some five million acres.
The Indian branch attached to the department of the interior informs us that
the real and personal property of the Canadian Indians approximates in value
$75,000,000, and that their income for the season of 1925-26 was over $10,000,000.
The amount of the Indian trust fund during the year was $12,418,450, showing an
increase of over a quarter million dollars as compared with the previous year.
53
This is the wealth of the Indians of Canada, who a decade or more ago were
restless and indolent wards of the government.
Nor is this evolution of the Indians confined to dollars and cents, cattle and
cars. Far from it. Culturally, the Indians are progressing through that intimate and
beneficent contact with the church and the leadership provided by the government.
Consider the education of the Indian for a moment. It is one of the major expenditures
of the federal government, for it requires two millions a year to finance the 74
residential schools for Indian children, operating over the dominion, plus the 16
combined residence and day schools and 254 straight day schools.
Religiously, the Indian has likewise responded to the influence of the white
man. Most of the Indians of today are members of the Christian faith. Six thousand
alone, chiefly the older members of the tribes, still cling to the ancient aboriginal
worship. In point of denominational adherence the government figures are
enlightening. There are among the Canadian tribesmen 48,671 Roman Catholics,
23,557 Anglicans, 13,930 Methodists, 2,175 Presbyterians, and 1,173 Baptists.
Someone has said that “in the Indian youth lies the hope of his race.” It is true.
Given an education he has a powerful Something that will keep him climbing,
contented and solvent. Although the thought may be tinged with sadness, the modern
Indian youth knows but little of the customs and traditions of his fathers. His eyes
are set forward, not backward. He sees a new day dawning for his people. Indeed,
that day is here for history furnishes no example of progress by a primitive race in a
similar time to match the progress made by the western Indian tribes of Canada.
I quote here a man who has spent many years among the Bloods of
Southwestern Alberta – Rev. Canon S. H. Middleton, principal of St. Paul’s
residential school:
“Under the service of this (the Canadian) educational system the Indian is
casting away the things which typify his old barbarous life. He has gone from the
moccasin to the shoe, from the blanket to the coat, from feathers to the hat. He has
exchanged the bow for the plow, and turned from the buffalo to the white man’s herd
and flock. He is forsaking a weird and uncertain conception of divinity for the church
and organized Christian benevolence of his white brother. He is lifting drudgery and
burdens from the woman of his race and granting them higher ideals of home-keeping
and womanhood.”
It is a far cry from the Indian of today – Tom Three Persons at the wheel of a
$2000 automobile – to Tomb’s forbears of yesterday, those splendid but savage
tribesmen who defied the white man’s invasion of his lands and the white man’s
intrusion upon his tribal institutions. The years between are crowded with stories of
pain and self-sacrificing, patience and devotion, stories reaching back to the years of
the Jesuit Fathers, those fearless priests who carried the cross into the wilderness.
That story must be left to others, for our purpose is to picture the Indian of today, the
red men who are telling strange tales.
As in the progress of the Bloods is reflected the whole evolution of the Western
Indian tribes, let us look at these Bloods, these dusky plainsmen whose very name
suggests war and pillage.
54
They were the leading tribe of the great Blackfoot Confederacy, of whom Capt.
Palliser in the late fifties writes with such vivid description in his report to the British
government. The Palliser expedition sent out by his majesty’s government to explore
far western Canada 10 years before Confederation spent several years among these
Blackfoot tribes, and in his report the famous geographer and scientist says of them:
“The Blackfoot Tribes comprehend the Blackfeet, Blood Indians and Peigans,
who all speak the same language and have the same habits of life. They trade chiefly
with Americans, as they share in the subsidies granted according to the Indian treaty
by the United States government, a portion of that territory lying south of the
boundary line as well as to the north within British rule. The Blackfeet themselves
trade a good deal at the Rocky Mountain House, principally bartering provisions for
rum, tobacco and ammunition; and they all prefer the goods supplied by the Hudson’s
Bay Company as superior in quality to those from the American forts.
“In the summer these Indians form large camps along Red Deer river or Bow
river, far out into the arid plains, but where there is always enough grass in some
spots to support their large bands of horses. They are the real Bedouins of the
prairies, having always parties on the move in every direction, making rapid
journeys, sometimes to the American trading posts, for the sake of gathering news
concerning other Indians, or of the buffalo. They have large bands of horses, and some
of fair quality. Their only food is the buffalo, and most of them will go a long time
hungry rather than eat ducks, rabbits and any kind of small game.
“As part of the subsidies they receive flour, sugar and coffee; but they care very
little for such articles of food, which they say make them sick. Like the Cree, when
moving about they use the ‘travailles,’ but their tents are much larger than those of
this latter people, it being not uncommon in a Blackfoot camp to see them of forty or
fifty buffalo skins sewn together, the more usual size only requiring from twelve to
twenty skins. They are always conical, with triangular lappets at the apex for
directing the smoke as it escapes. As they travel so much over bare plains, where
there is no timber, their tent-poles are made of light dry wood, so that they are easily
conveyed by attaching them to a horse with their ends trailing on the ground. The
smallest tent requires thirteen poles.
“The Blackfoot tribes are fond of fine dresses for themselves and gay trappings
for their horses. Their chiefs have state robes of ermine fur and of other skins, and
their medicine-men have dresses adorned with eagle feathers. The women of this
tribe are often comely, and they always dress neatly with ornamented tunics and
leggings of cloth or deerskins, worked with beads and porcupine quills.
“They have many mysterious and ceremonious dances, in which they make
great use of drums, rattles and shrill whistles. Their chanting on these occasions is
more harmonious than that of the Cree, and they seem to join in these rites with
greater sincerity than other Indian tribes. They are of wilder nature and more
treacherous than the Cree, and yet have certain ideas of honor to which they rigidly
adhere.
“The young men are great horse thieves, but are more under the control of their
seniors than is the case with the other Indians. They are constantly at war, either
55
with the Cree, Assiniboine or Crow Indians; horse-stealing on one side or the other
being generally the cause of all their quarrels.
“The Roman Catholic missionary at Lac Ste. Anne, M. Le Combe, has made
one tour among these Indians with a view of establishing a mission, but, as we have
already remarked, it will be much more difficult to effect any real improvement
among these tribes than among those who dwell in the woods. Their constant
communications with the Americans, their frequent migrations and their mode of life,
and their sole dependence for food on the chase of the buffalo, are all against their
adopting those habits of industry without which there can be little real advancement
in their condition.”
Such were the Bloods as Capt. Palliser saw them in 1858.
Today the picture is completely changed. In the blaze of a new day the Indian
is enjoying the influence of the white man’s civilization. He is up-to-date. The Blood
Indian father runs his farm as efficiently as his neighbor; his wife takes a pride in
keeping her kitchen clean and her chickens laying; his son is “stepping on the gas”
and buying $50 suits; and his daughter is bobbing her tresses and amusing the family
with her version of the latest dance steps.
There are schools and churches, movies and radios, motor cars and blooded
animals, brass bands and church choirs, on the reserve, and if things move as they
are, Pres. H. W. Wood and his Farmer supporters in Alberta will soon be organizing
a U.F.A. local among the 190 Indian farmers growing wheat on the Blood tract.
Just a few facts now about these warlike, light-fingered Bloods of yesterday:
They thresh annually in the neighborhood of 200,000 bushels. In 1926 the
disastrous fall storms cut down their crops to 125,000 bushels. The Indians do all
their own work, owning their implements, including two or three threshing outfits.
The revenue from their farming operations is controlled by the agency, each Indian
farmer having his own account through which all his business transactions are
negotiated. He is furnished with a yearly statement of his income and disbursements.
As with the whites, there are good farmers and poor farmers among the
Indians. We have already mentioned the bumper crop of Tom Three Persons. He
stands first, but there are other “wheat barons” on the reserve as well as Tom. Take
Joe Bull Shields. Joe threshed 2,800 bushels; Leonard Sweet Grass, 2,300 bushels;
Big Sorrel Horse, 2,600 bushels; Chas. Davis, 2,300 bushels; Dan Chief Moon, 2,00
bushels, and scores of others that harvested 1,000 bushels or more.
Good grades of beef cattle, 2,000 head in all, are to be found on the Blood
reserve. A few years ago the government gave the Indians a regular ration of meat.
Now the Indians are raising their own meat and have fat steers to sell every fall.
Finished on some of the finest prairie grass ranges in the west, the Indian beef always
commands top prices. Leading stockmen of the tribe are Tom Three Persons – Tom,
you see, bobs up again among the successful ones, possessing that “it” which spells
success – Cecil Tallow, Shot Both Sides, Running Antelope, Stephen Fox, Maurice
Many Fingers and others with similarly queer names, but with sound ideas as to the
good and bad points about an animal. Departmental instruction and guidance in the
selection of good marketable stock has resulted in an impetus in ranching among the
56
western tribes generally, and it is estimated that they run on their reserves
approximately 20,000 head.
The Indian has always been a keen lover of the horse, and a favorite pastime
in the “good old days” was horse stealing. Once a white man’s steed was spotted it
was as good as gone. Twenty years ago the Indians rode diminutive ponies, multi-
colored and fantastically marked. These non-descripts have given way to stout, well-
bred, useful animals. Many own thoroughbred stock, for the Indian is an ardent
follower of the “sport of kings”.
Such a man is the Indian of today: Quick to learn and ready to go forward he
has made remarkable progress. True, much of the romance that surrounded him in
the days of the Sun Dance and tribal war has faded out of the picture, just another
reminder of the passing of the old west, the west of the buffalo, the whisky trader,
the lonely priest. The Indian of today is the symbol of that transition through which
western Canada is passing, the departure of the “wild and woolly” era of foundation
building, the incoming of that new era of growing industrialism, expanding cities,
improving social conditions. In him may be visualized the spirit of the new west.
57
Government reaction to conventions at Macleod (1924 – 1925)
“A conclave of sober-minded men and women”58 (November 13, 1924)
More than a hundred Indian delegates from every Blackfoot tribe on the
continent attended the first convention of Blackfoot Indians held in the town hall,
Macleod, yesterday and today. The Bloods, North Peigans, South Peigans and
Blackfoot reserves sent a number of delegates, accompanied by their chiefs and minor
chiefs, to take part in the discussions and air their grievances against the government
and government officials.
It was no longer a meeting of feathered and painted savages gathering together
to discuss the affairs of a fresh marauding venture, but a conclave of sober-minded
men and women seeking to obtain rights which they claim are justly theirs.
“Our land should not be leased”59 (November 13, 1924)
Thursday morning, November 13th, 1924, the Indian convention opened in the
usual way and the majority of those registered answered their names. The chairman
then called on G. G. Coote, M. P. [for Macleod,] who told them he came to learn, by
hearing, what they had to say. “We are all brothers and the King knows the Indians
as well as he knows the white brothers, and all are the same to him. You were given
lands for yourselves to have and hold and not to be leased or sold without your
consent.” Mr. Coote said he would listen and talk later. […]
John Cotton, Blood, complained that they took their wheat to the elevator,
their cattle to the butcher, “and we don’t get any account for what these are sold for.
I had a good crop in 1923 and have not heard what it was worth. I went to see the
agent but he is always away. Why do we have an agent if it is not to give help? We
asked agent to give us orders on Macleod but he gives them on other places. We like
Macleod and the people.” […]
John Mountain Horse (Blood): “I was overseas and did my part there [during
World War I], with your white boys, and we don’t want to go to war to get our rights
at home in Canada. Our land has been leased. We want to trade in Macleod, but our
agent sends us to other places.” […]
Mike Oka (Blood) – “We all know we cannot outdo the white man. Our reserve
has been leased for sheep and they destroy the land for cattle, and it takes them a
long time to grow again. Our boys went to the war. They came back wounded. Some
died. And we don’t get any pension. I am now raising cattle. Our wheat was shipped
and we got very little for it. Our land should not be leased.”
58 From GREAT RALLY OF BLACKFOOT INDIANS IN SOUTH ALBERTA. (1924, November 13).
The Calgary Herald, p. 1.
59 Indians’ Chief Grievances Concern Grazing Leases and Attitude of Agents. (1924, November 17).
The Lethbridge Herald, page unknown. Clipping from Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume 4093, File
600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
58
John Mountain Horse brought in the following resolution: “That we petition
the government to remand Section A 90 of the Indian Act and place us where we were
before the war, as in the Treaty of 1877,” and asked Mr. Coote to present the petition
to parliament. This was carried.
Sgt. J. A. Webb to C. Junget60 (November 14, 1924)
J. A. Webb was a Sergeant with the R.C.M.P. This was his report on the 1924
convention to Christen Junget, commanding officer of the Southern Alberta
District.
Sir:-
I have the honour to report the following re: [the] Indian convention
held at Macleod 12th & 13th November, 1924.
At 2.p.m. Wednesday 12th November 1924 the meeting was called to order, on
the Platform was W. M. Shields Esq. M.P.P., Mayor MacDonald, Dr. Fanset,
President of the Board of Trade, Archdeacon Hines of Brocket, Chief Shot Both Sides,
of the Blood, Chief Calf Child of the Blackfeet, and Chief Crow Eagle of the Peigans,
and other Minor Chiefs.
There were about One hundred Indians, and a good number of Macleod people
present. The Convention was opened by May MacDonald, who gave all a hearty
welcome and the freedom of the City. Dr. Fanset also made a few remarks.
H. J. Hamilton, a South Peigan from Browning, was elected Chairman, and
Mike Mountain Horse Secretary.
The Secretary told those present that the object of calling this Convention was
to tell their grievances and get the sympathy of the white people so that they might
bring pressure to bear on the Macleod Member of the Federal Parliament, and he
bring their grievance before Parliament at the next session.
Mr. Shields, M.P.P., was the first speaker. He told those present that he was
there to represent Mr. Coote, M.P., who was unable to be present due to a previous
engagement, but that he (Mr. Coote) would arrive in Macleod at mid-night, and would
attend Thursday’s session. He told the Indians he was sorry to hear of their troubles,
and complimented them on their endeavor of trying to have their grievances adjusted,
and that they were going the right way about it, (that a little stick was easily broken,
but it was very hard to break a bundle of little sticks when tied together,) and that if
they all worked together they were bound to get results, and their grievances would
no doubt be remedied, wishing them success this closed his remarks.
I might state that the Indians had a number of grievances, and although none
of these were discussed separately and disposed of one by one, each Indian as his
name was called up got up and apoke on his own grievance, thereby losing a lot of
time and [causing] a great deal of repetition. Their grievancese were as follows:-
60 From Webb, J. A. (1924, November 14). [Letter to commanding officer]. Indian Affairs (RG 10,
Volume 4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. Written by Sgt. Major James
Albert Webb (1870 – 1954).
59
That the Agents on both the Blood & Peigan Reserve were not treating a
number of the Indians properly, that on both Reserves there are a number of old
people that can not work, getting no rations and are very hard up. That according to
the Treaty of 1877 The Great White Mother, by her Agents had said that the Indians
should have rations so long as the Sun should rise and set, and the rivers flow. That
this part of the Treaty was now disregarded.
That lands on both of the Reserves were leased without the consent of the
Indians, contrary to the Treaty of 1877. And that the Indians who had lived all their
lives on these leased portions had now been ordered to move elsewhere on the
Reserve.
That the Indian [grain] Elevator at Brocket had been sold and the Indians had
received only $2,000.00 on same, and they wanted to know what had become of [the]
balance of Money paid for this Elevator.
That there was no individual book account kept on either Reserve, whereby an
Indian might know at any time just how his account stood, some of them stated they
had not received any money, neither a statement for their 1923 crop, and now money
was due for the crop of 1924.
That the Agent on the Blood Reserve would give them no cheques, only
purchasing orders and these were always made out to merchants at Cardston, he
would issue none to other Towns. One Indian stated that he had to pay in Cardston
$7.00 more for a piece of machinery, than in Macleod, and he thought that as they
earned the money they should be allowed to spend it where they wished, and finally
that both Agents were crooks and should be discharged.
That at the signing of the Treaty in 1877 the Indians were promised $12.00 per
person, this was to be the annual payment, this amount was received at the signing
of the Treaty, since then we have received only $5.00 per person, and want to know
what has become of this extra $7.00 per person since that time.
That the Government had promised to give employment on the Reserves to the
ex-pupils after leaving school; this was not done, and an ex-pupil could not even get
a job as teamster on the Reserve.
The foregoing with minor grievances took up the afternoon, and the meeting
adjourned at 5.P.M. until 8.P.M. After the adjournment the Indians were banqueted
by the Board of Trade and the Town’s people.
At 8.p.m. the meeting was again called to order, and discussion on the
forementioned grievances continued until 11.p.m. at which time […]61 Mr. A. F. Grady
was made an Honorary Chief of the Blackfoot […] and given an Indian name: “Ah-po-
kops, O-to-kon.” […] After this ceremony the meeting adjourned until 10 a.m.
Thursday morning.
At 10 a.m. Thursday morning the meeting was again called to order, Mr. Coote
M.P. for Macleod being present. He was the first speaker called, and told the Indians
he was sorry that he had been unable to attend the previous session, and at the
present time he had nothing to say until he had heard their grievances.
61 Omissions are due to damage to the original document.
60
Then there was a repetition of the previous day’s talk, and this lasted until 5
p.m. after which Mr. Coote told the Indians that he was only one in the Parliament
but that he would do whatever he could for them. […] The convention closed at 6.p.m.
[…] The convention was very quiet and orderly, and the Indians behaved themselves
very well indeed.
C. Junget to R.C.M.P. Commissioner62 (November 17, 1924)
Although you have undoubtedly seen an account of this Indian Convention, the
first of its kind ever held in this District, I thought I would bring to your attention
certain matters relative thereto.
There is a great deal of resentment at Macleod over the fact that the Indian
Agency has been moved from Standoff to within a few miles of Cardston, owing to the
fact that the Indians engaged in agriculture have moved to the Southern part of the
Blood Reservation and there being practically nothing left up around Standoff.
It would appear that the Indian Agent of the Blood Reservation is in wrong
with the people of Macleod, and that Macleod resents very much the attitude he takes
toward the old Town in using his influence in taking everything to Cardston.
A. F. Grady to Charles Stewart63 (November 18, 1924)
Alfred Francis Grady (1857 – 1944) occasionally handled legal matters for the Blood
Indians. Charles Stewart (1868 – 1946), a former premier of Alberta, was
Superintendent General of Indian Affairs in 1924.
Dear Mr. Stewart,
On Wednesday and Thursday of last week the Blackfoot-Bloods and Peigans,
Indians, held a convention in Macleod for the purpose of talking over their troubles,
as they told me, “just like the white people do.” They asked me to help them in
arranging matters for them, which I did.
They talked of their difficulties with the Agents, not giving them statements of
what they turned into them, as Beef, Wheat, and labor, they were charged for all they
get, and think the Agent should give an account to each man, like white men do.
They spoke about the Treaty of 1877, and that the Chief should received
$25.00, each minor Chief $15.00, and each person $12.00, now they get only $20.00,
$10.00, and $5.00.
They were given land, after all theirs was taken from them. Now the Indian
Department tries to sell some land, and they lease the land without the consent of
62 From Junget, C. (1924, November 17). [Letter to R.C.M.P. Commissioner]. Indian Affairs (RG 10,
Volume 4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. Written by Christen Junget (1876
– 1969), then R.C.M.P. Commanding Officer of the Southern Alberta district.
63 From Grady, A. F. (1924, November 18). [Letter to Charles Stewart]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume
4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. Written by Alfred Francis Grady (1857 –
1944).
61
the Indians. They can use all the land for their stock, and hay, if they had hay left
over they could sell it to White men.
They want an investigation into their affairs, so that they may have an
accounting of all their business every year.
They want to be able to get their money when there is any coming to them, and
to be able to talk with their Agent some time.
They do not blame the Government, they blame all on the employees of the
Government, who they say are not all straight in business matters.
These are the things they talked about, and asked me to tell you, as head of
their department. I am only giving you these facts, as they gave them to the
convention, and to me for you. I do not hold myself responsible for anything said or
done, only as said or done by these Indians.
They intend to hold another big Convention, and Celebration in Macleod, next
summer, and ask their “BIG CHIEF” to come and help them at the time, June 29th
to July 4th 1925.
Mike Mountain Horse to J.T. Faunt64 (November 22, 1924)
Mike Mountain Horse (d. 1964) was a Blood Indian and World War I veteran. J. T.
Faunt (1882 – 1949) was the Indian Agent for the Blood Agency.
You have spoken to me about what took place at the convention of Indians at
Macleod and [I] will explain as follows:
In the first place, the meeting was arranged for by Long Lance, an Indian of
the United States, to get the sympathy of the public, in order that pressure be brought
to bear on the Government with a view to having that section of the Indian Act which
authorizes the Government to lease at will any portion of an Indian Reserve without
the consent of the Indians, out of the Indian Act.
Long Lance himself was unable to be present and he asked me if I could carry
through the convention, which I agreed to do and notified the Chief of the Blackfoot
Reserve and the Peigan Reserve that such a convention was being held. I also asked
Bob Hamilton, an Indian from Browning, if he would come and act in an advisory
capacity, which he agreed to do.
I then saw Mr. Grady and Mr. Ferguson in Macleod and asked them what
arrangements could be made for renting the town hall in Macleod and explained to
them the purpose of the convention. They sent me to the Mayor, who agreed to let us
have the use of the town hall free for two days. The people of Macleod also, very kindly
arranged to provide the delegates with a banquet on the first night of the convention.
When the meeting was opened up I explained to the delegates why the
convention was called, that it is for the purpose as mentioned above. Very few of the
delegates, however, did confine themselves to this one subject and were inclined to
64 From Mountain Horse, M. (1924, November 22). [Letter to J. T. Faunt]. Indian Affairs (RG 10,
Volume 4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. Written by Mike Mountain Horse
(d. 1964).
62
voice personal grievances and I invariably told them that this was not what the
convention was called for and also told different ones to quit talking which it was
hard to get them to do.
I told the Blood Indians that they had nothing to kick about especially about
their lease, but it was altogether different with the Peigans as the lease over there
was crooked.
The statement which appeared in the paper65 of what Chief Shot on Both Sides
was supposed to have said was not correct. What he did say was this: “That he was
not going to sell any land, but he was not opposed to leasing the Reserve.” He did not
speak at all the second day.
In connection with the above and form personal observation on the Reserve, I
still feel that the Bloods have no kick coming, as I have witnessed their pay-day when
individual Indians have drawn cheques from fifty to a hundred dollars at the Agency
and fail to see where the distress comes in as talked of at the convention.
I find that they are making great progress towards independence and am also
of the opinion that the Indians as a whole are not yet in a position to manage their
own affairs, as anyone observing them making purchases could see for themselves. I
am in hopes however that with guidance, they may soon reach this condition.
I am making this statement with a view to offsetting the wrong impression
conveyed in the several reports which have appeared in the public papers recently.
C. Stewart to A. F. Grady66 (November 24, 1924)
Dear Mr. Grady,
I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of November 18th, […] dealing
with the meeting which was held by certain Indians of the Blackfoot, Blood and
Peigan reserves at Macleod.
It is of course impossible for me to say to what extent this meeting was
representative of the various elements on these reserves, but I shall give the matter
my best attention. You are no doubt aware from your own experiments with Indians
that their grievances are sometimes imaginary. In my administration of the
Department I have always taken care to find out what was the basis of any complaints
brought to my attention. I presume the outcome of the meeting will be that the
Indians will present me with a copy of their grievances in order that I may be able to
obtain proper explanations and give the Indians the information they require. I shall
be glad to receive any representations that the Indians may formally care to make.
65 “Shot-on-Both-Sides, chief of the Bloods, said: ‘I will speak on the land only. We do not want our
reserves leased, but it is, and many sheep have been driven on the land. We don’t like this, and still
they are there. We have not received any lease money for the leases. I want to keep our reserve for our
people; we need it all, and will not sell a foot of it.’” PEIGANS SEEK PROBLE OF LEASE ON 22,000
ACRES. (1924, November 15). The Lethbridge Herald, unknown page. From a clipping in Indian
Affairs (RG 10, Volume 4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
66 From Stewart, C. (1924, November 24). [Letter to A. F. Grady]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume 4093,
File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. Written by Charles Stewart (1868 – 1946), then
Superintendent General of Indian Affairs.
63
W. M. Graham to D. C. Scott67 (November 28, 1924)
In 1924, William Morris Graham (1867 – 1940) was the Indian Commissioner at
Regina.
You wrote me last week regarding a gathering of Indians that had taken place
at Macleod. I regret that such a gathering did take place. It was perhaps engineered
by outside influences, in fact according to press reports it was. This, in all probability,
means the start of a very serious situation, and the Department should take steps at
once to see if something could not be done to stop this outside interference. Personally
I would be helpless to do anything; it would have to come from higher up.
There is no doubt in my mind if this is to continue, and it will, that the
Department will be faced with a great deal of discontent on the part of the Indians,
which shall be put into their minds by people who do not understand the Indian
character, and who will lead them to believe that they have grievances where no
grievances exist. I doubt whether the instigators of this meeting really know what
has been done on the Blood reserve in the way of advancement. It is needless for me
to tell you what the Indian character is like, you know as well as I do that they can
be made to believe that they have a grievance whether they have or not.
J. T. Faunt to W. M. Graham68 (November 30, 1924)
The meeting was not at all a representative gathering of the Indians &
consisted for the most part of a few agitators and loafers. The man Hamilton has been
a thorn in the flesh of Superintendent Campbell for years and has been the author of
several petitions etc. which reached Washington & which resulted in an investigation
of conditions on the Blackfoot Reserve, with the result that Hamilton was proved to
be an unscrupulous liar & trouble maker & now the United States authorities pay no
more attention to his correspondences.
I think myself however that the people who were really at the bottom of the
whole affair were a few of the Board of Trade of Macleod who are still sore over the
moving of the Agency from the North end to its present location. I am the one who is
supposed to have engineered this move.
Shot Both Sides & the other chiefs have been in to see me about the meeting
& are very much put out at the whole affair & Shot Both Sides wanted to write to the
papers repudiating the several charges supposed to have been made at the meeting
67 Graham, W. M. (1924, November 28). [Letter to D. C. Scott]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume 4093,
File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. Written by William Morris Graham (1867 –
1940), then Indian Commissioner at Regina.
68 From Faunt, J. T. (1924, November 30). [Letter to W. M. Graham]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume
4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. Written by Joseph T. Faunt (1882 – 1949),
Indian Agent.
64
& he expressed himself as being thoroughly satisfied with the way things were
working out on the Reserve under the present policy, and that he, nor any of the Band
were ever in as good shape as they are now & that those who were kicking were those
who would not work and that if they would just keep their hands as busy as they kept
their tongues they would be well off too.
The reporting to the papers was done I believe by A. F. Grady, a seeker after
every Government job that comes along & by Mr. Underwood the brother-in-law of
Mr. Middleton & who acts as press agent for his reverence.
A. F. Grady to C. Stewart69 (January 6, 1925)
Dear Mr. Stewart,
The Indians of the Blood and Piegan Reserves, with other Indians of Alberta,
and adjoining Provinces have decided to hold a Big Indian Celebration in Macleod,
June 29-30th, and July 1-2 & 3rd, and have asked me to write you [for] approval of
this, and to invite you to attend it as Their big Chief. It will be only as Indians
celebrate among themselves, and part of it may be along the line as given to the big
Jubilee in Macleod, during 1924. They will be assisted by the white people, and are
willing to give assistance in the way of Policing among themselves, as they did last
summer. Awaiting your early and favourable reply,
Yours truly,
(Signed) A. F. Grady
Mike Mountain Horse to D. C. Scott70 (January 9, 1925)
Dear Sir, –
I am writing in the hope of laying a few facts before you. We had a convention
at Macleod last November, at which it was decided to hold the next convention at
Macleod in July of this year when the Indian is through with their work, and it was
also decided to ask you or Mr. Hon. Steward to attend and open this convention if
your work permits you, and it was also decided to hold a joint celebration, an all round
Indian affair.
I see in the Indian Act where the Indian Act prohibits Indians being used by
exhibitions or [for] stampede purposes. I am very sorry this has never been enforced
for the simple reason that the Indians are kicking about the white people for using
them for these purposes, and never get equal treatment with white contenders such
as was done at the Macleod Jubilee, and that the Calgary management does not see
that the Calgary management does not see that the Indians are rationed properly
during their stay.
69 From Grady, A.F. (1925, January 6). [Letter to Charles Stewart]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume
4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
70 From Mountain Horse, M. (1925, January 9). [Letter to D.C. Scott]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume
4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. Written by Mike Mountain Horse (d. 1964),
a World War I veteran.
65
This celebration we [are] intending to hold will be along progressive lines and
[we] hope it will be an incentive for the Indians to keep climbing the ladder towards
good citizens if we get enough backing. We also intend to display Indian school
children’s’ work and other provisions of Indian advancement, and I hope that the
Indian Department will give us all the possible support so that in time this
progressive celebration will take the part of the sun dances.
I may add, Sir, that we don’t intend to have a white man act in any capacity
on the committee. Everybody will be Indian from the President to the last man on the
committee.
Mike Mountain Horse to C. Stewart71 (January 24, 1925)
I have the honor to acknowledge your letter to Mr. A. F. Grady of the 24th
Nov. 1924 on behalf of my people who attended the Indian convention at Macleod on
Nov. 12th, 13th of last year. As it is your desire, Sir, to have a copy of the complaints
and grievances brought before the convention sent to you, I have been given the task,
as I was the secretary of that convention. I will give you the complaints in rotation by
tribe, taking the Blood Indians first.
The Blood Indians complain that they are never given a statement of their
earnings, especially their wheat money, and also a statement of their rations, that
they are never told what price their wheat sold for and that the only time they know
they have no more money is when the Agent tells them verbally.
Second complaint is that the Indian Agent is hardly at the office to attend to
his work as he is at Cardston; all the time he takes his children to school in the
morning when he should be in the office, he spends very little time in the office some
mornings and the same thing in the afternoon, he goes to Cardston at 4 o’clock to get
his children from school and the consequence is that some of the Indians don’t get no
attention from him after traveling considerable distance to see him.
Third complaint is about the lease of the Blood Reserve of sheepmen. In the
first place the Indian Agent negotiated separately with each Indian Chief to sign
terms for this lease which is contrary to the Indian Act, as it is clearly set forth in
section 49 of the Indian Act that no lease of any Indian Reserve shall be binding
unless assented to by a majority of the band, at a meeting summoned for that purpose.
However, we are given to understand that at a later meeting between the Indian
Commissioner and the Head Chief that terms were signed by the Chief on behalf of
the Indians which is again contrary to the Indian Act for we cannot find any section
of the Indian Act where the Head Chief has authority to sign alone on behalf of his
people.
Fourth complaint is against S. S. 3 of Section 90 of the Indian Act giving power
to the Supt. General of Indian Affairs to lease Indian Reserves without consulting the
Indians, which is contrary to the Blackfoot treaty of 1877 which gave us these
71 From Mountain Horse, M. (1925, January 24). [Letter to Minister of the Interior]. Indian Affairs
(RG 10, Volume 4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
66
Reserves forever and that never gave any power to any future government to amend
any of its clauses and stipulations in the future and we the Indians assembled in
convention do hereby petition the Federal Government to repeal Section 90 of the
Indian Act at the next session of Parliament and give us back our rights in having a
controlling voice in the disposition of our lands.
D. C. Scott to Colonel C. Starnes72 (January 31, 1925)
Cortlandt Starnes (1864 – 1934) was Commisioner of the R.C.M.P. in 1924.
Mike Mountain Horse seems to be the person chiefly interested in this
proposed celebration, but I think the good people of Macleod are really providing the
motive power. They wish to maintain whatever allegiance is left to Macleod in these
reserves and to make it a point of interest. Both the Minister and I have received
letters asking for our approval of this celebration. We have not yet decided to give it.
While on the surface it is supposed to be just a sports day for the Indians, it will be
made, no doubt, an occasion for all the grouchers to air their imaginary grievances.
D. C. Scott to Mike Mountain Horse73 (February 2, 1925)
Dear Sir, –
I am in receipt of your letter of January 9th, inviting the Honourable the
Minister or myself to attend the celebration which you think of holding at Macleod
from the 29th June to the 3rd July, 1925.
I am obtaining some additional information for the Minister on this subject.
You will readily understand that he cannot say so far ahead whether it will be
possible for him to be in Macleod at that date.
I am very doubtful whether you can usefully prolong this celebration for five
days, but I would sympathize with anything that was progressive. In a celebration of
this kind an attempt should be made to get away form the objectionable features of
stampedes, etc., but I am not aware how this can be done and at the same time attract
the public.
Yours very truly,
(Signed) Duncan Scott
Deputy Superintendent General.
72 From Scott, D. C. (1925, January 31). [Letter to Colonel Cortlandt Starnes]. Indian Affairs (RG 10,
Volume 4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
73 From Scott, D. C. (1925, February 2). [Letter to Mike Mountain Horse]. Indian Affairs (RG 10,
Volume 4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
67
D. C. Scott to J. Byng74 (February 3, 1925)
Viscount Julian Byng (1862 – 1935) was Governor General of Canada in 1924.
The Deputy Superintendent General presents his compliments to the Governor
General’s Secretary, and begs to acknowledge the receipt of the letter addressed to
His Excellency by Mike Mountain Horse.
The Deputy Superintendent General notes that His Excellency is disposed to
give his patronage to the proposed convention75, and he therefore hesitates to give
adverse advice, but under the circumstances he feels compelled to do so.
Last year some restless spirits on a Southern Alberta Reserve organized a
convention at Macleod, at which certain grievances were aired, and the matter has
been given a good deal of attention in the public press. There is hardly any foundation
for these grievances which might as well have been brought to the attention of the
Government through its Agents.
Unfortunately the Town of Macleod has been deprived of a section of the Indian
trade by the removal of the agency headquarters to the southern part of the reserve
near Cardston, and it is very evident that these Indian demonstrations were
supported by citizens of Macleod, with the hope of holding the allegiance of the
Indians.
Mike Mountain Horse has written to both the Honourable the Superintendent
General and his Deputy, asking for their presence and support, but no favourable
answer is being sent. The Agents of the district have been communicated with, and
until there is a better understanding than exists at present, it is not the intention to
give support to this gathering.
J. T. Faunt to D. C. Scott76 (February 15, 1925)
Joseph T. Faunt (1882 – 1949) was an Indian Agent for the Blood Reserve.
The meeting of Indians held at Macleod was not representative of the
progressive element on the Reserves, but was merely a gathering of a few of those
who don’t work themselves & who try their utmost to hold back others from work &
you will know how representative it was when I tell you that it was held in the little
two by four office of Mr. Grady who has an eye to being an Indian Agent or Postmaster
or anything else that the Government might care to hand out to him.
74 From Scott, D. C. (1925, February 3). [Letter to Governor General]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume
4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. Written by Duncan Campbell Scott (1862
– 1947).
75 The Governor General declined his patronage of the event on February 9, acting on Scott’s advice.
76 From Faunt, J. T. (1925, February 15). [Letter to Duncan C. Scott]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume
4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
68
Mike Mountain Horse himself does not stay on the Reserve but lives in Macleod
on the earnings of his wife who does washing & cleaning to support herself &
husband.
So far as the Indians not receiving statements of their earnings, I have yet to
learn of one Indian who has been refused such a statement, but having just one man
in the office & knowing as you do the amount of work transacted in this office you can
readily understand that it is hard to have these accounts all copied out of the ledger
just when an Indian should happen to call for a copy. I make a practice of allowing
any Indian farmer who has a mind to, [to] inspect his account in the ledger & if he
cannot read it himself, bring anyone he wants to interpret the entries to him & I do
not think anyone could be more open than that.
So far as the rations are concerned, I do not know what they mean by a
statement of their rations as none of them have up to the end of 1924 had any ration
credit & I have been issuing Destitute rations to all the farmers throughout the
working season & collecting from out the proceeds of their crop in the Fall & for the
most part these collections have not yet been made, not having had the time so far.
When these collections are made the amount is refunded to Ottawa to offset any
overdraft beyond the allowance voted for rations.
In the Fall of the year when harvesting operations are on, I do not spend a
great deal of time in the office, except on Wednesdays which I devote entirely to the
Indians & on Sundays when I attend to my correspondence. For two months,
September & October, I took my own, the clerk’s & the Farm Instructor’s children to
Cardston at 8 o’clock in the morning & got the mail & met any Indians there who
required any repairs or who had purchases to make in the way of machinery &c. &
all those who were working knew where to find me in the morning & your
correspondent does not mention that I had more than likely been in the office since
five in the morning writing wheat tickets for those who were going through early with
loads of wheat. No; he would be sound asleep at that time & there was no chance of
his knowing that other people were working while he slept. Then again I was in the
field all day directing the operations & generally keeping things going & when you
stop to consider that I had as high as seven outfits threshing at once time & hauling
nine to ten thousand bushels of wheat to the elevator in a day, I did not have much
time to sit around in my office. I always left instructions when I left the office, that if
I was not back by five o’clock, a team be sent in to bring home the children. Since the
weather got colder the children have been boarding in town & are only home for the
weekends & sometimes not then. This is one of the comforts we enjoy through the
buildings being erected eight miles from town when they might just as well have been
build close to Cardston & alongside the point where all the trading is done.
About the leasing of the North end of the Reserve, I would explain that when
Mr. Graham was here in the Summer he met Shot Both Sides, the head chief, & one
or two of the minor chiefs & discussed the terms on which they would be prepared to
lease that portion of the Reserve & they came to terms on the matter. When Mr.
Graham went back to Regina a form of resolution was drawn up & sent to me to
submit to the Indians. At that time the Indians were all assembled in camp for the
69
filming of the “Policing of the Plains” & I sent word to them that I would be in the
camp on a certain day & met them on that day & had the resolution read to them &
interpreted by several different interpreters & even by the official interpreter for the
Blackfeet Reservation at Browning, Montana & having business to attend to in
Macleod, I left the papers with the Chief so that they could discuss them in my
absence & would call in there on my way back & get the verdict. When I came back
they advised me that the terms were satisfactory & that they were willing to sign &
this was done in the presence of witnesses & right in the open.
There might have been a few objectors to the proposition but these were a very
small minority & I am satisfied that if it were put to a vote tomorrow, it would carry
by an overwhelming majority.
This same Mike Mountain Horse wrote me a letter some time ago repudiating
a lot of the stuff that was supposed to have been said at the meeting in Macleod &
saying that the Blood Indians had no kick coming in connection with the
administration of their affairs. A copy of this letter I sent to Mr. Graham & I have
good reason to believe that most of this stuff is being stirred up from the outside &
by people who probably think they have an axe to grind.
I trust, Sir, that I have made myself clear & that the explanation given of the
several matters may prove satisfactory to you.
A. F. Grady to C. Stewart77 (March 7, 1925)
Dear Mr. Stewart,
The Committee in charge of the Indian Convention, and Celebration for June
30th 1925, and following days, were delighted with the report from you, as given to
Mike Mountain Horse, and myself at Calgary, that you had no objections to this, and
that to assist in making it a greater success, the Indians, Bloods and Peigans would
be paid their Treaty money the week before July 1st, so that they may be able to have
a good time. The Committee asks for your confirmation of this in a letter either to
myself, or to Mike Mountain Horse. Last year these Indians were paid their money
just a few days before the 1st of July. They are all looking forward to seeing you open
this big celebration, on July 1st, 1925.
Yours truly,
(Signed) A. F. Grady
77 From Grady, A. F. (1925, March 7). [Letter to Charles Stewart]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume 4093,
File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
70
C. A. Arthur to D. C. Scott78 (March 9, 1925)
Chester A. Arthur (1876 – 1929) was Indian Agent for the Peigan Reserve.
As far as I can see the proposed celebration is doomed to failure as I am
informed that the head Chief on the Blood reserve will have nothing to do with it as
he rightly assumes that it is promoted by some Blood Indians and whites in Macleod
in whom he has no confidence and he is not desirous of embarrassing the Minister in
his administration of the Indian’s affairs.
For these reasons I think you would be ill advised to accept an invitation to
attend or to in any way give official sanction to this celebration.
Personally I have always opposed this kind of celebration as I have found that
anyone can unsettle the Indians by talking to them from the outside and making
them believe that they have a grievance where none exists.
D. C. Scott to A. F. Grady79 (March 25, 1925)
Dear Sir. –
The Honourable the Superintendent General has directed me to reply to your
communication to him of the 7th March, and to say that while he has consented to
approve for this year of the gathering of the Indians at Macleod, he has done so under
a certain definite understanding as to the character of the celebration and the way in
which it is to be carried out.
It is understood that the sports engaged in will not consist of any pagan dances
or performances of any kind, and that in the competitions Indians only will take part.
The Honourable the Minister thinks that all such celebrations or sporting events
should be carried out by the Indians on their own reserves, and hereafter this should
be looked forward to. It is though that three days is quite sufficient time, as within
this time limit there should be all possible scope for any games or competitions or for
an exhibition of industrial or school work.
Arrangements will also be made to pay the Indians treaty on the Blood and
Peigan reserves on or about the 25th of June, but this is not to form a precedent.
Will you kindly communicate these facts to Mike Mountain Horse, who wrote
to the Minister under date of March 8th.
Yours very truly,
(Signed) Duncan C. Scott
Deputy Superintendent General.
78 From Arthur, C. A. (1925, March 9). [Letter to Duncan C. Scott]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume
4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. Written by Chester A. Arthur (1876 –
1929), Indian Agent for the Peigan Reserve.
79 From Scott, D. C. (1925, March 25). [Letter to A. F. Grady]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume 4093,
File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
71
J. T. Faunt to D. C. Scott80 (March 25, 1925)
If the Indians go to Macleod [at] the end of June by which date they cannot
possibly have their farm work done, I will not be able to get them back on the land
again until harvest, as immediately after Treaty & the Sports they will be into the
hay camp & from there to the harvest, which will mean practically no land prepared
for [the] 1926 crop.
Mr. Arthur & Mr. Gooderham will also be affected adversely & I think Mr.
Gooderham is having a lot of trouble now on account of the shortage of feed through
the Indians being away last Summer to the Stampede in Calgary & the Jubilee in
Macleod & I certainly don’t want to [go] up against anything like that as we have
practically no Band Funds to fall back on. There is a certain season for doing the work
& if it is not done during that season it is generally left undone & if this Macleod
event is to be pulled off we might just as well begin to figure out how much the
Department is going to be called upon to put up to see the Indians through 1926.
I think the suggestion as to the granting of $200.00 from Band Funds towards
the prize list for the fair on the Reserve is a good one & if you consider it favorably I
will obtain a resolution from the chiefs authorizing the spending of this amount.
I trust, Sir, you will give the matter serious consideration before approving of
this proposed celebration in Macleod.
J. T. Faunt to W. M. Graham81 (April 7, 1925)
The Minister has granted permission to the Indians to participate in a three
day celebration in Macleod on the understanding that the sports will not include any
pagan dances or performances of any kind.
I am sorry that his permit has been given as it is going to seriously interfere
with my work on the Reserve and I do not think the Indians as a whole are in favor
of going to Macleod & would prefer to have their sports on the Reserve along about
the 14th & 15th of July and I had already asked the Department to pay treaty on
July 13th to fit in with these sports.
Those Indians instrumental in setting up the Macleod affair are offering
upwards of three thousand dollars in prizes for the various events and are figuring
on receiving from some moving picture outfit $3500.00 for the picture rights in
connection with the affair, and no picture outfit is going to give $3500.00 for pictures
of Indians running races etc. and I know they are figuring on Indian parades, dances,
sham battles etc. and where is it going to stop?
We lost a lot of valuable time last year on account of the Jubilee and if the
Department is looking for progress along industrial lines amongst these Indians, I
think the local Agents ought to be consulted, that is, if they are to be held responsible
80 From Faunt, J. T. (1925, March 25). [Letter to D. C. Scott]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume 4093, File
600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
81 From Faunt, J. T. (1925, April 7). [Letter to W. M. Graham]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume 4093,
File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
72
for any progress the Indians do not and can not make if they are allowed to leave
their Reserves at the call of every jerkwater town along the line who want to stage
something of the kind as a means of helping out their merchants who are slowly
starving to death, and by coaxing the Indians away from their work (and God knows
it has been hard enough to keep them at their work) will soon have them in the same
condition.
I have been planning to have this a record year so far as preparation of land is
concerned, but I might just as well crawl back into my hole until this thing is over
and dream of what might have been.
C. Stewart to W. M. Graham82 (May 18, 1925)
With regard to the Macleod Indian celebration, I am becoming somewhat
alarmed about this matter. I note the letter from Indian Agent Faunt, complaining
that his Indians have already become somewhat disturbed, and that he fears the
celebration will have a bad effect upon them, with consequent difficulty of getting
them to do any work.
Upon thinking the matter over, I have decided to ask you to make an
investigation and find out exactly what the Indians and Grady are doing at Macleod.
The head-lines on the letter you sent me from Mountain Horse would indicate that
they are going away beyond anything that was contemplated. I distinctly refused
them permission to carry on their old pagan customs, but agreed that there was no
objection to including all the white man’s games, including horse races. However, I
think the best thing to do is to put the whole matter in your hands in order that it
may not get out of bounds, and I will write Grady and Mountain Horse to this effect.
C. Stewart to Mike Mountain Horse83 (May 18, 1925)
Dear Chief Mountain Horse,
You will doubtless recall that when you interviewed me in Calgary, along with
Mr. A. F. Grady, with reference to the proposed celebration at Macleod, it was
distinctly understood that the Indians would not indulge in any of the old pagan
customs, but that all white man’s games would be allowed.
I note by the advertising on the letterhead you are using, that the celebration
has the appearance of going beyond what was originally contemplated, and as
complaints have come in from different Indian Agents that the Indians are already
becoming unsettled on account of the forthcoming event, I have thought it well to
have Indian Commissioner Graham personally take this matter in hand. I would
82 From Stewart, C. (1925, May 18). [Letter to W. M. Graham]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume 4093,
File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
83 From Stewart, C. (1925, May 18). [Letter to Mike Mountain Horse]. Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume
4093, File 600,107). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada.
73
therefore be obliged if you would address any communications you may have in
connection with the celebration to the Commissioner at Regina.
I have sent similar advice to Mr. Grady.
Yours faithfully,
(Signed) CHAS. STEWART
“Fast passing in Canadian history”84 (July 2, 1925)
For the first time in the history of Canada, three thousand redskins from four
western provinces and Montana have journeyed into Macleod to hold an all-Indian
celebration and to form a league of plains Indians. Vivid reminders of a day that is
fast passing in Canadian history are to be seen everywhere. On the east side of the
town eleven hundred Bloods are camped in picturesque, bright colored tepees. In the
centre of the town are the Blackfeet from Montana, and here and there throughout
the town limits are other camps of Stony, Sioux, Cree, Sarcees, Peigans and
Assiniboines.
The three-day celebration was opened yesterday with a gigantic Indian
pageant nearly two miles long. The only white persons in this spectacular procession
was a small contingent of mounted police which led it.
That the Indian still retains his old superstition of the white man’s camera was
evinced by the fact that the three motion picture men who had come to town to film
the celebration were forbidden to do so by the chiefs. A letter which the frantic
cameraman procured from Mayor Macdonald later in the day had no effect on the
chiefs, who were obdurate in their decision. Hence, this historic event will never be
seen by the outside world. […]
Indian methods of transportation which have been all but forgotten, were seen
in this remarkable pageant. Old women glided along between squads of mounted
warriors with the dog travois carrying their household possessions and their children.
The dogs trotted along as though they, too, belonged to the recent dark age in
American history. Many of the braves were totally stripped to the breech-cloth and
painted from head to foot.
Five thousand visitors brought in on special and regular trains over the
Canadian Pacific railway, attended the all-Indian stampede. In the afternoon, Tom
Three Persons, Blood Indian, former world’s champion bucking horse rider, won the
calf-roping contest. […]
As the sun sank below the Porcupine hills last night, the Indians retired to
their camps and began to sing and dance to their mournful music and throbbing tom-
toms. Macleod was never more reminiscent of the days of ’74 than it is at this colorful
moment.
84 From MOVIE MEN ARE BANISHED BY INDIAN CHIEFS HEADING M’LEOD’S BIG TRIBAL
MEET. (1925, July 2). The Edmonton Journal, p. 2.
74
Rations and Cattle Killing85 (1888 – 1895)
“We killed our cattle from hunger”86 (March 19, 1888)
In 1888, Hayter Reed (1849 – 1935), then assistant Indian Commissioner, met near
Edmonton with Chief Alexander Laviolette (1867 – 1919) of the Montagnais (or Innu)
First Nation87, and Chief Michel Callihoo (1824 -1911), founder of the Michel First
Nation. Their bands were accused of killing government cattle; the chiefs argued
this was the result of starvation from insufficient rations. Though not with the
Blood Indians, the report of this meeting provides insight into Reed’s thoughts
about rations and cattle killing in Alberta.
A public interview between the assistant Indian commissioner and the chiefs
Alexandre and Michel, with their councillors, was held at the police barracks,
Edmonton, on Thursday forenoon. Major de Balinhard, Indian agent, Supt.
Griesbach, Insp. Casey, H. S. Young, of the H. B. Co., Rev. Pere Blanchet, D. Maloney
and others were present. John Rowland of St. Albert interpreted for the Indians and
Mr. Reed employed his own interpreter.
Mr. Reed said he had come in pursuance of his promise of the day before to
hear what the Indians had to say.
Alexandre said he spoke as it might be for God and for the government on
behalf of the poor people who could not speak for themselves. “I don’t depend on what
you are doing here – both of you (Messrs. Reed and de Balinhard). Everything has
been going badly since you two came here. We consider that you have acted against
the law. It is you who have caused the government cattle to be killed. You knew last
fall that game and fish had failed in this country. You have come from far and you
have seen no track of anything to kill and eat. You see how miserable the Indians are
here, and when you go back you will tell them all is well.”
Mr. Reed – You told me all this when I saw you before, and I gave you your
answer then. The government is pretty well aware of the facts of the case. My
business here is to report the facts to the government, which I will do.
Alexandre – What I say is truth, as everyone who is here knows. Because it is
true I sent the telegram to Sir John. I have waited for an answer, but have got none.
I am not as wise as you, but I have a mind to think of these things. I follow the track
of the law and am not ashamed. White men would do as we have done. We killed our
cattle from hunger. Hunger might make us kill each other. It is as [if] you were
pushing us to do evil. That we have eaten our horses and the cattle that the
85 Unless otherwise stated, all extracts are from Blood Agency – Correspondence regarding certain
individuals of the Blood Reserve charged with killing cattle belonging to the Cochrane Ranch
Company. (1893-1896). Indian Affairs (RG 10, Volume 3894, file 97,443). Ottawa: Library and Archives
Canada.
86 From HUNGRY INDIANS. (1888, March 19). The Edmonton Bulletin, p. 4.
87 His headstone in Edmonton reads ‘Chef des Montagnais, Fort Chipewyan’.
75
government gave us should be blamed on you. What the poor people are saying every
day rings in my ears. We do not depend on you.
Mr. Reed – Does he mean that the promises I made him yesterday won’t be
kept?
Alexandre – I am talking not of what is ahead but what is behind, since last
fall. It is since then we have eaten the cattle.
Michel – When we were forced with hunger we went to the agent here. He
spoke well to us but that did not fill us. When matters did not improve we said, “Let
us see how it is further away.” We got no answer from the telegram we sent. We see
that nothing is going right from Regina. You knew that it was a hard year with us. If
you wanted to save us, why did you not send the food while the roads were good? The
Indians had asked for 500 sacks of flour this winter. He heard that only 300 sacks
had been sent. “Perhaps Sir John does not know we are starving.”
Replying to Mr. Reed Michel said that before sending the telegram they had
gone to the agent and asked for food. They knew that next day was ration day, but
they did not wait to see what would be given them on that day.
Mr. Reed said that the total number of sacks of flour asked for was 500, but
the department were using their judgment about the time for delivery.
Mr. de Balinhard said that was the trouble; 200 were not to be delivered till
June.
Mr. Reed – The object of the government in not sending the flour sooner was
to assist the farmers of the country by buying as much as possible from them. It was
not until late in the fall that the department found they could not get enough flour
here. It had to be brought all the way from Winnipeg. The contractor met with many
accidents and did not get in when agreed. The government would have delivered the
flour sooner if they could.
Replying to Mr. Reed Michel said that he had two cattle of his own and had
had five pigs, but they had starved to death. He had earned money by freighting, but
had not yet received it. His son had earned some and had received it.
Rev. Father Blanchet, at Michel’s request, conversed with Mr. Reed in French.
Ma-me-na-wa-ta, of Stoney Plain, said “I have been called a coward for not
killing cattle. It is true. I am a coward and have killed none. I am glad to see you here,
and am surprised that you have come now when everything is scarce. This one and
that one is naked. The wives are freezing for lack of clothing. Why is the clothing now
lying in the store on the reserve not distributed? When you go those you leave behind
will not do as you promise. They seem to be above you. If your promises are not carried
out after you leave I will kill cattle as others do. The only way to get anything from
the agent you send us is to flatter him. I have always wanted you to look favorably
on me. You put an egg – the law – into my hand. I did not break it and neither have
these others. We are trying to gain what the Queen promised us. What we gain we
like to have in our hands. We want these promises fulfilled now.”
Sknee Kue blamed the Regina officials and accused them of misusing the
money placed in their hands by the government for the benefit of the Indians. He
said, “You do not expend as much this year as before. When we could help ourselves
76
you helped us more, this year we cannot help ourselves and you bring less. Do you
promise to give us three meals a day until the ice is gone, or is this increase of food to
be only for one day? When we see that you will help us, we will thank you.”
Mr. Reed – I am here on behalf of the government to see whether the Indians
are able to provide for themselves or not. After making enquiries I find that they
require more rations. Consequently I increased them, and will allow them a
reasonable quantity until such time as those who are able go off to hunt. The
government does not wish for any one to suffer from lack of food. But though the
government aids the Indians, and in most cases very liberally, the Indians are
expected to aid themselves by every means in their power. Some Indians receive a
great deal of provisions, others only a little and others none at all, according to
circumstances. As I told you, my promises are being kept and both flour and meat are
being sent out to you so that you will not want. A few Indians are out hunting, and
are doing remarkably well. Alexandre himself has killed thirty deer this winter, and
two others whom I met have killed 90. I know it is hard to get out and hunt, the snow
is so deep, but some can help themselves. Michel said a day or two ago on his reserve,
“If these promises are fulfilled we are happy.” They are being fulfilled.
Alexandre said he had killed thirty deer, but he was the best hunter in this
part of the country. Others could not do as he had done. There was not more than
twenty deer left in this vicinity. “You know it is deep snow and a hard season. You
knew these things before. If you had opened your eyes before, things would not be as
they are. But you did not want to see; you want to do nothing but gather money. Your
name is neither good with Indians or whites – neither of you.”
Mr. Reed – We know many things, but we did not know whether or not there
was going to be fish or game.
A young man said he had lost his wife and two children by hunger, and as he
was now alone he could manage to support himself.
Mr. Reed said if the government thought he could earn his living it would not
help him at all.
Alexandre said he understood that the government said, “If you help
yourselves we will help you;” not, “If you help yourselves we will leave you off.”
Another councillor said, “I am a coward, but when I hear my children cry from
hunger I kill cattle. I think of you as the cold; you want to kill all on the reserves.”
Alexandre – You were sent word last spring about sickness on the reserves. On
my own reserve many have died of sickness and hunger. Medicine is no use without
food. Thirty have died on my own reserve, and fifteen besides. Five of my own children
have died, most of them grown up. I sent word every day but you would do nothing
for me. You think what I say of the sickness is not true. I tell you in your ears you lie
when you say you take the part of the sick children.
Mr. Jim had been used to working for the whites. This winter he could get no
work. There was no game and no fish, and he had nearly starved to death depending
on the Indian department. He did not go to the whites to sell his country. They came
to him to buy it, and now they would not pay the price.
77
Mr. Reed ordered dinner to be provided for the Indians, and assured them that
they would receive the increase of rations promptly.
“They immediately say it is the Indians”88 (January 17, 1890)
Major McGibbon, inspector of Indian agencies, being in town, THE HERALD
called his attention to published statements in reference to Indians killing cattle on
the ranches, and asked him if there was any foundation for these statements.
“No definite charges have been brought against the Indians,” said the
inspector. “The charges have been of a general character. No direct case has been
brought under our notice which we could investigate. It is well known that calves and
young cattle are often killed by wolves and coyotes. So much is this the case that some
of the larger ranches in the Macleod district have provided packs of hounds to hunt
and kill these animals. When certain people find their calves killed they immediately
say it is the Indians, but they have no proof. It is not fair to make general charges
against those who have no means of defending themselves. The charges should be
specific. They should give date, place and all particulars. If such definite charges were
made I would sift them to the bottom, but up to this time no statement has been made
that we could lay hold of. I have been inspecting the agencies around here for the last
four years, and I have never had a case of this kind brought before me that there was
a shadow of truth in. The Indians are exceedingly well behaved and orderly, and have
great respect for other people’s property. This opinion I have formed after four years’
study. The Indians have no occasion to steal. They are well fed and well looked after
and have no need to resort to killing cattle to get a living. I repeat: If any one has any
definite charge to make, I will see it promptly and fully investigated.”
“A question of rations and money”89 (January 22, 1890)
Referring to the question of the conduct of the Indians, especially in regard to
killing range cattle, Mr. George K. Leeson, the well-known contractor, informs us that
he has had several hundred cattle at large at Morley for several years, and much of
the time they are running with Indian cattle, and he has never known an instance of
the Indians killing his stock.
It is only right to say in this connection that Mr. Stimson, at the Gun club
meeting, spoke very positively of Indians killing cattle on the High River ranges. He
spoke of what he knew; not of what he did not. His statement in regard to Indian
depredations was corroborated by a correspondent at Mosquito Creek who, writing
without any knowledge of Mr. Stimson’s having made a statement on the subject,
alleged that within his knowledge Indians had been killing cattle in that locality.
Notwithstanding the good conduct of the Indians at Morley, it must be assumed that
range cattle have recently been killed by Indians. There is something, however, in
88 From Major McGibbon on the Indians. (1890, January 17). The Calgary Herald, p. 4.
89 From THE INDIAN QUESTION. (1890, January 22). The Calgary Herald, p. 2.
78
Major McGibbon’s contention that provable cases should be submitted to the Indian
department for investigation.
If the keeping on the Indians on their reserves is merely a question of rations
and money, the expense should not be considered for a moment. If the Government
are powerless under treaties to keep them from wandering in armed bands over the
cattle ranges, then they should endeavor to secure such a re-arrangement of the
treaties as will prevent this go-as-you-please business from continuing. No one wishes
to extend to the Indians treatment less generous that what the whites receive, but at
least the Indians should not be fed at the expense of the whites and at the same time
enjoy privileges which are denied to whites. The indiscriminate killing of game out of
season and the invasion of cattle ranges in armed bands would not be tolerated in the
case of whites and should not be permitted in the case of Indians. The country is
getting settled up too fully, game is getting too scarce, for a continuance of the
proceedings which might have been all right in a different condition of the country,
long ago, and the management of the Indians should be changed to suit.
H. Reed to T. M. Daly (January 6, 1893)
Hayter Reed (1849 – 1935) was Indian Commissioner in January of 1893. Thomas
Mayne Daly (1852 – 1911) was Minister of the Interior and Superintendent of Indian
Affairs.
Dear Mr. Daly,
I return herewith Mr. W. F. Cochrane’s letter90 with the following expression
of my views as asked for:-
Although unaware of this complaint when making a visit to the district from
which I have just returned, I made particular enquiries relative to the Indians killing
stock. Ever since ranchers went into the Western country we have heard such
complaints. While quite prepared to admit that individual Indians are occasionally
unable to resist a favorable opportunity for killing an animal, we always held about
the Calgary Districts what I now hold regarding that of McLeod, that White criminals
were more to blame than Indians. With regard to the Calgary District the truth of
this has been demonstrated and the conviction and commitment to the Penitentiary
of some White men has pretty well put an end to such complaints.
If the Bloods have been killing cattle it cannot be properly attributed to
insufficiency of rations for on my visit just referred to, I found them in receipt of the
same average per capita rations as given for nearly a year back, with which, they
went out of their way to inform me when I was there last September, they were well
satisfied, however the Winter being severe and fewer opportunities existing at this
season to enable them to help themselves, and with a view to remove any temptation
to kill cattle, I increased the ration, on the occasion of my recent visit.
90 This letter is apparently missing. In the archive this item is followed by a letter from W. F. Cochrane
on the same subject, dated September, 1893.
79
I did hear some reports, but learned from the Sergeant in charge of the Police
Detachment, the facts to be that four carcasses had been found, only one of which
showed signs of having been shot.
The animals had been driven down to the low lands to shelter them from a
storm, and as some cows were in poor condition the Police Sergeant’s suggestion that
they may have succumbed to exhaustion, seems not unreasonable.
The Sergeant informed me furthermore that the Ranch Inspector, when a
Constable mentioned the subject to him, said that he had heard such reports before
and “took mighty little stock” in them or something to that effect, meaning that the
killing was not done to any great extent.
He told me moreover that five days before Mr. Cochrane’s complaint, the Police
Patrol called in the usual course to enquire if there were any complaints to make
about depredations, and learned that there were none.
The Indians claim that much of the suspicion attached to them results from
their having to drive away the Rancher’s herds and the cattle of others from
trespassing on the Reserve, which is one of the finest for grazing purposes in the
country, and I have therefore instructed that before driving off cattle they shall get
one of our people to accompany them for their protection, ill as the time of our
Employés can be afforded for such purpose.
I have had more than once to draw the Company’s attention, through the
Agent, to such trespassing, which last year caused serious inconvenience, by the
destruction of grass which our people depended on, but even if not used for
themselves, these Indians as well as all others are very jealous of trespassing on their
Reserve, and must of course be protected in their rights.
It may be next to impossible for the Company to prevent such occasional
trespass, but if it occur they need not be surprised if the Indians chase the cattle off.
I may add that if the Company keep six men only to look after some 15,000 cattle
they need not be surprised if they occasionally suffer at the hands of White or Indian
marauders.
Those acquainted with what goes on across the Line consider Ranchers on this
side have cause to be thankful, and give our Indians great credit for their behaviour
in this respect; still however, we are only too anxious to put an entire stop to such
conduct, and I cannot but regret that if Mr. Cochrane had any reason to believe killing
was going on to any such extent as he describes, he did not inform us in order that
extra precautions might be taken.
I have now communicated with the Police Commissioner with a view to extra
exertion to put a stop to cattle killing by whomsoever it may be committed.
In conclusion I may remark that these people are apparently only in a position
to judge of the rations the Indians have been receiving, from the amount of beef
purchased from themselves, and while not unnaturally they may desire to see
increased liberality in a direction which materially affects their own market, they are
ignorant of many circumstances upon which the question of the sufficiency of the beef
ration hinges.
80
No doubt, as Mr. Cochrane says, many Indians are at times away, the
inducements offered to visit their relations across the Line are largely responsible for
this, but I have never heard of Indians on the Reserve not drawing their rations, nor
do I believe it.
Yours faithfully,
(Signed) Hayter Reed
Memorandum by H. Reed (February 22, 1893)
Mr. Cochrane’s statement, as to the Peigans of the United States being much
more liberally provided for than our Indians, is correct, but it is submitted that this
fact must prove the good management and treatment of our Indians by our officials.
As to calling for returns, the Department, it is thought, is in possession of the
facts connected with the daily issues. It would certainly be bad management if our
Indians were, year in and year out, to receive the same daily allowance. The issues
are governed by circumstances. No such instructions, by themselves, have ever been
given new Agents as mentioned. Certainly every effort is expected to be made by all
to reduce the issues as much as possible, consistent with circumstances, but other
and more important qualifications are necessary to entitle an Agent’s claim for
advancement to be considered. Those who are the most liberal in the issue of rations
are not, as a rule, the most successful officials.
Mr. Cochrane is apparently disinclined to give us credit for knowing much of
the work with which we are particularly charged. It is thought our own officials are
the most likely to know whether Indians draw their rations or not, and they believe
that they do.
The undersigned would ask the Department to compare the issues to the
Blackfeet and Peigans for the same periods which shew, it is thought, a higher rate
to the Bloods, but no complaints have come from either of the former, nor have any
complaints been received about cattle-killing.
A construction has been placed upon the last clause of the letter of the
undersigned of 6th January foreign to that intended, as the undersigned has always
entertained a much higher estimate of Mr. Cochrane’s character than to impute
motives of endeavouring to create a larger market by making such complaints.
(Signed) Hayter Reed
“Self Supporting Indians”91 (February 22, 1893)
We hear great complaints from cattlemen about Indians camping on the range.
There are, it is reported, at the present time no less than twenty-seven lodges on High
River alone, and a party of Sarcees with fourteen tepees have been camped near
Pekisko all winter. It is perfectly obvious to the meanest capacity that a party of from
100 to 150 Indians are not living on game shot on High River. There is no game worth
91 From SELF SUPPORTING INDIANS. (1893, February 22). The Calgary Herald, p. 3.
81
mentioning on High River or in any other part of Southern Alberta. The Indians have
killed everything living there they could come across both in season and out of season
until there is nothing left to kill.
The logical consequence is that they are living on beef, a deduction which is
supported by actual evidence. Hides and beef have been found in their lodges quite
recently. Of course the Indians have found a dead animal. They always do. Equally
of course it would be pretty hard to convince any reasonable individual that if they
had happened to run across a live steer, when nobody was looking, they would not
have to search very long before finding a dead one pretty close to the same locality.
They must be killing cattle or they could not live. It is impossible to prove, but it is as
morally certain as anything on earth.
Now, why are those Indians allowed to wander over the country and inflict this
loss and annoyance on the neighboring cattlemen? For a very simple reason. The
whole aim and object of an Indian Agent’s existence is to show a clean ration sheet.
It is the highly commendable ambition of the Indian Department to make the Indians
self supporting. This idea conflicts with the life-principle of the Indian, which is
simply to get as much of the Indian Department for nothing as possible. But he also
has a rooted objection to be obliged to live within the limits of his reserve, and of this
the much worried agent takes advantage. By granting passes for the purpose of
“hunting” he gratifies his wander-loving charges and soothes the departmental mind
with a small “total drawing rations.” Whether there is anything to hunt or not is a
minor matter. The ration sheet, at all events, is “clean.” If the unfortunate cattlemen
have to furnish the objects of the Indian hunt, that does not appear on any return,
and the returns are what count at Ottawa. The blue book statistics of self supporting
Indians in Treaty No. 7 do not contain a hint that they support themselves at the
expense of the nearest herd, but that does not render them any the less available for
refuting the factious opponents of the Minister of the Interior when the Indian
Department estimates come up.
We do not blame the Indian Agents. Indeed, what between the Indian
Department and the Indians, the traders and the missionaries, the inspectors and
the ever-lasting call for returns, and yet more returns, we do not know any
government officials in the country more sincerely to be pitied. It is the whole system
of making results appear to have been attained, which have not been attained, that
is to blame. No doubt the idea of making the Indians self-supporting in course of time,
is an excellent one in its way. Considerable progress has among them in the course
of the last ten years. But they are a long way off from being self supporting yet, and
will be for quite a while, in spite of all returns and blue book figures to the contrary.
And it is high time that this farce of making clean ration sheets by granting passes
for the purpose of “hunting” was discontinued, at all events south of the
Saskatchewan. The sooner the department recognizes the fact that “hunting” is
merely a facetious way of writing “shooting cattle” the better. The little official farce
may be very amusing at Ottawa, but the cattlemen in Alberta rather fail to see where
the funny part comes in.
82
H. Reed to T. M. Daly (March 11, 1893)
I have the honor to refer to an article which appeared in the Calgary Herald’s
weekly issue of 22nd ultimo, under the caption “Self-supporting Indians,” to the effect
that our Indians in Treaty 7 are hanging about the Ranges and living on cattle which
they find dead, but actually at any rate in many instances, kill, and that this is the
outcome of the insufficiency of the issues of food made.
It is of course difficult to ascertain what amount of truth, if any, there may be,
in these allegations.
I have instructed all the Agents to do all in their power to put a stop to what is
being complained of, to employ if necessary Indian scouts as detectives, and to go out
and bring in Indians who are in situations which are likely to tempt them to commit
such depredations as are complained of.
I have, moreover, directed the attention of the Commissioner of N. W. M. Police
to the matter and he informs me that his force is patrolling the country as well as
possible, but they themselves have seen nothing to justify such indiscriminate
statements.
In the article referred to, particular reference was made to the Sarcees, but I
have have quite recently been advised by Mr. Agent Lucas that he had been asking
Mr. Fred Stimson, one of the stock owners upon whose range the Sarcees are
generally to be found when away from their Reserve, about the matter, and was
informed that the Sarcees had not troubled him this winter.
The Blood Agent reports that many cattle have been dying in the District and
a number of Ranchers [have been] giving the Indians permission to remove the beef.
With regard to insufficiency of rations tempting Indians to commit these
depredations, I am not prepared to admit that there is justification for the assertions
made. It is of course regarded as a matter of the greatest importance to keep rations
down as much as possible without entailing suffering, and when it is remembered
that an ounce per diem multiplied by the number of souls rationed will represent an
annual money expenditure aggregating many thousands of dollars, the necessity for
the strictest economy will be apparent. A sound discretion is, however, exercised and
if the circumstances are in any way exceptional, a corresponding increase is made,
but it is obvious that if these Indians are to be allowed all they want without exerting
themselves, nothing will ever be accomplished in the direction of making them self-
supporting.
That cattle killing would to some extent be carried on by Indians under any
circumstances is altogether probable, and more so when they are surrounded by such
large Ranches as are in their District, nor can the hope to entirely put a stop to such
depredations, whether committed by Indians or whites, under these circumstances,
be reasonably entertained.
83
J. Wilson to H. Reed (March 16, 1893)
James Wilson (1850 – 1923) was Indian Agent for the Blood Agency.
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letters dated 28th ultimo
and 10th instant, and to inform you that I have engaged the services of two Indians,
“Running Crane” and “Bear’s Hat” to act as scouts and detectives.
The former lives opposite the Cochrane Ranch Company’s place, while the last
named resides in Red Crow’s village. Both Indians are good reliable men and I have
every confidence that they will do what is wanted of them.
During the last month there has been only one case of suspected cattle killing
by Indians in the neighborhood of the Reserve, and in that case the cow was so week
she lay down to die, and there was proof that the animal had not died of exhaustion.
The greater part of the trouble comes from the fact that some Ranchers will
give Indians letters authorizing them to take dead cattle with their brands on and
although it does look hard to see good beef going to waste, still when an Indian is
armed with a letter of authority, it is hard to put a stop to them or to keep them from
wandering around the Reserve looking for dead cattle.
When in Lethbridge some time ago I had some conversation with Mr. Curry &
Mr. Harvis, the Manager and Foreman to Messrs. Conrad Bros., about giving Indians
notes and they admitted they had done so, while the Indians have told me that the
Brown Ranch Co. on the St. Mary’s River have also been giving them leave to take
the beef from the dead animals. I also know that at the Mormon Colony they have
been allowed to do so.
As far as possible however, I will endeavor to keep the Indians from going over
there, but these places are so close that they never actually require to leave their
Reserve to obtain possession of these dead animals.
H. Reed to T. M. Daly (March 25, 1893)
In my letter already referred to I explained how a small daily saving in rations
to so many mounts up in the course of the year, and that if Indians are to be allowed
all they want without exerting themselves, nothing will ever be accomplished in the
direction of making them self supporting. I may add that nothing you could give these
Indians would prevent a demand for more.
The Government gives them far more than in any way bound to do by Treaty,
and while they are in possession of ponies, rifles, etc., etc., which if hard pressed they
would speedily dispose of for food, and while supporting (instead of killing and eating)
large numbers of dogs, no credence need be placed in stories of their seriously
suffering.
I have, however, given such instructions as to remove any doubt as to their
being in want.
The Indians however are not wandering about much, and everything
considered they have been very successful in keeping them at home. Nomadic by
84
nature, they would roam when the fit was on them, even if by doing so they left
abundance behind them, and an army of soldiers or police could not prevent their
slipping away.
It was specially stipulated by them when they entered Treaty that they should
not be tied down to their Reservations, and although I have often taken the
responsibilities of employing police to send them home, the greatest caution has to be
exercised, for were they to offer resistances and conflict ensure, they have the law on
their side. Under these circumstances Agents must often, against their own wishes,
issue Passes to Indians who they know will leave in any case, and so preserve an
appearance at least of control, and a knowledge of their movements.
“He can snap his fingers at the police”92 (March 29, 1893)
Speaking of the killing of cattle by Indians, the Macleod Gazette says:-
“Unless, therefore, an Indian is found actually in the act of the killing it is more
than probable that he can snap his fingers at the police. Only this week four Blood
Indians were brought in by the police from Stand Off charged with cattle killing, each
one when arrested having a quarter of beef in his possession, but the brand was
missing, and although they were put in the guardroom and given a preliminary trial,
it will be next to impossible to convict them. This condition of affairs calls for some
action; either the law of this country should be amended so as to make anyone
arrested for cattle killing, with beef in his possession, prove his right and ownership
to that beef, and not as at present, lay the onus of the proof on the owner of the
missing animal; or some scheme should be devised whereby Indians should not be
allowed off their reserves at any time without the written permission of the agent in
charge, stating distinctly when the bearer was allowed to go, what for, and how long
he was to be away. And any Indian found off his reserve without a pass, or found in
any other direction than that his pass called for, etc., should be promptly arrested;
and we have no doubt that the annoyances complained of by the ranchers resulting
from itinerant bands of Indians would then speedily end.”
“An agreement for mutual protection”93 (June 28, 1893)
In the absence of an incorporated association, a number of the stockmen of
Southern Alberta are entering into an agreement for mutual protection. For some
time past depredations on the range are known to have been committed in nearly
every part of the country, but unfortunately for the ranchmen the arm of the law has
not always been long enough to reach the scoundrels, who are fattening on their ill-
gotten gains. Detectives have been employed by the stockmen, but the experiment
has not proved a success, for even in cases where men, well known to have never
owned a head of stock, and with unsavory reputations otherwise, were found in
92 From CATTLE KILLING INDIANS. (1893, March 29). The Calgary Herald, p. 4.
93 From $500.00 REWARD. (1893, June 28). The Calgary Herald, page unknown.
85
possession of beef, the law as it stands gives no one the power to compel such men to
prove their claim to the beef, and it would be very difficult to prove the crime by
circumstantial evidence. The law punishes the offence severely when discovered and
satisfactorily proved, and as a means to that end the large ranchers are now offering
a reward of $500 for information leading to the conviction of persons killing, branding
or otherwise illegally handling cattle bearing their brands. The reward may possibly
have a better effect in securing evidence that will convict than any means yet tried,
as it will virtually make every man in the country a detective.
W. F. Cochrane to L. Vankoughnet (September 6, 1893)
W. F. Cochrane, rancher, died in 1944. Lawrence Vankoughnet was Deputy
Superintendent General of Indian Affairs (Hayter Reed would soon succeed him in
the role).
The claim that white criminals are more to blame for cattle killing in the
neighbourhood of the Blood Reservation may do to make the Department in Ottawa,
or to anyone unacquainted with the District, but though it may have been true of the
Calgary District, the claim would carry no weight with anyone who knows the
Country about the Bloods.
With regard to reduced rations causing cattle killing, Mr. Reed’s answer is not
an answer to my statement. I state that from the time Col. Irvine went there as Agent
(1st Feb. 1892) and commended the reduction of rations, cattle killing had been on
the increase. When I wrote, the first severe wintry weather was on, and some cattle
had been drifted down to the Range between our home ranch and Stand Off, where
cattle killing if going on, would be more easily detected, and in consequence six head
were discovered butchered, without anyone going out of their way to look for them.
Another was reported to me afterwards that had been killed the same week, which
makes seven. The Police and Local Indian Officials have always known my views on
this subject, which has often been talked over between us, and I had ceased to report
every case discovered, as nothing could be done about it; but this was too much to
stand without making a protest. There are other ways of killing cattle than by
shooting, and cattle were not dying with exhaustion at this time. I do not know who
the Ranch Inspector is, whose opinion is quoted, nor can the Police Commissioner
inform me, but [I] do not consider it worth much.
With regard to the Police Patrol receiving no complaints. It was before I had
heard of them, that they were there, I think, and, I do not remember their ever asking
if there were any complaints, or answering that there were none. It would not,
however, have occurred to me to have made any complaints to them, as I could see
their Superior Officer any time, and actually did, and talked the whole matter over
with him that week, as I did also with Supt. Steele before posting my letters.
I do not deny that our cattle do trespass to some extent upon the Reservation,
but, the Indians trespass to quite as great an extent upon our Range, which, I have
always considered an off-set. If I could keep the cattle off the Reservation, I should
86
like to do so, but, where they run on the Reserve it is part and parcel of the same
piece of range that we have the lease of the greater part of, and, you cannot make
cattle respect a survey line.
We have always tried to be neighbourly, and do not wish to receive any benefit
from grazing on the Reserve for nothing. This is a matter which I hope to take up
with you when I go down to Ottawa shortly. I do deny though, that the Indians drive
our cattle off, though, I know they have done so to other people’s cattle on other parts
of the Reserve, or that this has anything to do with their killing cattle. We have
several times received instructions from the Agent to remove cattle from the
Reservation, and have always done so when requested, and many more times when
not requested.
I should like to know who informed Mr. Reed that I kept only six men to look
after some 15,000 cattle, and am willing to leave the question to anyone in this
Country as to whether I have the reputation of neglecting the care of our cattle by
being shorthanded, or otherwise. Of course, if I have to hire men to do Police duty, I
do need more.
As to the Indians going out of their way last September to inform Mr. Reed
that they were well satisfied with their rations, either the Interpreter deceived him,
or some Indian that wanted something said so to please him, or he was deceived in
some way. Because, my men who deliver beef on the Reserve, and see a great deal of
the Indians, and understand their language to a great extent, told me that there was
a great deal of dis-satisfaction amongst them.
It is not so much the way our Indians are rationed or treated, that makes them
more law abiding than those on the American side, as the different administration of
the law in the two Countries, for, I do not believe our Indians are as well treated as
the South Peigans at whose Agency I have been in Montana.
Mr. Reed’s insinuation that this complaint is made with the view of increasing
our own market, was expected, and that is the reason that I hesitated to make this
complaint until the matter got so serious that I could not neglect to, any longer. As a
matter of fact, there is no profit in selling beef at Contract prices at this season, and
it would pay us much better if we were not obliged to furnish any at this time of year.
Mr. Reed thinks we only judge of the rations by the amount of beef purchased
from ourselves, but, I happen to know more than he thinks about it.
You can easily call for returns which will show you that the per capita ration
has been very materially reduced during the past year. The ration used to be a pound
and a quarter, and was reduced to 0.98 of a pound, and I was told a still further
reduction was contemplated. If you ask for the instructions given New Agents, I think
you will find that they were given to understand that their chances of getting on were
in proportion to the amount of rations they could save. I have seen some of the ration
returns, and compared them with those of the previous year.
As to the last statement that the Commissioner does not believe that the
Indians on the Reserve sometimes omit to draw their rations, who is most likely to
know something about this – he who pays an occasional visit to the Reserve, and has
87
never lived among or near these Indians, or, we who are practically among them all
the time?
In conclusion, if this policy of reduction goes on, our lives as well as our
property will be in danger. These are very different Indians to deal with, from those
that broke out in 1885, and very differently placed.
S. B. Steele to H. Reed (June 9, 1894)
Sir Samuel Benfield Steele (1848 – 1919) was District Commander for the N.W.M.P.
I have the honour to report, that in consequence of having heard a great deal
of talk among the settlers, to the effect that cattle killing was increasing since the
rations of the Indians had been reduced, I caused inquiries to be made and with a
great deal of difficulty, have secured some valuable information from three Indians
of the Blood Reservation on the subject.
These Indians have never been before the Police upon any charge, and are of
good character. I therefore rely upon what they say.
Inspector Jarvis and Staff Sergeant Hilliard have been working at this matter
for some months past, but have only just succeeded in obtaining any reliable
information, the Indians being afraid at first to tell the whole story, but I promised
them that their information would, as far as their names are concerned, be
confidential, and on that promise, they told me all they knew. The substance of their
statement is as follows:-
The rations are issued as follows: three days’ rations at one time, and then
another four days’ rations.
The three days’ issue is used up on the morning of the second day, leaving the
Indians 1½ days without food.
The four days’ issue only lasts them for two days, and they are therefore two
days without food before the next issue is made.
They state that the “meat choppers” and Indian Department employees get
plenty to eat, issued to them.
They all agree in saying that the Indians kill cattle, and estimate the number
at from 25 to 30 head per month.
The killing is always done at night, and upon the same day of the week as
rations are issued, their object being to conceal the offence, because the fresh meat
would not be noticed so much on that particular day.
The Indians stated that there are times when they are hungry in spite of all
they kill.
The Indians do not kill small cattle; they kill the large animals and have a
preference for cows.
Up to last Summer Chief “Red Crow” had no complaints, but from last fall, he
has not had sufficient rations.
88
The Indians say that if there were two cordons of sentries around the camp,
the hungry Indians could go through, kill cattle, and return with the meat, without
being discovered.
The above statement is, I believe, founded on fact, and as far as the hunger of
the Indians is concerned, can be corroborated by Inspector Jarvis, and the
Department at Stand Off.
The Indians do not cast any reflection upon the officials of the Indian
Department; they believe that they receive all the officials are authorized to issue to
them.
As you are aware there is a great deal of patrolling done, but as I have said
before, as long as the Indians cannot support themselves, which they cannot do in a
country where there is so little rain and no irrigation, they will not starve, while there
are upwards of 80,000 head of cattle running on the ranges, and I may add that were
it not for the vigilance of the Police there would be a great deal more cattle killing
done.
Even if the number of Police were doubled or trebled, it would be an easy
matter for an Indian to steal out at night and kill an animal without being caught, as
anyone acquainted with their craft knows full well.
A. E. Forget to H. Reed (June 16, 1894)
In 1894, Amédée Emmanuel Marie Forget (1847 – 1923), was Assistant Indian
Commissioner, and Hayter Reed was DeputySuperintendent General of Indian
Affairs.
I enclose herewith a further report received from the Commissioner of N. W.
M. P. relative to affairs on the Blood Reserve, in connection with which I would offer
the following remarks.
If so extensive a system of cattle killing is going on as is referred to, it seems
incredible that the arrangements necessary for the distribution of some 20,000 lbs. of
beef per month, which is derived therefrom, can be carried on with such perfect
secrecy as to completely escape the notice of our officials, the Agency Scouts or the
Mounted Police.
Upon looking into Red Crow’s statement that up to last Summer he had no
complaints to make, I find that while the average rations for the 10 months from July
1893 to 30th April 1894 are actually slightly higher than the average for the
preceding fiscal year (as will be seen from a comparative statement enclosed
herewith), the average number of Indians rationed has fallen from 1524 in 1892-93
to 1386 in the first 10 months of 1893-94.
The Annuity paysheets for 1893 show 1494 Indians as having been paid, and
there were 117 absentees of whom 47 could not be accounted for.
If, as is assumed, some 1400 Indians on an average were drawing rations prior
to July 1893 for 1524 Indians, there would very naturally be a pinch felt when the
number allowed for was reduced by some 124 rations, even though the average p. c.
89
was slightly increased. This seems to account in part, if not wholly for the cry of
reduced rations.
H. Reed to F. White (June 28, 1894)
Frederick White was Comptroller of the N.W.M.P.
It seems incredible that some six or seven animals should be killed, and some
800 lbs. of beef, derived therefrom, distributed weekly, without some sign being found
by your men, the Indian scouts, or our own people, which would enable the
depredations to be traced to the perpetrators.
Were the Indians in receipt of the quantity of beef which it is alleged they steal,
in addition to the allowance they receive, together with flour, from the Department,
it is hardly conceivable that even they would be complaining of being hungry; and
consequently the conclusion seems forced upon one, that the statements made by the
Indians who furnished the information are exaggerations of what doubtless may have
a sub-stratum of truth, but as already said, enquiries are being instituted.
H. Reed to J. Wilson (August 2, 1894)
Let counsel be secured to defend any Macleod Indians lately or about to be
arrested for cattle killing.
H. Reed to A. E. Forget (July 4, 1894)
Strong complaint has just been made by Senator Cochrane about the Indians
killing cattle on the Company’s Ranch.
Something must be done to put a stop to these depredations, and the Agent
should be told that he is expected to devise measures for that end.
If necessary an additional scout or two should be temporarily engaged, and
consultation should be held with the North West Mounted Police with a view to co-
operation with them. Again, the offer of the reward of $500 made by the Ranchers’
Association for detention of such crimes should be widely circulated among the
Indians. These suggestions are such as occur on the spur of the moment and at a
distance, but the Agent on the spot should be in the best position to devise effective
measures, and, as already said, should be told that he is expected to do so.
I would again remind you of what has already been written you in this
connection about giving a sufficient ration, and may add that it should be made such
as to remove occasion for grumbling on the part of the Indians.
90
S. B. Steele to N.W.M.P. Commissioner (July 17, 1894)
I have the honour to report that two Blood Indians named “Broken Leg” and
“Crow spreading his wings,” have laid an information against another Blood Indian
named “Big Forehead” for cattle killing.
In the event of a conviction being obtained, could you do anything towards
obtaining a reward for the informants? I think $100 would be ample.
Some time ago I wrote to Mr. Curry of Lethbridge on this subject, and he
informed me that although there is a standing reward of $500 offered by the
Association for information that would lead to a conviction in such cases, that reward
is not offered to Indians.
T.P. Wadsworth to A. E. Forget (July 28, 1894)
T. P. Wadsworth (1838 – 1917) was a government inspector.
My dear Forget,
To confute the statement that the Indians look thinner than formerly on
account of insufficient food, I would like to send East the photos of about 50 men and
women taken promiscuously. Why! such a contention is absurd, the Indians look
remarkably well and I find all such assertions based on hearsay, and the cattle killing
is exaggerated. Should not these Indians who are held for trial be defended? The
ranchers want their case made as black as possible, anything to force higher and
higher rations.
Yours truly,
(Signed) T. P. Wadsworth
J. Wilson to H. Reed (August 4, 1894)
Sir:
Confirming my telegram of today’s date, I have the honour to inform you that
there are sixteen Blood Indians committed to prison on a charge of cattle killing.
So far, only six committal papers are ready for perusal, and in company with
Inspector Wadsworth I went over these very carefully. The other ten will be copied
out in a few days, when I shall call for copies. In these first six cases it appears as if
a defense will do little good. These men are mostly young, and some of them seem to
glory in the fact of having committed the act charged. But it is a strange thing that
two of the worst among the whole lot who had anything to do with this cattle killing
are allowed free. I am told they are Queen’s evidence, but from their past record, and
from what appears to be on the face of these six committal papers, there is little doubt
in my mind that the two principal ringleaders are to be allowed to go free, while a
number of young men and lads are likely to be punished for offences into which they
have been, in a great measure, drawn by these two men. The one “Big Bib,” was
sentenced to 5 years in Stony Mountain about six or seven years ago, and along with
91
the “Dog” escaped while on his way down East. He eluded the Police for about 3 years,
and at last gave himself up and returned to the reserve after being in prison for about
2 years only. Since then, he has been up for rape, though not convicted. He has also
been in a number of woman scrapes, and is on the whole one of the worst characters
in the on the Reserve.
The other Indian, “Black Rabbit,” is also a wild fellow, always into some
mischief. It is only a little over a year ago that he pulled his rifle and stood off a
Constable of the N. W. M. Police who was sent to apprehend him. These two seem the
principal witnesses.
I shall look into the other cases and will report to you later on.
I ought perhaps to mention here that upon receipt of a telegram from the
Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, I today wired Inspector Wadsworth
to secure the services of Charles McCaul, Barrister, Calgary, who, should he accept
the defense, will be able to defend them in a thoroughly satisfactory manner.
This cattle killing business coming to light is the result of quarrels among the
Indians themselves, who to “get even” as they say, give each other away. Once started,
then the friends of the first committed immediately turn round and tell all they know
about the friends or relations of the first informers; and so it goes.
There is one thing which stands out clearly all through these depositions,
which I think shows the spirit of Police supervision and bravado in defying the law;
else how can one account for the fact that nearly all these cases have occurred within
a short distance of the North West Mounted Police detachment at Big Bend; and yet
with all their patrolling and scouting, not one case was discovered by the Police? Out
of the whole sixteen cases, as far as I can hear or see, not one case can be claimed as
the outcome of careful watching on the part of the police or information got from their
scouts. If Indians can ride out within a mile or so of the detachment and kill cattle;
what in the name of goodness is the use of having Police? This Big Bend detachment
is under charge of Inspector Jarvis, who according to Major Steele’s report had been
for “some months” busy working up evidence re: starving Indians and rations;
evidently to the serious neglect of his legitimate work of keeping an outlook for
criminals. What is the use of the Police talking about having Indian Scouts and
patrols if cattle can be killed under the very noses of the detachment men?
The fact of the matter is that these Indian Scouts have their time greatly taken
up by carrying mail instead of looking for and trying to keep down crime.
In my opinion, if Major Steele is right in his belief that 350 head of cattle are
killed every year, the time has arrived when these Indian Scouts should be taken out
of the hands of the Police altogether, and a system of Indian Police started on the
Reserve, which system, I understand, works in a very satisfactory manner upon
United States Reserves. At all events, it is surely worth trying; if for no other reason
than the admitted inability of the present system of Police detachments and scouts
to find out the cattle killers. And I would strongly ask you to give this view of the
matter your favourable consideration.
With further reference to my letter of 23rd July on this subject; I beg to say
that this cattle killing has had a good deal of my attention, in order, if possible, to
92
have an entire stop to it; and after careful consideration, the best plan which suggests
itself to me is this, that unless under very exceptional cases, the Indians be not
allowed to visit the Timber Limit; except at stated times, and then in one or two large
parties, under proper supervision, instead of as at present, where every family goes
at will to cut logs. In this way, all those who wished to cut house logs, fencing, saw-
legs, &c. could be sent up – say in the fall – to do this work and then immediately
after spring work is over, another party could be sent out to run the logs down to their
respective villages.
Instructions could then be issued that no Indian be allowed to visit the Timber
limit without a pass: and seeing the last 15 miles of the way is over lease land, I think
there would be little objection raised, and it would only be under exceptional cases
that a pass could be granted.
Should this proposal meet with your approval, I shall intimate this to the
Indians, and also ask the Supt. of the N. W. M. Police to keep a sharp lookout for
Indians in this Big Bend District.
A step like this would, I think, satisfy the Cochrane Ranch that the
Department were anxious to put down cattle killing, and it would then be known
when parties were on the River and gave the Police a chance to watch closer.
I have &c.
(SIGNED) Jas Wilson
I. A.
A. E. Forget to H. Reed (August 8, 1894)
My dear Mr. Reed:
I was going to write you today for authority to engage the services of a counsel
for the defense of 18 Indians committed to stand their trial at Macleod for cattle
killing, then the information reached me this morning that direct communication had
been had with you on the subject and that you had wired Wilson to retain a counsel.
Acting on this authority the services of Mr. McCaul have been secured and his
terms, which I have approved, are $25.00 per day and expenses from the time he
leaves his office until his return. The Judge will be asked to fix the sitting of the Court
for the trials so as to permit of Mr. McCaul leaving Calgary on Wednesday and
returning on Saturday, asking a total of 4 days’ absence only.
Yours faithfully,
(Signed) A. E. Forget
H. Reed to A. E. Forget (August 14, 1894)
It seems evident that a desire exists on the part of interested parties to make
it appear that the Indians are kept so short of beef as to be driven to commit
depredations, and you should see that our people are on hand and exert themselves
to disprove any such contention.
93
“Kill cattle to keep from starving”94 (August 15, 1894)
Macleod Aug. 15th. – No less than seventeen Indian prisoners occupy
compartments in the N. W. M. Police goal at this place. Sixteen of them are in for
cattle killing, chiefly on the Cochrane lease, the Southeastern limitations of which
end in the Blood Reserve, where the Indians were captured. The trial promises to be
most interesting, and may result in a change of the ration system at present in vogue
in the reserve. The Red men claim that they have not sufficient food and are
compelled to kill cattle to keep from starving. If this is true it is hard on the Cochrane
Ranch and other companies who suffer in consequence. Inspector Jarvis and Sergeant
Hilliard, N. W. M. P. , who are stationed on the reserve, have been most active in
making arrests without fear or favour, doing their duty faithfully in that state of life
in which it has pleased the Government to place them. C. C. McCaul Q. C. will act for
the defense in the trial, while the prosecution will be conducted by M. McKenzie and
C. Conybeare C. P.
S. B. Steele to N.W.M.P. Commissioner (August 18, 1894)
I have the honour to inform you that of the sixteen Blood Indians, charged with
cattle-killing:-
Six were sentenced yesterday, to two years each, in the Penitentiary.
Five, to terms of imprisonment from one to six months each, in the Guard Room
here.
Four, released on suspended sentence, and one, a boy, dismissed.
Those for the penitentiary will be sent down, as soon as possible, after the
“Committals” have been received from the Court.
J. Wilson to H. Reed (August 20, 1894)
Sir:
I have the honor to report that His Honour Judge Macleod had the 16 Indians
committed by the Police on a charge of cattle killing and for stealing the beef of these
same animals, duly tried before him on Thursday and Friday last.
In accordance with instructions, Mr. McCaul, Calgary, appeared and defended
them, and this gentleman will report to you on the legal matters in connection with
the trial.
On the advice of Mr. McCaul (who saw how matters stood) all pleaded guilty
to the different charges or part of the charges laid against them – their depositions
leaving little room for calling evidence to clear them. I repeatedly tried to get up
evidence in defense of these Indians but it was easy to see from the first that no
defence was wanted by the ringleaders in the affair. Their first and only cry was,
94 From the Semi-Weekly Free Press. Date unknown. Page unknown. Article extract found in the same
collection as the letters.
94
“How is this going to affect the rations?” All made up their minds to the same story
and I was told previously that this was going to be in a manner a test case whether
they or the Indian Department were right that rations had been reduced.
White Calf (who has been leader of all this outcry) had a son among the number
charged and he was first called. When asked by His Honour what he had to say why
sentence should not be passed upon him, young White Calf (Never Ties His Shoe
Laces) entered into a long speech about rations and all being starving, that the
rations did not last them out &c. The other Indians when called upon all made similar
statements, some saying the rations only lasted them for two days and that five days
they went hungry. The Judge repeatedly appealed to me to tell him what rations were
issued to Indians and I gave him a note of what the average issue was and also told
him that the working Indians were given an extra ration. In order to disabuse the
Judge’s mind of any opinion that he might have had that these Indians were having
their rations reduced, I took the liberty of giving him figures to show that since
November 1892 when Col. Irvine resigned, the rations had been considerably
increased.
This seemed to satisfy His Lordship because before passing sentence he
repeatedly told the prisoners that they were talking nonsense, that their rations could
not be used up in such a short time.
There can be no doubt His Lordship saw how matters were because from his
knowledge of Indians he could not mistake the meaning of their continued and
repeated reference to Inspector Jarvis and rations. One could almost imagine that
this cattle killing had been done for the sole purpose of getting rations raised.
His Honour sentenced six of the ringleaders to two years imprisonment, viz.,
Never Ties His Shoe Laces, Wolf Child, Tough Bread, Nibs, Short Man, and Long
Time Squirrel while Slap Face and Many Different Ages were sentenced to six months
and Carries Something and Melting Tallow to one month imprisonment each. One
boy was discharged before being tried, being too young, while five Indians who were
good working fellows and who had been strongly recommended by me to His Honour
were discharged on suspended sentence.
After Court “White Calf” addressed His Lordship on the ration question but
got little encouragement from him. Judge Macleod spoke to them well and said if this
continued there was a chance of their rations being taken away altogether as there
was nothing in their Treaty calling for rations.
Were these Indians spoken to in this firm way by the Police instead of being
encouraged in their unjust demands, things would be soon in a very different position.
As it is, however, this trial will now show the Indians who are their friends and will
do a world of good ultimately.
I have the honour to be
Sir
Your obedient Servant
(Signed) Jas Wilson.
Ind. Agent.
95
C. C. McCaul to A. E. Forget (August 21, 1894)
C. C. McCaul (1858 – 1928) was a Calgary barrister.
Dear Sir:
Referring to your No. 1581 of the 8th instant, I beg to say that I left for Macleod
on Wednesday the 15th instant, returning on the night of the 17th. On arrival at
Macleod I met Mr. Wilson, the Agent, at the Blood Reserve and in company with him
carefully read through all the depositions taken on the preliminary examination of
the Indians charged with cattle killing, as well as the statements made by the
accused.
In each case the evidence was perfectly clear, and indeed, each of the accused,
in his statement before the Justice of the Peace, had clearly admitted taking part in
what they described as a “hunt”. Under these circumstances it appeared to me that
there was no other course but to plead guilty, and, as Counsel, to make a statement
in each case of any extenuating circumstances. I accordingly prepared a concise
analysis of all the cases, stating, from information given to me by Mr. Wilson, which
were industrious and steady Indians, and which were idle and bad, and any
extenuating facts in each of the cases: this I submitted to Judge Macleod and on it he
largely based the sentences which he imposed. Unfortunately the Judge has left this
memorandum (with a note of the sentences imposed) at Macleod, and I will not get it
until tomorrow, when I will forward it to you.
Before delivering sentence the Judge, as is usual, asked each of the prisoners
what he had to say why sentence should not be delivered, and each of them stated
much to this effect: that they had been supplied with 7 days rations to go up into the
timber and that the rations only lasted them for 2 days, and that they were starving
for the remaining 5 days. I asked the Judge however, to consult with Mr. Wilson the
Agent, who explained to him the true state of affairs, and I think the Judge was pretty
well satisfied that the Indians in question had had probably a glorious feast for the
first 2 days that they were out, and having disposed in two days of seven days rations,
that their excuse for killing cattle was not one which should entitle them to great
leniency.
My fee, as arranged with you, is $100 and my expenses amounted to $14.35 for
which sums we shall be pleased to receive departmental cheque.
I have the honour to be
Sir
Your obedient Servant
(Signed) C. C. McCaul
A. M. Jarvis to Commanding Officer, Macleod (August 27, 1894)
During the past week a number of complaints have been received from Indians
to the effect that they are not getting sufficient food. On the evening of the 18th,
accompanied by interpreter De Roche, I visited the following Indians, viz: “Bull
96
Plume,” “Crop Eared Wolf,” “Rough Body,” Minor Chief Eagle Rib’s wife and Red
Crow; these people are the heads of families. I was only able to find a half lb. of dried
beef at Eagle Rib’s. I took their statements and forwarded them to you.
While at Big Bend on the 23rd instant Mr. D. H. Cox of “Mountain View’
reported to me that while riding on the range near the Bull Horn Corral and close to
a Lake, he found four head of Cochrane Ranch cattle that had been recently killed by
the Indians. On the same date the foreman of the Hatfield Ranch and myself were
coming across country from their place between the Kootenai and the Belly River, we
ran on an animal that had been killed about a week from the appearance of the flesh
on the bones.
J. Wilson to H. Reed (August 28, 1894)
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 1581 of the
22nd regarding the inability of the Indian Scouts to detect or report these cases of
cattle killing, and suggesting that steps be taken to secure the services of more useful
or reliable men.
In reply I beg to say that I have been changing these scouts for some time back,
not having been satisfied with the information received from them. I had “Bear’s
Teat” and “Running Crane” removed and “Bull Horn” and “Peigan French” put on,
but found the change not much [of an] improvement. I then changed these two men
and have at present Running Crane and Bobtail Chief as Scouts.
The information I got from the Scouts only take me a certain length, and when
pressed, all the length you get is to know that a certain person killed an animal. I
have repeatedly tried to get at one or another of the parties concerned, but they
invariably hold together and it is only when you manage to get them to fall out among
themselves that the whole truth gets out. I knew, for instance, that “Never Ties His
Shoe,” who was sentenced to two years, had killed an animal, and also knew where
the hide was cached, but could not get further and to merely tell this man I knew
such was the case would have done him no good.
In the cases referred to by you it must be kept in mind (1) that these cattle
were killed on the Western boundary of the Reserve or just beyond it; some 28 miles
from the Upper Agency and at least 15 miles nearer the Mountains than any Indian’s
house, (2) that this beef was not brought into or near the village, but consumed by
the Indians either in the Timber Limit or on the drive down. You can thus see how
hard it is to get information regarding matters taking place so far away, and had it
not been for these Indians falling out and quarreling among themselves, these cases
might never have been heard of.
I shall see Farmer McNeil & Clard in the course of a day or two and will talk
the matter over with them, and try if another change of men will do any good. Cases
like the ones brought before the Courts lately are not likely to occur again because
for the future Indians will only go in large parties to the Timber Limit, and will be
accompanied not only by a white man but by one of the detectives as well.
97
A. M. Jarvis to Commanding Officer, Macleod (December 16, 1894)
Sir,
I have the honour to submit this my report for the week ending the 13th
instant. While en route to Stand Off from Big Bend, with Scout Big Otter, on the 10th
inst., we ran on to a four year old steer that had been shot and killed the night
previous by Indians, and about three parts of the beef taken away. The scout and I
followed the trail, which led in the direction of a house occupied by an Indian named
“Left Hand,” “Broken Leg,” and “Crane Chief”; beef has been found in the bush close
to their house. I issued warrants for their arrest and gave them a hearing, and
remanded them for eight days. The animal belonged to the Cochrane Ranch Co.
On the 11th inst. I committed “Black Rabbit” for trial, for killing cattle on the
30th November last. I regret to observe that cattle killing, close to the upper cam just
on the boundary of [the] Reserve, is on the increase. I believe that more convictions
could and would be obtained if a certain sum of money was placed at my disposal, to
be used in privately stimulating some of the Indians secretly to inform on members
of their tribe; by small gifts I feel sure this could be done, and I can suggest no better
way of getting at the ring leaders than [to] do so.
With reference to the case of David Mills, employee on the Blood Reserve, I
have had a long personal interview with Mr. Wilson the Indian Agent, in which I gave
him all the information in my power, and have handed him the names &c., of the
Indians whom Mills allowed to draw treaty & rations for dead Indians, together with
all the evidence I had collected to prove the charge. I also informed him that I could
get further evidence if necessary and that I would aid him in any way he might
suggest.
“Taken many guns,” Blackfoot Indian, was tried before me on the 18th inst.,
and convicted for removing a hide from an animal found dead, contrary to Hide
Ordinance No. 17, 1889. I imposed a fine of $5.00 and costs or in default one month’s
imprisonment. On the same date “Stabs twice,” a Blood Indian, was charged with the
same offence, case dismissed.
I have etc.,
sgd A. M. Jarvis, Insp.
J. Wilson to H. Reed (January 25, 1895)
I am not of the opinion of Mr. Jarvis that cattle killing is on the increase. On
the other hand I would point out that since last Summer these Indians have been
residing on the reserve more closely than they have ever done; and from all reports
got from my own Scouts there seem to be very few carcasses of animals around.
Omitting the two animals supposed to have been killed by Indians and for which they
await trial, only two animals are reported to me as being found dead on the prairie.
It would be well to remember that all cases of animals found killed are put
down as having been killed by Indians, while there are lots of White men in the
country at present who have more necessity to kill animals than the Indians. Only
98
the other day I was told that two men, now out of the country, but who used to reside
at Whoop-up, made a practice of going out and killing cattle, and I have no doubt
these are not the only men who do.
With regard to Inspector Jarvis’ suggestion that secret money be given to
Indians to give information, I would say that there has been a good deal of false
swearing of late, and I am afraid this would encourage it. If the Police Scouts are not
enough, I would prefer seeing them increased rather than this secret way be
introduced. Giving money bribes would make it hard for the Indian Department
officials to get private information.
J. Wilson to H. Reed (January 17, 1895)
During the month of December Inspector Jarvis, at the request of Supt. Steele,
came to me privately and told me certain charges had been made against Mills of
trafficking in tickets belonging to dead Indians – that he had accepted Treaty money
or part of it from certain parties, and that he had traded in ration tickets. I asked Mr.
Jarvis to give me all the information he had on the matter, and said I would enquire
into them without letting Mills know anything of it, and would inform him what I
thought ought to be done.
Inspector Jarvis thereupon gave me the six following charges against Mills,
viz:-
1. A sworn information by a Blood Indian named “Many White Horses” (step-
father to Bear’s Teat) in which it was alleged that a woman, “Don’t Move Lodges,”
No. 39, had been paid and allowed to draw rations here as a Blood Woman, while at
the same time she was being paid and drawing rations at the Blood [sic.] Agency.
2. That “Cross Child,” a Blood Indian, had got from Mills a ration ticket under
the name of “Little Person” for three, and that he had drawn rations of beef and flour
on the ticket and had given the same to a White man.
3. That “Crow Head” in Band G. had been paid as a Blood Indian and rations
drawn, he being either a North or South Peigan Indian.
4. That “Porcupine Bull’s” ticket for rations was being allowed to be drawn by
“Wolf Scout’s” wife.
5. That “Shakes His Feet” was dead and that his name had not been taken off
my books – that some one had drawn pay and rations for him after death, and
6. That “Bob-tailed Chief” had conspired with Mills and had drawn Annuity
money for Indians who had been dead for years. That Mills accepted whole or part of
this money. Bob-tailed Chief is said to have admitted this.
Charge 1.
When inspector Jarvis handed me the information re: “Don’t Move Lodges” I
at once and in his presence turned up my Pay Books and showed the Inspector my
pencil notes made before payments. This note was to the effect that this woman was
supposed to be drawing at Blackfoot Crossing and here. I told Mr. Jarvis that I had
written to Indian Agent Begg, but at that time had not got his reply. I said there did
99
not appear to be anything in this case against Mills, because I paid the woman on my
own responsibility, after hearing the facts of the case.
This case stands thus: This woman ran away to the Crossing some years ago
and lived with a Blackfoot Indian. Her husband died and she came back here last
year to stop for good. She is a Blood woman and her sister is married to Many White
Horses. After she came here and before payments she told Mills the name of her late
husband, and it was information got from Mills which led me to suspect she was
trying to draw at both places. Since this information was sworn out I received a letter
from Indian Agent Begg saying the woman was not paid at his Agency, but was
reported as being at the Bloods. I have written Mr. Begg and told him the woman is
a Blood and would reside here; and as she was on my books I paid her and asked him
to note that she was now going to reside permanently on this Reserve.
In prosecuting this enquiry I cross questioned Many White Horses, and after
some trouble he admitted he knew this woman had neither drawn rations nor money
for some time at the Crossing – that her tickets had been taken in and torn up some
two years ago. The information therefore sworn before Inspector Jarvis by this Indian
was a false one. There is nothing as far as I can see against Mills in this case. In fact,
as I have already said, it was his calling my attention to the case that led to the
correspondence with Mr. Begg.
Charge 2
Cross child admitted having drawn rations on a ticket for 3 when working with
some other Indians putting up hay – said he did not know what name was on the
ticket nor who it belonged to. Got the ticket from Mills’s wife – never on any occasion
gave beef or flour to a White man. It afterwards turned out that this ticket belonged
to “Spears a Knife,” half brother to Mills, who was working off and on in the same
haying outfit. There used to be two Indians known as “Little Person” on our books –
on the one ticket there were two persons and on the other one blind woman. It could
not therefore be a ticket with Little Person’s name, and was more likely to be “Spears
a Knife’s” ticket.
Charge 3
Crow Head is one of these cases which have given considerable trouble in the
past, and which have often been brought to your attention. This Indian was registered
as a Blood years ago, but has been going back and forwards to the South Peigans. In
my correspondence with Capt. Cooke, this case was overlooked at the time as well as
one or two others, and his name did not appear on the list of Indians supposed to be
drawing at both places. No charge was made against Mills of benefitting by this man;
merely the charge that Crow Head was a Peigan Indian. I have noted the case for
next year’s payments and unless his family is able to show they are not drawing at
the South Peigans, payment will be refused.
Charge 4
“Porcupine Bull’s” sister is married to Wolf Scout, a blind old man who owns a
lot of good horses. Porcupine Bull as a rule herds and works for this Indian, and his
sister nearly always draws his rations for him. I have known this for years and see
nothing wrong in it.
100
Charge 5
“Shakes His Foot” (or as we have it, Strong Day Light – A. 90) died and his
death was duly registered and the ration ticket reduced by one. He died before
payments and Treaty money was not paid in this case.
Charge 6
Bob-tailed Chief was examined in every way possible, but on all occasions he
most emphatically denied ever having had anything to do with tickets other than his
own. He never drew for any one either dead or alive. Says he never had anything to
do with Mills or any other person about drawing Government money for dead Indians,
and knows nothing of it. He says he never even said such a thing in joke.
This was the result of my enquiries and I took my notes and read them to
Inspector Jarvis in his own house, saying that I did not see any charge of trafficking
in tickets could be brought home upon such evidence. Farmer Clarke acted as
interpreter for me and I also saw some of the Indians alone.
The whole thing is, in my opinion, the result of a feeling for revenge on the part
of Bear’s Teat, Many White Horses and a Halfbreed named Wagner – the latter being
a useless idle fellow who is always into trouble and who has been ordered off the
Reserve frequently.
Many White Horses and Bear’s Teat are Step-father and son, and what has
made them angry is the fact of their ration ticket being reduced by one, owing to a
brother of the latter’s stopping at the Blackfoot Crossing and having been taken off
the rations although paid for here. Bear’s Teat, I believe, says Mills was the cause of
their ticket being reduced. I have been in correspondence with Indian Agent Begg
since November about this young man, who I rather think is drawing pay at both
places, but the fact that he goes under a different name at the Crossing makes it hard
to identify him.
Police Scout Bear’s Teat had been employed by me in former years long before
he was a detective on the Reserve, as well as during his term – in going very carefully
over the tickets and no Indian knows the pay books or tickets better. I therefore think
that instead of censuring Mills for his conduct, he deserves some credit for the very
correct manner in which the pay books now stand, because were it possible to bring
other cases up against him they certainly would have been brought. It must also be
kept in mind that there are over 400 families on the Reserve squandered over a wide
tract of country who are constantly moving from one place to another.
I do not however depend entirely upon Mills to report the correct number. Each
Farmer is given a book with a list of his Indians and the number in each family, and
have instructions to note down any difference they may find, and these books are
carefully gone over before the payments to see that all deaths &c. are duly recorded.
In any difficulty the detectives are also applied to and ordered to give the exact family.
It is also part of their duties to report all deaths. I always carry a book myself and
note the families for the purpose of verifying my books.
Under all the circumstances, I do not think it necessary to make further
enquiries, but I shall take an early opportunity of seeing Inspector Jarvis again and
asking him if he has any more evidence to bring forward or any fresh charges to make.
101
J. Wilson to H. Reed (January 11, 1896)
With reference to previous correspondences on the subject of trespass by cattle
on the Reserve I have now the honour to inform you that I held a meeting, on
Wednesday last the 8th inst., with Red Crow, Day Chief, Blackfoot Old Woman and
Calf Shirt, representative men, regarding this matter.
I may say the reason I did not bring this matter sooner before the Indians was
that I felt certain the best time to bring it up was when any complaint was made, and
at one of my recent visits to Red Crow he spoke of cattle on the Reserve, and I at once
invited him down with some others to hear the views of the Department and myself
and to give me their opinion on what they thought should be done.
I explained to them at the meeting on Wednesday that white men had
repeatedly warned for the past 10 years or so to keep their cattle away, but although
every step possible had been taken with this view, they had continued to run their
cattle here in spite of us.
I then read the Indians part of my letter to you June last and part of your reply
dated 11th Sept, and advised them to give this system a trial explaining that the
moment they wanted the grazing land for their own cattle notice would be given to
the white men to remove their stock and all contracts cancelled.
After a considerable amount of talking they each agreed that it would be well
to try it, and said if possible to help them to get some remuneration for the use of
grazing rights. I explained to them that the white men had yet to be seen on the
matter, and that I would take an early opportunity of going round among them, and
if I succeeded in gaining their consent to this scheme would have contracts drawn up
and agreed to at a full meeting of Indians.
Since the meeting I have seen two minor chiefs who also said they were
agreeable and I feel sure the matter will receive the unanimous consent of the others.
I am glad this subject has been discussed and such a satisfactory conclusion
arrived at, and I will lose no time in calling upon the settlers of the surrounding
district to find out how many are likely to take advantage of the offer.
This scheme will no doubt receive opposition from the Cochrane Ranch
Company, but some other arrangement might probably be made with them which
would not press so heavily, and especially as we are indebted to them for a great part
of the hay we cut and sell. I shall see Mr. Cochrane along with the other settlers.
“The business is constantly increasing”95 (December 20, 1901)
Mr. William Cochrane, of the Cochrane Ranching Company, located in
Southern Alberta, […] said that while the ranching business had been good in the
Northwest during the year or two, he regretted that so much money had been lost in
Alberta during the early years on account of a lack of experience. He believed,
however, that Southern Alberta will in time become a district for general farming.
95 From STOCK MEN REJOICE. (1901, December 20). The Montreal Gazette, p. 6.
102
The number of cattle now distributed over the different ranches was, he said, greater
than ever before, and the business is constantly increasing.
He has been seven years on the Cochrane ranch, which is between the Belly
and Waterton rivers, extending twenty-five miles up and down with a width of from
four to six miles, the southern portion being about twenty-five miles from the
American line. The ranch embraces 60,000 acres, but as the company has 12,500 head
of cattle, the ranch proper is not extensive enough, so it has leased 35,000 acres of
grazing land belonging to the Blood Indian reservation, on the other side of the Belly
river.
The Bloods, Mr. Cochrane states, number about 1,200 all told, and although
[they] do not perhaps increase in numbers, they, however, hold their own. They live
mostly in tents during the summer months, and occupy cabins in the winter. They all
receive rations from the Government, but the younger and most enterprising among
them raise a good many cattle, and will in all probability be self-sustaining in a few
years. […]
Mr. Cochrane is located quite near the Mormons who have come to Alberta in
large numbers. These people come from an irrigation country, and they naturally take
to these methods, although the past season has not been dry enough to require these
artificial methods to any great extent. […] Mr. Cochrane describes these Mormons as
most industrious and they will no doubt be followed by others. On the whole, he
considered the outlook in southern Alberta as exceedingly promising.
“Sold in small holdings to settlers”96 (July 10, 1912)
The department of Indian affairs made no mistake when they sent in steam
working outfits and farm machinery with which to equip several large farms on the
Blood Indian reserve, and get the residents of the reserve to work. Several sections
have been broken at Bull Horn, Stand Off and Slide Out, and at these points grain is
grown to an excellent advantage. Last season, the yield on one of the Indian farms
led the entire south country in the matter of production. This year an additional crop
has been sown and it is anticipated that the yield from the two reserves, Blood and
Peigan, will total half a million bushels.
The large district south of Macleod extending from the Crow’s Nest railway
between the two reserves of the international boundary, and including the old
Cochrane ranch, is one of the richest districts in the province in the matter of grain
production. The Cochrane ranch was bought seven years ago by the Mormon church
and was broken under their direction, and sold in small holdings to settlers, mostly
from the state of Utah. These Mormons are splendid agriculturalists, and have made
this desert land blossom as the rose.
96 From Conditions Indicate That Southern Alberta Farmers Will Have a Banner Crop. (1912, July
10). The Calgary Herald, p. 17.
Fifteen years (1913 – 1928)
The death of Crop Eared Wolf (April, 1913)
“There would still be plenty of room” (May, 1913)
“Applications for more than 150,000 acres” (June, 1913)
“Where the most people would be benefitted” (September, 1913)
“30,000 head of stock are ready” (October, 1913)
“Vexed with the board of trade” (October, 1913)
“My plans for the future farming on the Blood Reserve” (August, 1914)
A report on the Blood Reserve in 1914 (March, 1914)
“These Indians could well spare that portion” (November, 1914)
“Growers of grain and raisers of cattle” (January, 1915)
A report on the Blood Reserve in 1915 (March, 1915)
“Robbing the Wards of the People” (April, 1915)
“Personally interested in a grazing lease” (April, 1915)
“The Indians got what was coming to them” (April, 1915)
“If ever these Indians decided to surrender any land” (June, 1915)
A report on the Blood Reserve in 1916 (March, 1916)
“When that time arrives” (February, 1917)
“It isn’t every day” (August, 1917)
“Would throw open to settlers a fine tract” (February, 1918)
“Understood to have voted” (March, 1918)
Sheep on the Blood Reserve (April, 1918)
“The Indians themselves are contributing” (May, 1918)
“A new departure” (June, 1918)
“Every inch of the Blood Indian reservation” (July, 1918)
“A remarkable success” (November, 1918)
“A scorching attack” (February, 1919)
“Over 300 head of horses have died” (April, 1920)
“Without asking the Indians” (April, 1921)
“Persecution, bad faith and chicanery” (May, 1921)
“Be wise and persevere” (August, 1921)
Moving the Blood Agency (May, 1923)
“The new Anglican boarding school” (August, 1924)
“The best satisfied and most prosperous citizens” (January, 1925)
“Excellent work is being done” (June, 1925)
“They are becoming real citizens” (July, 1925)
“Infamous legislation” (June, 1920)
“In the face about three times” (April, 1928)
“Metamorphosis” (December, 1927)
Government reaction to conventions at Macleod (1924 – 1925)
“A conclave of sober-minded men and women” (November 13, 1924)
“Our land should not be leased” (November 13, 1924)
Sgt. J. A. Webb to C. Junget (November 14, 1924)
C. Junget to R.C.M.P. Commissioner (November 17, 1924)
A. F. Grady to Charles Stewart (November 18, 1924)
Mike Mountain Horse to J.T. Faunt (November 22, 1924)
C. Stewart to A. F. Grady (November 24, 1924)
W. M. Graham to D. C. Scott (November 28, 1924)
J. T. Faunt to W. M. Graham (November 30, 1924)
A. F. Grady to C. Stewart (January 6, 1925)
Mike Mountain Horse to D. C. Scott (January 9, 1925)
Mike Mountain Horse to C. Stewart (January 24, 1925)
D. C. Scott to Colonel C. Starnes (January 31, 1925)
D. C. Scott to Mike Mountain Horse (February 2, 1925)
D. C. Scott to J. Byng (February 3, 1925)
J. T. Faunt to D. C. Scott (February 15, 1925)
A. F. Grady to C. Stewart (March 7, 1925)
C. A. Arthur to D. C. Scott (March 9, 1925)
D. C. Scott to A. F. Grady (March 25, 1925)
J. T. Faunt to D. C. Scott (March 25, 1925)
J. T. Faunt to W. M. Graham (April 7, 1925)
C. Stewart to W. M. Graham (May 18, 1925)
C. Stewart to Mike Mountain Horse (May 18, 1925)
“Fast passing in Canadian history” (July 2, 1925)
Rations and Cattle Killing (1888 – 1895)
“We killed our cattle from hunger” (March 19, 1888)
“They immediately say it is the Indians” (January 17, 1890)
“A question of rations and money” (January 22, 1890)
H. Reed to T. M. Daly (January 6, 1893)
Memorandum by H. Reed (February 22, 1893)
“Self Supporting Indians” (February 22, 1893)
H. Reed to T. M. Daly (March 11, 1893)
J. Wilson to H. Reed (March 16, 1893)
H. Reed to T. M. Daly (March 25, 1893)
“He can snap his fingers at the police” (March 29, 1893)
“An agreement for mutual protection” (June 28, 1893)
W. F. Cochrane to L. Vankoughnet (September 6, 1893)
S. B. Steele to H. Reed (June 9, 1894)
A. E. Forget to H. Reed (June 16, 1894)
H. Reed to F. White (June 28, 1894)
H. Reed to J. Wilson (August 2, 1894)
H. Reed to A. E. Forget (July 4, 1894)
S. B. Steele to N.W.M.P. Commissioner (July 17, 1894)
T.P. Wadsworth to A. E. Forget (July 28, 1894)
J. Wilson to H. Reed (August 4, 1894)
A. E. Forget to H. Reed (August 8, 1894)
H. Reed to A. E. Forget (August 14, 1894)
“Kill cattle to keep from starving” (August 15, 1894)
S. B. Steele to N.W.M.P. Commissioner (August 18, 1894)
J. Wilson to H. Reed (August 20, 1894)
C. C. McCaul to A. E. Forget (August 21, 1894)
A. M. Jarvis to Commanding Officer, Macleod (August 27, 1894)
J. Wilson to H. Reed (August 28, 1894)
A. M. Jarvis to Commanding Officer, Macleod (December 16, 1894)
J. Wilson to H. Reed (January 25, 1895)
J. Wilson to H. Reed (January 17, 1895)
J. Wilson to H. Reed (January 11, 1896)
“The business is constantly increasing” (December 20, 1901)
“Sold in small holdings to settlers” (July 10, 1912)
Problem list
1. Need more explanation, the explanation is not clear, the explanation is too little.
2. The APA Citation format is incomplete, not just the author’s name, but also the year and paragraph! !
In addition, the following explanation is not clear, and needs to be revised and supplemented.
3.
The APA reference is incorrect, has no URL, and is incomplete. And the reference of this part cannot be found from the professor provided, need to find this issue with a new reference! ! journal or book or news
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Achiever Papers is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Dissertation Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, if anything is unclear, you may always chat with us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download