Federal Governance

An amendment was made to Bill 37, regarding Canadian Pacific Railway lands, clarifying that the CPR could not be given land for the construction of the railroad for which Aboriginal title had not been extinguished by the government.

Member of Parliament, Mr. Cameron, voiced concerns that the individuals appointed as farm instructors on Home Farms were not aware of local and cultural conditions of prairie Indigenous people, and were therefore not equipped to make Home Farms successful. Macdonald responded that it was impossible to find candidates to fill the positions who could speak Indigenous languages, and largely ignored Cameron's criticism, instead confirming the success of the program.

In the House of Commons, the government made a recommendation that the Northwest Mounted Police force be expanded to 500 constables with 20 supernumeraries. Part of Macdonald's reasoning for this expansion was their inability to properly perform their duties, especially given the frequency of encounters between police officers and starving Indigenous inhabitants, as well as the threat of violence erupting between settlers and Indigenous people.

Edgar Dewdney attended a meeting at Carlton with Chiefs Kee-too-wa-han, Atahkakoop (Starblanket), and Mistawasis. These Chiefs represented the interests of their people and shared their grievances regarding reserve land and government-provided supplies. Dewdney accepted their complaints as legitimate and acknowledged that surveyors who had established the boundaries of their respective reserves had not established correct boundaries. As well, the cattle that had been provided to them were "sore footed, poor and wild." Dewdney promised to alter the boundaries of the reserve and replace their cattle. He also gave them supplies of flour, tobacco, and tea, and told them that a farm instructor would soon arrive at the reserves to assist them.

Following the Work for Welfare policy, Indian Agent Rae refused to provide rations requested by members of the Muskeg Lake band. Rae noted his disappointment in the amount of improvements that had taken place on the reserve, and band members promised to improve their work if they were provided more provisions. Rae threatened to not provide rations until winter if they did not immediately go out to work in the fields, which eighteen men did.

In 1959, Indian Affairs began distributing welfare payments as cheques or cash. The amount of assistance was also raised to be on par with distributions to non-Indigenous people. Prior to this policy change, Indian Agents would manage the intake of welfare transfers and distribute necessary goods instead, or provide a list of approved goods that individuals could obtain from a local trader.

Farmers in the west struggled following the events of the 1885 resistance, the dominion government accordingly cut their spending on food rations by $40,000 to allocate to farmers. Rations were cut to many bands, including cutting 'disloyal' bands off altogether as a form of punishment for resistance.

The president of the North American Indian Brotherhood, Andrew Paull, made a presentation of its recommendations to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Indian Affairs. The group's recommendations focused on breaches of treaty rights, the Department's ability to add and remove band members, the need for federal and provincial tax exemptions and the abolition of all denominational schools on reserves. They also suggested the decentralization of the Department of Indian Affairs.

Under this programme, the Superintendent-General was able to issue loans of up to $350,000 for the purchase of agricultural tools or seed, live stock, fishing supplies, or handicraft materials. The Superintendent-General was also given the power to issue prospecting and mining leases on reserve lands without a land surrender.

In November 1912, Inspector of Indian Agencies, W. Graham, reported the drowning of Archie Feather, a seven-year-old boy who attended the File Hills School. Graham was adamant that the school staff and the Presbyterian Church were at fault for not providing enough staff for the proper care of the children. Duncan Campbell Scott, then the accountant for the Department of Indian Affairs, agreed with Graham's report and wrote that it was "clear that negligence has resulted in the loss of life." Scott advised withholding funds from the File Hills School until the proper staff was hired. This suggestion was never heeded and even Scott himself, after becoming the leader of the Department, never "used the power of the purse to ensure that the churches maintained adequate levels of care or to punish school management for abusing the children."