Outside, The Women Cried

From the Author, x, xx, xxi:

"At the signing of Treaty 6 at Fort Carlton and at Fort Pitt in 1876, there was a group of Indian people who chose not to accept and sign this Treaty. Big Bear (Mistahi-mus-kwa) was the reorganized leader of this faction. Peyasiw-awasis and his followers were part of this group. It was this period, the 1870’s, which saw the last traditional buffalo chase and the eventual passing from existence of the Buffalo. For centuries prior to the Treaties, the Buffalo had been the main source in the existence, survival, and livelihood of the Indian people. Here again, there are stories handed down about the policies and practices of the white man which led to the deliberate extermination of the Buffalo. The white leaders said, “Take away their main source of livelihood and weaken their resistance.” (x-xx)

"This is where this story Outside, the Women Cried begins. It is a true story which captures vividly the sequence of events leading to the eventual surrender of our reserve Delmas. The story is based on historical facts supported by our leaders and elders who maintain to this day that the members of the Thunderchild Band did not want to surrender their land but that they were pressured to do so by officials and politicians at local, provincial and federal levels of government, by missionaries and community leaders, and white people in general. It was the attitude towards the Indian people created during this period which finally coerced the band membership to vote the way they did. (xx) I believe it is only fitting that I close with an old saying of my grandfather, Chief Thunderchild, who said; “When an Indian goes on a long journey, he prepares himself well, he takes an extra quiver of arrows, an extra pair of moccasins, so that he may survive for the long journey in life.” I believe that our generation must leave our children and grandchildren something that is good, worthwhile and beneficial so that they may live a fruitful and enjoyable life. We are committed to help them acquire the knowledge, the skills and the abilities so that they in turn, can survive their long journey." (xxi).