Integration & Mobility

In the nineteenth century Métis from the Red River began establishing temporary settlements in present-day Saskatchewan. Camps were positioned in the Qu’Appelle Valley, Cypress Hills, and Chapelle (near Willow Bunch, Saskatchewan). By the 1860s, additional seasonal encampments were erected at Prairie Ronde (near Dundurn, SK), Grosse-Butte (near Humbolt, SK) and Petite-Ville (Near Fish Creek, SK). These "hivernant" communities were a Métis response to the changing economic and social conditions in the western interior. They were also a important element in the development of plains Métis identity in the later half of the 19th century. The camps were a response to the westward retreat of the buffalo herds and the changing nature of the fur trade economy. As the buffalo herds kept moving westward, it was no longer possible to live on the Red River Settlement and hunt at the same time, as it required hundreds of kilometers of travel before any buffalo were in sight. An increasing amount of plains Métis families began spending their winters in small temporary communities, west of the Red River, where they could easily hunt the buffalo. The wintering sites varied in size from a few families to large camps with thousands of inhabitants. The Métis settled in sufficient numbers to protect themselves against attacks by rival native bands, and where water and wood were easily accessible, near to where the buffalo were expected to be during the winter months. The social and material components of the hivernant camps were similar regardless of size or locality. As the buffalo populations began to dwindle in the late 1870's/1880's, these hivernant communities lost their economic function. Some communities such as St-Laurent and Batoche made the transition to agriculture, while many others simply disappeared.

In 1882 a large group of Metis peoples emigrated permanently to the South Saskatchewan River Valley.

On February 16, 1889, people from La Ronge and Montreal Lake gathered at the mouth of the Montreal River for the purpose of signing Treaty 6. No land was alloted at the time of the signing since the people were trappers and fishermen and ranged over the entire area south of Foster Lake and north of what is currently known as Waskesiu. In 1896, land was set aside south of Prince Albert National Park for those members of Montreal Lake and La Ronge who wished to farm.The Little Red River Reserve was officially divided between the Lac La Ronge and Montreal Lake bands in 1948, making band governance and control over this land much easier. Even up until 1948 the bands had been fighting off petitions for the sale of their land, and the division made dealing with these petitions much easier.

Reserve land was set aside to be shared by Montreal Lake and Lac La Ronge bands for farming. Both bands have their main reserve many kilometres further north, where farming is not feasible. The division of this land between two bands, especially considering its prime location near Prince Albert, has created problems over ownership and who has authority to make decisions about land use and sales.

Prince Albert National Park was created, making a large section of mid-central land into a tourist destination and conservation area. The introduction of park guardians also meant the area was under greater surveillance, and both First Nations and Metis could be fined or punished for trespassing or hunting. Officials were aware that the creation of the park would cause serious hardship for the Indigenous people of the locality.

The arrival of the expedition under Colonel Garnet Wolseley in 1870 signalled a transition in the lives Indigenous peoples in Manitoba. The expedition included Ontario volunteers and Canadian settlers hoping to avenge the death of Thomas Scott. They acted in defiance of the rule of law. Winnipeg descended into mob rule in 1871 and 1872. The French Metis population was threatened continuously at the Land Office near Fort Garry, and French Metis entering Winnipeg were in jeopardy of being harmed.

The Manitoba Act was passed at the closing of the Red River Resistance in 1870, which provided for the province of Manitoba and allowed the Red River settlement to enter Confederation as Canada's fifth province. Prime Minister J.A. MacDonald stated that he would compensate the Metis in the new province in order to settle the west peacefully, although the provincial land would be owned publicly. There were also provisions in the Act which protected the French language and Roman Catholic religion. Section 31 of the Act provided land for the children of Metis heads of families, which amounted to 1.4 million acres, to be divided into tracts and allotted to Métis families by Lieutenant-Governor Adam Archibald. Section 32 guaranteed all previous settlers possession of the lots they occupied before 15 July 1870, as well as hay rights in the outer two miles of various river lots. An amendment to section 32 in 1874 provided $160 scrip redeemable by Métis heads of families. The 1874 amendment also stated that improvements needed to be made to the land in order to obtain the title. Following the creation of the Manitoba Act, Prime Minister MacDonald refused to distribute the land legally owed to Metis people. The plan of Lieutenant Governor Archibald was to allow the Metis to maintain the river lot system of farming and distribute the 1.4 million acres over a period of approximately one year. Distribution of land in fulfillment of section 31 took over a decade, however, causing many frustrated Metis people to migrate west into Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as the United States. As well, government officials changed their minds about the 1.4 million acres, stating that the claimed land was now required to be outside the province of Manitoba. They also changed the date of proof of occupation to a date when most Metis would be away from their farms hunting buffalo. Shortly after the Act was passed, MacDonald sent 1200 troops to Fort Garry (now known as Winnipeg), to surveil and control the new province. The troops, as well as the influx of settlers, terrorized the Metis residents. Many Metis individuals were murdered, beaten, and raped. Metis landholders were frequently harassed in non-physical ways as well.

In the 1960s, disparities between Indigenous welfare expenditures and settler welfare expenditures were significant, with spending on the former outweighing the latter. As a result, the government saw a need to counter the growing welfare expenditures. Walter Rudnicki pitched a community development program to cabinet which called on provinces to partially assume the expenses of health and welfare transfer payments. This proposal also vaguely focused on increased self-sufficiency for Indigenous peoples, although no concrete steps were outlined. Cabinet approved the program on May 28, 1964.

The first band to settle on a reserve at Crooked Lakes was Sakimay. This band already had houses on this land and were already using the land for agriculture. Their 5020 km reserve was surveyed North of the Qu'Appelle River, near Crooked Lake.

Written by Chief Joseph Dreaver of Mistawasis, this report surveyed 67 bands in Saskatchewan and called for band control and administration of land. In response, L.L Brown suggested that there was a necessity for bands to accept Euro-Canadian land divisions if they wished to integrate into Canadian society.