Integration & Mobility

Founded in 1812 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, the Red River colony was initially a small and slow growing colony, whose population was mostly European. In 1811, the Hudsons's Bay Company (HBC) granted Douglas 300,000 km of the land it had claimed in the Winnipeg basin. Miles MacDonell, who Douglas chose as a governor, established the settlement at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. Harsh weather coupled with poor agricultural yields were characteristic of the slow beginnings of the settlement. As a new wave of settlers were set to arrive in 1814, MacDonell issued a proclamation prohibiting the sale and export of pemmican from the colony for that year. According to MacDonell, the rationale behind the Pemmican Proclamation was to ensure adequate provisions for settlers expected to arrive that summer. However, Metis communities who were living along the Red River saw this as a direct threat to their livelihood and economic subsistence. In addition, as the Red River Colony was associated with the HBC, the North West Company (NWC) also saw this as HBC encroachment into their trading territory and trading practices. The tensions caused by this proclamation as well as the intense economic competition between the HBC and the NWC led to the Battle of Seven Oaks (please see database entry on Battle of Seven Oaks). Following the battle and the victory of the Metis, most settlers from the Red River Settlement left the area as they were no longer welcome there. Douglas (Selkirk) returned in 1817, redistributing land to settlers and promising them schools and clergymen. However, the environment remained a threat to the infant colony, as locust devastated the crops in 1818-1819, and a large flood in 1826 nearly devastated the settlement. The settlement population grew slowly over the years, composed of a mix of European and Indigenous descent. As Confederation was being discussed in Ottawa, plans were made to transfer the colony to Canada, although without any consultation and without any guarantee of their future political and property rights. This set the stage for the Red River Resistance (please see database entry on Red River Resistance), during which the colony was admitted to Canada as the province of Manitoba, in 1870.

After defeats at Fish Creek and Cut Knife General Frederick Middleton asked Indian Commissioner Edgar Dewdney to "issue proclamation warning breeds and Indians to return to their Reserves and that all found away will be treated as rebels." Middleton hoped to fight just the Batoche Metis and avoid inciting an Indian war. Dewdney who had been seeking for a justification to pass ordinances to bring about greater control over the western Aboriginal population supported Middleton's idea. Within hours of receiving Middleton's telegram he issued a notice that all loyal Indians must remain on their reserves.

In an attempt to regulate fisheries and establish a product of uniform quality, the CCF government created the Saskatchewan Fish Products board to operate filleting plants in the province, and later in the same year created the Saskatchewan Fish Marketing Board. Several shipments of fish had been refused at the American border, due to the presence of bacteria found in Saskatchewan lake fish, prompting the government to increase quality inspection and establish quality standards. The SFMB applied many of the same policies that the SFMS did to furs: licenses for local fishers and regulation of fish prices were central to their goals. In 1946, the board was reorganized with the creation of the Saskatchewan Lake and Forest Products Corporation, which included three divisions: fish, timber, and the Box Corporation. The goal of the board was to encourage participation in the fish industry, especially by Indigenous peoples, and to create a government monopoly over the sale and trade of fish. The board also established six stores throughout Northern Saskatchewan as a Crown corporation in order to regulate the purchase and sales of goods in the fishing industry. The board also effectively served as a social services board until it was eliminated in 1949 after years of deficit.                      

After the failure of the Saskatchewan Fish Market Board to stabilize fishing industries, it was reorganized in 1949 to create the Saskatchewan Fish Marketing Service. Fisheries were then structured by region, which were administered by one central administration. An interview with Berry Richards reveals that one purpose of the Fish Marketing Service was to give Indigenous fishermen a better price than paid by private fishing companies. However, this was not the case as many Indigenous fishermen reported that what they received from the Government was substantially less that what they received from private contractors. They were also unable to negotiate better prices for their catch, as they had with private buyers, because the Fish Marketing Service came from a top-down standardized approach which did not allow for negotiation. 

The Superintendent General of Indian Affairs was given regulatory power over pool rooms, dance halls, and other recreational locations in order to discourage Aboriginal people from frequenting these establishments. Further restrictions were enacted in 1930 when it became illegal for the owner of a pool hall to allow an Aboriginal person in their establishment.

In an attempt to stop people from using passes to attend ceremonies on other reserves, Deputy Superintendent Graham issued a directive to Indian Agents to prosecute individuals that participated in any activities other than those specified on the pass they were issued. Graham further noted the Royal North-West Mounted Police had greatly cooperated with the wishes of the Indian Agents, and had not questioned the legality of preventing First Nations from participating in dances and other ceremonies on neighbouring reserves. The dances were perceived as a threat because it continued the transmission of traditions and customs, which counteracted colonial methods to eliminate Indigenous cultures across Canada. 

Several communities created petitions of complaint that were sent to Indian Affairs against the prohibition on ceremonial gatherings, arguing that other groups had received permission to hold these events.

Concerned about the creation of a strong united Cree community in the Battleford area, Canadian government officials—most notably Edgar Dewdney—did not grant various Cree communities reserves where they desired, and attempted to obstruct a Thirst Dance (Sun Dance) on the Poundmaker Reserve that brought together all Cree communities from the surrounding region.

The Ferguson Royal Commission is a federal investigation of land dealings in the Prairies. It found that Indian Affairs officials were often engaged in conflicts of interest as it relates to their dealing with reserve land surrenders. The transcript of the debates in the House of Commons refers to the involvement of James A. Smart, Frank Pedley, and William J. White in the sale of three Indian reserves, and it notes that the three “formed a company of some kind to acquire Indian lands” and employed A.C. Bedford-Jones to represent them. The group made a total profit of $84,000 on the sales of the three reserves. Moose Mountain is the only reserve mentioned by name in the debates, but reference to Chakastaypasin and “IR 100” is made in newspaper articles discussing the findings of the Ferguson Commission. As noted previously, the evidence suggests that IR 100A (Cumberland Band and James Smith Cree Nation) was the third reserve in which this syndicate purchased lands.

A federal inquiry into the effects of participation in agricultural exhibitions on Aboriginal people was conducted after Indian Agents complained of their attendance, but had no legal ground for prohibiting it. Fieldworkers and Indian agents who participated in this survey noted the moral temptations that came from these events, and the decreased productivity of farms as a result. They concluded that Indians did not have the good moral judgement to attend these events, and it was against the better good.

Chief Foremost Man and the Nakaneet First Nation (Cree) signed Treaty 4 on September 15, 1874. However, the band refused to leave the Cypress Hills area with others who were forcibly removed in 1883, and remained in the area living without a reserve and the benefits of annuities and other Treaty rights. Foremost Man was not averse to living on a reserve; but if the government insisted that he settle on a reserve he wanted it to be in the Cypress Hills area.----------------------- However, the government did not want Indian reserves south of the Canadian Pacific Railway because it was worried about cross-border conflicts between different bands. Other policies which limited movement of Indigenous people as it relates to Canada-America border crossings suggests Canadian officials feared conflict and collusion with American Indians. A more recent interpretation suggests that Canadian authorities were concerned about the potential danger of a concentration of Cree on adjacent reserves in the Cypress Hills, as this would create an Indian territory in which the residents would be difficult to control. ------------------------ After Foremost Man's death in 1897, the band, now led by Chief Crooked Legs, pursued Foremost Man's dream of a reserve in the Hills, eventually hiring a lawyer to promote their cause. The Government conceded in 1913, granting a small reserve at Maple Creek. Still, it was not until 1975 that the Government agreed to pay them their treaty benefits.