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The Treaties of Canada with The Indians of Manitoba

A >> Alexander Morris >> The Treaties of Canada with The Indians of Manitoba



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THE TREATIES OF CANADA WITH THE INDIANS OF MANITOBA AND THE
NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES, INCLUDING THE NEGOTIATIONS ON WHICH
THEY WERE BASED, AND OTHER INFORMATION RELATING THERETO.

BY THE HON. ALEXANDER MORRIS, P.C., LATE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR
OF MANITOBA, THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES, AND KEE-WA-TIN.


TO HIS EXCELLENCY
The Right Honorable the Earl of Dufferin,

Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador at St. Petersburg, K.P.P.C.,
K.C.B., G.C.M.G., &c., &c., &c.

My Lord,--

Encouraged by the earnest interest, your Lordship ever evinced, in
the work of obtaining the alliance and promoting the welfare of the
Indian tribes in the North-West of Canada, and in opening up the
Territories for settlement, by obtaining the relinquishment of the
natural title of the Indians to the lands of the Fertile Belt on
fair and just terms, I have the honor, by your kind permission, to
dedicate this collection of the treaties made with them, to your
Excellency, in the belief that its publication will be timely, and
that the information now supplied in a compact form, may prove of
service to the Dominion of Canada.

I have the honor to be
Your Lordship's obedient servant,
ALEXANDER MORRIS,

Late Lieut.-Gov. of Manitoba, the North-West Territories, and
Kee-wa-tin.

TORONTO, March, 1880.



PREFACE

The question of the relations of the Dominion of Canada to the
Indians of the North-West, is one of great practical importance The
work, of obtaining their good will, by entering into treaties of
alliance with them, has now been completed in all the region from
Lake Superior to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. As an aid to the
other and equally important duty--that of carrying out, in their
integrity, the obligations of these treaties, and devising means
whereby the Indian population of the Fertile Belt can be rescued
from the hard fate which otherwise awaits them, owing to the speedy
destruction of the buffalo, hitherto the principal food supply of
the Plain Indians, and that they may be induced to become, by the
adoption of agricultural and pastoral pursuits, a self supporting
community--I have prepared this collection of the treaties made
with them, and of information, relating to the negotiations, on
which these treaties were based, in the hope that I may thereby
contribute to the completion of a work, in which I had considerable
part, that, of, by treaties, securing the good will of the Indian
tribes, and by the helpful hand of the Dominion, opening up
to them, a future of promise, based upon the foundations of
instruction and the many other advantages of civilized life.

M.



CONTENTS

Introduction
I. The Selkirk Treaty
II. The Robinson Treaty
III. The Manitoulin Island Treaty
IV. The Stone Fort and Manitoba Post Treaties, Numbers One
and Two
V. Treaty Number Three; or, the North-West Angle Treaty
VI. The Qu'Appelle Treaty, or Number Four
VII. The Revision of Treaties Numbers One and Two
VIII. The Winnipeg Treaty Number Five
IX. The Treaties at Forts Carlton and Pitt
X. Treaty Number Seven; or, the Blackfeet Treaty
XI. The Sioux in the North-West Territories
XII. The Administration of the Treaties--The Half-breeds--The
Future of the Indian Tribes
APPENDIX--Texts of the Treaties and Supplementary
Adhesions thereto



THE TREATIES WITH THE INDIANS OF MANITOBA, THE NORTH-WEST
TERRITORIES, AND KEE-WA-TIN, IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA.


INTRODUCTION

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 the alliance of the Indian tribes, and maintaining
friendly relations with them. The predecessors of Canada--the
Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay,
popularly known as the Hudson's Bay Company--had, for long years,
been eminently successful in securing the good-will of the
Indians--but on their sway, coming to an end, the Indian mind was
disturbed. The events, that transpired in the Red River region, in
the years 1869-1870, during the period when a provisional
government was attempted to be established, had perplexed the
Indians. They, moreover, had witnessed a sudden irruption into the
country of whites from without. In the West, American traders
poured into the land, and, freighted with fire-water, purchased
their peltries and their horses, and impoverished the tribes. In
the East, white men took possession of the soil and made for
themselves homes, and as time went on steamboats were placed on the
inland waters--surveyors passed through the territories--and the
"speaking wires," as the Indian calls the telegraph, were erected.
What wonder that the Indian mind was disturbed, and what wonder was
it that a Plain chief, as he looked upon the strange wires
stretching through his land, exclaimed to his people, "We have done
wrong to allow that wire to be placed there, before the Government
obtained our leave to do so. There is a white chief at Red River,
and that wire speaks to him, and if we do anything wrong he will
stretch out a long arm and take hold of us before we can get away."
The government of Canada had, anticipating the probabilities of
such a state of affairs, wisely resolved, that contemporaneously
with the formal establishment of their rule, there should be formed
alliances with the Indians. In 1870 the Parliament of Canada
created the requisite machinery for the Government of the Province
of Manitoba and of the North-West Territories respectively, giving
to the former a Lieutenant-Governor and Legislature, and to
the latter, a Lieutenant-Governor and Council, Executive and
Legislative--the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba being ex officio
Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories. Subsequently the
North-West Territories were erected into a distinct government,
with a Lieutenant-Governor and Executive, and Legislative Council.
The District of Kee-wa-tin, "the land of the north wind," was also
established, comprising the eastern and northern portions of the
Territories, and placed under the control of the Lieutenant-Governor
of Manitoba, and an Executive and Legislative Council. Since 1870,
no less than seven treaties have been concluded, with the Indian
tribes, so that there now remain no Indian nations in the North-West,
inside of the fertile belt, who have not been dealt with.

It is the design of the present work to tell the story of these
treaties, to preserve as far as practicable, a record of the
negotiations on which they were based, and to present to the many
in the Dominion and elsewhere, who take a deep interest in these
sons of the forest and the plain, a view of their habits of thought
and speech, as thereby presented, and to suggest the possibility,
nay, the certainty, of a hopeful future for them.

Prior to proceeding to deal, with the treaties of the Dominion of
Canada, it will render this book more complete to present the
reader, with information as to three treaties which preceded those
of the Dominion, viz., the treaty made by the Earl of Selkirk in
the year 1817, those popularly known as the Robinson Treaties, made
by the late Hon. William B. Robinson, of the City of Toronto, with
the Indians of the shores and islands of Lakes Superior and Huron
in the year 1850, and that made by the Hon. William Macdougall, for
the surrender of the Indian title, to the great Manitoulin Island,
both acting for and on behalf of the Government of the late
Province of Canada.

Ere however entering upon an explanation of these two first-mentioned
treaties, I submit a few brief observations.

The Indians inhabiting the region covered by the treaties in
question, extending in Canadian territory from Lake Superior to the
foot of the Rocky Mountains, are composed of distinct tribes having
different languages.

The Ojibbewas, Chippawas, or Saulteaux as they now call themselves,
are found in numbers in the District of Kee-wa-tin and the Province
of Manitoba. In the North-West Territories they are not numerous
except within the limits of Treaty number Four. These Indians
migrated from the older Provinces of Quebec and Ontario many years
ago.

The Crees, inhabit the North-West Territories and are divided into
Plain, Wood and Swampy Crees, according to the region of the
country they dwell in. The Swampy Crees reside in Manitoba and
Kee-wa-tin.

The Black Feet nation are to be found towards the slope of the
Rocky Mountains, in the region comprised within the limits of the
Treaty number Seven.

A few Chippawayans, or Northerners, dwell within the North-West
Territories.

The once powerful nation of the Assiniboines, or Stonies--a kindred
tribe to the Sioux--are greatly reduced in numbers, and are now
only to be met with in the North-West Territories.

The Sioux in the Dominion are refugees from the United States, the
first body having come over some fourteen years ago. A large influx
of similar refugees, have recently fled to the Dominion from, the
same country, as the issue of the recent war between the United
States and the Sioux.



CHAPTER I

THE SELKIRK TREATY


In the year 1811, the Earl of Selkirk purchased [Footnote:
Vide Appendix for copy of the agreement in question.] from the
Governor and Company of Adventurers trading into Hudson's Bay,
in consideration of ten shillings and certain agreements and
understandings contained in the Indenture, a large tract of
territory within Rupert's Land described in the Indenture as
follows:

"All that tract of land or territory being within and forming part
of the aforesaid lands and territories of the said Governor and
Company, bounded by an imaginary line running as follows, that
is to say, beginning on the western shore of the Lake Winnipic,
otherwise Winnipeg, at a point in fifty-two degrees and thirty
north latitude and thence running due west to the Lake Winnipegoos,
otherwise called Little Winnipeg, then in a southerly direction
through the said Lake so as to strike its western shore in latitude
fifty-two degrees, then due west to the place where the parallel of
fifty-two degrees north latitude intersects the western branch of
Red River, otherwise called Assiniboine River, then due south from
that point of intersection to the height of land which separates
the waters running into Hudson's Bay from those of the Missouri and
Mississippi, then in an easterly direction along the said height
of land to the source of the River Winnipic, or Winnipeg (meaning
by such last named river the principal branch of the waters which
unite in Lake Sagenagos), thence along the main stream of these
waters and the middle of the several lakes through which they
flow to the mouth of the Winnipic River and thence in a northerly
direction through the middle of Lake Winnipic to the place of
beginning." The deed is accompanied by a map intended to show the
tract of country, and there is an endorsement on the map that
as the surveys were not sufficient to ascertain with precision
whether, latitude 52 degrees does intersect the river called Red or
Assiniboine River, it was agreed, that in case the waters of of Red
River, shall on more accurate survey be found, not to extend so far
north as latitude 52 degrees, then the west boundary of the tract
of land intended to be within the grant, should be a line drawn due
north and south, through the post upon the Red River, marked on the
plan is "Carlton House."

The Company reserved the right to call upon the Earl to set off
one-tenth, however, of the tract for the use of the servants of
the Company--and the Earl covenanted, within ten years, to settle
within the tract one thousand families, each of them consisting of
one married couple at the least, on pain of revocation of the
grant, if on receipt of notice to that effect from the Company he
did not, within three years after the receipt of the notice,
complete the settlement of the one thousand families.

In pursuance of his obligations, Lord Selkirk, in the autumn of the
year 1811, sent out a number of families from the County of
Sutherland, in Scotland, who spent the winter at Fort Churchill on
the western shore of Hudson's Bay. On the arrival of spring, they
travelled thence to the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red
Rivers, and thus was commenced the interesting settlement of the
Red River, which is now included in the Province of Manitoba. It is
not my purpose to notice here the eventful history of the Selkirk
colonists, and I will only note the fact that in 1836, the Company
bought back the whole tract, from the heirs of Lord Selkirk, for
the sum of L84,000, the rights of colonists who had purchased land
between 1811 and 1836, being respected.

In the year 1817 the Earl of Selkirk, visited his wide domain,
and entered into negotiations with the Indian tribes, for the
extinction of their title, to a tract of land described as follows:

[Footnote: A large portion of the ceded territory is now
comprehended in the Territory of Dakota, United States.] "All
that tract of land adjacent to Red River and Assiniboine River,
beginning at the mouth of Red River and extending along the same
as far as Great Forks at the mouth of Red Lake River and along
Assiniboine River as far as the Musk Rat River, otherwise called
Riviere des Champignons, and extending to the distance of six miles
from Fort Douglas on every side, and likewise from Fort Doer, and
also from the Great Forks and in other posts extending in breadth
to the distance of two English statute miles back from the banks of
the river."

The Indians then inhabiting the region were described as being of
the Chippawa or Saulteaux and Killistine or Cree nations. They were
made to comprehend, the depth of the land they were surrendering,
by being told, that it was the greatest distance, at which a horse
on the level prairie could be seen, or daylight seen under his
belly between his legs. The consideration for the surrender, was,
the payment of one hundred pounds of good merchantable tobacco, to
each nation annually.

The treaty was signed by Lord Selkirk and by five Indian chiefs,
who affixed thereto drawings of the animals after which they were
named, by way of signature, a fac simile of which will be found
elsewhere. The surrender was to the Sovereign Lord, King George the
Third. The treaty was accompanied by a map which shows that the
tract surrendered extended to Grand Forks in what is now United
States territory. A copy of the treaty will be found in the
Appendix and will prove of interest.



CHAPTER II

THE ROBINSON TREATIES


In consequence of the discovery of minerals, on the shores of Lakes
Huron and Superior, the Government of the late Province of Canada,
deemed it desirable, to extinguish the Indian title, and in order
to that end, in the year 1850, entrusted the duty to the late
Honorable William B. Robinson, who discharged his duties with great
tact and judgment, succeeding in making two treaties, which were
the forerunners of the future treaties, and shaped their course.
The main features of the Robinson Treaties--viz., annuities,
reserves for the Indians, and liberty to fish and hunt on the
unconceded domain of the Crown--having been followed in these
treaties. A special feature of the Robinson Treaties, was the
adjustment of a claim made by the Indians to be paid, the amount
received, by the Government, for the sale of mining locations. This
was arranged, by Mr. Robinson, agreeing to pay them, the sum of
L4,000 and an annuity of about L1,000, thus avoiding any dispute
that might arise as to the amounts actually received by the
Government. The number of Indians included in the treaties were
stated by Mr. Robinson to be: on Lake Superior, 1240, including 84
half-breeds; and on Lake Huron 1422, including 200 half-breeds.
[Footnote: The census return of the Department of the Interior
for the year 1878 gives the numbers of these Indians as follows:
Chippawas of Lake Superior ... 1,947. Chippawas of Lake Huron ...
1,458.] The relations of the Indians and half-breeds, have long
been cordial; and in the negotiations as to these initial treaties,
as in the subsequent ones, the claims of the half-breeds, to
recognition, was urged by the Indians.

I cannot do better, in giving information with regard to these
treaties, than simply to reproduce the Report of Mr. Robinson to
the Honorable Colonel Bruce, Superintendent-General of Indian
Affairs, in which he describes the course of his negotiations and
communicates their results. A copy of the treaties will be found in
the Appendix. The Report is as follows:

TORONTO, 24th September, 1850.

Sir:--I have the honor herewith to transmit the Treaty which on
the part of the Government I was commissioned to negotiate with
the tribes of Indians inhabiting the northern shore of Lakes Huron
and Superior; and I trust that the terms on which I succeeded in
obtaining the surrender of all the lands in question, with the
exception of some small reservations made by the Indians, may be
considered satisfactory. They were such as I thought it advisable
to offer, in order that the matter might be finally settled,
without having any just grounds of complaint on the part of the
Indians.

The Indians had been advised by certain interested parties to
insist on such extravagant terms as I felt it quite impossible to
grant; and from the fact that the American Government had paid
very liberally for the land surrendered by their Indians on the
south side of Lake Superior, and that our own in other parts of the
country were in receipt of annuities much larger than I offered, I
had some difficulty in obtaining the assent of a few of the chiefs
to my proposition.

I explained to the chiefs in council the difference between the
lands ceded heretofore in this Province and those then under
consideration, they were of good quality and sold readily at
prices which enabled the Government to be more liberal, they were
also occupied by the whites in such a manner as to preclude the
possibility of the Indian hunting over or having access to them
whereas the lands now ceded are notoriously barren and sterile, and
will in all probability never be settled except in a few localities
by mining companies, whose establishments among the Indians,
instead of being prejudicial, would prove of great benefit as they
would afford a market for any things they may have to sell, and
bring provisions and stores of all kinds among them at reasonable
prices.

Neither did the British Government contemplate the removal of the
Indians from their present haunts to some (to them) unknown region
in the far West, as had been the case with their brethren on the
American side.

I told them that the two chiefs who were in Toronto last winter
(Shinguacouse and Nebennigoebing) only asked the amount which the
Government had received for mining locations, after deducting the
expenses attending their sale. That amount was about eight thousand
pounds which the Government would pay them without any annuity
or certainty of further benefit; or one-half of it down, and an
annuity of about one thousand pounds.

There were twenty-one chiefs present, about the same number of
principal men, and a large number of other Indians belonging to
the different bands, and they all preferred the latter proposition,
though two of them (Shinguacouse and Nebennigoebing) insisted on
receiving an annuity equal to ten dollars per head.

The chiefs from Lake Superior desired to treat separately for their
territory and said at once in council that they accepted my offer.
I told them that I would have the treaty ready on the following
morning, and I immediately proceeded to prepare it, and as agreed
upon they signed it cheerfully at the time appointed.

I then told the chiefs from Lake Huron (who were all present when
the others signed) that I should have a similar treaty ready for
their signature, the next morning when those who signed it would
receive their money; and that as a large majority of them had
agreed to my terms I should abide by them.

I accordingly prepared the treaty and proceeded on the morning of
the ninth instant to the council-room to have it formally executed
in the presence of proper witnesses--all the chiefs and others were
present. I told them I was then ready to receive their signatures;
the two chiefs, Shinguacouse and Nebennigoebing, repeated their
demand of ten dollars a head by way of annuity, and also insisted
that I should insert in the treaty a condition securing to some
sixty half-breeds a free grant of one hundred acres of land each.
I told them they already had my answer as to a larger annuity, and
that I had no power to give them free grants of land. The other
chiefs came forward to sign the treaty and seeing this the two who
had resisted up to this time also came to the table and signed
first, the rest immediately following.

I trust his Excellency will approve of my having concluded the
treaty on the basis of a small annuity and the immediate and final
settlement of the matter, rather than paying the Indians the full
amount of all moneys on hand, and a promise of accounting to them
for future sales. The latter course would have entailed much
trouble on the Government, besides giving an opportunity to evil
disposed persons to make the Indians suspicious of any accounts
that might be furnished.

Believing that His Excellency and the Government were desirous
of leaving the Indians no just cause of complaint on their
surrendering the extensive territory embraced in the treaty, and
knowing there were individuals who most assiduously endeavored to
create dissatisfaction among them, I inserted a clause securing to
them certain prospective advantages should the lands in question
prove sufficiently productive at any future period to enable the
Government without loss to increase the annuity. [Footnote: The
annuities under these treaties have recently been increased, the
following item having been inserted in the Supplies Act of Canada,
viz., "Annual grant to bring up annuities payable under the
Robinson Treaty to the Chippawas of Lakes Huron and Superior, from
96 cents to $4 per head, $14,000."] This was so reasonable and just
that I had no difficulty in making them comprehend it, and it in a
great measure silenced the clamor raised by their evil advisers.

In allowing the Indians to retain reservations of land for their
own use I was governed by the fact that they in most cases asked
for such tracts as they had heretofore been in the habit of using
for purposes of residence and cultivation, and by securing these to
them and the right of hunting and fishing over the ceded territory,
they cannot say that the Government takes from their usual means of
subsistence and therefore have no claims for support, which they no
doubt would have preferred, had this not been done. The reservation
at Garden River is the largest and perhaps of most value, but as
it is occupied by the most numerous band of Indians, and from its
locality (nine miles from the Sault) is likely to attract others
to it, I think it was right to grant what they expressed a desire
to retain. There are two mining locations at this place, which
should not be finally disposed of unless by the full consent of
Shinguacouse and his band; they are in the heart of the village and
shew no indications of mineral wealth, they are numbered 14 and 15
on the small map appended to Messrs. Anderson and Vidal's report.
I pledged my word on the part of the Government that the sale of
these locations should not be completed, and as the locatees have
not, I believe, complied with the conditions of the Crown Lands
Department there can be no difficulty in cancelling the
transaction.

The chiefs are desirous that their several reservations should
be marked by proper posts or monuments, and I have told them the
Government would probably send some one next spring for that
purpose. As I know many of the localities I shall be able to give
the necessary information when required.

When at Sault Ste. Marie last May, I took measures for ascertaining
as nearly as possible the number of Indians inhabiting the
north shore of the two lakes; and was fortunate enough to get
a very correct census, particularly of Lake Superior. I found
this information very useful at the council, as it enabled me
successfully to contradict the assertion (made by those who were
inciting the chiefs to resist my offers) that there were on Lake
Superior alone, eight thousand Indians. The number on that lake,
including eighty-four half-breeds, is only twelve hundred and
forty--and on Lake Huron, about fourteen hundred and twenty-two,
including probably two hundred half-breeds, and when I paid the
Indians they acknowledged they knew of no other families than
those on my list.

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