The Dominion of Canada came into existence in 1867 and the responsibility to honor treaties with the First Nations passed from the British to the Canadian federal government. Indian Affairs was placed under the Department of the Secretary of State.
With regard to Indians, the newly formed country passed the Indian Act which defined indigenous communities as bands. So that the bands’ existence could become a matter of public record, rolls of individual tribal members were to be created and the boundaries of the bands’ domains were to be designated.
In 1869, The Canadian Legislature passed the Gradual Enfranchisement Act which required all bands to elect their own government to manage their local affairs. In her book Blackfoot Ways of Knowing: The Worldview of the Siksikaitsitapi, Dr. Betty Bastien describes the Act this way:
“It was designed to remove traditional tribal leadership and to set up a government based on municipal laws and the European concept of ‘majority rule.’ Until this time traditional leadership had been based on values that produced harmony, respect, and integrity through consensus.”
Anthropologist Richard Perry, in his book From Time Immemorial: Indigenous Peoples and State Systems, reports:
“Band decisions were subject to the veto of the federal government, however, in the person of the minister of Indian Affairs.”
Under the act, some individuals were to lose Indian status. According to Richard Perry:
“A status woman who married a nonstatus man, for example, would become nonstatus and so would her children. The existence of many indigenous societies that reckoned descent through the mother’s line was of little consequence to the legislators.”
Canada had been dominated by the fur trade and to facilitate this trade, the French and Scots fur traders often married indigenous women and adopted many features of the indigenous lifestyle. As a result, a new culture, generally called Métis, evolved which include both European and Native cultural elements. In their biography Louis Riel, Dan Asfar and Tim Chodan write:
“The Métis were a French-speaking people living in western Canada who drew their ancestry from both whites and Natives. They were the offspring of French fur traders and Native women who married during traders’ sojourns in Rupert’s Land.”
Dan Asfar and Tim Chodan also report:
“Over time, the Métis (French for “half-caste”) formed a distinct population. They developed buffalo-hunting practices of their own and competed against bordering Natives for hunting grounds.”
Rupert’s Land
When the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) was granted a royal charter in 1670, they received a large land grant consisting of all the lands which drained into Hudson’s Bay. This vast area, known as Rupert’s Land in honor of Prince Rupert, one of the founding members of the HBC, was governed by the HBC which had been given all the powers of a sovereign nation. In order to allow the newly formed nation of Canada to expand westward, in 1870, HBC transferred Rupert’s Land and the Northwestern Territory to Canada.
The Métis provisional government with Louis Riel, Sr. as its president negotiated with the Canadian government concerning the Manitoba Act which provided provincial status. The Act also gave the French language and Roman Catholic confessional schools official status. The Act recognized the Métis riverlot system, their hay privileges, and their common grazing rights. Riel declared:
“no matter what happens now, the rights of the métis are assured by the Manitoba bill: it is what I wanted—my mission is finished.”
The Métis riverlot system was inspired by the seigneurial system of New France. In this system there were parallel lots which are 6-12 chains in width (1 chain = 66 feet) and up to two miles deep. The rear of each lot was used for hay and for wood.
American Complaints
Prime Minister John A. Macdonald received a letter from Hamilton Fish, the United States Secretary of State, complaining about the Blackfoot. According to Fish, Blackfoot raiding parties were crossing into Montana to steal horses and murder Americans. They would then return to Canada where they would sell their stolen horses for rifles, ammunition, and whiskey.
Since the Hudson’s Bay Company did not sell alcohol to Indians, it appeared that American traders needed to move north of the border. In his book The Mounties March West: The Epic Trek and Early Adventures of the Mounted Police, Tony Hollihan writes:
“Eager to be law-abiding citizens, they instead travelled to Dominion territory with their wares because they knew such trade could occur there without interference.”
Macdonald asked Adams Archibald, the lieutenant-governor of Manitoba and the North-West Territories to report on the issue. Archibald reported that the Hudson’s Bay Company officials described a reign of chaos in the region. Historian Tony Hollihan writes:
“They claimed that the safety of company traders and the small settlements was at risk because of the American whiskey traders’ irresponsible actions. They traded booze illegally to the Natives for their furs, and the Natives, either drunk or anxious to get more alcohol, threatened property and lives.”
Smallpox
Smallpox swept across the Plains of Alberta and Saskatchewan. It was deadly to both Métis and Indians. In a chapter in Buffalo, J.E. Foster reports:
“Two-thirds of the Metis would become ill; half of these would die.”
Buffalo
In Alberta and Saskatchewan, the Métis fall buffalo hunt failed to find many animals.
Battle
In Alberta, a large-scale battle took place between the Cree and the Blackfoot. The Blackfoot routed the Cree, killing more than 200.
Religion
In Victoria, British Columbia, a Christian revival movement, led by Native preachers, began in a rented barroom and then spread to other parts of the province.
Indians 101
Twice each week Indians 101 explores different American Indian topics. More about the First Nations in Canada from this series:
Indians 101: Joseph Brant in Canada
Indians 101: the 19th Century Red River Rebellion
Indians 101: The Nez Perce in Canada
Indians 101: The Pemmican War
Indians 101: The French Fur Trade
Indians 101: Cartier & the Indians of New France
Indians 101: Metis
Indians 101: Canadian First Nations 350 years ago, 1670