(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Indians 101: Canadian First Nations 150 years ago, 1873 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-25 Indian Affairs Indian Affairs was transferred from the Department of the Secretary of State to the Department of the Interior. North West Mounted Police The North West Mounted Police was formed to administer law and order in the Northwest Territories. The Mounties, as they came to be called, used consultation and negotiation to avert conflict rather than seek it. In his book Beyond Bear’s Paw: The Nez Perce Indians in Canada, historian Jerome Greene writes: “Thus, the police sought a semblance of fairness in their dealings with the tribes, and of neutrality in their relations with Americans along the border, intent on not giving Indians any cause to fear a collaboration with American army officials, or in any sense foster their forceful removal for punitive purposes.” The internal hierarchy of the new police force consists of a supervising commissioner and superintendents for each division. In his book The Mounties March West: The Epic Trek and Early Adventures of the Mounted Police, historian Tony Hollihan reports: “These officers were also justices of the peace. The bulk of the force consisted of constables and sub-constables, who were given the rights to detain and arrest suspects.” In Alberta, one of the concerns was to put a stop to the illegal liquor trade with the Blackfoot and other Indians. In 1873, an estimated 600 barrels of liquor were traded to the Blackfoot. Anthropologist Hugh Dempsey, in his chapter on the Blackfoot in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 13, Part 1: Plains, reports: “The sale of alcohol was halted, and Indians made rapid strides in replacing their depleted horse herds and restoring order over their lives.” Wolfers Wolfers were engaged in hunting wolves: they got $2.50 a hide in bounty on the wolves. They would shoot a buffalo, and then poison it to kill the wolves who would feed on the carcass. Tony Hollihan writes: “Wolfers were despised by just about everybody, but especially by the Natives, who often found their dogs poisoned. The dogs were important beasts of burden in any Native camp.” In Fort Benton, Montana, a group of wolfers who had been drinking heavily, found that they had lost about 40 of their horses. The horses had most likely been captured by Cree raiders. The wolfers, known as the Green River Renegades, stopped at Fort Farwell (a trading post dealing primarily in alcohol and firearms) and were informed that there were only some peaceful Assiniboines in the area and that they didn’t have the wolfers’ horses. The wolfers stayed at the post and got drunk. Led by John Evans, the wolfers located an Assiniboine camp under the leadership of Little Soldier. Abe Farwell, the owner of Fort Farwell, beat the wolfers to the camp and attempted to warn the Indians that they were in danger. The wolfers attacked the Assiniboine camp, killed 30 people, and mutilated the bodies. The wolfers were well-armed with Henry and Winchester repeating rifles, while the Assiniboines had only bows and a few muzzle-loading muskets. Historian Tony Hollihan reports: “Women who failed to flee were captured and raped throughout the night.” One elder, Wankantu, was clubbed to death and then decapitated. His head was impaled on a spike outside of nearby Fort Solomon. The Indians protested to the America Indian agent as well as to Canadian authorities, but the “wolfers” were not brought to justice. The Assiniboines refer to the attack as the Cypress Hills Massacre. Christian Missionaries In Alberta the Olbates, a Catholic order, sent Father Constantine Scollen to establish Our Lady of Peace Mission on the Elbow River to convert the Blackfoot. He spent the winter in Blackfoot hunting camps and prepared a Blackfoot dictionary and grammar. In British Columbia, a Christian revival camp meeting, led by Native preachers, was held at Chilliwack. Many northern Indians, including Heiltsuk, attended. American Refugees In Manitoba, some Sisseton Sioux, Wahpeton Sioux, and Mdewakanton Sioux who had fled from reservations in the United States settled on the Sioux Valley and Birdtail Creek Reserves. More Canadian First Nations histories Indians 101: The Nez Perce in Canada Indians 101: The North-West Mounted Police Indians 101: Canadian First Nations 350 years ago, 1670 Indians 101: The Canadian fur trade 200 years ago, 1821 Indians 101: Canadian First Nations 150 years ago, 1870 Indians 101: Outlawing the potlatch in Canada Indians 101: Champlain and the Canadian First Nations Indians 101: The Red River War [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/25/2165590/-Indians-101-Canadian-First-Nations-150-years-ago-1873 Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/