The Treaties of Canada with the Indians of Manitoba and the North-West Territories Part 46

FORT WALSH, CYPRESS HILLS, 4th July, 1879.

Sir,--I have the honor to enclose an agreement made with two Cree head men, who expressed to me a desire to join the treaty made at Fort Carlton and Fort Pitt on the 9th September, 1876. Little Pine is a Cree Chief who has for some time expressed his willingness to take the treaty. Lucky Man is a head man lately made by the Indians who have been followers of Big Bear but who have now left him.

Big Bear himself was present when both Little Pine and Lucky Man signed, and, I think would have taken the treaty himself, had he not felt ashamed at so many of his lodges leaving him. He is now almost alone, only three or four followers having remained with him. He states that he will take the treaty at Sounding Lake at the time of the payments.

Both Little Pine and Lucky Man have requested that they may be paid at Fort Walsh, as it is impossible for them to reach the more northern agencies, and I have agreed to it. It will therefore be necessary that enough money be forwarded to pay these Indians here.

Little Pine states he will have thirty-four lodges, and Lucky Man twenty-five. Taking the average of a lodge at eight, which I understand is a fair estimate, it will make four hundred and seventy-two extra Indians to be paid.

I have, &c., (Signed) EDGAR DEWDNEY, Indian Commissioner.

L. VANKOUGHNET, Esq., Deputy Supt. General of Indian Affairs, Ottawa.

Whereas Little Pine, or Min-a-he-quo-sis, a Cree Chief on behalf of his band and certain other Cree Indians comprising twenty lodges, inhabitants of the country covered by the treaty commonly known as Treaty Number Six made between Her Majesty the Queen by her Commissioners, the Honorable Alexander Morris, the Honorable James McKay and the Honorable William Joseph Christie, of the one part, and the Plain and Wood Cree tribes of Indians of the other part, at Carlton on the twenty-third and twenty-eighth days of August, and near Fort Pitt on the ninth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, who have not yet given in their adhesion to the said treaty, have presented themselves to Edgar Dewdney Esq., Indian Commissioner for the North-West Territories, and expressed a desire to join in the said treaty. And whereas, the said Commissioner has recognized the said Little Pine as the head man of his band, and the said band of twenty lodges have selected and appointed Pap-a-way the Lucky Man, one of their number, as the head man of their band, and have presented him as such to the said Commissioner, who has recognized and accepted him as such head man.

Now this instrument witnesseth that the said Little Pine and Pap-a-way, or the Lucky Man, for themselves and on behalf of the bands which they represent, do transfer, surrender and relinquish to her Majesty the Queen, her heirs and successors to and for the use of her Government of the Dominion of Canada, all their right, t.i.tle and interest whatsoever, which they have held or enjoyed, of, in and to the territory described and fully set out in the said treaty; also all their right, t.i.tle and interest whatsoever to all other lands wherever situated, whether within their limits of any other treaty heretofore made or hereafter to be made with Indians or elsewhere in Her Majesty's territories, to have and to hold the same unto and for the use of Her Majesty the Queen, her heirs and successors forever. And do hereby agree to accept the several benefits, payments and reserves promised to the Indians adhering to the said treaty at Carlton and Fort Pitt on the dates above mentioned; and further, do solemnly engage to abide by, carry out and fulfil all the stipulations, obligations and conditions contained on the part of the Indians therein named, to be observed and performed, and in all things to conform to the articles of the said treaty, as if the said Little Pine and Pap-a-way or the Lucky Man and the bands whom they represent had been originally contracting parties thereto, and had been present at the treaty at Carlton and Fort Pitt, and had there attached their signatures to the said treaty.

In witness whereof Edgar Dewdney, Indian Commissioner for the North-West Territories, and the said Little Pine and Pap-a-way or the Lucky Man, head men of the said bands, hereby giving their adhesion to the said treaty, have hereunto subscribed and set their hands at Fort Walsh, in the said North-West Territories this second day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.

(Signed) EDGAR DEWDNEY, Indian Commissioner.

LITTLE PINE. His x mark.

THE LUCKY MAN. " x "

Signed by the parties hereto, in the presence of the undersigned witnesses, the same having been explained to the Indians by the said Edgar Dewdney, Esq., Indian Commissioner, through the interpreters Edward McKay and P. Leveiller.

(Signed) JAMES F. McLEOD, Com. N.-W.M.P.

A. G. IRVINE, a.s.sistant Com. N.-W.M.P.

FRANK NORMAN, Staff Constable N.-W.M.P.

THE TREATY WITH THE BLACKFEET, NUMBER SEVEN

Articles of a treaty made and concluded this twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven, between Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, by her Commissioners, the Honorable David Laird, Lieutenant-Governor and Indian Superintendent of the North-West Territories, and James Farquharson McLeod, C.M.G., Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police, of the one part, and the Blackfeet, Blood, Piegan, Sarcee, Stony, and other Indians, inhabitants of the territory north of the United States boundary line, east of the central range of the Rocky Mountains, and south and west of Treaties Numbers Six and Four, by their head Chiefs and minor Chiefs or Councillors, chosen as hereinafter mentioned, of the other part:

Whereas the Indians inhabiting the said territory, have pursuant to an appointment made by the said Commissioners, been convened at a meeting at the "Blackfoot crossing" of the Bow River, to deliberate upon certain matters of interest to Her Most Gracious Majesty, of the one part, and the said Indians of the other;

And whereas the said Indians have been informed by Her Majesty's Commissioners that it is the desire of Her Majesty to open up for settlement, and such other purposes as to Her Majesty may seem meet, a tract of country, bounded and described as hereinafter mentioned, and to obtain the consent thereto of her Indian subjects inhabiting the said tract, and to make a treaty, and arrange with them, so that there may be peace and good will between them and Her Majesty, and between them and Her Majesty's other subjects; and that her Indian people may know and feel a.s.sured of what allowance they are to count upon and receive from Her Majesty's bounty and benevolence;

And whereas the Indians of the said tract, duly convened in council, and being requested by her Majesty's Commissioners to present their head Chiefs and minor Chiefs, or Councillors, who shall be authorized, on their behalf, to conduct such negotiations and sign any treaty to be founded thereon, and to become responsible to Her Majesty for the faithful performance by their respective bands of such obligations as should be a.s.sumed by them, the said Blackfeet, Blood, Piegan and Sarcee Indians have therefore acknowledged for that purpose, the several head and minor Chiefs, and the said Stony Indians, the Chiefs and Councillors who have subscribed hereto, that thereupon in open council the said Commissioners received and acknowledged the head and minor Chiefs and the Chiefs and Councillors presented for the purpose aforesaid;

And whereas the said Commissioners have proceeded to negotiate a treaty with the said Indians; and the same has been finally agreed upon and concluded as follows, that is to say: the Blackfeet, Blood, Piegan, Sarcee, Stony and other Indians inhabiting the district hereinafter more fully described and defined, do hereby cede, release, surrender, and yield up to the Government of Canada for Her Majesty the Queen and her successors forever, all their rights, t.i.tles and privileges whatsoever to the lands included within the following limits, that is to say:

Commencing at a point on the international boundary due south of the western extremity of the Cypress Hills; thence west along the said boundary to the central range of the Rocky Mountains, or to the boundary of the Province of British Columbia; thence north-westerly along the said boundary to a point due west of the source of the main branch of the Red Deer River; thence south-westerly and southerly following on the boundaries of the tracts ceded by the Treaties Numbered Six and Four to the place of commencement; and also all their rights, t.i.tles and privileges whatsoever, to all other lands wherever situated in the North-West Territories, or in any other portion of the Dominion of Canada:

To have and to hold the same to Her Majesty the Queen and her successors forever:

And Her Majesty the Queen hereby agrees with her said Indians, that they shall have right to pursue their vocations of hunting throughout the tract surrendered as heretofore described, subject to such regulations as may, from time to time, be made by the Government of the country, acting under the authority of Her Majesty; and saving and excepting such tracts as may be required or taken up from time to time for settlement, mining, trading or other purposes by her Government of Canada, or by any of her Majesty's subjects duly authorized therefor by the said Government.

It is also agreed between Her Majesty and her said Indians that reserves shall be a.s.signed them of sufficient area to allow one square mile for each family of five persons, or in that proportion for larger and smaller families, and that said reserves shall be located as follows, that is to say:

First--The reserves of the Blackfeet, Blood and Sarcee bands of Indians, shall consist of a belt of land on the north side of the Bow and South Saskatchewan Rivers, of an average width of four miles along said rivers, down stream, commencing at a point on the Bow River twenty miles north-westerly of the "Blackfoot crossing"

thereof, and extending to the Red Deer River at its junction with the South Saskatchewan, also for the term of ten years, and no longer, from the date of the concluding of this treaty, when it shall cease to be a portion of said Indian reserves, as fully to all intents and purposes as if it had not at any time been included therein, and without any compensation to individual Indians for improvements, of a similar belt of land on the south side of the Bow and Saskatchewan Rivers of an average width of one mile along said rivers, down stream; commencing at the aforesaid point on the Bow River, and extending to a point one mile west of the coal seam on said river, about five miles below the said "Blackfoot crossing;" beginning again one mile east of the said coal seam and extending to the mouth of Maple Creek at its junction with the South Saskatchewan; and beginning again at the junction of the Bow River with the latter river, and extending on both sides of the South Saskatchewan in an average width on each side thereof of one mile, along said river against the stream, to the junction of the Little Bow River with the latter river, reserving to Her Majesty, as may now or hereafter be required by her for the use of her Indian and other subjects, from all the reserves hereinbefore described, the right to navigate the above mentioned rivers, to land and receive fuel and cargoes on the sh.o.r.es and banks thereof, to build bridges and establish ferries thereon, to use the fords thereof and all the trails leading thereto, and to open such other roads through the said reserves as may appear to Her Majesty's Government of Canada, necessary for the ordinary travel of her Indian and other subjects, due compensation being paid to individual Indians for improvements, when the same may be in any manner encroached upon by such roads.

Secondly--That the reserve of the Piegan band of Indians shall be on the Old Man's River, near the foot of the Porcupine Hills, at a place called "Crow's Creek."

And thirdly--The reserve of the Stony band of Indians shall be in the vicinity of Morleyville.

In view of the satisfaction of Her Majesty with the recent general good conduct of her said Indians, and in extinguishment of all their past claims, she hereby, through her Commissioners, agrees to make them a present payment of twelve dollars each in cash to each man, woman, and child of the families here represented.

Her Majesty also agrees that next year, and annually afterwards forever, she will cause to be paid to the said Indians, in cash, at suitable places and dates, of which the said Indians shall be duly notified, to each Chief, twenty-five dollars, each minor Chief or Councillor (not exceeding fifteen minor Chiefs to the Blackfeet and Blood Indians, and four to the Piegan and Sarcee bands, and five Councillors to the Stony Indian Bands) fifteen dollars, and to every other Indian of whatever age, five dollars; the same, unless there be some exceptional reason, to be paid to the heads of families for those belonging thereto.

Further, Her Majesty agrees that the sum of two thousand dollars shall hereafter every year be expended in the purchase of ammunition for distribution among the said Indians; provided that if at any future time ammunition became comparatively unnecessary for said Indians, her Government, with the consent of said Indians, or any of the bands thereof, may expend the proportion due to such band otherwise for their benefit.

Further, Her Majesty agrees that each head Chief and minor Chief, and each Chief and Councillor duly recognized as such, shall, once in every three years, during the term of their office, receive a suitable suit of clothing, and each head Chief and Stony Chief, in recognition of the closing of the treaty, a suitable medal and flag, and next year, or as soon as convenient, each head Chief, and minor Chief, and Stony Chief shall receive a Winchester rifle.

Further, Her Majesty agrees to pay the salary of such teachers to instruct the children of said Indians as to her Government of Canada may seem advisable, when said Indians are settled on their reserves and shall desire teachers.

Further, Her Majesty agrees to supply each head and minor Chief, and each Stony Chief, for the use of their bands, ten axes, five handsaws, five augers, one grindstone, and the necessary files and whetstones.

And further, Her Majesty agrees that the said Indians shall be supplied as soon as convenient, after any band shall make due application therefor, with the following cattle for raising stock, that is to say: for every family of five persons, and under, two cows; for every family of more than five persons, and less than ten persons, three cows; for every family of over ten persons, four cows; and every head and minor Chief, and every Stony Chief, for the use of their bands, one bull; but if any band desire to cultivate the soil as well as raise stock, each family of such band shall receive one cow less than the above mentioned number, and in lieu thereof, when settled on their reserves and prepared to break up the soil, two hoes, one spade, one scythe, and two hay forks, and for every three families, one plough and one harrow, and for each band, enough potatoes, barley, oats, and wheat (if such seeds be suited for the locality of their reserves) to plant the land actually broken up. All the aforesaid articles to be given, once for all, for the encouragement of the practice of agriculture among the Indians.

And the undersigned Blackfeet, Blood, Piegan and Sarcee head Chiefs and minor Chiefs, and Stony Chiefs and Councillors, on their own behalf and on behalf of all other Indians inhabiting the tract within ceded do hereby solemnly promise and engage to strictly observe this treaty, and also to conduct and behave themselves as good and loyal subjects of Her Majesty the Queen. They promise and engage that they will, in all respects, obey and abide by the law, that they will maintain peace and good order between each other and between themselves and other tribes of Indians, and between themselves and others of Her Majesty's subjects, whether Indians, Half-breeds or whites, now inhabiting, or hereafter to inhabit, any part of the said ceded tract; and that they will not molest the person or property of any inhabitant of such ceded tract, or the property of Her Majesty the Queen, or interfere with or trouble any person, pa.s.sing or travelling through the said tract or any part thereof, and that they will a.s.sist the officers of Her Majesty in bringing to justice and punishment any Indian offending against the stipulations of this treaty, or infringing the laws in force in the country so ceded.

In witness whereof Her Majesty's said Commissioners, and the said Indian head and minor Chiefs, and Stony Chiefs and Councillors, have hereunto subscribed and set their hands, at the "Blackfoot crossing" of the Bow River, the day and year herein first above written.

(Signed) DAVID LAIRD, Gov. of N.-W.T., and Special Indian Commissioner.

JAMES F. McLEOD, Lieut.-Colonel, Com. N.-W.M.P., and Special Indian Commissioner.

CHAPO-MEXICO (or Crowfoot), His x mark.

Head Chief of the South Blackfeet.

MATOSE-APIW (or Old Sun), " x "

Head Chief of the North Blackfeet.

STAMISCOTOCAR (or Bull Head), " x "

Head Chief of the Sarcees.

MEKASTO (or Red Crow), " x "

Head Chief of the South Bloods.

NATOSE-ONISTORS (or Medicine Calf). " x "

POKAPIW-OTOIAN (or Bad Head). " x "

SOTENAH (or Rainy Chief), " x "

Head Chief of the North Bloods.

TAKOYE-STAMIX (or Fiend Bull). " x "

AKKA-KITCIPIMIW-OTAS (or Many " x "

Spotted Horses).

ATTTISTAH-MACAN (or Running Rabit). " x "

PITAH-PEKIS (or Eagle Rib). " x "

SAKOYE-AOTAN (or Heavy Shield), " x "

Head Chief of the Middle Blackfeet.

ZOATZE-TAPITAPIW (or Setting on an " x "

Eagle Tail).

Head Chief of the North Piegans.