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The Rossville Scandal, 1846: James Evans, the Cree, and a Mission on Trial by Raymond Moms S Hirri Tt -Beaumont, B.A

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The Rossville Scandal, 1846: James Evans, the Cree, and a Mission on Trial by Raymond Moms S Hirri Tt -Beaumont, B.A The Rossville Scandal, 1846: James Evans, the Cree, and a Mission on Trial by Raymond Moms S hirri tt -Beaumont, B.A. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Joint Master's Programme University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg January 200 1 National Library Biblioth&que nationale I*i of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellingtm Ottawa ON K1A ON4 -ON KIAM Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une Licence non exclusive licence dowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or seii reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels rnay be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES ****+ COPYRiGET PERMISSION PAGE The Rossville Scandal, 1846: James Evans, the Cree, and r Mission on Trial BY Raymond Moms Shirritt-Beaumont A ThesidPracticum submitted to the Faculty of Grrdurte Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts RAYMOND MORRIS Sm-BEAUMONTO 2001 Permission has been granted to the Librrry of The University of Manitoba to lend or seU copies of this thesis/practicum, to the National Library of Canada to microfilm thir tbesis/practicum and to lend or seii copies of the Illm, and to Dissertations Abstncts International to pubüsh an abstrrct of this thairlpracticum. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither this thesislpracâicum nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or othemise reproduced without the author's written permission. Abstract In Februq 1846 the Reverend James Evans, who had been for several years the senior missionary among the Cree at Noway House, Manitoba, was accused by members of his congregation of sexual impropnety with young Native women who had resided at various times in his home. The trial that followed is a central theme in The Rosmille Scandal, 1846: James Evans, the Cree, and a Mission on Triol, which is a study, like past histoncal works, of the impact missionaries and Hudson's Bay Company officers had on events before, during, and after the trial. However, framed by a consideration of the larger debate conceming the broada meanhg and significance of missionary/aboriginal encounters, analysis seeks to break new ground in its focus on the ongins, culture, and possible motivation of Evans' amsers and the Cree mrnmunity from which they came. Some conclusions are possible as a result of this investigation. Certainly the Rossville Cree were actors, not merely acted upon, in their encounter with the missionaries. They played a major role in the establishment and progress of the mission and acted decisively to defend their religious beliefs in the face of HBC opposition in 1845. In addition, some of them were also willing to resist perceived misconduct by their senior missionary in February 1846. The circumstances of Evans' trial may never be fully understood, nor his guilt or innocence proven with any finality, but not one member left the Church as a result of the allegations against him nor was anyone involved in the trial expelled hm the congregation by the local elders. Evidently converied to the message rather than the messenger, the Rossville Cree had built theh faith upon a rock and withstood the stom. Table of Contents Abstract i ... Pre face 111 Abbreviations vii Introduction: The Missionary/Abonginai Encounter: Developing a Historical Perspective Chapter 1 : Of Evans, the Cree, and the HBC: A Histonographic Overview Chapter 1: The Norway House Cree: Culture and Conversion Chapter 3: Mission Beginnings: Christianity Takes Hold Chapter 1: The Trial: Rossville, February 1 846 Chapter 5: The Plot Thickens: Was Someone Pulling the Strings? Chaprer 6: The Rossville Cree: Their Role in the Trial and Its Afterrnath .i\pprndix Notes on the Origins and Relationships of Leading Cree Families at Norway House in the 1840s Bibliography Preface When I first read the transcript of the trial of James Evans, I thought he was guilty. Now, afier studying the case, as Robert Senrice said it, "hm every angle of view," 1 am not so sure. On the surface it seerns a straightforward case. A clergyman working in an aboriginal community is accused of sexually abusing young women in his charge. That type of revelation would have sent shock waves nppling through Victorian parleurs, but in today's cynical world, made wiser no doubt by its exposure to hundreds of such cases through the news media, it is more likely to be met by a question. So what else is new? However, just as a newspapa article or a two-minute clip on the late night news can trivialize issues, so too cm a flippant rejoinder minimize the complexity of such cases. Certainly the trial of James Evans played itself out in an atmosphere fraught with intrigue and subterfuge, so that the trial transcnpt and related documents have to be studied with infinite care to discem their hidden meanings. One's biases have to be recognized, too. As a practising Christian, 1 syrnpathized with the cause in which Evans was engaged, but as a member of a lay church suspicious of the professional clergy, 1 was initially prejudiced against him. His overbearing personality also grated, and it took considerable research before 1 could find a context for his outbursts. My bias in favour of the downtrodden initially blinded me to the shortcomings of William Mason, Evans' subordhate, and caused me to gloss over discrepancies in the stones the young women told about their associations with Evans. However, as each new piece of evidence illuminated possibilities, those biases were sorely challengeci, and what had appeared obvious at the outset was now obscured by doubt. Indeeû, in the end 1 had to conclude that a final answer might never be found. In spite of the complexity of the subject, and the challenge of developing a credible historical perspective, the thesis eventuaily took shape. The Introduction is essentially an ove~ewof the various approaches thai have been taken historically to the missionarylaboriginal encounter. It helped me to acquire a perspective with which to tackle the thesis topic that is developed in Chapters 1 through 6. Chapter 1 is an analysis of the historiography relating to the Rossville Scandal. It focuses on the shortcomings of previous histoncal works and explains briefly what will be done in the balance of the thesis to address the still unanswered questions. Chapter 2 is a detailed study of the origins and culture of the Nonvay House Cree and the fint steps they took to become Christians. Its purpose is to show that these people were Cree with a difference. Because of their close trade and persond ties with the European traders that went back over a hundred years, they were prepared for the missionaries and the cultural changes that religious conversion implied. Indeed, they welcomed them. Their cultural background also provides insights conceniing the dynamics of Evans' encounter with the Cree cornmunity, in particular the young women at the centre of the charges against him. Chapter 3 is about the religious transformation of the Norway House Cree. Its purpose is to describe the progress of the mission through the wmbined efforts of James Evans, his missionary associates, and the local Cree. It also draws attention to the growing tension between the mission and the Hudson's Bay Company that culminated in the refusai of the Christian tnpmen to hire on with the company if it required them to travel on Sundays. Chapter 4 is a detailed analysis of the trial of James Evans conducted by his subordinate, William Mason, to investigate charges conceming Evans' alleged sexual misconduct. Chapter 5 deals with the antagonisms between Evans and Mason on the one hand and Evans and the Hudson's Bay Company on the other as possible explanations for Evans' troubles. The search for answen continues in Chapter 6, which is devoted to an analysis of the characters and credibility of those members of the Cree community directly involved in the charges against Evans. It also offers some general conclusions conceming the case. Writing a thesis of this nature presented some practicai difficulties. In the pnmary sources 1 consulted, there was no consistency in the way that Cree names were spelled. Rather than arbitrarily pnvileging one form, 1 decided to spell them as they appeared in the relevant documents, even though this resulted in different spellings throughout the thesis. 1 did deviate fiom this rule of thumb in one case. 1 used "Marnanuwartum," spelled here as it appeared in the transcript, in direct quotations, but in other references 1 used the more correct "Maminawatum," because there is no "r" in the n-dialect of Cree at Nonvay House. Quotations have been copied as they appeared in original sources. Occasionally, I have added [sic] after a misspelled word, if that was needed for clanfication. Finally, recognizing that the use of diminutives is a way of diminishing the importance or credibility of individuals, 1 have avoided the use of "Maggie" in reference to Margaret Sinclair, except in direct quotations.
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