THE OCHAPOWACE RESERVE: THE IMPACT OF COLONIALISM A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For a Special Case Master of Arts Degree In Indigenous Studies First Nations University of Canada University of Regina by Andrew George Moosomin, Saskatchewan July, 2009 Copyright 2009: Andrew George Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre ref6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-55072-4 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-55072-4 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada UNIVERSITY OF REGINA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH SUPERVISORY AND EXAMINING COMMITTEE Andrew George, candidate for the Special Case Master of Arts Degree in Indigenous Studies, has presented a thesis titled, The Ochapowace Reserve: The Impact of Colonialism, in an oral examination held on June 10, 2009. The following committee members have found the thesis acceptable in form and content, and that the candidate demonstrated satisfactory knowledge of the subject material. External Examiner: Dr. Robert Alexander Innes, University of Saskatchewan Co-Supervisor: Dr. A. Blair Stonechild, Department of Indigenous Studies Co-Supervisor: Dr. David R. Miller, Department of Indigenous Studies, Committee Member: Prof. William Asikinack, Department of Indigenous Studies Chair of Defense: Dr. James Daschuk, Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies ABSTRACT Treaty Four was signed on September 15,1874 at Fort Qu'Appelle. The chiefs who signed the treaty on behalf of their bands were of the belief that the treaty was a nation to nation agreement and were doing so as sovereign independent nations. Unfortunately, from the perspective of the First Nations, this relationship quickly eroded. The specific purpose of this research has been to demonstrate how the inhabitants of the Ochapowace Reserve have resisted the colonial practices of the Canadian government. These practices, which have been exercised since 1874, have resulted in creating a state of dependency and poverty for the people on the Ochapowace Reserve. The paper focuses on relatively recent contemporary issues because they illustrate how strongly and persistently the Canadian government has adhered to its colonial practices from 1876 to the present. The project also concentrates strictly on the Ochapowace Reserve and its residents because they represent an example of the people who endured the policies of the colonial Canadian government. Much of the substance for this thesis concerning the colonial practices that the Canadian government applied in their administration of the Ochapowace Reserve Indians was abstracted mainly from written works and government records. A secondary source, albeit a limited one, was the use of oral tradition and oral history. This oral component, drawn from the knowledge of community members, serves as an historical base and as a parallel support for the written sources. A problem arose when it became evident that many of the more knowledgeable persons who were important transmitters of the oral history were no longer alive. As a consequence, reliance was placed on individuals who were believed to have direct or secondary knowledge about the history of the reserve. i Nonetheless, the evidence collected from these informants provided enough of a basis to construct a narrative to illustrate how colonialism has impacted Ochapowace people. In a sense these individuals were viewed as repositories of information, but this was subject to the limits of their memories and understanding of the history of the reserve The collected information, written and oral, was used to explain the current circumstances confronting the people of Ochapowace within the context of colonialism and its accompanying capitalism. It was also used to illustrate how the band has resisted the government's colonial control. Over the years, the resultant forces of subjugation and control by the government created a situation of dependency and poverty for the people on the Ochapowace Reserve. The evidence strongly suggests that the current dependent condition that led to a state of poverty for the Ochapowace Indians is a direct result of colonialism. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many individuals have contributed to the writing of this work. Dr. A. Blair Stonechild, Dr. David R. Miller, and Professor William Asikinack all from the Department of Indigenous Studies in Regina, gave me great encouragement and wise counsel during the time I worked on the project. To the many other people who helped me in any way, I offer my sincere thanks: the Chief and Council for allowing me to undertake the study; to the Ochapowace membership, on and off the reserve, for providing crucial information; to my family for their moral support and for challenging me. The author is also deeply indebted to all who assisted in collecting the information. As the Cree people would say: ninanaskomitinawaw kahkiyaw, "I thank you all." iii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the memory of William C. George who began the work of recording the story of the Ochapowace First Nation. It was his dream to have completed the writing of a book. This project is also dedicated to the people of the Ochapowace Reserve who are the subjects of the events that happened after the signing of Treaty Four. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii DEDICATION iii INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE: TREATY FOUR AND THE CREATION OF THE OCHAPOWACE RESERVE 19 CHAPTER TWO: LIFE ON THE OCHAPOWACE RESERVE 47 CHAPTER THREE: VOICES OF THE PEOPLE 66 CHAPTER FOUR: VISIONS OF THE PEOPLE 90 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 121 ENDNOTES: 131 SOURCES CONSULTED 149 LIST OF APPENDICES 156 1. APPENDLX A Research Ethics Clearance 2. APPENDLX B Band Council Resolution 3. APPENDLX C-l Adult Questionnaire 4. APPENDIX C-2 Youth Questionnaire INTRODUCTION A Word About Semantics Anyone investigating the life of the principal Cree chief who signed the treaty on behalf of the eastern Qu'Appelle Cree will encounter several variations in the spelling and pronunciation of his name (See Alexander Morris; The Treaties of Canada with the Indians ...: 88-115). Even The Cree Dictionary compiled by Arok Wolvengrey1 offers the spelling of the original Cree chief as Kakisiwew, but indicates that Kakisiwe is also acceptable. Indeed, the residents of the Ochapowace Reserve are not clear on how the chief's name should be written or pronounced. When the new school was constructed on the reserve in 1994, the Chief and Council decided to name it after the original chief of the reserve. When the school opened in August of that year, the sign in front of the school read: Kakisheway School. Since then, the name was modified to Kakisiwew School. Incidentally, M/A - l2 and the author's father were brothers and both were direct descendants of the first chief, but are now both deceased. Both pronounced the first chiefs name as "Kakisiwe." The Standard Roman Orthography utilized by the Department of Indian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics at the First Nations University of Canada has been adopted for this study to create the spelling for the chiefs' names throughout this thesis, except when the names are cited in other sources. The name of the original Cree chief is arbitrarily spelled as Chief Kakisiwe as it comes close to Alexander Morris's record and because of M/A - l's and the author's father's pronunciation. The other founding chiefs name is recorded as Chief Cekacas. 1 Another name that has received wide acceptance throughout Indian Country is the anglicized name of the reserve, Ochapowace. The aforementioned elders routinely pronounced the name as Ocapahowes. The meaning of the name has also received several variations including "one who pokes another in the eye." According to oral tradition, the name is actually derived from the Cree expression, otapahowew, "one who unties", which transforms to its diminutive form, "ocapahowes."3 However, because of its familiarity, the anglicized name of the reserve will be retained as "Ochapowace" throughout this thesis. Chapter One initiates the dialogue on how colonialism has impacted the Ochapowace people. The government took control of circumstances to place the Indians in a subordinate position through the implementation of various colonial practices. The backdrop to this colonial control was the development of the first Indian Act in 1876, followed closely with the formation of the Department of Indian Affairs.