RELOCATION and LOSS of HOMELAND the Story of the Sayisi Dene of Northern Manitoba
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RELOCATION AND LOSS OF HOMELAND THE STORY OF THE SAYIS'I DENE: OF NORTEERN MANITOBA BY VIRGINIA PHYLLIS PETCH A Thesis presented to the University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements of a Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology The University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba June, 1998 O Copyright Viginia P. Petch, 1998. Ail rights reserved National Library Bibliothèque nationale u*m of Carda du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie SeMces seMces bibliographiques 395 WMingtOCI Street 395, nie Wdtington OtîawaON K1AûN4 OttawaON K1A ON4 canada canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell 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/film, 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 substantid extracts from it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. FACULTY OF GWUATE STLDIES ***** COPYRIGHT PER\LISSIO?i PAGE A Thesis/Practicum submitted to the Facuky of Graduate Shidies of The University of SIanitoba in partial fulfillmeat of the requirements of the degree of Permission has been granted to the Library of The University of Manitoba to lend or seii copies of this thesidpracticum, to the National Library of Canada <O microfilm thQ thesis and to lend or sel1 copies of the fdm, and to Dissertations Absmcts International to publish an abstract of this thesis/practicum. The au thor reserves other publication rights, and aeither this thesisfpracticum nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or othenvire reproduced without the author's written permission. In 1956, the Sayisi Dene residing at Little hckLake in northem Manitoba were relocated to Churchill. The move nedy destroyed the cdtural integrity of this srnaIl band of people who were still practicing a seasonal round comparable to that of their pre-European-contact ancestors. An ethnohistoricai approach was used to document the story of the relocation. The &sertation is divided bto two sections. The fkst provides an explanation of the theoretical principles and methodologies used. As well, a general understanding of the importance of the Qamin@ak caribou population to the slavival of the people is presentec!. Section 11 describes the sequence of events which led to the relocation of the Sayisi Dene hmLittle Duck Lake to Churchill and discusses the effects of &e relocation in terms of the cumulative SgeçiS hpllyOWdchmge. In 1973, the Sayisi Dene voluntarily left Churchill in order to flee the social despair caused by the relocation. Today they reside at Tadoule Lake, Manitoba and struggie to repair the damage wrought by the federal government and indian Mairs some 40 years ago. The relocation of the Sayisi Dene is viewed as one of the most grievous errors committed by the federal government. 11 stripped the Sayisi Dene of a productive life and almost destroyed the very fabric of their existence. This dissertation is dedicated to the Sayisi Dene of Tadoule Lake Where there is no vision people perish (Proverbs 19: 18) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ..................................... *. Abstract... ......................................... .... il... Dedication................................................................................. .ui Epigraph.................................................................................... .iv ......................................................................... v Table of contents ... List of Figures........................................................................ .....vu List of Tables.............................................................................. x Acknowledgements.................................................................... .xi SECTION 1 THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Preface, Purpose and Objectives....................................... 1 An Ethnohistorical Approach............................................ .5 Homeland Defined - The Problem. .............................. ... ...... 6 THEORETICAL CONCEPTS In6roduction. ...................................................................... .1O A Question of Terminology............................................... 1 1 Traditional Ecological KnowIedge and Cultural Materialism ......................................................... -14 METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH TECHNIQUES Section 1. Oral History Methods and Traditional Ecological Knowledge of the Sayisi Dene ......................... 25 Section 2. Archaeological Methods.................................... -30 Section 3. Understanding the Historical ............................. .35 THE NATURAL SETTING The Tundra/Boreal Forest Zones.. ............ ,., ........................ .4 1 Caribou Behavior and Movement...................................... -50 THE PEOPLE Who Are the Sayisi Dene?. .............. .. ........................... -54 Re-European-Contact Background................................... .6 1 Historical Background...................................................... -65 SPATIAL ORGANLZATION. IDEOLOGY AND ECONOMIC PATHS Introduction........................................................................ -72 Hunting over Herding ............. ......... ............................ -79 SECTION II RELOCATION AND LOSS OF HOMELAND 7 EVENTS LEADING TO THE RELOCATION The Years After Treaty ...................................................... -84 Post-war Economy.............................................................. 93 Post-war Conservation Policy ..................... .. ................ -94 Plans for Relocation..................................................... 100 The Housing Problem at Churchill................................ 1 10 Dene Camp 10 ....................... .. .................................... 115 Recapping Ten Years of Blundering .............................. 125 Dene Village ................................................................... 128 Experimental Settlements........................ ..... ...................-131 New Hope and a New Home ........................................... -133 UNDERSTANDING THE CUMLTLATTVE EFFECTS OF CHANGE Modeling Subsistence and ked-Subsistence Systems ......................................................................... 136 WHEN GRIEF BECOMES TRAUMA Grieving for a Lost Homeland ................. .. ................... 143 Spatial Identity .A Definition ....................................... 144 THE COMMUNITY TODAY ... Housing and Utilities... ......................................................... 151 Recreation Actnnties.................................................. 156 The Economic Base ...................................................... 158 The Long-tenn Effects of the Relocation........................... 159 Comrnunity Concems .................................................. 160 Summary ......................................................................... -162 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................... 174 harySources Cited............. .... ......................................... -174 SeconeSources Cited ............................................................ 176 List of Interviews ..................................... ................ .................... 198 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. A Map of Manitoba and the Southem Keewatin, NWT which identifies the location of the study area ............... ..2 2. The traditional lands of the Sayisi Dene in relation to the seasonal movements of the Qaminurjak caribou population.. ..-28 3. Map of the Hudson Bay area and the interior based on information provided by the Dene( 17 19). ............................... -37 4. Map of Hudson Bay area and the interior based on information provided by the Dene ( 1760). ................. .... ..3 8 5. Major rivers which drain into Hudson Bay .............................. 44 6. Vegetative zones of the traditional land of the Sayisi Dene..... -46 7. Banen Ground Caribou populations across the Sub-Arctic and Arctic Regions of Canada.. ............................................... -5 1 8. Sayisi Dene genealogy showing the relationship between the Dene and caribou populations.. ........................... -54 9. The Sayisi Dene traditional lands.. ......................................... .55 10. The boundary between the Sayisi Dene and Cree .................... 67 1 1. Trade posts in the Nueltin Lake area fiom 1908 to 1948........... 69 12. The "signing" of an Adhesion to Treaty 5, August 1, 19 10 at Fort Churchiu, NWT.. ....................................................... -85 13. A copy of the syllabic kting of Chief John French as foimd in the 1903 Anglican Church records ............................ 86 14. A map showing the reversal of names on a Hudson's Bay Company map. Little Duck Lake is incorrectly identifïed.. ............................................................................ .9 1 15. The results of a successfd caribou hunt... - .. .98 16. Two views of Camp 10 ................................~...~~...........116