The True Spirit and Original Intent of Treaty 7 Treaty 7 Elders and Tribal Council with Walter Hildebrandt, Dorothy First Rider, and Sarah Carter McGill-Queen's University Press Montreal & Kingston • London • Buffalo Contents Foreword: Gregg C. Smith vii Preface: Chief Roy Whitney ix Maps xvi-xx Introduction: Wilton Goodstriker ' 3 Illustrations 28-64 and 171-87 PART ONE THE ELDERS' EVIDENCE 65 1 Elders' Narrative of the Making of Treaty 7 67 Introduction • Blood Tribe • Peigan Nation • Siksika Nation Stoney Nakoda Nation • Tsuu T'ina Nation 2 Pre-treaty Life of Treaty 7 First Nations 83 Social and Religious Life • Land Use and Way of Life I International Relations 3 The First Nations' Perspective on Treaty 7 111 What Did Treaty 7 Mean to the First Nations? • What Was Promised? Oral History, Culture, and Language Issues North-West Mounted Police in the Treaty Era • Boundaries Promised The Signing of Treaty 7 • The Concept of the Square Mile Sharing Topsoil and Mineral Rights 4 Post-treaty Life of Treaty 7 First Nations 146 Government Policy • Missionaries • Schools Reserve Life: "Work for Rations" Land Surrenders • CPR on the Siksika Reserve • Surveys vi Contents PART TWO THE HISTORICAL CANON AND ELDER EVIDENCE 189 5 Treaty 7 in Its Historical and Political Context 191 Introduction • Understanding Treaty 7 Context of Treaty 7: Some Considerations • Arrival of the Europeans The Robinson Treaties • Western Canada Treaties 1-6 Aboriginal and Government Objectives in the Treaty Era Canada's Indian Policy • The 1877 Prelude: The Example of Treaty 6 The Effects of International Events on the Making of Treaty 7 6 The Text of Treaty 7 230 "The Treaty with the Blackfeet; Number Seven" 7 A Narrative of Events at Blackfoot Crossing, September 1877 240 8 Analysis of Firsthand Accounts by Government Officials 249 Commissioner Alexander Morris • Commissioner David Laird Father Constantine Scollen • Reverend John McDougall The Official History of the NWMP Hudson's Bay Company Trader Richard Hardisty 9 A Study of the Accounts of Treaty 7 by Hugh Dempsey 2 73 Crowfoot • Red Crow • "Treaty Research Report: Treaty Seven" 10 A Study of the Siksika by Lucien and Jane Hanks 292 11 Academic Arguments and Discussions on the Treaties Generally and Treaty 7 Specifically 297 Introduction • Academic Analysis • John Taylor Canada's Post-treaty Relationship with the First Nations - A Fiduciary Position or Tutelage? • Mutual Obligations and Treaty 7 Written Work by Treaty 7 Elders Louise Crop Eared Wolf, John Snow, and Ben Calf Robe • Postscript: The Memorandum of R.N. Wilson Conclusion 12 The Value of the Elders'Historical Testimony 327 PART THREE BIOGRAPHIES OF ELDERS, INTERVIEWERS, TRANSLATORS, AND RESEARCHERS 331 Notes 381 Bibliography 387 Index 393.