'The region teemed with abundance": Interlake Saulteaux Concepts of Territory and Sovereignty YALE BELANGER Trent University Native people in Canada have long been burdened with the task of attempting to convey their concepts of territory and sovereignty into English. By the mid-1800s, increasing cultural interaction led Native leaders to conclude that an understanding of the dominant society's lan­ guage to effectively translate philosophical concepts of land tenure into maps was necessary to secure their territorial land base. The Saulteaux located at Fairford along the shores of Lake St. Martin in Manitoba's Interlake Region is an example of one group who were able to effectively translate their concept of territory and sovereignty into English in the form of a hand-drawn map, which was submitted with a petition in 1871 requesting treaty negotiations with the Canadian government (Archibald Papers 1871; see also Belanger 2000, p.3, 79). Not only does this indicate an advanced understanding of Canadian motivations, it also demonstrates how the community viewed its territorial boundaries months prior to the initiation of Treaty 2 negotiations. This paper will trace the development of Saulteaux concepts of land use from 1842, when the first missionary came to Fairford thereby providing us with a written record of events and important land use sites, to 1871, when the Saulteaux submitted their treaty request. Although there is no one specific reason for demanding treaty negotiations, what the seventy Saulteaux who created and signed the petition were able to accomplish was predominantly the translation of a collective concept of land tenure into a foreign language. The starting point for analysis is to review the regional history and examine the inter­ action between encroaching settlers and the Saulteaux at Fairford. Sault­ eaux land use patterns will then be evaluated to answer how the Saulteaux came to define and specifically demarcate their territory prior to their becoming signatories to Treaty 2 in 1871. REGIONAL HISTORY The Interlake Region was, by all accounts, a region that "teemed with abundance" with "all that is necessary to obtain a livelihood in a year" 18 YALE BELANGER (CMS A-86 26 July 1842). Since at least 1775, the Fairford Saulteaux uti­ lized seasonal rounds and regional resource niches, resulting in their con­ sistent movement throughout the Interlake and infrequent contact with the first Europeans who occupied the region prior to 1842 (Belanger 2000, 2001, Peers 1994). And, with the exception of sporadic communication with those men ministering the NorthWest Company trade post (which was later absorbed in the 1821 merger with the Hudson's Bay Company), the Saulteaux were left to themselves. All of this would change as a result of increased competition between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church, when in 1842 Church Missionary Society (CMS) Reverend Abraham Cowley was dispatched to Fairford to establish a new mission among a large band of Saulteaux church officials understood to be resid­ ing there (Boon 1962, CMS A-86 23 March 1842). Only 25 years old at the time, Cowley was a well-respected student who graduated from Islington College in 1841, the CMS school located at Gloucesterchire, England (Stock 1899:vii). Arriving at Lake St. Martin not knowing what to expect, Cowley commented "this is without parallel in all the Society's missions. I have nothing to guide me save the long and varied experiences of dear Mr. Cockran," the CMS missionary who first contacted Chief Peguis in 1820 (Boon 1962:52). Following months of travel which began in England, Cowley finally arrived at Pinaymootang (Partridge Crop) in March 1842 and found a number of Saulteaux camped nearby on the banks of the Little Saskatchewan River (Boon 1962, CMS A-86 March 1852). Following brief introductions, Cowley proceeded to outline his intent of establishing a mission at Pinaymootang. Unfortunately, the Saulteaux would not allow the Reverend to live among the community members, as they were wary of his motives. They did, however, agree to let him con­ struct a temporary mission nearby albeit on a piece of land susceptible to flooding in the spring. Unable to deter the missionary, it would take more than one-year of relationship building before the Saulteaux would allow Cowley to socialize more frequently with the community members at Fairford (CMS A-86 December 1843). Cowley had but one ally among the Saulteaux, a man named Attchak, who suggested that community leaders allow the mission to be built nearby as he had heard stories of mis­ sionaries providing seed for farming and as well as clothing and food in times of need (CMS A-86 20 October, 1842). It would be December 1843 before the Saulteaux leadership relented and permitted Cowley to move "THE REGION TEEMED WITH ABUNDANCE" 19 his mission "a little farther around the Lake to a river called Partridge crop on account of its being more frequented by Indian than the place already occupied" (CMS A-86 December, 1843). However, beyond estab­ lishing this initial relationship and providing a written record of events as they transpired within Manitoba's Interlake region, interaction between Cowley, and later settlers and government officials, and the Saulteaux was minimal as the latter persevered to sustain their lifestyle. The foundation for this lifestyle was the local economy of which the seasonal round was the centre. Interestingly, the significance of frequent movement within their territory to their successful economic system was not lost on Cowley, who on more than one occasion commented that this movement was "the nature of Indian life and that they cannot remain in one place," (CMS A-86 28 January 1843), while intuitively recognizing that the "migrations are necessary to their very existence" (CMS A-86 14 July 1848). Cowley's journals are rife with commentary regarding how the Saulteaux utilized local resources, concluding that even without help from those at the mission that "the Indian is perfectly independent and satisfied in his own way" (CMS A-86 26 July 1842). Surviving on what the environment could offer was vital and the Saulteaux seasonal round was as follows: in the fall an extended fishery took place as foodstuffs were procured in preparation for the return to winter hunting territories. The numbers of fish in Lake St. Martin were so great that Cowley esti­ mated that he and the Saulteaux combined in 1844 to catch "forty to fifty thousand without the slightest diminution of their numbers" (CMS A-86 27 July 1844). Moose or elk were also captured. Following winter, the Saulteaux would return to Fairford and fish in preparation for summer gatherings, trade, and religious events. Sugar was processed and gardens planted. Deer meat and smaller game animals supplemented a constant supply of fish until it was again time to return to the fall fishery. The region also boasted a wide variety of natural resources that the Fairford Saulteaux regularly utilized, including birch trees, which were used to build both lodges and canoes (Hind 1969). Lake St. Martin was also the main conduit for communications that linked the broad Interlake Region of central Manitoba (Brown 1985:1), a point from where the Saulteaux could develop a broad communication and travel network to supply an already thriving economy. It is important to note that the Saulteaux pros­ pered despite limited contact and trade with Hudson's Bay Company employees, free traders and missionaries (Belanger 2000). 20 YALE BELANGER Culturally, Pinaymootang was an integral religious site for the Sault­ eaux, who remained particularly mindful of other-than-worldly powers. The Saulteaux were described by Cowley as "placing great confidence in their medicine, pray[ing] divine honours to their familiar spirits & wor­ shipping] their image" (CMS A-86 27 July 1844) and returning each year to Pinaymootang for ceremonial purposes. Whether the event involved large numbers of participants from surrounding tribes or was confined to community members, the Midewiwin was site-specific and regularly per­ formed to cure serious illness. As well, this event was also utilized to pass on through stories the teachings that not only contained the beliefs, atti­ tudes, and cultural practices that provided the Saulteaux with a common historical experience and cultural identity, but teachings that, if adhered to, would also ensure success in life and prepare one for the afterlife (Benton-Banai 1981, Hoffman 1885-86, Peers 1994, Vecsey 1983). A variety of other religious events took place at Fairford, although Vecsey (1983) fails to recognize the importance of the community as a major Midewiwin site in his assessment. It also took Cowley two years to real­ ize it was occurring; however, following this epiphany he registered its occurrence in his notes every year between 1845-1851 and sporadically thereafter. With Cowley officially changing the name of Pinaymootang to Fair­ ford in 1851, misfortune besets the region. First off, a growing population which increased from two settlers at Lake St. Martin in 1842 to more than 165 in 1854, and numbered more than 550 by the mid-1860s, led to regional food shortages. Beginning with the failure of the rabbit popula­ tion, which generated a minor insurrection within the settlement that year, the fish stocks within Lake St. Martin began to diminish rapidly. During the summer of 1851 the Saulteaux were forced to accept that the fishery they had relied upon since at least 1842 was no longer a reliable food source, compelling their relocation to an alternate site (CMS A-86 19 July 1851). Resolved to remain within the territory, however, the Saulteaux maintained their seasonal rounds and still based their religious ceremo­ nies out of Fairford. Survival during the next six years was realized but by 1857 outside forces were beginning to affect how the Saulteaux commu­ nity was organized within their territory, thereby provide the impetus for developing concepts of sovereignty and territory, which would manifest itself in the reserve request of 1871.