Outlines the transfer of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to the Dominion of Canada, and compares the Hudson Bay Company's claim versus the Aboriginal claim.
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, May 1885, p. 196
Description
Note: The description of this document uses wording that was common to mainstream society of that time period in history. As such, it contains language that is no longer in common use and may offend some readers. This wording should not be construed to represent the views of the Indigenous Studies Portal or the University of Saskatchewan Library.
A short article on the ongoing Northwest Resistance, including four sketches: 1. The fort at Battleford; 2. The South Saskatchewan; 3. Steamers loading at Medicine Hat; 4. The Revolt of the Half-Breeds.
This file contains excerpts from Reginald Beatty's diary, correspondence about his encounters with Cree people, and letters home to his parents detailing his experience in the 1885 Riel Rebellion. Mr. Beatty was a farmer and fur trader in what is now known as the Melfort area of Saskatchewan.
Native Studies Review, vol. 8, no. 1, 1992, pp. 1-21
Description
Compares Cree Elder James Wesley's narrative account of Alexander Macdonald, HBC trader with documents from the Church Missionary Society and Hudson's Bay Company archive.
Film explores historical overivew of the Coppermine community beginning with arrival of the missionaries, the tuberculosis epidemic and Dr. Russel Martin's fight for medical supplies from Ottawa.
Duration: 57:07.
Loyal till Death: Indians and the North-West Rebellion
Images » Photographs
Description
Photograph. Caption: Treaty Six negotiations were held at a traditional camping area, known to the Cree as the "waiting place", near Fort Carlton.
From the book Loyal till Death: Indians and the North-West Rebellion by Blair Stonechild and Bill Waiser.
A typed copy of Inspector Francis Dickens's North West Mounted Police journal from Fort Pitt in 1885. Recounts the events of the Resistance, the skirmish and subsequent abandonment of Fort Pitt by Dickens who was in command of the installation when hostilities broke out.
Group photo taken on the grounds of Fort Pitt, NWT. Numbered from L to R: 1. Fire Sky Thunder; 2. Sky Bird (Big Bear's son); 3. Natoose; 4. Napasis; 5. Big Bear; 6. Angus McKay (HBC); 7. Dufrain (HBC cook); 8. L. Goulet; 9. Stanley Simpson (HBC); 10. Alex McDonald; 11. Rowley; 12. Corp. Sleigh (NWMP); 13. Edmond; 14. Henry Dufrain.
This item describes the state of the infantry brigade stationed at Camp Fort Pitt on 2 July 1885. Categories include members absent with / without leave, hospital attendants and casualities. Item found within folder 1 of file Rebellion, 1885.
The Graphic, an Illustrated Newspaper, July 18, 1885, p. [65?]
Description
Collage of sketches relating to the Northwest Resistance; subjects include a view of Fort Edmonton, the steamers 'Alberta' and 'North-West', and Louis Riel's capturer.
File contains an individual presentation by Mrs. Millicent Loder, oldest elder in the community. She describes her childhood, the infrequent visits by doctors, her father's employment with the Hudson's Bay Company, nursing training in the United States, raising her children in Labrador, and her role as a valued elder in her community.
File contains opening remarks by Tom MacCagno who provides the Commission with a history of the exploration and establishment of Lac La Biche. He notes the involvement of Metis people when Father Albert Lacombe arrived in 1852. MacCagno says that Portage La Biche, forerunner of Lac La Biche, is a Canadian national historic site but the government chooses not to designate and restore the site. MacCagno also comments on aboriginal language policy and how elders must pass down the language and traditions of Aboriginal peoples to the youth.
File contains a presentation by Amos Key, Sweetgrass First Nations Languages Council Inc. Key discusses the history of language loss due to colonization, and his groups efforts to promote Aboriginal language use in Southern Ontario. Key also makes a variety of policy recommendations with respect to languages, and following the presentation discusses these issues with the assembled Commissioners.
File contains a presentation by Cajetan Rich. Rich delivers a brief history of the community of Davis Inlet, Labrador. Rich discusses the community from the 1700s to contemporary times.
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples - Transcriptions of Public Hearings and Round Table Discussions
Documents & Presentations
Author/Creator
Norm Wesley
Description
File contains a presentation by Chief Norm Wesley of the Moose Cree First Nation provides a brief history of the Moose Factory area, mentioning in particular the fur trade and the Hudson's Bay Company. Wesley states that Aboriginal peoples can't go back to their original way of life and calls upon the Elders in the community to keep the traditional ways alive by sharing their knowledge with the youth.
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples - Transcriptions of Public Hearings and Round Table Discussions
Documents & Presentations
Author/Creator
Johnny Inukpuk
Description
File contains a presentation by Johnny Inukpuk. Inukpuk relates some of the history of his Inuit people in the area from the time of Hudson's Bay Company contact, through contact with the police and up into the present era. He highlights as one of his primary concerns the preservation of Inuit culture and language. Commissioner Dussault thanks him for his presentation.
File contains a presentation by Roger Cousins. Cousins speaks on the topic of land claims in the Eastern arctic. He discusses Aboriginal land claims in Saskatchewan and British Columbia, and then the Nunavut claim in the Eastern arctic. In answerance to Commissioner Dussault's earlier question on where the Commission should start Cousins states "a good place to start would be to make sure that the Inuit have a land base in their home communities." Following the presentation Commmissioner Dussault discusses the topic with Cousins.
File contains a presentation by Rosie Okpik, Inuit artist who states that the Inuit have made everything they need to live in their own way. For Inuit people, "It was the art of making these things that was most important, not the thing itself that the white man admired." With European contact, the Inuit gradually no longer made tools, clothing and shelters, and thus they began to lose their culture "because our culture is the things we make." Okpik introduces Ed McKenna, Okpik's secretary and manager, and together they answers questions from the Commissioners.
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples - Transcriptions of Public Hearings and Round Table Discussions
Documents & Presentations
Author/Creator
Simeonie Weetaluktuk
Description
File contains a presentation by Simeonie Weetaluktuk. Simeonie is an elder who corroborates the preceding presenters take on history in the region. Specifically she discusses the lack of assistance available from the police, and the hardships her people faced. Weetaluktuk discusses relations with the Hudson's Bay Company, the introduction of the snowmobile, and housing concerns in the context of her communities history.
Comments on the interpretation of aboriginal history at fur-trade sites, and the challenge to move beyond the idealized and simplified interpretations of the past.