Canada's Subjugation of the Plains Cree, 1879-1885
JOHN L. TOBIAS
Canada's
Subjugation
of thePlains Cree,ß879- 885
ONE THEMOST
OF
PERSISTENT
MYTHS Canadian that historians perpetuate is that of the honourableand just policyCanadafollowedin dealing with the PlainsIndians.Firstenunciated the Canadianexpansionist in literature of the 187os as a means to emphasizethe distinctive
Canadian
approach and the uniquecharacter theCanadian to of west, 1 it hasbeengivencredence G.F.G. Stanleyin hisclassic Birthof by The
Western
Canada, and by all those who use Stanley's
•
work as the
standard interpretation Canada's of relationship the Plains with Indians in the period 187o-85. Thus students taughtthat the Canadian are government paternalistic far-sighted offeringthe Indiansa was and in meansto becomecivilizedand assimilated into white society the by reservesystem,and honest and fair-minded in honouring legal commitments made in the treaties. The PlainsIndians, and particu• larlythe Plains
Cree,are saidto be a primitivepeople adhering an to inflexible system traditionandcustom, of seeking protect to themselves against advance civilization, takingup armsin rejection the of and of the reservesystem and an agricultural way of life.4 This traditional
Doug Owram, Promise Eden:TheCanadian of Expansionist
Movement the and Ideaofthe
West,
•856-•9oo (Toronto •98o), •3•-4
G.F.G. Stanley,TheBirth of Western
Canada: History theRiel Rebellions
A
of
(Toronto
•96o)
Ibid., 2o6-• 5
Ibid., vii-viii, • 96, 2• 6-36. It shouldbe notedthat the traditionalinterpretation of a Cree rebellionin association the Metis hasbeenchallenged R. Allen, with by
'Big Bear,' Saskatchewan
History,
xxv (•972); W.B. Fraser,'Big Bear, Indian
Patriot,'Alberta
Historical
Review, 0966), •-• 3; Rudy Wiebe in his fictional x•v biography, TemptationsBigBear(Toronto •973) and in hisbiography Big
The
of of Bear in the Dictionary Canadian of Biography
[r•cB],x•, •88•-9o
Canada's
Subjugation
of thePlains Cree,ß879- 885
ONE THEMOST
OF
PERSISTENT
MYTHS Canadian that historians perpetuate is that of the honourableand just policyCanadafollowedin dealing with the PlainsIndians.Firstenunciated the Canadianexpansionist in literature of the 187os as a means to emphasizethe distinctive
Canadian
approach and the uniquecharacter theCanadian to of west, 1 it hasbeengivencredence G.F.G. Stanleyin hisclassic Birthof by The
Western
Canada, and by all those who use Stanley's
•
work as the
standard interpretation Canada's of relationship the Plains with Indians in the period 187o-85. Thus students taughtthat the Canadian are government paternalistic far-sighted offeringthe Indiansa was and in meansto becomecivilizedand assimilated into white society the by reservesystem,and honest and fair-minded in honouring legal commitments made in the treaties. The PlainsIndians, and particu• larlythe Plains
Cree,are saidto be a primitivepeople adhering an to inflexible system traditionandcustom, of seeking protect to themselves against advance civilization, takingup armsin rejection the of and of the reservesystem and an agricultural way of life.4 This traditional
Doug Owram, Promise Eden:TheCanadian of Expansionist
Movement the and Ideaofthe
West,
•856-•9oo (Toronto •98o), •3•-4
G.F.G. Stanley,TheBirth of Western
Canada: History theRiel Rebellions
A
of
(Toronto
•96o)
Ibid., 2o6-• 5
Ibid., vii-viii, • 96, 2• 6-36. It shouldbe notedthat the traditionalinterpretation of a Cree rebellionin association the Metis hasbeenchallenged R. Allen, with by
'Big Bear,' Saskatchewan
History,
xxv (•972); W.B. Fraser,'Big Bear, Indian
Patriot,'Alberta
Historical
Review, 0966), •-• 3; Rudy Wiebe in his fictional x•v biography, TemptationsBigBear(Toronto •973) and in hisbiography Big
The
of of Bear in the Dictionary Canadian of Biography
[r•cB],x•, •88•-9o