Show THE INDIANS an fn N CANADA A POLICY 1 xeda tan fan IB IS TREATED 1 tue THE reace PEACE PIETY pirty AND RESPECT TOR FOR trafim TREATIES f b OTTAWA adv canada w tv I 1 illi 1 march 23 1577 1877 the fact was published last wee weel that the bioux sioux who have hav 6 bebb bibb been n gra gradually retreating before the a ad d van taace of df our several col coi columns timuR have at last crossed the bom boundary idary and taken viken refuge pu Cd canadian nadian soil further information from the it ity y bf the cypress hills where they are supposed to be 66 tenting a point in the northwest north west territory distant from the border about sixty miles milea and say bay thred three hundred miles from froh the scene seene of the late conflicts is anxiously awaited by the dominion authorities owing to the fear that the ho ulles tiles will endeavor to exert demoralizing influences on the canadian tribes now peacefully at work possibly embroil them in w war arnd arid coluse international com corn to say nothing of a change in the wise policy which hai has for many years been pursued b by this government in reference to its indian wards the subject is so full of interest that I 1 have procured from the tho hon dr schultz a member of parliament from manitoba and a gentleman thoroughly familiar with the indian question the information which follows on jhb of july 1870 the negotiations between canada and the hudson bay company were closed whereby square miles were added to the dominion in thi this s territory there was a population of indians indiana who werd practically 06 the lords of the soll with undisputed rights and from whom it subsequently became necessary to buy certain privileges connected with their lands the hudson bay company received in money and were allowed to retain one twentieth of all the land together with urge special reserves around their posts for trading hunting and other kindred purposes the bargain being and the responsibility incurred canada grappled question of filing filling these with the the old world railways and canals were projected and steps taken ken to develop mines and mineral resources resources north of the international boundary the condi of profound peace in every part of the vast region the ilfe life of dr a white man was and still is i safe no lodge refuses shelter and its food lood mill will be shared without tha expectation of reward of their hunting grounds the indians remain main maln in almost absolute control the being allowed to participate in common with themselves but part parties leg of englishmen and others huh hun hunting ting for plea plen pleasure sure aure being compelled to pay aya a royalty for the privilege to these masters of the soil this condition of peace which exists exist sis Is in strong contrast to the st atey atcy of affairs in the indian abu country n tryo tithe united states where faith between contracting parties has been cruelly broken and strife will only end with the death whoop of the warrior to illustrate the sioux bioux indians correspond with the canadian cree tribe who occupy a similar geographical position on this side of the hound bound boundary afy line the two tribes are about equal in numbers both are ard indians of the P practical tactical rac horsemen nian and excellent shots fifteen years ago the sioux as profound a state of peace states as the now are with canada but grievances grem grew tre treaties ables alles were ignored were pigeonholed and warnings by half balf breeds breeda and tr traders ideis ignored until suddenly the story of tile the massacre of 1863 was echoed through the lan ian land 0 and the horizon tor hundreds of ot miles was lighted with burning rn ing buildings in which the shrieks of women and children had been silenced by the tho tomahawk the soldiers inthe jn the end ond overcame the savage but not until a vast area of country had been depopulated de foreign emigration had been diverted and three nall nali mili nail itar itan expeditions tary bap editions in three successive years fiad had traversed the indian coun country cou try a at a cost bost to the united states government of with the tha terrible incidents duts and sacrifices of the last two years tears the tho people are sufficiently fam familiar illse Th they eyare are the result of the old old story I 1 herm hero hereon on the other hand band there hab has been followed a policy of or conciliation ell cil lation and fair dealing the indian commenced his relations witti with the white manewith man with no hereditary hatreds hat reds no traditions passing from tribe to tribe of broken faith falth und no promises unfulfilled he wears the medals medais of his forefathers as he does dees those of the pre present rent sent day as a a type of religious loyalty to the queen and to the local government covern ment hei he parts with nothing for which he be does not receive just pay partially ho he has become an agriculturist and a worker his children attend school there therea are 6 chure churches iles lips and religious missions seminaries for the youth who are adva advanced need Deed and employment among the tho whites or tho those who beek seek the profits of civilized associations in fact there are hundreds of settlements in which the indian nature has so far changed as to make him in point of industry of truthfulness and of ot obedience the equal if not the su of the average white man As an illustration of the sturdy honesty and the strong common sense with which the public men of canada have dealt and are still dealing with this question which has ha given us so much trouble in the states I 1 quote from a speech made in the house home of commons by the hin dr chultz schultz ri he says while it will be the earlest easiest thing in the world by the adoption of an unwise policy to sow the seed beed of an everlasting enmity yet I 1 hold 8 that it is equally possible by wise wh e measures to retain their friendship oven even while we are purchasing their lands that in fact we can acono mise inise him if I 1 may be allowed the expression while we are protecting him to do tic this I 1 hold bold that treaties must be made matte with them on a barmore far more liberal basis than those of 1871 1971 1 I stead of a perpetual annuity I 1 would t a much larger sum annually for tor a stipulated period godsay say eay twenty one years instead of a payment in money I 1 would be in favor of giving him iD indispensable dispensable articles of european manufacture or growth and of stipulating that a very large proportion devoted to each band baud on a reservation should bu be applied to the purchase of agricultural implements and oxen and the payment of native dative farmers competent to instruct them in cultivating the soil instead of the present reserve of acres among a family of six I 1 would suggest at least acres to each individual and stipulate that the reservation should be situa situated td near some well known fishing ground and be as far removed as at possible from centres bentres of white whits papu lation and much travelled highways nigh ways waya and lastly I 1 would expressly stipulate that the mo moal moat t ample provision be made for hi his 9 education in our dur language if honorable gentlemen feel that to do this would entail too great a tax on the finances of the country I 1 would suggest that a reservation of one section out of each sur keyed township as in the acme case of school lands would by its sale saie at a time when its value had been enhanced by contiguous settlement provide a fund which would m materially a ter lessen the amount necessary to be appropriated for the indian department how far these sagacious suggestions have produced their effect on the coun country tiry will be known by the fact that treaties have been successfully full fuli y negotiated which secure to the several indian tribes the most liberal privileges in beveral several instances n numerous bands have been beep united under a single chief while white irritation and distrust have been replaced by an almost universal feel nig lug of content and gratitude to the government for its liberality and benevolence two of the most important acts passed in connection with indian affairs in the territories are those which prohibit the importation or manufacture of all intoxicating liquors enforcing this prohibition b by y the most stringent legislation and authorizing the establishment of a mounted police force in the territories the latter is simply a battalion of say men who represent in many instances the best families love tha tho life of adventure and are mentally and physically calculated to command the respect of the red men of course they never drink it being impossible to obtain nire fire water in the forest and are consequently as hardy active and useful a set of officials as can be fou rou found nd anywhere on the globe these men aro are scattered over an area of hundreds of miles it was though tat first that the entrance of the mounted police in the territories might arouse tile the suspicions of the indians and possibly result in bloodshed and fc erious trouble troubie but the contrary effect has been produced and the officers and meu mea are said to be everywhere among the tribes regarded with pe peculiar pecullar dullar warmth as ps friends frienda and arid benefactors the minister of makes ine the folio following observations ons ong concerning the indian nature it Is 14 gratifying to know ahat that the we indians indiana on several of the reserves are beginning to acquire individual property the tho they thoy y are tire making makin a mall small 1 clearances on their ailaine allaine allotments ats r raising ising a patches of grain and vegetables and procuring farm stock but the progress is slow blow habits i formed by a people genera eions back are difficult to overcome the system of living with the rude id iu dian than is from band t tp to o mouth he i has no Inda inducement cement to acquire property because it would only ohly fur ther expose him to the attacks of his enemies ho he is active on 0 n the warpath karpath or lu the chase but iut when danger is over reve revenge rike is 16 satisfied or his immediate wants appeased he relapses into his actus accustomed tomed indolence it may be said that this inertia is the chief legacy which he bequeaths to his chil children dien dlen the great biffl difficulty culty with the indian ia Js that he cannot all at once rid himself of this inheritance even under the ithe most favorable circuM circumstances suin ves lime must be given him to understand the motives and acquire the habits babits of the white man who labor to acquire wenith in fhi order that he ho may have the means of support in sickness or old age or lie 0 oF iving giving hig hiar offspring a start in life but when to these motives come to be understood and acted upon by the f indian the evidence of which is the po possession of considerable sid erable property acquired by con ild bid erable industry and thrift it shows that ho he may safely be entrusted ted with the rights of full citi zen zeu ship to grant to the intelligent and und well behaved beli beil aved Indi indians atis would probably train the them w to still furth further r self reliance and encourage their brethren who are jagging behind to make greater greaten emeri i eions to oveita overta overtake ke e tho anglo aa in the race of progress sg accompanied with enfranchisement they should obtain probably at firse first an allo amo ment of their proper share of rese reserve to which they lb belong elbrig then after four or five years of good behavior the fee tee simple of bf said baid aligre and perhaps eventually after a still longer pie probationary batio batlo nary bary period they might receive some somei proportion of the invested capital funds of their bond among the indians who arenow aronow are aro now in the northwest are several of the chiefs chiefa and head men of that portion of the sioux who fled to the brith h territory after the endlar indian massacre of 1863 1663 the testimony isthan is that they are working in the harvest barvest fields of the settlers and are conducting themselves as peaceable and honest people although the they y arel fully sensible of their position as exiles and seem to feel feet thail that thai having no iio territorial rights in the country they have been kindly dealt with in being assigned a reserve there is no danger ier ler that bat under existing treaty stipulations the united states indian will be permitted to live permanently manent ly on this soil unless he shows by an experience of years that it is his Intent intention iori lori to become a peaceable ea ceable ceabie and contributive me member m E ek of society even the local lobal b half h I 1 U breeds who have lived nearly near lyall all their lives ilves as indian and among them find it a matter of difficulty to be recognized and embraced in the privileges which are ext extended funded to the race proper another reason why the ji ostile from the states are not nit likely to be warmly welcomed by their copper er colored brethren on this side of the line is that the former formen are ard drenching trenching tren ching upon tho the hunting grounds that supply food and raiment for the families of the crees Assi nab and now the most powerful of the canadian tribes there is BO no question which has bag more sorely disquieted th the tho 9 mind of the canadian indian thae than this how shall he find subsistence when the buffalo is destroyed until within the last two this animal hns has roamed over the prairie in lu apparently exhaustless exhaust less lesa herds but bul in a nother another i decade of years unless prompt measures be taken to prevent the calastro cat catastrophe astro phe the buffalo as as a source of supply of food will be extinct this isa Is a subject which ere long will occupy the attention i of the canadian authorities recalling the name of the tribe I 1 am informed that ome some twelve or fifteen years ngo azo ago they numbered upward of ten thousand kuis muis landwere and were then remarkable as a warlike and haughty n nation i but they h have a since been re reduced dupA by ono one naif of ot their theli nur hiber riber partly in consequence of the in introduction trod 0 of bad whiskey and partly by tha the smallpox small pox they were pressed by la sitting bitting bull and oraly ray horse pree during the last summer cummer to ip take up aims alms arms against the whites but declined fo to do doso boso so for which they boffl received tho thanks of the queen from the foregoing remarks it will be observed that in in canada the indian is entitled to rights which the walf white man is bound to respect respect and that to the fostering aie care ef of the government tho the tik honesty of its als alb ard nud aud the generous sympathy which the stronger can always afford to bestow on the weaker is due the peace progress and welfare of her fier dusky colored inhabitants new yora york mon 11 derald herald march 26 |