to hunt over the ceded territory and to fish in the waters thereof, excepting such portions of the territory as pass from the Crown into the occupation of individuals or otherwise.
3. The perpetual payment of annuities of five dollars per head to each Indian--man, woman and child. The payment of an annual salary of twenty-five dollars to each Chief, and of fifteen dollars to each Councillor, or head man, of a Chief (thus making them in a sense officers of the Crown), and in addition, suits of official clothing for the Chiefs and head men, British flags for the Chiefs, and silver medals. These last are given both in the United States and in Canada, in conformity with an ancient custom, and are much prized and cherished by the Chiefs and their families. Frequently the Indians have exhibited to me with pride, old medals issued, with the likeness of the King before the American war of Independence, and which have passed down as heirlooms of their families. On one occasion a young Chief, who had come of age and aspired to be recognized as a Chief, was decorated in my presence with the old King George silver medal, by one of the band, to whom it had been entrusted for safe keeping by the young man's father, who was a Chief, with the charge that on the boy's coming of age, it would be delivered over to him. The Chieftainships were at first partly hereditary, partly won by deeds of daring and of leadership against the foe. They are now generally elected, though the tendency to hereditary succession still largely exists. The power of the Chiefs has been much broken of late, and I am of opinion that it is of importance to strengthen the hands of the Chiefs and Councillors by a due recognition of their offices and respect being shewn them. They should be strongly impressed with the belief that they are officers of the Crown, and that it is their duty to see that the Indians of their tribes obey the provisions of the treaties. The importance of upholding the Chiefs, may be illustrated by an incident which occurred near Fort Ellice, after the making of the treaty. A party composed of three men and the wife
of one of them, were travelling as freighters; two of the men were Half-breeds, the other a Canadian. One night, one of the Half-breeds shot the Canadian, and attempted to kill the other Half-breed, who fled to an Indian camp in the vicinity. The Chief of the band was there, and he at once took his young men with him, proceeded to the scene of the murder, and after making the offender a prisoner, took him to the nearest police station and delivered him to the authorities. The culprit was subsequently tried in Manitoba, convicted of murder and hanged. For this action the Chief received the thanks of His Excellency the Earl of Dufferin, then Governor-General of Canada. This case affords an illustration of the value of the recognition of the Chiefs of the various bands, and shews of how much advantage, it is to the Crown to possess so large a number of Indian officials, duly recognized as such, and who can be inspired with a proper sense of their responsibility to the Government and to their bands, as well as to others. In all the negotiations for treaties, the Chiefs took a controlling part, and generally exhibited great common sense and excellent judgment. It is therefore of the utmost importance to retain their confidence and cause their office to be recognized and respected by both whites and Indians.
4. The allotment of lands to the Indians, to be set aside as reserves for them for homes and agricultural purposes, and which cannot be sold or alienated without their consent, and then only for their benefit; the extent of lands thus set apart being generally one section for each family of five. I regard this system as of great value. It at once secures to the Indian tribes tracts of land, which cannot be interfered with, by the rush of immigration, and affords the means of inducing them to establish homes and learn the arts of agriculture. I regard the Canadian system of allotting reserves to one or more bands together, in the localities in which they have had the habit of living, as far preferable to the American system of placing whole tribes, in large reserves, which eventually
become the object of cupidity to the whites, and the breaking up of which, has so often led to Indian wars and great discontent even if warfare did not result. The Indians, have a strong attachment to the localities, in which they and their fathers have been accustomed to dwell, and it is desirable to cultivate this home feeling of attachment to the soil. Moreover, the Canadian system of band reserves has a tendency to diminish the offensive strength of the Indian tribes, should they ever become restless, a remote contingency, if the treaties are carefully observed. Besides, the fact of the reserves being scattered throughout the territories, will enable the Indians to obtain markets among the white settlers, for any surplus produce they may eventually have to dispose of. It will be found desirable, to assign to each family parts of the reserve for their own use, so as to give them a sense of property in it, but all power of sale or alienation of such lands should be rigidly prohibited. Any premature enfranchisement of the Indians, or power given them to part with their lands, would inevitably lead to the speedy breaking up of the reserves, and the return of the Indians to their wandering mode of life, and thereby to the re-creation of a difficulty which the assignment of reserves was calculated to obviate. There is no parallel between the condition of the North-Western Indians, and that of the Indians who have so long been under the fostering care of the Government in the older Provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
5. A very important feature of all the treaties, is the giving to the Indian bands, agricultural implements, oxen, cattle (to form the nuclei of herds), and seed grain.
The Indians are fully aware that their old mode of life is passing away. They are not "unconscious of their destiny;" on the contrary, they are harassed with fears as to the future of their children and the hard present of their own lives. They are tractable, docile, and willing to learn. They recognize the fact that they must seek part of their living from "the mother
earth," to use their own phraseology. A Chief at Fort Pitt said to me,--"I got a plough from Mr. Christie of the Company twelve years ago. I have no cattle; I put myself and my young men in front of it in the spring, and drag it through the ground. I have no hoes; I make them out of the roots of trees. Surely, when the Great Mother hears of our needs, she will come to our help." [Footnote: This band a year ago raised sufficient farm produce to support themselves without hunting.] Such a disposition as this should be encouraged. Induce the Indians to erect houses on their farms, and plant their "gardens" as they call them, and then while away on their hunts, their wives and children will have houses to dwell in, and will care for their patches of corn and grain and potatoes. Then, too, the cattle given them will expand into herds. It is true that the number assigned to each band is comparatively limited, and the Government are not bound to extend the number. This was done advisedly, by the successive Governments of Canada, and the Commissioners, acting under their instructions; for it was felt, that it was an experiment to entrust them with cattle, owing to their inexperience with regard to housing them and providing fodder for them in winter, and owing, moreover, to the danger of their using them for food, if short of buffalo meat or game. Besides, it was felt, that as the Indian is, and naturally so, always asking, it was better, that if the Government saw their way safely to increase the number of cattle given to any band, it should be, not as a matter of right, but of grace and favor, and as a reward for exertion in the care of them, and as an incentive to industry. Already, the prospect of many of the bands turning their attention to raising food from the soil is very hopeful. In the reserve of St. Peter's, in Manitoba, the Church of England has for many years had a church and mission, and long before the advent of Canada as ruler of the lands, the Indians of the Indian settlement had their houses and gardens, the produce of which, went to supplement the results of
fishing and hunting. And so on the shores and islands of the Lake of the Woods and on Rainy Lake, the Indians had their gardens. Since the treaties, the Indians are turning their attention much more to cultivating the soil. The Indian district agent in the Qu'Appelle region, reported in November, 1878, that of the twenty-four bands in this treaty, eleven are gradually turning their attention to farming, and of these Chief Cote, of Swan River, is the most advanced, having harvested that year two hundred and eighty bushels of barley, over three thousand bushels of potatoes, and a large quantity of other vegetables. The increase from the four cows he received two years since is eleven head. This may appear large, but such is the fact.
Lieut.-Gov. Laird reported in 1877, "That some of the bands within the limits of Treaties Numbers Four and Six sowed grain and potatoes with good results that year, one band having about one hundred acres under cultivation." He also states that the Indians are very desirous of farming, and that he has hopes that a much larger quantity of seed will be sown next year (1879). He also states that the band at White Fish Lake, raised enough that year to maintain themselves without going to hunt. The Superintendent also reported that in the Manitoba superintendency "a general desire to be taught farming, building and other civilized arts exists, and some of the Indians in Treaty Number Three, living in the vicinity of Fort Francis, are said to evince enterprise and progress in their farming operations." At Lac Seule, also in this treaty, the progress of the Indians is quite marked. They have established two villages in order to have the benefit of schools.