150 Stories Oral History Project

The City of Regina Archives acknowledges that it is located on Treaty 4 land, within the traditional homeland of the Métis people.

The views and opinions expressed in the interviews contained in this exhibit are those of the 150 Stories Oral History Project interview participants, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the City of Regina.

Indigenous peoples have called the land home for thousands of years. Many distinct communities co-existed, each with its own culture, customs, languages and social and economic structures. In North America, these communities can be generally represented through 10 cultural areas:

• Arctic*
• Subarctic*
• Northwest Coast*
• Plateau*
• Plains*
• Eastern Woodlands (sometimes “Northeast”)*
• Southeast
• Southwest
• Great Basin
• California

* Found within the borders of Canada. Current political borders do not correspond to traditional lands, so cultural areas such as the Plains cultural area extend from the Canadian prairies to the U.S. state of Texas.

Plains Indigenous peoples inhabited a vast territory that spread from what is now known as the North Saskatchewan River south to the U.S. state of Texas, and what is now southern Manitoba west to the Rocky Mountains. This includes parts of what is now Saskatchewan, including the city of Regina. Assiniboine, Blackfoot, Cree, Dakota, Nakota and Ojibwa were all unique Indigenous groups that inhabited the Plains cultural area.

Many Plains Indigenous peoples lived in tribal communities that survived off the land, as hunter-gatherers. They traversed the arid open land of the Plains region, which alternated from flat lands to rolling hills and valleys, following the seasonal migration of the great herds of bison, or buffalo. Bison were hunted with spears and bows, and, after a successful hunt, every part of the bison was used.

Based on archaeological evidence from L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, it is believed that Norse explorers, originally from Scandinavia, were the first Europeans to reach the Americas. Having already ventured out and settled in the British Isles, Iceland and Greenland, potentially due to overcrowding and unrest in their homeland, the Greenland Norse arrived in what they would call “Vinland”.

Believed to be located around what is now Newfoundland, Vinland’s rich supply of resources allowed the Norse to establish base camps and gather resources to ship back to Greenland. A few attempts at settlement took place, confirmed by the archaeological site of L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, but never became permanent. The reasons for this are unknown, but may have been linked to skirmishes with the local Indigenous population as well as the fact that the demand for more land and resources was not great enough to offset the long journey to Vinland.

The foundation for the fur trade began with the early 16th century fishing industry in Newfoundland. European fishermen established positive relationships with the Indigenous people and began trading manufactured goods for furs. By the middle of the century the demand for furs was on the rise in Europe, propelled largely by the growing popularity of beaver felt hats. With the beaver becoming essentially extinct in Europe, many European governments turned their eyes to the bountiful “New World”.

While French fur traders were the first to embark in the fur trade in the 16th century, it soon attracted competition from other European nations. In 1670, “The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay” (commonly known as the “Hudson’s Bay Company” or “HBC”) was incorporated with a royal charter which granted the Company exclusive control, according to English law, of the huge region encompassing the Hudson’s Bay drainage system.

Between 1668 and 1717, the Company established six trading posts, all located adjacent to waterways. Inland posts would follow. In the fall and winter months, Indigenous trappers would obtain beaver pelts at their “prime”. When summer arrived, they would travel to trading posts to trade for manufactured goods such as knives, needles, beads, blankets and cookware. The pelts were then dispatched for sale to England.

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Growing demand from the Hudson’s Bay Company for furs as well as goods such as pemmican had a momentous impact on the Indigenous people. It dramatically changed their economies and shifted traditional hunting practices from subsistence-based to commercial-based. The demand for bison pelts and pemmican transformed the traditional buffalo hunt into an extensive commercial operation.

Increased contact between Indigenous peoples and Europeans also shifted Indigenous trade and settlement patterns. To obtain a larger number of pelts and secure a better position in the fur trade, many Indigenous peoples moved beyond their traditional territory to hunt, leading to conflicts among different tribes.

Over time, Indigenous communities became increasingly dependent on European trade goods and were no longer self-sufficient. The introduction of alcohol, easily accessed through traders, disrupted the lives of Indigenous people and would have long-lasting effects.

The introduction of numerous European diseases such as smallpox, tuberculosis and measles, to which Indigenous communities had no natural immunity, resulted in epidemics and significant depopulation. Decreased productivity brought about by illness led to further social disruption. The inability to produce food or hunt due to greatly depleted herds led to hunger and widespread famine, making Indigenous communities extremely vulnerable to the future momentum of colonization and settlement.

As the fur trade spread across Rupert’s Land, many French Canadian and British fur traders married Indigenous women and began living within their tribes. These relationships facilitated the fur trade, as Indigenous women provided their husbands a bridge to understanding their culture and surviving in the often harsh environment.

The children of these marriages, raised primarily in their mothers’ cultures but also introduced to aspects of European culture, in turn often became hunters and provisioners to the fur companies. Through the blending of these two worlds, a distinct culture emerged: the Métis.

Unsurprisingly, the relationships that produced the Métis people also produced a distinct language, a blending of French and Cree known as Michif. Mostly the language of Métis bison hunters, Michif is also sometimes used to describe the Métis people. At one point called “poor French”, Michif actually possesses a complex language structure that indicates its founders were bilingual in French and Cree. Many French nouns, numerals, articles and adjectives are combined with Cree syntax, verb structures, demonstratives, question words and personal pronouns.

As an oral language for much of its history, Michif lacks a standardized spelling system, leading to many regional dialect spelling variations. Much of the work to develop a spelling system was done in more modern times. While the percentage of first-language Michif speakers is relatively small, with most speakers concentrated in Saskatchewan, it remains a persistent force within the community. Efforts are being made to revitalize Michif for a new generation.

Broadly speaking, the Métis are people of mixed Indigenous and European descent. The term “Métis” is a complex term, the application of which has been very contentious in Canadian society. The term’s use is linguistically, geographically, religiously, and legally fraught.

Originally, the term referred only to descendants of French Catholic and Indigenous unions. Children of Anglo Protestant and Indigenous descent were historically referred to as “half-breed”. Gradually, the term “Métis” came to encompass both linguistic and religious groups. Today “métis” – with a small “m” – is sometimes used to refer to any community with mixed European-Indigenous ancestry.

The Métis National Council (MNC), the political entity representing the Métis Nation, defines “Métis” as “a person who self-identifies as Métis, is distinct from other Aboriginal Peoples, is of historic Métis Nation ancestry and who is accepted by the Métis Nation.” While criticism has been levelled at this definition, the federal and provincial governments and the courts have generally accepted this definition.

The MNC identifies the three Prairie provinces and parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northern United States as the Métis homeland. Métis people from the Métis Nation share a common culture, language, history and political traditions.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763, issued by King George III of England, set out guidelines for North American settlement in the wake of the Seven Years’ War and British acquisition of French territory in North America. These guidelines included specifications on how the colonies would be administered and the establishment of a firm western boundary.

Lands to the west of this boundary were defined as “Indian Territories”, where First Nations people should not be disturbed by settlers. Settlement and trade could not occur without permission from the Indian Department, which would also function as the primary liaison between the Crown and First Nations people.

The Royal Proclamation prohibited governors from making any grants or taking land from First Nations people and also established a set of protocols and procedures for acquiring First Nations land. The Proclamation further set out that only the Crown could acquire land from First Nations:

And whereas it is just and reasonable, and essential to our Interest and the Security of our Colonies, that the several Nations or Tribes of Indians, with whom We are connected, and who live under our Protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the Possession of such Parts of our Dominions and Territories as, not having been ceded to, or purchased by Us, are reserved to them, or any of them, as their Hunting Grounds…

The Royal Proclamation, intended to slow the uncontrolled western expansion of the colonies and stabilize the relationship between Indigenous people and colonists, served as a basis of the treaty-making process throughout Canada. While it was also the first public recognition of Indigenous peoples’ rights to lands and title, it was designed and written by British colonists without Indigenous input.

The guarantee in this Charter of certain rights and freedoms shall not be construed as to abrogate or derogate from any aboriginal, treaty or other rights or freedoms that pertain to the aboriginal peoples of Canada including:

• a. any rights or freedoms that have been recognized by the Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763; and


• b. any rights or freedoms that now exist by way of land claims agreements or may be so acquired.

On June 18, 1812, the Americans declared war on Great Britain and instigated what would become known as the War of 1812. As a colony of Great Britain and a nation also invested in halting further American expansion, Canada was swept up in the war and battles were fought in areas including the Niagara and St. Lawrence regions. With the British already engaged in the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, gaining the added support of First Nations groups would also be crucial to success.

Canada’s First Nations and Métis, as well as many Native American nations, played an important role during the War of 1812, with thousands fighting alongside British troops and Canadian militia in the hope of preventing further American expansion. They were said by their commanders to have played key roles in many of the victories in battle.

When the Treaty of Ghent was signed in 1814, it was agreed that the war would end and Canada and the U.S. would simply revert to prewar conditions. The contributions of First Nations and Métis were soon forgotten by their British and Canadian allies and would have little impact on peace-time relations.

For Native Americans, the end of the war, along with the loss of great leaders such as Tecumseh and the loss of a common goal with the British, dealt a decisive blow to their ongoing fight for independence. Settlement would continue to take place across North America with Indigenous peoples becoming increasingly outnumbered and their rights to self-governance increasingly undermined.

The Crown Lands Protection Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1839, making the government the guardian of all Crown lands, including Indian reserve lands. This came in response to the fact that, beginning in the 1830s, rates of settlement were occurring faster than the colony could manage, and squatters were beginning to settle on unoccupied Indian reserve land.

The Act served to protect First Nations interests by putting reserve lands under the guardianship of the Crown and limiting settler access, but also affirmed that First Nations lands were the property of the Crown unless specifically titled to an individual, limiting political rights based on land ownership.

The roots of the residential school system predated Confederation. By the 1840s, Sir John Colbourne and Sir Francis Bond Head were espousing policies to settle First Nations people on segregated land as a first step to assimilation. Education was a key pillar to assimilation, though there was disagreement on how best to achieve this: by allowing students to use their Indigenous languages or by forcing them to use English.

The 1842-1844 Bagot Commission proposed that Indigenous children be removed from their parents’ care to better achieve assimilation. The Bagot Commission found that reserve communities were in a “half-civilized state” that could only be remedied with an aggressive assimilationist policy incorporating training in manual labour and agriculture. These schools were known as Indian Industrial Schools.

In 1847, Egerton Ryerson, the Superintendent for Education, built on the foundation of the Bagot Commission, further recommending that Indigenous education incorporate religious education. Religious institutions, including Protestant, Catholic, Anglican and Methodist denominations, began to establish residential schools.

“The experience of the United States is the same as our own as far as the adult Indian is concerned. Little can be done with him... The child, again, who goes to a day school learns little, and what little he learns is soon forgotten, while his tastes are fashioned at home...

...It was found that the day school did not work, because the influence of the wigwam was stronger than the influence of the school. Industrial Boarding Schools were therefore established, and these are now numerous and will soon be universal.”

- Nicolas Flood Davin, "Report on Industrial Schools for Indians and Half-Breeds" (Ottawa, 1879), p. 1

The 1880s marked the beginning of an extensive, federally-funded, church-operated residential school system, brought about by factors such as the recommendations made in the Report on Industrial Schools for Indians and Half-Breeds, or Davin Report.

While day schools had existed since the 1840s, it was decided that a greater number of live-in, or "residential", schools would be more effective. Efforts were made to place schools far from Indigenous communities, ensuring that full-time attendance was necessary for many and family contact was further minimized.

In addition to being separated from the influence of their families, children attending residential school were taught that their culture was unwholesome and pagan. Children were prohibited from using their own languages or practicing their culture and failure to comply could be met with severe punishment. It was believed that this was the most promising method to "civilize" and assimilate Indigenous children.

Conditions in residential schools often included overcrowding, poor sanitation, undernourishment and lack of medical care, leading to high rates of illness such as influenza and tuberculosis. Many children died in these conditions, and some were buried in unmarked graves. Others suffered emotional, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of staff and teachers, as well as other students.

“I want to get rid of the Indian problem. I do not think as a matter of fact, that the country ought to continuously protect a class of people who are able to stand alone . . . Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department, that is the whole object of this Bill.”

– Duncan Campbell Scott, 1920

Amendments to the Indian Act in 1920 made attendance for status Indian children under the age of 15 compulsory. Parents who resisted and hid their children from the authorities risked imprisonment. Many children attempted to run away from residential schools, often facing severe punishment.

By the 1960s, residential schools began to be phased out. The last federally-run residential school, Gordon Indian Residential School near Punnichy, Saskatchewan, closed in 1996.

The legacy of residential schools has had a devastating and far-reaching impact on survivors and their families. Effects such as loss of culture and identity, post-traumatic stress, and an inability to parent or connect with others has led to issues such as alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide and continues to affect multiple generations.

Creator: Stacey Fayant

The Act to Encourage the Gradual Civilization of Indian Tribes in this Province, and to Amend the Laws Relating to Indians (also known as the Gradual Civilization Act) introduced the practice of voluntary enfranchisement – the legal process of surrendering one’s Indian status and all associated rights and benefits in exchange for full rights granted to the Canadian citizen. Individuals could choose to enfranchise, and, in instances that the male head of a household chose to do so, his spouse and children would automatically be enfranchised as well.

A “debt-free” and “educated Indian” of “good moral character” could apply for enfranchisement, the success of which depended on a board of examiners. If successful, the individual gave up their Treaty rights in exchange for a piece of land and citizenship privileges such as the right to vote. Enfranchised Indians were required to select a Christian name, which would become their sole and legal name.

This legislation was designed to hasten the process of assimilation and transition First Nations people to the economic and social customs of European settlers, such as private land ownership. The “nation-to-nation” approach taken in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 was fast disappearing.

The opportunity for voluntary enfranchisement was met with much less enthusiasm than government officials had anticipated. Only one known individual voluntarily enfranchised between the Act’s introduction in 1857 and its replacement by the Gradual Enfranchisement Act in 1869.

It is with feelings of sorrow that we hear of the act passed for the purpose of allowing the Indian to enfranchise if he feels desirous of doing so, we are sorry that such an inducement is held out to separate our people. If any person availing himself of this enfranchisement act should fail to do well and lose his little piece of ground — he is forbidden to ever return to his tribe. All red men are brethren and our hearts would bleed to see one of our brethren wandering about the highway without the right of returning to his tribe when in distress.

Source: National Archives of Canada, Record Group 10 (Indian Affairs), volume 245, part 2, number 11801-11900, microfilm reel C12339

“The great aim of our legislation has been to do away with the tribal system and assimilate the Indian people in all respects with the other inhabitants of the Dominion as speedily as they are fit to change.”

– John A. Macdonald, 1887

With the failure of the Gradual Civilization Act to speed assimilation, government officials became increasingly impatient and, in 1869, adopted the "Act for the Gradual Enfranchisement of Indians, the Better Management of Indian Affairs, and to Extend the Provisions of the Act 31st Victoria, Ch. 42" - also referred to as the Gradual Enfranchisement Act.

This legislation sought to gain control over reserve politics by supplanting traditional forms of First Nations governance with the elective band council system. Control of this new system of government was wielded largely by local, federally-appointed Indian agents.

Those elected to council could be removed at the discretion of the agent, and any bylaws the council wished to enact needed to first pass the agent’s approval. Matters that were under the council’s purview included items such as:

• • care of public health
• • observance of order and decorum and public assemblies
• • suppression of access to and use of alcohol
• • maintenance of roads, bridges, ditches and fences
• • construction of public buildings

Women were excluded from this new form of governance, in their ability to both be elected and to vote in an election, resulting in destabilizing the traditional, more egalitarian role of women in First Nations self-governance. As the European system of patriarchy became entrenched in laws regarding First Nations people, the role and position of First Nations women was increasingly undermined.

The Numbered Treaties, or Post-Confederation Treaties, were a series of 11 treaties signed between the Dominion of Canada and First Nations people between 1871 and 1921.

These treaties allowed the Crown to settle on and obtain resources from the land in question in exchange for promises and goods. These included reserve lands, annual payments, clothing, farm equipment and animals, maintenance of schools, and hunting and fishing rights.

• • Treaty No. 1 signed August 3, 1871
• • Treaty No. 2 signed August 21, 1871
• • Treaty No. 3 signed October 3, 1873
• • Treaty No. 4 signed September 15, 1874
• • Treaty No. 5 signed September 20-24, 1875
• • Treaty No. 6 signed August 23, 1876
• • Treaty No. 7 signed September 22, 1877
• • Treaty No. 8 signed June 21, 1899
• • Treaty No. 9 signed 1905
• • Treaty No. 10 signed 1906-1907
• • Treaty No. 11 signed 1921

The City of Regina is located within Treaty 4 territory. Treaty 4 territory includes 35 First Nations in southern Saskatchewan and parts of Alberta and Manitoba.

On September 8, 1874, commissioners arrived in the Qu’Appelle valley to negotiate Treaty 4. It was signed in Fort Qu’Appelle, North-West Territories (now Saskatchewan) on September 15, 1874, with three commissioners representing the Crown and 13 chiefs representing the Cree, Saulteaux and Assiniboine nations.

That the principal conditions of the Treaties may be briefly stated as follows:

• 1st A Money present to each Chief of $25; to each Headman not exceeding four in each Band $15 and to every other Indian, man, woman and Child in the Band $12
  
• 2nd An Annual payment in perpetuity, of the same sums to the Chiefs and Headmen (not exceeding four in each Band) and $5 to every other man, woman and Child in the Band
• 3rd Certain trifling presents of clothing every third year, to the Chiefs and Headmen
  
• 4th A supply of Ammunition and twine every year to the value of $750
  
• 5th Presents of Agricultural implements, Cattle, grain, Carpenter's tools, etc., proportioned to the number of families in the Band actually engaged in farming
  
• 6th Reserves to be selected of the same extent in proportion to the numbers of the Bands, and on the same conditions as in the previous Treaty
  
• 7th Schools to be established on each Reserve as soon as the Indians settle thereon
  
• 8th Intoxicating liquors to be excluded from the Reserve

Treaty No. 4 full text

Many contend that the treaties were not signed on equal terms, European and Indigenous worldviews being inherently different. This includes values surrounding territory and ownership.

In addition, the treaties were negotiated in verbal and written English within a matter of days, and relied heavily upon language translations. In certain cases, leaders have claimed that the promises outlined in the written treaties differed from the verbal agreements that were made.

To this day, the Numbered Treaties have ongoing legal and socioeconomic impacts on First Nations communities and the citizens of Canada, and will continue to play an important role in the future relationship between First Nations people and the Crown.

Proclaimed in 1876 and created to consolidate a variety of pieces of colonial legislation developed over a long period, the Indian Act served to more clearly outline and codify the Government of Canada’s role in controlling various aspects of First Nations life. Originally pertaining only to First Nations and not to Métis or Inuit, the central purpose of the Act was to assimilate First Nations people by controlling their identity, governance, cultural practices, education and political structures.

Administered through the jurisdiction of the Department of Indian Affairs and its Indian Agents, the Act allowed the federal government to manage Indian lands, resources and monies, intervene in internal band affairs, control access to intoxicants, and promote “civilization” by acting as “guardians” to a people considered primitive and childlike, until such a time as they could achieve assimilation into Canadian society. Historically, policies and legislation regarding First Nations have been made without their input or consent.

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“Our Indian legislation generally rests on the principle, that the aborigines are to be kept in a condition of tutelage and treated as wards or children of the State… On the contrary… the true interests of the aborigines and of the State alike require that every effort should be made to aid the Red man in lifting himself out of his condition of tutelage and dependence, and that is clearly our wisdom and our duty, through education and every other means, to prepare him for a higher civilization by encouraging him to assume the privileges and responsibilities of full citizenship.”

- Department of the Interior, "Annual Report of the Department of the Interior for the year ended 30th June, 1876" (Ottawa: Maclean, Roger & Co., 1877), p. xiv

The Act legally defined who was recognized as an “Indian” and placed a stronger emphasis on male lineage in its definition of Indian status. Under the Act, the term “Indian” referred to:

• 1) Any males of Indian blood reputed to belong to a particular band;
  
• 2) Any child of such person;
  
• 3) Any woman who is and was married to such person.

Indian status could be lost through the system of enfranchisement. Compulsory enfranchisement occurred when a First Nations woman married a non-First Nations man or when a First Nations person was admitted to university or became a lawyer, doctor or clergyman.

As ever greater control was exerted over the lives of First Nations people between 1876 and 1950, several amendments were made to the Act. Key amendments included:

• 1884: Prohibition of traditional ceremonies, including potlaches
  
• 1894: Compulsory attendance at industrial or residential schools
  
• 1905: Power to remove First Nation peoples from reserves near towns with more than 8,000 people
  
• 1911: Power to expropriate portions of reserves for roads, railways and other public works as well as to move an entire reserve from a municipality
  
• 1918: Power to lease out uncultivated reserve lands to non-Indigenous persons if the new leaseholder would use it for farming
  
• 1930: Prohibition of pool hall owners from allowing entrance of an Indigenous person

Further revisions to the Indian Act would be made in 1951, 1960, 1985, and 2000. With the Indian Act remaining in force today, its provisions permit the administration on reserve of such matters as education, taxation, management of land, and membership.

The extermination of bison herds, the encroachment of White settlers and restriction to reserves pushed the First Nations people of western Canada to increasingly desperate circumstances. In 1880, Cree chief Big Bear and Blackfoot chief Crowfoot founded a confederacy to address grievances.

Métis people were also feeling the dramatic impact of the loss of bison herds, the disappearance of the fur trade, and an increase in White settlers who were following the path of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) through what would become southern Saskatchewan. This discontent led the Métis of the area that is now Saskatchewan to bring back the exiled Louis Riel from the United States to serve as leader.

After the Red River Resistance, which led to the creation of the province of Manitoba, Riel was simultaneously considered a murderer to Ontarians and a folk hero to the people of Quebec. From 1879 to 1883, he lived in Montana Territory, became an American citizen, married and became a schoolteacher.

When a delegation of Métis, led by Gabriel Dumont, asked him to intervene on their behalf, Riel agreed to return to Canada to help their cause on the condition that his family could join him and he could return to Montana after a settlement was reached. Riel travelled to Batoche in July 1884 and went to work speaking to local communities and readying a petition to Ottawa.

Initially, Métis, First Nation and non-Indigenous residents participated in the non-violent actions encouraged by Riel. Petition demands included permanent title to lands for Métis people, but also concern over low wheat prices, high freight prices and tariffs on farm equipment.

While the federal government promised to investigate, a lack of progress led the Métis to pass the “Revolutionary Bill of Rights” on March 8, 1885. This spurred the establishment of a provisional government by an armed force of Métis on March 18 and 19, 1885. The parish church at Batoche was seized, and the surrender of Fort Carlton was demanded. Riel was named president, while Gabriel Dumont was named military commander.

Métis leaders, understanding that intervention would be coming sooner or later, moved to take over the community of Duck Lake. On March 26, the first of the federal responders arrived in the form of 100 North-West Mounted Police (NWMP), and after confusing negotiations ended, both sides opened fire. Nine volunteers and three police members died, along with five Métis and one First Nation warrior. The Métis retreated to Batoche on the urging of Riel, while the NWMP evacuated Fort Carlton and retreated to Prince Albert.

Emboldened by the Duck Lake victory, Cree and Assiniboine fighters formed a war camp to the west of Fort Battleford while terrified settlers huddled inside, waiting for rescue. Big Bear, the last Plains chief to sign a treaty, had been resisting moving to a reserve and, as a result, the federal government cut off rations to his people to force a settlement. His group, holed up at Frog Lake, took several settlers prisoner on April 1, 1885.

On April 2, war chief Wandering Spirit killed Indian Agent Thomas Quinn, leading to the deaths of eight men over the protests of Big Bear.

After dispatching Lieutenant-Colonel William Otter to Battleford, Middleton marched to Batoche with about 900 men. Divided into two groups on either side of the river, they walked into an ambush at Fish Creek on April 24, in which Dumont’s men killed six soldiers and wounded 49 at the cost of four Métis lives.

On May 1, Colonel Otter’s troops walked into disastrous defeat at Cut Knife Creek and were forced to retreat. Casualties would have been higher had Chief Poundmaker not persuaded Indigenous forces not to follow and slaughter the retreating militia.

Middleton’s reinforcements arrived by May 9 and the march to Batoche resumed. After several days of siege and fighting, the superior numbers and ammunition of the government troops led to the surrender of Batoche, effectively ending the Resistance.

Riel surrendered on May 15, while Dumont fled to Montana. Poundmaker and some Battleford-area tribes surrendered to Middleton on May 26, the Frog Lake Cree released their prisoners on June 21, and Big Bear turned himself in on July 2.

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Louis Riel was arrested and subsequently tried for high treason in Regina, a crime for which the only possible sentence was execution. Although Riel’s lawyers tried to convince the jury that Riel was insane, Riel’s eloquent testimony to the jury on July 31 sealed his fate. His death sentence was handed down on September 18, 1885 and he was hanged at Regina on November 16, 1885. The execution prompted outrage in Quebec, and Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s political career received a boost when he denounced the federal government’s actions.

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Many other First Nation and Métis leaders were tried on lesser charges of treason-felony. Poundmaker and Big Bear received three years in jail and eleven Indigenous warriors were convicted of murder for their role in Frog Lake. Other convictions resulted in the executions of six Cree and two Assiniboine men, including Wandering Spirit. Three other men had their sentences of death commuted. All resisters who were convicted were ultimately released from jail early, and a general amnesty allowed some of the resisters who had fled to the U.S. to return to Canada, including Gabriel Dumont.

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L to R, Front row: Saulteaux chief O'Soup, Interpreter Peter Hourie

Second row: Cree chiefs Ahtahkakoop (Starblanket), Kahkiwistahaw (Flying in a Circle), Mistawasis (Big Child)

The Resistance served to further disintegrate the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and conditions for the Métis declined. Branded "rebels" and denied Indian status, the Métis were marginalized from both settler society and First Nation communities.

Facing economic hardship due to persecution and loss of their land, many Métis left the area, leading to a dispersal. Those who remained in the area, and many who left, were forced to "squat" on reserved Crown land, mostly on the outskirts of municipal boundaries, known as the "road allowance". It was during this time that the term "road allowance people" became synonymous with the Métis.

Written by John Coulter in 1967 as a Centennial project, "The Trial of Louis Riel" is the longest-running historical dramatic production in North America. The play is based on official transcripts from the 1885 trial.

CRP-10-0048

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A dark piece of Canadian history, the pass system is often overlooked due to a lack of surviving documentation. Informally implemented in 1885 by the Department of Indian Affairs, the pass system functioned to limit and control the movement of First Nations people following the Northwest Resistance, as well as keep them separated from settlers.

Passes, issued by Indian Agents, included information on how long individuals were allowed to be off-reserve and the purpose for which they were leaving. This strict control aided the government’s attempts to abolish cultural practices and supported the efforts of the residential school system to isolate First Nations children from their families.

The pass system had no basis in existing law and was never officially passed into legislation. Despite being implemented as a “temporary security measure”, the system remained in place for decades.

A July 11, 1941 letter written by Harold McGill, Director of Indian Affairs, ordered Indian Agents to return all passes to Ottawa for destruction, suggesting an approximate end to the practice. Other researchers also suggest that records relating to the illegal pass system were destroyed in the 1950s.

As a result of such activities, very few passes survive today and the full history of the practice remains largely unknown.

It is estimated that well over 4,000 First Nations people served in the Canadian Forces during the First World War. While Métis and Inuit also enlisted, more accurate numbers exist for First Nations.

Initially discouraged from enlisting, Indigenous volunteers were permitted and then actively recruited as casualties on the front increased. When military conscription was instituted in August 1917, status Indians successfully argued for exemption, as they did not hold the rights of citizenship that dictated the practice.

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L to R, Front row: Joseph McNab, Shavetail, Day Walker, Jack Fisher

Second row: Moostatik, Feather, W.M. Graham (Inspector of Indian Agencies), Pimotat, Kee-wisk

Third row: L. Harry Stonechild, Leonard Creely, Jack Walker, Alexander Brass, Ernest Goforth

Back row: David Bird, Joe McKay, Joe Peters, Ed Sanderson

Most of those who chose to enlist served in the infantry, while others utilized traditional skills such as hunting, scouting and navigating and were appointed as snipers or reconnaissance scouts.

Adapting to the strict military system was difficult for many Indigenous recruits, as was adjusting to the language barrier. Some faced discharge for declining to cut their hair. Others had difficulty conforming to a strict hierarchy contradictory to the traditional warrior-chief relationship, characterized by familiarity, mutual support and equality.

Many Indigenous soldiers lost their lives during the war and some of those who suffered debilitating injuries had difficulty providing for their families once they returned home. Exposure to mustard gas also weakened soldiers’ lungs, making them more susceptible to respiratory illness such as tuberculosis.

Many Indigenous and non-Indigenous veterans faced difficulty coping with the long-term physical, mental and emotional after-effects of war, sometimes turning to alcohol as a result.

Over the course of the war, Indigenous soldiers were able to help break negative stereotypes through their widespread interaction with non-Indigenous soldiers. Many were recognized for their service, including at least 50 who received bravery and heroism medals.

The treatment they experienced during their service, however, did not continue following the war. Many were denied access to veteran benefits and the sacrifices they’d made during the war did little to improve the overall political, economic and social positions of Indigenous peoples.

This led many veterans to speak out for Indigenous rights and helped pave the way for others to advocate for change.

It is estimated that between 3,000 and 4,500 First Nations people enlisted in the Canadian Forces during the Second World War, at least seventy-two of whom were women. Many other Indigenous men and women provided support services on the home front.

Other Indigenous groups including Inuit and Métis enlisted as well, but, as in the First World War, were not officially recorded as being members of an Indigenous group.

More than two hundred First Nations soldiers died during the war and at least seventeen earned decorations for bravery in action.

The Cree language played a crucial role in the Second World War. Cree-speaking soldiers from Alberta and Saskatchewan were given highly classified assignments to transmit and receive messages in Cree. These communications were crucial in combat and were highly effective in ensuring messages wouldn’t be intercepted by the enemy. The soldiers serving in this capacity were known as “code talkers”.

The program was not declassified until 1963, and many of those who were sworn to secrecy never spoke of the program. For this reason, Canadian code talkers have remained largely unrecognized in the decades following the war.

As in the First World War, Indigenous soldiers were shown the respect afforded to their non-Indigenous counterparts, but faced hurdles when returning home. Indigenous access to veteran benefits was disproportionate with that of non-Indigenous veterans, and many had difficulty re-adjusting to the marginalization of Indigenous people in mainstream Canadian society.

While an increase in political organization and advocating for Indigenous rights did once again occur following the war, it has been suggested that the disparity between treatment in the military and treatment as a civilian caused many veterans to re-enlist in the Korean War.

Unlike after the First World War, Indigenous contributions to the Second World War were more significantly recognized among Canadians. In 1946, a Parliamentary review of the Indian Act was initiated, which resulted in major amendments to the Indian Act in 1951. National interest in Indigenous issues soon faded among non-Indigenous Canadians, but First Nations veterans continued to campaign for rights and recognition.

In 2003, First Nations veterans received a public apology and an offer of compensation. The grievances of other Indigenous veterans, including those of Métis veterans, have not yet received the same recognition.

National Aboriginal Veterans’ Day was first introduced in Winnipeg in 1994, and is now observed nationwide on November 8 of each year.

Note: Grandfather, David Bird, is pictured in CORA-RPL-A-0340 above

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), formerly known as the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, is a Saskatchewan-based First Nations organization representing 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan.

The foundation of the FSIN began in 1946, when chiefs and leaders gathered in Fort Qu’Appelle to advocate for the rights of First Nations people. From this meeting emerged the Union of Saskatchewan Indians (USI).

In 1958, the USI gathered again in Fort Qu’Appelle and decided to replace the organization with one that acted as a federation of bands. From this evolved the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians (FSI). The FSI established institutions such as the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural College (now the Cultural Center), the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (now the First Nations University of Canada), the Saskatchewan Indian Equity Foundation and the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies.

Concerns over the non-profit status of the FSI led to a large-scale reorganization and, in 1982, Canada’s first Indian Legislative Assembly was formed. The governing structure consisted of the Chiefs-in-Assembly, a Senate, an Elders’ Council, an Executive Council and an Indian Government Commission. As a true Federation of Nations, the FSI changed its name to the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. In May of 2016, the FSIN Chiefs-in-Assembly voted to change the name to the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations.

The FSIN is committed to honouring the spirit and intent of the Treaties, as well as the promotion, protection and implementation of the Treaty promises that were made more than a century ago.

James Gladstone was born May 21, 1887 on the Blood Reserve in Alberta. He attended St. Paul’s Indian Residential School, located on the reserve, and then the Indian Industrial School in Calgary. He later worked as a cattle wrangler, a chief scout and interpreter for the RCMP, and mail carrier for his reserve, as well as operated a large and successful ranch with his sons.

He joined the Indian Association of Alberta (IAA) in an effort to enhance the lives of Indigenous people and was voted president in 1950, playing an important role in lobbying for changes to the Indian Act. On February 1, 1958, he was appointed by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker to the Senate of Canada, becoming the first Indigenous Member of Parliament (MP). In his inaugural speech, Gladstone addressed the Senate in his Blackfoot language, despite it breaking parliamentary procedure.

Gladstone retired from the upper chamber in March of 1971 and passed away in September of 1971 at the age of 84, having devoted much of his life to improving the circumstances of Canada’s Indigenous people. He was recently featured on a commemorative $10 banknote marking the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

The Sixties Scoop, coined by author Patrick Johnson, has been described as a large-scale and aggressive effort to assimilate Indigenous children into broader Canadian society. Between the 1960s and 1980s, Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes for placement in foster homes or for adoption with non-Indigenous families across Canada, the United States, and even as far as Europe. In cases where more than one child was removed from a home, siblings were often separated from one another.

The impact of the Sixties Scoop varied from province to province, but the practice was most widespread in the prairie region. Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada indicates that the number of Indigenous children adopted between 1960 and 1990 was 11,132 but many argue that an estimate of around 20,000 is more accurate. Despite making up less than five percent of the total child population at that time, Indigenous children comprised one-third of children placed in care by the child welfare system.

The Sixties Scoop has had far-reaching effects on the families and children impacted by the practice. Children who were “scooped” lost contact with their families and communities, lost their cultural identity and language, and often experienced low self-esteem, shame and loneliness as a result. Though some adoptees were placed in supportive homes, many others were victims of sexual, physical, and other forms of abuse. Some were not told of their Indigenous roots.

On February 14, 2017, the Ontario Superior Court ruled in favour of Sixties Scoop victims in a class-action lawsuit that lasted over a decade, finding that the federal government did not take adequate steps to protect the cultural identity of children taken from their homes. Survivors will receive direct compensation, with millions of dollars more going toward a foundation for healing and reconciliation.

On July 1, 1960, First Nations people were given the right to vote without becoming voluntarily enfranchised. Though First Nations people were given a conditional right to vote in 1867, at the time of Confederation, they were required to surrender their Indian status and treaty rights, or voluntarily enfranchise, to do so.

During the Civil Rights movement, which began in the 1950s with African American activists but has become most closely identified with the 1960s, Native Americans also lobbied for civil rights. Their goals centered primarily around issues of self-determination, sovereignty, improved living conditions and the return of their land. The Red Power Movement, which also had its roots in the late 1940s and 1950s, utilized the media to further their cause.

Established in 1976 with the goal to serve the academic, cultural and spiritual needs of First Nations students, the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (SIFC) became the first First Nations-controlled degree-granting post-secondary education institution in Canada. In 1994, SIFC was voted a full member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

Renamed as the First Nations University of Canada (FNUC) in 2003, the institution retains administrative and financial autonomy while being a federated college of the University of Regina.

Opened in 2003, the FNU's Regina Campus building was designed by world-renowned Indigenous architect Douglas Cardinal. Everything from the shape of the building to its material and colour scheme is symbolic. Its curved walls mirror nature, a multitude of windows bring nature in, and the many doors encourage contact with the nature surrounding the building. The circle, symbolic to First Nations cultures, is present throughout the building with the building itself a south-facing semicircle, embracing the light and warmth of the sun.

For more information on the Regina Campus building, access the Self-Guided Tour here

Beginning its Fall 1976 semester with an enrollment of only nine students, FNUC currently maintains an annual enrollment of over 3,000 students. The number of programs on offer has expanded, as have the scope of resources available to students. First Nation traditions, languages and values, including the role of community Elders, are vital to the mandate of the institution.

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN), modelled on the United Nations General Assembly, is a political organization representing approximately 600 First Nations and 900,000 First Nations people across Canada. Formed in April of 1982, the AFN aims to protect and advocate for matters such as Treaties, land and resources, and Indigenous rights.

In the late 1970s, largely in response to the federal government’s constitutional proposals, discussions began surrounding the creation of an organization which would allow for First Nations self-governance and enable direct representation for First Nations communities.

In 1982, this goal was accomplished with the formation of the AFN, which grew out of the pre-existing National Indian Brotherhood (NIB), formed in the 1960s.

The AFN is led by the National Chief and an executive committee of 10 Regional Chiefs, elected every three years, and includes a Council of Elders, a Women’s Council and a National Youth Council. The NIB participates in the AFN as its administrative secretariat.

The Council of Elders plays an essential role in the AFN’s activities, providing spiritual and political guidance and sharing historical and cultural knowledge. A representative from each of the 10 regions sits on the Council.

The Council of Women plays a vital role in ensuring that the concerns and perspective of First Nations women are considered by the AFN. Their participation extends to a high level of involvement in the wider community, where they advocate for the perspective and rights of First Nations women and share cultural teachings based on principles such as respect, love, wisdom and courage.

The National Youth Council consists of one male and one female youth representative from each of the 10 regions. The group of 20 members represents First Nations youth from across the country and brings the perspectives and issues of First Nations youth to the AFN. In the community, they lead other First Nations youth and encourage them to engage in important issues.

The Métis National Council, formed in Regina in 1983 and now based in Ottawa, is recognized by the Government of Canada as one of the five National Aboriginal Representative Organizations.

The MNC supports the recognition of the Métis as a people who identify as being distinct from other Indigenous groups. As a unique Indigenous group, the Métis share common ancestry and a distinct culture which emerged during the fur trade and took shape as Métis communities developed throughout the prairies.

The MNC represents more than 350,000 members of the Métis Nation from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and Northwest Territories. The MNC affairs are managed by a board of governors made up of the national president and the presidents of each of the five provincial organizations. The Women of the Métis Nation, formed by MNC, provides a platform for the representation of Métis women.

The goal of the MNC is “to secure a healthy space for the Métis Nation’s ongoing existence within the Canadian federation”. The MNC defines Métis as “a person who self-identifies as Métis, is distinct from other Aboriginal peoples, is of historic Métis Nation Ancestry and who is accepted by the Métis Nation”. This definition was adopted in 2003 by the Supreme Court of Canada, and the “Powley test”, a legal test which determines an individual’s Métis identity and rights, was established.

Bill C-31, or a Bill to Amend the Indian Act, passed into law in 1985. The preexisting provisions of the Indian Act were considered discriminatory on the basis of gender and were, therefore, contrary to the Canadian Chart of Rights and Freedoms. The bill amended these provisions in accordance with gender equality.

Prior to this amendment, according to the Indian Act, Section 12(1)(a), an Indian woman who married and lost her status could still pass status to her children, but not to her children’s children. This rule became known as “the second generation cut-off.”

Under Section 12(1)(b), if an Indian woman married a non-Indian man (non-status or non-Indigenous), she would lose her status. Furthermore, if she married a status Indian man from a different band, she would lose membership in her band to become a member of her husband’s band. If widowed, she would lose membership in his band as well as the right to reside on-reserve.

• To restore Indian Status to those who had been forcibly enfranchised due to discriminatory provisions;

• To address gender discrimination of the Indian Act; and

• To allow bands to control their own band membership as a step towards self-government.

Bill C-31 allowed those who had lost status due to discriminatory provisions to apply to have their Indian status reinstated, ended the process of enfranchisement, and gave First Nations the opportunity to control their own membership.

However, it also introduced a number of new political issues, leading to the introduction of Bill C-3, or the Gender Equity in Indian Registration Act in 2011, which remains contentious to this day.

From 1991 to 1995, Nellie Cournoyea served as the sixth Premier of the Northwest Territories. She was the first female premier of a Canadian territory and the first Indigenous female premier in Canadian history.

Cournoyea was raised in a traditional lifestyle and grew up travelling and hunting along the western Arctic coastline. Her mother was an Inuvialuit woman from Herschel Island, Yukon and her father a trapper and immigrant from Norway. During the late 1940s, Cournoyea attended residential school for a brief period before running away.

Cournoyea co-founded the Committee of Original Peoples’ Entitlement (COPE) and played an active role in negotiating the final settlement of the Inuvialuit land claim in 1984. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including Officer of the Order of Canada in 2008, has served in a number of leadership roles in Indigenous organizations and boards, including Inuvialuit Development Corporation and the Nutrition North Canada Advisory Board, and is a founding member of the Northern Games Society. Cournoyea continues to support Indigenous rights, land claims and economic development in Northern Canada.

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) is one of five National Aboriginal Representative Organizations recognized by the Government of Canada. CAP began as the Native Council of Canada (NCC), established in 1971 with the goal of providing a voice and representing the interests of Métis and non-status Indians, and was reorganized as CAP in 1993. With the reorganization, CAP extended its community to include off-reserve status and non-status Indians, Métis and Southern Inuit peoples living in urban, rural and isolated areas of Canada.

Its head office located in Ottawa, CAP also consults with the United States Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on international issues of importance to Indigenous peoples. CAP policy focuses on practical issues facing Indigenous communities such as housing, environment, health, justice, and opportunities for youth. The Board of Directors, comprised of the National Chief, National Vice-Chief, National Youth Representative, and the Chief or President from each of the affiliated provincial and territorial organizations, is CAP’s decision making body, but the organization also seeks input and engages with Ministers, House of Commons and Senate Committees, federal departments, businesses, media and the public. The CAP National Youth Council (CAP NYC) is a group of Provincial Youth Representatives from across Canada who advocate on behalf of off-reserve Aboriginal youth.

Regina’s first self-identified Indigenous City Councillor was Ray Hamilton. Ray Hamilton represented Ward 7 from 1994 to 2000. Hamilton served on the Regina Police Commission, the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Commission, the Mayor’s Task Force on Indian and Métis s Initiatives, the Queen City Métis Local #34 and the Métis Society of Saskatchewan. He was a founding member of the Native Council of Canada, the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan’s Saskatoon local, and the Saskatoon Métis Friendship Centre.

National Aboriginal Day was announced in 1996 through the “Proclamation Declaring June 21 of Each Year as National Aboriginal Day.” It is a day for all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the diverse cultures and heritage as well as outstanding contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, recognized as Aboriginal peoples by the Canadian Constitution. June 21 holds cultural significance in many Indigenous cultures as it marks the arrival of the summer solstice.

The Northwest Territories established National Aboriginal Day as a statutory holiday in 2001 and the Yukon declared it a statutory holiday in 2017. There has been pressure on the federal government to extend this to the rest of Canada.

On June 21, 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to change the name of National Aboriginal Day to National Indigenous Peoples Day (NIPD).

Tamra Jewel Keepness, a five-year-old Indigenous girl originally from Whitebear First Nation, was reported missing on July 6, 2004. She had last been seen in her Regina home on Ottawa Street at approximately 11:00 p.m. the night before. The Keepness home showed no sign of forced entry or a struggle, and a massive search, the largest in Regina’s history, was undertaken by police and volunteers.

In the years since Tamra’s disappearance, more than 1500 tips have been received by police and an initial reward of $25,000 has been increased to $50,000, but the case remains unsolved. In 2014, a hand-drawn map was anonymously posted online which suggested that Tamra Keepness might be found in a well. An extensive search yielded no results.

The disappearance of Tamra Keepness still haunts many to this day. A community gathering has been held annually to honour her memory and help keep the unresolved case in the public eye. In the years since her disappearance, the issue of Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls has received increased national attention and many grassroots groups have become involved in trying to help solve cold cases such as Tamra’s.

An article published by Maclean's Magazine on January 15, 2007 claimed that Regina's North Central neighbourhood was the most dangerous in Canada. The article sparked significant controversy, with many arguing that the depiction was unfair and inaccurate. Others defended the statements made in the article and called for the community and city to acknowledge the problematic conditions in North Central.

To counter the claim that the neighbourhood was the country's worst, the community came together to share the other side of North Central's story. This began with a Smudge Walk through the neighbourhood. The annual event contributes to healing the neighbourhood and those participating in the walk through the sacred Indigenous practice of smudging.

All Nations Hope AIDS Network

Rainbow Youth Center

Miyosiwin Salon Spa

Little Memories Child Care and Regina Housing Authority

Indian Métis Christian Fellowship

The Four Directions Community Health Center

The first of its kind in Canada, mâmawêyatitân centre (pronounced ma-ma-waya-ta-tan), offers integrated services in one central location, including Scott Collegiate High School, Albert Branch Library, a community center and more.

mâmawêyatitân: Cree, for "let's all be together

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) was given a mandate to learn the truth and inform all Canadians about what occurred in Indian Residential Schools. Formally established on June 1, 2008, the TRC received a budget of $60 million to complete its work in five years. As a component of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, the TRC provided residential school survivors and others affected by the Indian Residential School experience the opportunity to share their experiences in a safe and culturally appropriate environment. The process allowed for acknowledgement, mourning, forgiveness, and healing.

a) Acknowledge Residential school experiences, impacts and consequences;

b) Provide a holistic, culturally appropriate and safe setting for former students, their families and communities as they come forward to the Commission;

c) Witness, provide support, promote and facilitate truth and reconciliation events at both the national and community levels;

d) Promote awareness and public education of Canadians about the IRS system and its impacts;

e) Identify sources and create as complete a historical record as possible of the IRS system and legacy. The record shall be preserved and made accessible to the public for future study and use;

f) Produce and submit to the Parties of the Agreement a report including recommendations to the Government of Canada concerning the IRS system and experience including: the history, purpose, operation and supervision of the IRS system, the effect and consequences of IRS (including systemic harms, intergenerational consequences and the impact on human dignity) and the ongoing legacy off the residential schools;

g) Support commemoration of former Residential School students and their families in accordance with the Commemoration Policy Directive.

Over the course of its activities, the TRC held seven national events, two regional events, and 238 days of local hearings in 77 communities across Canada and recorded 6,750 statements from residential school survivors, their family members and others. The TRC concluded that Canada’s treatment of Indigenous people at residential schools amounted to “cultural genocide” and released 94 recommendations, or “Calls to Action,” as part of its final report.

Through its final report and the 94 Calls to Action, the TRC endeavours to guide and inspire Indigenous people and non-Indigenous Canadians in a process of reconciliation and renewed relationships based on mutual understanding and respect. Truth is addressed through statement gathering, research and public education, while Reconciliation is a long-term objective that requires commitment and participation from all Canadians.

To view the 94 Calls to Action, click here

As of December 18, 2015, the work of the TRC was complete, but the process of Reconciliation continues through the work of the National Center for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), located in Winnipeg.

To view the website of the NCTR, click here
To view the archived TRC website, click here

Shannen Koostachin, a young Cree girl from Attawapiskat First Nation, an isolated community in Northern Ontario, led a movement for “safe and comfy” schools for First Nations children. As an elementary school student in Attawapiskat, her school was condemned as the result of a decades-old fuel leak. For many years, classes were held in a series of makeshift portables and promises by the federal government to provide a new school were continually reneged.

Along with her fellow students, Koostachin launched the Students Helping Students campaign using YouTube and Facebook, and the campaign spread awareness of the schooling conditions on Attawapiskat at a rapid rate. In one of the largest youth-led children right’s campaign in Canada, Koostachin and her peers won the support of thousands of young Canadians and organizations. She went on to speak to newspapers and at rallies, youth conferences, and on the steps of Parliament Hill. In 2008, at the age of 14, she was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize.

On June 1, 2010, Koostachin was involved in a fatal car accident. Following her death, Shannen's Dream was formed. The youth-driven campaign raises awareness around inequitable funding for First Nations children and calls for appropriate schools and culturally-based education.

On June 22, 2012, the day she would’ve graduated, construction started for a new school on the Attawapiskat First Nation. The new school was completed and opened on September 8, 2014.

I would like to talk to you about what it is like to be a child who grows up never seeing a real school. I want to tell you what it is like to never have the chance to feel excited about being educated. That's why some of our students begin to give up in grade 4 and grade 5. They just stop going to school. Imagine that. Imagine a child who feels they have no future even at that young age. We want our younger brothers and sisters to go to school thinking that school is a time for hopes and dreams of the future. Every kid deserves this. I would tell the children not to be afraid to follow their dreams. I would tell them to never give up. Get up, pick up your books and go to school (just not in portables).

- Shannen Koostachin

On November 14, 2011, Regina became the first city in Canada to permanently fly the Métis flag in front of a major municipal building. The flag joined the Treaty 4 flag honouring Saskatchewan’s First Nations people. Holding the flag-raising in the city where Louis Riel was executed gave the event additional significance.

Russell Fayant speaks about the history of the Métis people and the Métis flag at the Métis flag-raising in Henry Baker Hall, City of Regina, November 14, 2011.

Please note that this video is a found footage clip, and sound and picture quality are impacted.

Métis Nation of Saskatchewan president Robert Doucette speaks about Louis Riel and reconciliation at the Métis flag-raising in Henry Baker Hall, City of Regina, November 14, 2011.

Please note that this video is a found footage clip, and sound and picture quality are impacted.

Raising the Métis flag outside Regina’s City Hall, November 14, 2011.

Please note that this video is a found footage clip, and sound and picture quality are impacted.

Celebratory jigging at the Métis flag-raising outside Regina’s City Hall, November 14, 2011.

Please note that this video is a found footage clip, and sound and picture quality are impacted.

The Idle No More movement began in 2012 to protest the federal government’s introduction of Bill C-45 and quickly gained national and international attention, with many demonstrating solidarity through activities such as rallies and protests, often accompanied by round dances. Organized by Sylvia McAdam, Jessica Gordon, Sheelah McLean, and Nina Wilson, all of Saskatchewan, the movement focused on environmental concerns and Indigenous rights.

1. Repeal provisions of Bill C-45 (which include changes to the Indian Act and Navigable Waters Act which infringe on environmental protections, Aboriginal and Treaty rights) and abandon all pending legislation which does the same

2. Deepen democracy in Canada through practices such as proportional representation and consultation on all legislation concerning collective rights and environmental protections, and include legislation which restricts corporate interests

3. In accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ principle of free, prior, and informed consent, respect the right of Indigenous peoples to say no to development on their territory

4. Cease its policy of extinguishment of Aboriginal Title and recognize and affirm Aboriginal Title and Rights, as set out in section 35 of Canada’s Constitution and recommended by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples

5. Honour the spirit and intent of the historic Treaties. Officially repudiate the racist Doctrine of Discovery and the Doctrine of Terra Nullius, and abandon their use to justify the seizure of Indigenous nations’ lands and wealth

6. Actively resist violence against women and hold a national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and involve Indigenous women in the design, decision making, process and implementation of this inquiry, as a step toward initiating a comprehensive and coordinated national action plan

Attention toward the events surrounding Idle No More led to a meeting with the Prime Minister, the National Chief and other members of the Assembly of First Nations. The movement, also called a "Peaceful Revolution", is ongoing.

For more information, visit idlenomore.ca

"Our people and our Mother Earth can no longer afford to be economic hostages in the race to industrialize our homelands. It's time for our people to rise up and take back our role as caretakers and stewards of the land."

– Eriel Deranger
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation

Artist: Stacey Fayant

In 2015, the Government of Canada announced the launch of a national inquiry in response to calls to action from Indigenous families, communities and organizations. The purpose of the inquiry is to seek recommendations on actions to address and prevent violence against Indigenous women and girls.

Despite making up only four per cent of Canada’s female population, 16 percent of all women murdered in Canada between 1980 and 2012 were Indigenous. Today, Indigenous women are 5 times more likely to die of violence than any other Canadian women of the same age.

Factors in the alarmingly high rate of violence against Indigenous women include racism, sexism, poverty, homelessness, addiction and sexual exploitation, as well as historical factors such as colonialism, residential schools, the Sixties Scoop and the Indian Act.

The mission of the national inquiry into MMIWG is to learn the truth by honouring the lives and legacies of Indigenous women and girls with three goals:

• 1. Finding the truth
• 2. Honouring the truth
• 3. Giving life to the truth as a path to healing

The values of the MMIWG Inquiry include respect, honesty, fairness, courage, compassion, openness, and inclusivity. The goal is to provide those sharing their stories with a culturally safe space.

Harry Daniels, a Métis community leader from Saskatchewan, along with Leah Gardner and Terry Joudrey, worked to launch the case of Daniels v. Canada.

Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867 states that the federal government has power over the subject matter of “Indians, and Lands reserved for the Indians”. Daniels, who felt this statement to be overly broad, sought three declarations in this federal court challenge:

• 1. That Métis and non-status Indians are “Indians” under Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867;
  
• 2. That the federal Crown owes fiduciary duty to Métis and non-status Indians; and
  
• 3. That Métis and non-status Indians have the right to be consulted and negotiated with in good faith by the federal government.

On April 14, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada released the Daniels decision. In a unanimous decision and one that marked a historic victory for Indigenous peoples in Canada, the Court found that both Métis and First Nations who do not have status under the Indian Act are considered “Indians” within Section 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867.

This does not mean that Métis and non-status First Nations will be considered “status Indians” but that the federal government can legislate regarding Métis and non-status First Nations issues rather than claiming a “lack of jurisdiction”.

The Court declared that the case “represents another chapter in the pursuit of reconciliation and redress in Canada’s relationship with Indigenous peoples”.

On August 9, 2016, Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Indigenous man from Red Pheasant First Nation, died in a shooting incident on a Saskatchewan farm. Gerald Stanley, the farmer who wielded the gun that shot Boushie, was charged with the crime.

In the aftermath of the shooting, including during Stanley's highly-publicized trial, deep racial tensions were exposed throughout the province as well as on a national scale. A jury found Stanley not guilty in Boushie's death.

Reconciliation Regina, initiated by Mayor Fougere’s Council Motion in the spring of 2016, is co-facilitated by the City of Regina and the Office of the Treaty Commissioner (OTC).

The group now consists of approximately 70 Community Champions, including local organizations, community leaders, educators, Elders/Knowledge Keepers, newcomers, survivors, cultural and arts groups, governments, youth, business, faith groups and individuals.

All partners are committed to working in partnership towards a strengthened, healthy, vibrant and inclusive community.

Reconciliation in Saskatchewan is each citizen of the province taking personal responsibility to do what they can to create an interdependent and fair society where:

• • Indigenous cultures, languages, ways of knowing and governance structures are strong and sovereign; while also included in, and contributing to, the overall fabric of Saskatchewan life;
• • We share a common understanding of Saskatchewan’s history, and our personal place within it;
• • Justice for past wrongs will be achieved, and families and communities are strong and healing;
• • Safe spaces exist and skills are developed for mutual learning, communication across cultures, trust building, partnerships and shared social experiences;
• • We all enjoy a high quality of life, and full participation in the economy;
• • Governance at all levels, including institutions of education, health, justice, economy and social services, represent and benefit from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous leadership, values, history and ways of knowing.

To encourage, advocate, support, promote, take action and facilitate truth and reconciliation initiatives at the local level, in collaboration with community stakeholders.

• • Sustainable, living and evolving circle of community organizations and individuals advocating for reconciliation at the individual and organizational level;
• • All are welcome to participate in a safe space to speak without fear, with respectful, honest and open communication, guided by the wisdom of Elders/Knowledge Keepers and survivors;
• • Shared sense of leadership and a community action plan help our community to reconcile and promote healing of the past, including our history of residential schools;
• • Consensus decision-making will be sought when possible; however, when not possible, majority-based solutions, decisions and positive outcomes will be adopted to guide us in promoting healing of our community, as a whole;
• • Progress will be enhanced when we recognize and amplify the efforts of established leaders and community champions throughout Regina, Treaty 4 Territory and traditional Metis territory;
• • Acceptance of the principles of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action;
• • Recognition and implementation of the principles of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

For more information on Reconciliation Regina, click here

Opened in 1891, the Regina Indian Industrial School (RIIS) was operated by the Presbyterian Church of Canada. Located northwest of Regina on a 320-acre farm near Wascana Creek, RIIS was an industrial school, meaning that the federal government paid all school expenses until the 1893-1894 school year. After that, a per capita grant of $120 was provided. Initially the school was focused on youth in their early teens, but when per-capita funding was established the student age range expanded to incorporate children as young as three, as well as young adults in their early 20s.

CORA-B-0763

The brick structure could accommodate 150 students and was typically full. Ultimately, about 500 students attended the school during its 19 years of operation. Illnesses, mostly related to overcrowding and poor ventilation, were common at the school, with an estimated 20 percent of students dying of tuberculosis and other diseases. The curriculum was gender-segregated, with boys learning trades like farming, leatherwork and carpentry while girls focused on lessons relating to homemaking.

CORA-B-0714

Subjects unknown. If you have any information or can help identify these individuals, please contact 150Stories@regina.ca.

The school closed in 1910 due to funding issues caused by massive deficits. Recent historical research has also uncovered accusations of sexual abuse of female students. After the school was closed, the building became a jail, then a home for delinquent boys, before burning down in 1948. All that remains of the school is the graveyard, which was awarded provincial and municipal heritage status in 2017. While there are believed to be over 40 graves, all but two are unmarked. The two marked graves belong to the school principal’s children.

After sitting, largely forgotten, on the outskirts of the city for many years, the work of the Regina Indian Industrial School Commemorative Association (RIISCA) brought awareness to the existence of the RIIS cemetery. After working with other groups to conduct research on the cemetery, the RIISCA lobbied for municipal heritage designation - granted in September 2016 - followed by provincial heritage designation. On July 26, 2017, the site was designated the province's 51st Provincial Heritage Property.

Janine Windolph, president of the RIIS Commemorative Association (RIISCA), speaks about her inspiration and work with the RIISCA at the RIIS cemetery heritage designation, July 26, 2017.

Philip Ledoux, a residential school survivor, speaks about his experience during and after residential school at the RIIS cemetery heritage designation, July 26, 2017.

Heather Bear, Vice-Chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, speaks about the children buried in the cemetery at the RIIS cemetery heritage designation, July 26, 2017.

* Video created for Canada Day 2017

A heart-felt thank you to our interview participants for sharing your time and your stories with us, including:

Audrey Kaiswatum, Dr. A. Blair Stonechild, Elder Lorna Standingready, Nick Crighton, Jeanelle Mandes, Heather O'Watch, Janine Windolph, Jen Dubois, Len Daniels, Cheyanne Desnomie, Margaret Poitras, Stacey Fayant, Nelson Bird, Joely BigEagle-Kequahtooway, Creeson Agecoutay, Jamin Mike, and Tracey Dunnigan

as well as those who wish to remain anonymous.

The City of Regina Archives staff interviewed participants over the summer months of 2017 with the assistance of an Indigenous summer student. Over the winter of 2017, an Indigenous student assisted with writing content and selecting clips for inclusion in the timeline. Indigenous staff from the City of Regina participated in every step of the project, including grant writing, communications and hiring.

Interviews were conducted with thought to ensuring that Saskatchewan and Canadian privacy and access requirements were being met while following Indigenous protocols and best practices for researching within an Indigenous community.

Ownership, Control, Access and Possession (OCAP) principles were kept in mind when determining a methodology for interviews. Each interviewee signed release forms that demonstrated their consent to interviews. The final product reveals only the metadata about individuals that they were comfortable revealing. Each clip selected for inclusion was vetted by the participants to ensure that their words and intent are accurately reflected. Participants were given access to the clips and their full interviews.

Future access to the full interviews by researchers will be led by the wishes and consent of the participants themselves in accordance with the Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (LA FOIP). Interviewees received an offer of tobacco before the interview, and were given a gift for participating, in accordance with Indigenous protocol.

This project was made possible in part by the generous financial support of the Government of Canada and the Saskatchewan Lotteries Trust Fund for Sport, Culture and Recreation through SaskCulture Inc. We also acknowledge the support of the Canadian Council of Archives and the Saskatchewan Council of Archives and Archivists.

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