Part 4:
The Turtle Mountain Reserve
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1. The Turtle Mountain
Reserve (IR#60): Establishment
In
1862, Chief H'damani led his Dakota-Santee band into Manitoba,
fleeing from conflict with the U.S. Army to the south. H’damani claimed
to have bought the land referred to as “Turtle Mountain” from the
Ojibway. He sent a request to the lieutenant governor of Manitoba for
his claim to be officially recognized.
Lieutenant Governor Morris was not thrilled about giving land to
H’damani’s group so near to the restless American border. Although the
Dakota considered themselves to be residents and protectors of the
entire North American Great Plains, the British did not recognize them
as such or include them in any treaty with the Queen. But H’damani was
determined to provide for his people.
There were of course arguments against it.
The policy had been to not establish a Dakota reserve so close to the
U.S. border due to security concerns, but it was well known that
H'damani was not involved in the battle at Little Big Horn. He and his
people had arrived 14 years earlier - and posed no threat to American
citizens.
Further, to that the Dakota have been unwavering allies of Britain –
during the American war of Independence, then through the 1812 troubles
and to the present.
It turned out that not all the Turtle Mtn. Dakota wanted to leave the
area.
July
13, 1874 - The Nor'Wester
In personal meetings with Morris, he explained that his people were
struggling for survival as the buffalo herds dwindled. In addition to a
piece of land, he asked for seed to plant, implements to help work the
land, and some cattle. H'damani refused to move to the Oak Lake Reserve
when it opened in 1877, so the government finally gave in and a single
section (1 square mile) was designated as the
Turtle Mountain Reserve . It became the smallest reserve in Canada.
‘Turtle Mountain Reserve’, was adapted from a story in Vantage
Points 1.
The
site of IR#60
The
Reserve still appeared on maps from the 1920’s.
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The land’s proximity to Turtle Mountain offered H’damani’s band prime
hunting and fishing opportunities. By 1884, they had succeeded in
breaking 35 acres of land for farming using only one yoke of oxen. In
that year the only outside assistance they received was a little seed
and three bags of flour from the Canadian government.
A
detailed Reserve Plan
There are mixed accounts of how European settlers moving into the area
regarded H'damani and his band. Local histories include comments such
as: “The chief was a wise and good man, highly respected by all who
knew him”. Other settlers were apparently unhappy. A group got together
and wrote their grievances in a petition, complaining that the Dakota
were hindering their access to timber, and in some cases threatening
the settlers if they continued to go into the woods.
When L.W. Herchmer, former Divisional Indian Agent was sent to
investigate the concerns he reported that they were unfounded. It
turned out that it was the settlers who were illegally taking wood.
Herchmer’s investigation found the Turtle Mountain reserve was doing
very well under the leadership of H'damani – having broken 35 acres
with one yoke of oxen. They were building excellent houses and were
keen to get along with their settler-neighbours. He emphasized in his
report that many settlers do get on well with the Dakota.
He also claimed that the Dakota were generally very well disposed
towards the settlers, and wherever trouble has arisen it had, on all
occasions, been directly attributable to the settlers. He did
acknowledge that settlers in general had been spooked by events across
the border and that some disliked seeing Indians in possession of
desirable locations.
Certainly not everyone opposed the presence of the reserve and many
settlers got along quite well with their Dakota neighbours.
Sources:
Caldwell, Bob. Local History Curriculum. Chapter Three: The Sioux.
Kroeker, Ben. Drawing the Line. Deloraine: DTS Publishing, 1993.
Illustration: “2000-45-8.” Turtle Mountain Sioux Cemetery Records
Fonds, Series III MG15 / D12.
Boissevain Community Archives.
Photo: Provincial Archives of Manitoba. Boundary Commissioner
Photographs, 1872-74.
An excerpt from a radio broadcast “The Turtle Mountain Reserve” by
David Neufeld….
L.W.Herchmer here, former Divisional Indian Agent. I'm 73 now –
remembering some interesting times - as Canada took over the west. In
1882, for example, I was asked by Sir John A himself to investigate a
complaint around the Turtle Mountain Indian Reserve - IR60.
I was stationed in Birtle, supervising Indian Agents on 13 reserves.
What's an Indian Agent? He's a federal government appointed boss – for
a reserve – always a non-indigenous man who controls most everything on
the reserve. They hand out Treaty tokens - and - importantly, make sure
reserve residents show their pass when leaving and returning - so as to
know at all times how they interact with new settlers.
My investigation found the Turtle Mountain reserve was doing very well
under the leadership of H'damani – having broken 35 acres with one yoke
of oxen. They were building excellent houses and were keen to get along
with their settler-neighbours. The mountain offered them excellent
hunting and fishing, so, other than a little seed and some flour, they
received no government assistance. I emphasized in my report that many
settlers do get on well with the Dakota.
In my report, I made it clear that the Sioux are generally very
well disposed towards the settlers, and wherever trouble has arisen it
has, on all occasions, been directly attributable to the settlers.
Settlers in general have been spooked by events across the border and,
to be honest, dislike to see Indians in possession of desirable
locations. The Prime Minister replied saying the Turtle Mountain Dakota
should not be disturbed.
But, even so, the reserve only lasted 30 years before it was
“surrendered”. The reserve was too small (one square mile with 13
families) to warrant their own Indian Agent. And so government
bureaucrats couldn't control the assimilation process of H'damani's
people. Eventually the government paid IR60 residents $200 each to
leave. Some went to Pipestone and some to Oak Lake.
By 1909 only H'damani and his grandson remained. The government tried
to auction the land, but no bids were offered. After a few years – with
the tacit understanding that H'damani and his grandson could come and
go as they pleased - it was finally sold. But not forgotten.
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While the Turtle Mountain – Souris Plains region has never been home to
a residential school, the general mission of the residential schools
program was somewhat evident in a short-lived effort to provide
“education” for the small group of Dakota that lived on IR60* south of
Deloraine in the 1890’s.
The International Society of Christian Endeavor was an
interdenominational organization for Protestant youth in Canada,
Mexico, and
the United States. In 1892 the Deloraine Branch published a short
publication promoting the concept of a reserve school and
soliciting funds. It begins with the reminder that although we have
many church-run schools across the land, “it is a sad
fact that we still have in Canada about 55,000 pagan Indians” and that
we “as a Christian people” have an obligation to look after “the
temporal and spiritual inter- ests of the Indians. First because we
have taken their country.”
The recognition that we have “taken” the livelihood of the people who
rightfully owned the land is admirable, as the underlying as- sumption
that European society and its traditions were in every way superior was
an all-too- prevalent product of its time.
The pamphlet goes on to re- mind us that the natives are living in
poverty (of body and soul) while the Euro-settlers are swimming in
wealth. Unfortunately their bias shows in their description of that
poverty: “many of them are perish- ing in darkness and sin.”
As we Canadians are begin- ning to acknowledge, some of the same
assumptions were at the root of the residential schools disaster. It
all started with some good, but often misguided, intentions. But even
without abusive teachers, inadequate funds and chronic mis- management,
the flawed concept was bound to fail.
In 1892 the local Endeavor So-ciety obtained some funds and set up a
school in a donated cabin on the reserve. Soon, with Rev. A.F. McKenzie
and his wife in charge, classes were being held and a garden was being
tended by children. They were learning hymns. A night school for young
adults was in operation. Neighbouring communities were taking note.
The Deloraine group seems to have taken a leadership position in
promoting the idea of on-reserve day schools. A Central Committee was
formed in Deloraine in 1894 to “extend the work,” with the goal of
“reaching all the neglected bands in the Province...”
The views expressed in the promotional pamphlet display both an
understanding of the root of the plight of Indigenous Peoples and an
all-too-familiar paternalism and European bias.
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“The
Indians feel their sad position and their hopeless poverty is as a
canker on their hearts, corroding their spirits and blighting the free
and no- ble qualities of their nature. A short time since an old man
was seen sitting on the ground weeping bitterly, when asked why, he re-
plied, ‘I see the prospects of life fad- ing away before my eyes; once
we had everything, all the land and all the game, but now we have
nothing’. ”
While we can take comfort in the fact that they recognized that “The
Indians have the same capabilities, the same emotions and aspirations,
sorrows and hopes as we have...” we now know that the prescription for
“civilizing” them was neither appropriate nor workable. The good news
is that Aboriginal cultures have survived, and in this case, some good
may well have come out of the local effort.
It seems the school was short lived and that the local Indian agent
preferred not to support it. In fact he advocated for closing the re-
serve and therefore was against any efforts to establish a viable
community. He wanted students to attend the residential school in
Regina.
Without the support of Indian Affairs, the school faced bankruptcy and
closed.
Sources:
Central Committee. “An Appeal to the Christian
Endeavor Societies, Epworth leagues of Christian Endeavor, and the
Christian peo- ple of Manitoba. In behalf of our Suffering Indians.”
Boissevain Library & Archives Oral History Collection. Deloraine.
1894.
The Deloraine branch of the Chris- tian Endeavor Society solicited
funds for the Mission School on IR #60
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In 1889 Indian Agent J.A. Markle, based in Birtle, raised the
possibility of relocating H’damani’s band. He
claimed that because the Turtle Mountain location was remote, it didn’t
lend itself to
“supervision.” The proximity to the US border was also considered to be
a problem. The superintendent general agreed and noted that they should
be moved to a location “where they would be looked after properly.”
Slowly, families did decide to relocate, some encouraged by a $200
government pay-off. By 1909, only H’damani, his grandson Chaske (later
known as Sitting Eagle) and a few others remained. The government then
ignored H’damani’s authority and convinced the remaining families to
sign a release for the reserve, and the land was eventually sold by
public auction in 1911. The reserve officially ceased to exist.
On November 21st, 1913, H’damani and his remaining family were paid a
small token—nowhere near the amount that the land was worth—and
instructed to remove themselves. H'damani's grandson, Sitting Eagle,
lived out the last dozen years of his life in a small log cabin in the
northwest corner of the former reserve. He died there alone in April of
1944 and is buried in an unmarked grave in the Deloraine Cemetery.
For the next two decades Indian Affairs and their agents did everything
in their power to close IR60 and H’Damani and his follow- ers
resisted. In the end Indian Af- fairs prevailed and IR60 was closed in
1913.
On May 11, 2000, the Canupawakpa Dakota First Nation requested that the
Indian Claims Commission hold an inquiry into the Turtle Mountain IR60
surrender. The Canupawakpa Reserve is home to descendants of H’damani’s
band, and they were supported in their claim by the Sioux Valley Dakota
First Nation. In short, the Canupawakpa claim was that H’damani and his
band were improperly forced out of their home and not fairly
compensated.
Dr.
Peter Lorenz Neufeld grew up in the Whitewater area. In 1992 The
Deloraine Times & Star published a detailed report about the Turtle
Mountain Reserve and the related land claims. The report is available
at www.vantagepoints.ca
The commission reviewed the history of the Dakota and examined the
Canupawakpa contention that Indian Affairs had manipulated the process
by which band members voted - they had selectively conferred
eligibility on some and not
on others, based
on improper evidence of residency. They reviewed evidence
of mismanagement and bad faith by Indian Affairs and its agents.
In 2003 The Indian Claims Commission issued their report. They
concluded that: “Turtle Mountain IR60 was validly surrendered in
accordance with the pro- visions of the Indian Act and that Canada, as
fiduciary in taking this surrender, conducted itself as a reasonable
and prudent trustee.”
In effect...they followed the rules that existed at the time. They
don’t seem to have ad- dressed the real issue, that the rules
themselves were the problem.
The board did recommend that the “Government of Canada recognize the
historical connection of the descendants of the Turtle Mountain Band to
the lands once occupied by Turtle Mountain IR60 and, in particular, the
lands taken up by the burial of their an- cestors.”
They further recommended that the Government of Canada acquire an
appropriate part of the lands once taken up as Turtle Mountain IR60, to
be suitably designated and recognized for the important ancestral
burial ground that it is.
The Residents
On March 8, 1898, Indian Agent Markle wrote to the Indian Commissioner
that two families living on Turtle Mountain (likely Iyo-jan-jan and
Widow Kasto) had agreed to move to the Oak Lake reserve if the
Department of Indian Affairs would erect dwellings for them in their
new location. Markle also mentioned that during the attempts to
relocate the Band to Moose Mountain, a similar “inducement” was
authorized by the department.
On May 24, 1898, Markle reported that three families (Iyo-jan-jan,
Widow Kasto, and Kibana Hota) had moved from Turtle Mountain to the Oak
Lake reserve. He included an additional request from Kibana Hota for a
sum of $40 to help in constructing his new home. Widow Kasto also
requested the reservation of two small parcels of land at the Turtle
Mountain IR 60 site for a burial plot.
Hinhansunna, filled in an Application for admission into Oak Lake Band
#59, so did George Nayioza, also Sam Eagle #10, likewise, John Matoita
#12. The Applications were dated August 3rd 1908.
A fifth male member, Mahtohkita, of Turtle Mountain petitioned on
September 16, 1908, to become a member of Oak Lake.
On March 11, 1909, he again visited the reserve and found that two
members, Bogaga and Tetunkanopa, had “declared their desire to
surrender the reserve lands; whilst the third, Hdamani #1, wishes to
hear direct from you.”
Three people (Bogaga, Tetunkanopa, and his son Charlie Tetunkanopa)
voted in favour of the surrender of the Turtle Mountain reserve. Two
people (H’damani and his grandson Chaske) voted against surrender.
Why Turtle Mountain Was Important
There were many reasons why H’damani resisted moving. To them the
Turtle Mountain location offered security and continuity. The wooded
hilly area had been a wintering place long before the Reserve was
established. It was home. It offered wood for heat, water, medicines;
everything was there for a good camp.
How important was it that it was right beside their neighbours, because
the boundary was pretty invisible yet, your relatives were just across
the line, so to speak.
Of course, the Government claimed that the nearness presented a
security concern, despite the fact that there had never been a problem,
It appears that the real issue for the Government and the Indian Agent
was one of control and convenience for them. They saw the small reserve
as inefficient. Another issue was that it was quite it far from
the Indian agent.
Sources:
Budd, Brian. “Unist’ot’en and the limits of recon-
ciliation in Canada.” The Conversation. 2019.
http://theconversation.com/ unistoten-and-the-limits-of-reconciliation-
in-canada-109704.
Newspaper Clippings:
Nor’wester. Winnipeg. Nov 21, 1864.
The Deloraine Time and Star. Deloraine. Jan 22, 1992.
Photo:
Teyana Neufeld
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