Τ INDIAN AFFAIRS, 1840-1867 HE first division of this subject dealt with the military administration of the Indian department. In this section are traced the efforts which were made to civilize, educate and christianize the Indians, the trend of government policy and the activity and development of the Indian department during the period of United Canada. It was in this province, and principally in Upper Canada, that the greatest interest in Indian affairs was manifested and the greatest advancement made; but Indian affairs in the Maritime Provinces of the crown have also to be dealt with, and it is deemed best to make provincial divisions. The subject will therefore be treated under the general headings of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. R I THE PROVINCE OF CANADA ORGANIZED EFFORT EFERENCE will be made to correspondence which occurred some years before the Province of Canada was formed, for all mention of the advanced policy of the government was reserved for this section, although Sir John Colborne, who advised the government to change the aim of the Indian department from laisser-faire to organized effort, was appointed lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada in 1828. As is frequently the case, the interest of the authorities was attracted and stimulated by the success of private undertakings. It was undoubtedly the results which had followed the endeavour of Peter Jones and his brother, humble adherents of the Wesleyan Methodist connection, to raise the Mississagas from their condition of wretchedness, which led to the adoption by the government of a progressive policy for all the Indians under its charge. Since Sir John Colborne drew the attention of Sir James Kempt to the success of this private endeavour, there has never been a lapse in the paternal care and oversight of the Indians. He said in his letter of May 7, 1829: A very beneficial change has been produced among the Indians along the River Credit. If the order and regularity which has been established among them can be extended to the other tribes in this Province and a fund created for their future support, by authorizing their lands to be leased, and in some cases to be sold, the system which has involved H.M. Government in an enormous expense may be discontinued. The Indians of Lower Canada were not in such a desperate state as to require the special attention of the government. They had been for a long time in contact with civilization; the period of exhaustion which every native race must endure at some time in its history had been passed, and they had rallied. In 1842 there were about 3727 known to the government, which number did not, of course, include the hunting Indians of the northern interior. This population was scattered between the seven permanent settlements, ministered to by priests of the Roman Catholic Church, cultivating small farms and gardens, and living in houses in a certain degree of comfort. The contrast is great between the description of the untilled domain of the western Indians and the state of squalor and debauchery in which they lived, and that of the condition of the Caughnawaga Indians, with their two thousand acres of cultivated lands, their stone houses and barns. Although members of the reserves had been educated, no general effort to establish schools had been made, and the instruction of their spiritual advisers tended altogether towards their moral welfare. In some respects, at least, Upper Canada might have taken heart from the results obtained in the lower province. But an effort nearer home led to the emulation of its success. The village upon which the future settlements in Upper Canada were to be modelled was situated on the Credit River. In about four years the Mississaga Indians are said to have changed from a wandering and dissolute band to a contented and progressive community. Two hundred people were in residence; twenty-seven houses had been built, with a church and a house for the missionary; cattle and horses had been acquired. The expenditure had been made from their own funds, for the land surrendered by the Mississagas had been sold at an early date, and the proceeds had been wisely invested by the government in these improvements. Under the influence of this colonizing experiment, and urged by the strong recommendation of Sir John Colborne, Governor Kempt reported that the most effectual means of ameliorating the condition of the Indians, of promoting their religious improvement and education, and of eventually relieving His Majesty's government from the expenditure of the Indian department were: Ist. To collect the Indians in considerable numbers, and settle them in villages with a due portion of land for their cultivation and support. 2nd. To make such provision for their religious improvement, education, and instruction in husbandry as circumstances may from time to time require. 3rd. To afford them such assistance in building their houses; rations; and in procuring such seed and agricultural implements as may be necessary, commuting when practicable a portion of their presents for the latter. These suggestions were approved by the Lords of the Treasury and the secretary of state, but the whole expense of the Indian department was not to exceed £20,000. As this sum was to include the cost of the presents and the pay of the officials, very little was left for the contemplated innovations in management. Sir John Colborne, however, continued his agitation for a progressive policy, and obtained leave to apply a portion of the annuities to the erection of houses, the purchase of agricultural implements and stock. Settlements were speedily formed at Coldwater and the Narrows of Lake Simcoe, on the River Thames, and on Lake St Clair. Houses were built, schools established, and competent farmers appointed as instructors, the whole cost being defrayed from the surplus of the imperial grant and the annuities of the Indians. The results, as reported a few years later by the superintendents, were gratifying; wigwams had been exchanged for log-houses, and cultivated fields surrounded them. The dress, demeanour and habits of many of the Indians showed how successful had been the efforts to raise them from their state of squalor, dejectedness and intemperance. The success of these establishments led Sir John Colborne to undertake the settlement on Manitoulin Island of the more uncivilized Indians who roved in the Lake Huron district, and others who were without a fixed habitat. In July 1829 he had sent a verbal message, by Lieutenant-Colonel Mackay, to the tribes who had assembled to receive their present at the Island of St Joseph: Children, I thank the Great Master of Life for having permitted you to meet, after the dreary cold season, and to hear what your Great Father proposes for your future happiness. Children, It is the wish of your Great Father that all his red children should become civilized; and for this purpose he has named a place near Penetanguishene, to settle all those who wish for the change. He will furnish a few of each tribe with cattle, farming implements, and materials to assist in building them houses; and for the young he will provide a school, with teachers, and a minister; and also mechanics, to instruct them in habits of industry. Children, I am aware that you cannot all change your present mode of life immediately, but some of you have it in your power, and others will, in a short time, find it to their interest to join the settlement. You are all, without exception, invited. The Ottawas have a large island (the Great Maniyon), near Penetanguishene, on which the land is good, and where there is abundance |