Lawrence Vankoughnet

Lawrence Vankoughnet was an agent with Canada's Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) in the late 19th century. Vankoughnet moved quickly up the ranks of the DIA, beginning as a clerk with family connections to prime minister John A. Macdonald. He worked jobs ranging from chief civil servant to deputy superintendent. After a 3-month sick leave for a "disordered nervous system", he returned to work. Vankoughnet was noted by many historians to be the man who cut costs on the rations the government supplied to the reserves. Despite only visiting the reserves once, where he was reluctant to socialize with the chiefs, Vankoughnet announced his change of policy plans in Battleford shortly afterwards: Indians would only be supplied with rations if they were unable to sustain themselves. Vankoughnet’s goals as deputy superintendent of the DIA was to keep costs to a minimum. He thought that so long as they were supplying reserve peoples with rations, they would remain dependent on the government and therefore a significant burden to their expenditures.

The Department of Indian Affairs and the loss of the buffalo

Relationships between settlers and Indigenous populations shifted drastically around the same time that Plains bison (buffalo) populations disappeared from the plains. With the loss of the buffalo came the loss of the nomadic lifestyles of the indigenous peoples. Their freedom was not something that they could maintain. With the collapse in the 1870s being something that many were not expecting, the government’s ability to supply adequate food was insufficient. Lack of food on reserve land combined with close living conditions and widespread poverty brought on devastating illnesses, including tuberculosis. Many historians viewed TB as the main killer of early reserve populations despite its presence in populations beforehand. As the decline of buffalo increased, so did the Metis and Indigenous' concern for their way of life.

When the Liberal government of Alexander Mackenzie came into power in 1873, they began to hesitantly prepare the west for settlement. With Fort Laurent on the proposed railway route, Lawrence Clarke, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the federal government authorities sought control over the buffalo and pemmican supply- wanting it out of metis hands.

The Numbered Treaties: The 1870s

Treaties were decided orally and later finalized in writing. First Nations people saw oral words to be as binding as written words, however, the government saw what was written as the final. Mistranslations often meant that what First Nations agreed to was not what they received. In 1873, the government began changing how they approached the treaty making process. A new chief negotiator and crucial Metis intervention were beneficial for both parties.

In 1875, Treaty Six was successfully negotiated at Fort Carlton with the presence of a police force. Big Bear, a chief of the Cree people, refused to sign- worried about a hanging in the future. He was the first major chief on the Canadian Prairies to not sign. The heart of the fertile belt could now be prepared for settlers.

When John A. Macdonald's Conservatives took over in 1878, development in the west took off. The colonization company scheme and the creation of the Canadian Pacific Railway was seen as the key to a large influx of money.

Natives in northwestern Saskatchewan and Alberta who were not part of Treaty Six asked the government for assistance. Since the northern land was not suitable for agriculture, the government did not desire the land for settlement. Lawrence Vankoughnet made his point clear alongside Macdonald, in a letter written on February 22, 1890, saying that the making of a Treaty would be postponed until settlement was required.

Big Bear was a big influence on the plains people. He encouraged united peace and defiance by leaving reserve lands and travelling as a group. Off reserve land, they received no rations from the government. In 1884, he organized a thirst dance at Battleford. A thirst dance was a traditional spiritual festival which involved a gathering of many Indian bands together. The government became aware of the Indian mobilization and Hayter Reed, along with the DIA and police force were present- nearly avoiding bloody confrontation. Shortly after the Thirst Dance at Battleford, Big Bear’s son and Indian chief Wandering Spirit got caught up in a fight with incomers and blood was shed against Big Bear’s wishes. The men were arrested, along with Big Bear, despite his plea for peaceful protest.

Since Big Bear was not directly involved with the killings, he was tried for treason and remained in prison for nearly a year. His head was shaved, he was taught carpentry and was baptized. Big Bear was released due to poor health and died a year later.

The spring of 1885 saw a series of what many historians describe as "isolated and sporadic events". Cree violence was aimed at agents who acted beyond their granted authority. Metis populations also began their insurrection in the east. Dominion authorities began their hunt for the Cree leaders responsible for the killings in the summer of 1885. They were found by troopers, starving, and were sentenced to death in Battleford. Dewdney and Reed insisted that the hangings were public and hence the end of the Cree resistance was marked.

What started as a peaceful protest ended in a two-week military campaign and a loss of negotiable treaties. Louis Riel and his metis followers tried unsuccessfully to rouse Indigenous peoples and angry settlers together against the government and form their own provisional government, with Riel as the leader. Commencing on March 19, the battle of Batoche was brief. The Metis were outnumbered and under armed. The result saw the execution of Louis Riel- who was tried for treason- and stricter regulations and policy in place to control the metis and Indigenous peoples in the years to follow.