By Dorthea CalverleyIn Sessional Paper No. 28 [1912, p.60] of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, Superintendent Sanders made an interesting comment about the “Sicanni” Indians around Fort Nelson. “The Sicannis, a British Columbia tribe, near Fort Nelson and on the borders of my district, are reported truculent and averse to the advent of the white… Read More

In 1911 (according to the Handbook of the Indians of Canada, published by the Geographic Board of Canada) the population of the various divisions had been as follows: Yellowknives 180 Dogribs 178 Hares (approx.) 3500 Slaves 566 Chipewyan 1865 Beavers 380 Sarsi 205 Sekani 98 _______ Total 6972

From an unnumbered map published by the Surveys and Mapping Branch of the Dept. of Mines and Technical Surveys, and compiled by the Indian Affairs Branch of the Dept. of Citizenship and Immigration.   In the Peace River area of Alberta: Cree Bands Fort Chipewyan – Lake Athabasca Cree – Lac Clair Little Red River… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley Part I: The Historical Background of theFt. St. John Reserve Land. The Indian Reserves in northern British Columbia are unique. Treaty No. 8, signed in 1899, stipulated that it covered the northeastern corner of British Columbia. At that time, title to the land referred to was vested in the Provincial Government, which was not… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley  An important settlement of gas royalty claims by the Slavey Indians near Fort Nelson was announced on January 7, 1980. Twelve million dollars was awarded to the bands near Fort Nelson, in compensation for mineral rights which they lost when they acquired their new reserves at Halfway and other locations after they… Read More

 By Dorthea H. Calverley A little settlement near Grande Prairie is named La Glace — “ice” in French. It is a rich farming area, peopled with descendants of early pioneers, among them a number of Scandinavians, but few if any French. There is no big river nearby where French voyageurs ever paddled the fur trade… Read More

By Dorthea Calverley  Even the most intelligent and progressive of the native people had difficulty conforming to the rules and regulations of the white man’s world. Napoleon Thomas (or Tomas) was no exception. His “case history” would illustrate the problems the officials had in integrating two opposing philosophies. The laws as laid down in statutes… Read More

 Canadian National Livestock Records show that some of the Cree Metis who began to settle the Peace country in the very early ‘twenties were seriously interested in permanent settlement and gainful enterprise other than trapping. We cannot accept as fact the widely held view that they were primarily fugitives from the Northwest Rebellions in Manitoba… Read More

Interviewed by Dorthea CalverleyCross-posted: 18-014: Peter Campbell (Interviews with Old Timers) PETER CAMPBELL: I was telling you about the early people, – fur buyers, teachers, businessmen, and others who arrived in Grande Prairie when I was young. I remember the buyer, John McAuley, who was buying fur from the Indians and Metis people. So was… Read More

 By Lee J. Phillips, 1973In Centennial year 1967, the Department of Indian Affairs moved the remains of Louson Moostos and his wife Nanath Moostos from their graves twenty miles south of Enilda to new graves in the Sucker Creek Cemetery, where they are marked by impressive tombstones. Services were conducted in the Catholic Church by… Read More