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1885 REVISITED: FIRST NATIONS VINDICATED
Chief Young Chippewayan of Stoney Knoll band #107 (standing far left) with relatives from the Thunderchild First Nation. Archive photo.
On August 23, 2015 the Beardy’s-Okemasis First Nation traditional pow-wow took place. This day also marked the anniversary of the Treaty 6 negotiation and signings of 1876. Chief Rick Gamble of Beardy’s-Okemasis First Nation was asked to comment on the significance of Treaty 6 and how it relates to the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. The question was being asked by independent film producers, Brad and Adrienne Leitch, who are doing a documentary on the Stoney Knoll Band #107 also known as the Young Chippewayan First Nation. The purpose of the question is to further document an important part of Saskatchewan history and to discover what was the fall-out for the so-called rebellion bands after
TRC Report and Recommendations
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1885. In the case of the Stoney Knoll Band, they dispersed. Many descendants can be found in membership rolls of Battlefords First Nations and some as far away as Montana. One theory of why the Stoney Knoll Band dispersed after 1885 was the backlash for the so-called acts of disloyalty, seen to be treasonous in nature. There was serious retribution for many suspected participants of the Resistance. To avoid persecution they fled, and while gone, the Federal Government appropriated their Treaty Land and re-allocated it to settlers. This was the ultimate price for a Treaty signatory. In the case of Beardy’s-Okemasis, one act of retribution was the withholding of Treaty
Photos: 2015 Saskatchewan First Nations Summer Games
TRIBE’s 20th Year Anniversary
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annuity payments for five years after 1885. They and other First Nations filed a claim, which is represented by Lawyer Ron Maurice. Recently in 2015, the Specific Claims Tribunal ruled that the Federal Government had wrongly withheld Treaty payments and the First Nations are now seeking compensation. Chief Rick Gamble stated that Canadians need to understand that we are all Treaty people. We agreed to share the land. Our Treaty partners are enjoying their Treaty Rights by generating wealth from the land in form of Farming, Ranching, Resource Development, Etc. It is never too late to correct past wrongs and we owe it to our ancestors to do that collectively in Canada. •
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