Before the arrival of the fur traders, explorers and settlers, the entire region had been inhabited or visited by Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit people. It is their traditional territory. This is only a small glimpse into Indigenous history in the region.
Many of the references in the Edmonton Bulletin about Indigenous people give information as to how the North’s settlement and development affected people. This is clear in the dark history that developed in relationships between Indigenous people and settlers. For example, the newspaper uses “half-breed” for Indigenous people of mixed blood.
Warning: Some of this content may bring up distress in some readers. We mention a brief history of missions and residential schools in this article. At the time of publication, the Residential School Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) is available 24 hours a day for anyone experiencing pain due to residential schools.
Indigenous History: A Key Part of Fur Trade
Four feet of deep snow melting too fast in March 1882 flooded the Lesser Slave Lake Region. The weather was damaging the spring beaver hunt and significantly affecting the finances of the Indigenous trappers.
A winter’s catch of fur for one Indigenous trapper around Fort Vermilion was generally between 200 and 1,500 skins. Trappers sold or traded those skins for goods ranging from $25 to $1,350, which would be approximately $800 to $43,500 in 2021. In 1896, two skins would buy a pound of tea or four yards of print and ten skins: a blanket.
In 1888, beavers were becoming extremely scarce in the smaller streams around Lesser Slave Lake. One Indigenous trapper would bring in a single beaver pelt when he usually had 100! The cause of this was puzzling locals. Beavers on the larger rivers were not affected, and it did not look like disease or starvation. Since beavers were both fur-bearing animals and food, the man nearly starved to death.
Traditional Food Sources and Supply
There was great starvation among the Indigenous people of Lesser Slave Lake in the winter of 1881-82 due to scarcity of moose and fish. People could not be out catching until drifting ice on the lake melted.
People at Peace River were facing starvation in the winter of 1886-87. The rabbits, lynx and prairie chickens disappeared. Moose were scarce. Food was so lacking that people were worrying about starving during the winter.
Several Beaver (Dane-zaa) people starved to death in the Upper Peace River Region during the winter of 1889-90. There were few moose and other animals. The once abundant game was now scarce for everyone, making it difficult for the Hudson’s Bay Company, traders and missionaries to help.
Epidemics That Impacted Indigenous People
Indigenous people in the region faced two historical and significant outbreaks between 1880 and 1896.
Measles spread throughout many regional settlements in the winter of 1886-87. At Lesser Slave Lake, 66 people lost their lives before October 12th. The number was 150 between Lesser Slave, Whitefish and Sturgeon Lake settlements by January.
Scarlet fever and diphtheria infections erupted during the winter of 1893-94. The family provider would be unable to hunt if they were sick or taking care of a sick family member. It did not matter that animals were plentiful in the region that year. This inability to harvest food or fur would have further weakened the population.
Cultural Collisions: Colonial and Indigenous Law
In the fall of 1887, Canadian (colonial) and Indigenous law collided.
Michel and Cecil Courterielle had to kill Marie Courterielle, who had become a wehtigo. Marie was Michel’s wife and Cecil’s mother. Under Indigenous law, it was the obligation of the nearest family members to kill her before she harmed those around her. Under Canadian law, this was considered murder.
Police arrived to arrest both Michel and Cecil at Lesser Slave Lake. Neither hiding what they did. They did not resist. Likely, they were thinking it was just something to be sorted out.
Police were taking the Courterielles to Edmonton for trial, along with John Ward, who was brought to be a witness against them. The court found Michel and Cecil guilty of manslaughter and sentenced them to six years of hard labour.
Cecil, the son, escaped from the police and began making his way back to Lesser Slave Lake. Ward — the witness — was also on his way back with a party escorting him. Cecil met them and had a meal together. They clearly were not afraid.
Months later, Cecil was again living at the lake following his “ordinary way of life.” The community did not feel he should be taken into custody again, as he had done nothing wrong.
Michel — who was in his late 70s — had been put in the Manitoba penitentiary. In 1888, Father Lacombe made a trip to Ottawa, where he met with the minister of justice and asked for a pardon. The minister granted it. Michel was released from prison, returning home in June 1889.
Residential Schools and Missions
The missionaries stated their purpose for being in the North was to convert the Indigenous people to their point of view. They believed their own religious practices were the only right ones. The missionaries did not seem to question whether the Indigenous people did not feel they needed saving or that their “heathen practices” had sustained them and their communities for generations. They did not seem to care that their actions were erasing Indigenous traditions and people from history.
Missionaries found the children easier to control and influence, as they were quick to learn. In 1896, Rev. Robinson was erecting a building for church and school purposes. He expected to open the school with 10 or 15 children as pupils. At St. Luke’s Mission in Fort Vermilion, there was an average attendance of 15 to 20 children.
There was an “Indian School” at Wabasca. Cree people were the intended converts. There were 30 to 40 baptized in the missions at Wabasca and Whitefish every year.
The missionaries said that outwardly the Indigenous people appear “civilized,” having all but given up their native dress. However, they still observed traditional spiritual practices, including the tea dance. “All Indians who are baptized by the missionaries are required to renounce these heathen customs,” one missionary told the press.
Indigenous Impacts is one of the main focuses or themes in Alberta History: Lesser Slave Lake Region: News Reviews Volume 1: 1880-1896. This book focuses on the Lesser Slave Lake region, which became part of the Treaty 8 territory in 1899. The articles are from an earlier time. To learn more, click here to check out our latest publication.