Globe2Go, the digital newspaper replica of The Globe and Mail

DELEGATION BRINGS GRIEVANCES ON RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS, OTHER ISSUES TO FEDERAL OFFICIALS

In January, 1911, a small delegation representing Treaty 4 bands travelled to Ottawa to present First Nations grievances directly to Wilfrid Laurier’s Liberal government. Not only did the delegates meet face to face with the country’s two senior Indian Affairs officials, cabinet minister Frank Oliver and his deputy Frank Pedley, but the discussions also lasted a remarkable five days. Louis O’Soup from Cowessess First Nation, who had been present at the signing of Treaty 4 almost 40 years earlier, talked about his people’s inability to make a living because they had little control over their lives. Other speakers raised a number of related concerns: the residential schools experience, the permit system, the ban on religious ceremonies and the removal of chiefs. They also demanded to know what had happened to the money secured from the sale of surrendered reserve lands. During the daily meetings, the two federal officials repeatedly assured the delegation that Treaty 4 bands were not being cheated; privately, the Indian Affairs department dismissed the delegates as “a few misguided malcontents.” When the meeting concluded on this day in 1911, the only concession was that O’Soup be provided with an artificial leg to replace the right limb he had lost in an accident.

NEWS

en-ca

2022-01-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://globe2go.pressreader.com/article/281582359020030

Globe and Mail