Category: Laura Golebiowski

“Am I Going to Get Anything Out of the Country if I Go and Fight for It?”: Red Deer Industrial School Survivors in World War One

“Am I Going to Get Anything Out of the Country if I Go and Fight for It?”: Red Deer Industrial School Survivors in World War One

Jared

Editor’s note: November 8 is Indigenous Veterans Day, a time to commemorate the service and sacrifice of Indigenous Veterans and acknowledge the historical injustices that many faced during and after their military service. This post also relates to residential school histories. If reading this is causing pain or bringing back distressing memories, please call the Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419. The Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day and can also provide information on other health supports provided by the Health Canada Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program.

The banner image above is “Arras Front, Dury,” April 1919. Canadian Official War Photograph O.4496. The artist of the overlaid beaded poppy is Tiffany Dettieh.

Written by: Laura Golebiowski (Indigenous Consultation Adviser) in collaboration with Saddle Lake Cree Nation

Between 1914 and 1918, more than 400 western Canadian Natives enlisted and fought for Canada. They suffered casualties at a greater rate than that of the non-Indian Canadian soldiers who fought overseas. For their sacrifice they gained little in return.

-L. James Dempsey, in Warriors of the King: Prairie Indians in World War One

Many Indigenous men who enlisted in World War One were heralded for the skills they brought from their home communities and culture: patience, stealth and marksmanship. But some were just boys, who spent most of their childhood sequestered in residential school.

When Britain declared war in August 1914, Red Deer Industrial School was in its 21st year of operation. Forty-seven boys and 35 girls were enrolled, including 25 children from the Saddle Lake Agency, comprised in part by the Nations contemporarily known as Saddle Lake Cree Nation and Whitefish (Goodfish) Lake First Nation #128.

Children continued to labour to support school operations. “The half-day system is followed and the older pupils work on the farm and at housework.” At the time, the school buildings were falling into disrepair. However, planned improvements to the school were halted because of the outbreak of the war. First Nations were becoming increasingly frustrated with the living conditions and the extreme distance between Red Deer and the children’s home communities.

In his book Warriors of the King: Prairie Indians in World War I, L. James Dempsey writes: “Dissatisfaction with school life and a need for excitement probably best explain why a number of school-aged Natives ran away to enlist.” At Red Deer, at least three boys ran away from the school to enlist.

Ned Seenum, Louie Seenum and Frank Makokis were three boys from Saddle Lake Agency, forced to attend Red Deer Industrial School in the early 1900s. Ned Seenum had attended the school the longest; having been admitted on November 13, 1908, at the age of seven. Frank Makokis was admitted on November 21, 1910, at the age of 10; Louie Seenum was admitted on August 14, 1912, at the age of 12. Little is known about the boys’ experience at Red Deer. We can assume they were assigned the vocation of farming. Ned is noted as assisting with the fencing of the school’s new hog pasture.

On November 21, 1916, Ned, Louie and Frank each signed their respective attestation papers to enlist in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force. To do so, they escaped Red Deer Industrial School, made their way to Calgary and lied about their age. Each stated that he was born in 1898—an exaggeration of at least two years. The boys left Canada on December 15, 1916, and arrived in England on December 28.

An excerpt from Ned Seenum’s military personnel records, indicating that his last address was Red Deer Industrial School. First Word War Personnel Records. Source: Seenum, Ned. RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 8764 – 47, Library and Archives Canada.

It did not take long for their absence to be noticed. On December 8, 1916, Red Deer Industrial School Principal J. F. Woodsworth wrote the Minister of Militia and Defence in Ottawa:

The matter is in reference to three Indian boys, pupils of this school, who recently ran away and enlisted in the above named [battalion]. The parents are half frantic about the matter and wish the boys returned, so I am writing in their behalf. None of the boys are yet 17 years old age, although they might be taken for such, and no doubt gave wrong ages.

“Enlistment of Indians for Overseas Service, WWI.” RG24-C-1-a, Volume number: 1221, File number: HQ-593-1-7, File part: 1. Source: Library and Archives Canada.

Per Ned Seenum’s military records, he began the return journey home to Canada on March 23, 1917. He was discharged from the military on May 6, 1917: “Under Age, returned from England.” Like his last address, Ned’s intended place of residence upon military discharge was listed as Red Deer Industrial School. However, Principal Woodsworth did not allow for Ned’s return. “Discharged after running away and going overseas in 1916,” was the remark made in the student register.

One can question if Woodsworth wanted Ned, Frank and Louie to return to Canada at all, or whether he viewed remaining overseas in active service as the nobler choice for the children. “If anything can be done to have these boys returned,” he wrote to Ottawa in 1916, “it would be a great comfort to the ignorant parents who cannot understand the meaning of this war and who know only the horror of it.”

Eneas Makokis, from Saddle Lake, was born on August 9, 1897, to parents John and Eliza. He entered Red Deer Industrial School on December 9, 1910, at the age of 13 with his older brother Zaccheus. Eneas had previously spent seven years at the day school in Onion Lake.

Eneas Makokis, Red Deer. Ca 1910-1915. MG 593 Alfred Hives Collection, P3315. Source: City of Red Deer Archives.

Eneas reached 18 years of age at Red Deer and subsequently was “honourably” discharged. The principal remarked that he was a good farmer. Returning to Saddle Lake, Eneas is documented in the 1916 census as a labourer on the reserve, living with his brother Zaccheus. Eneas reportedly wrote the school advising that he was enjoying attending meetings of the Epworth League—a Methodist young adult association.

When he was 19 years old, Eneas returned to Red Deer to enlist in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force. On January 30, 1917, Eneas signed his attestation papers to the 50th battalion. His father John Makokis and sister Mary Hunter are listed as his next of kin. On March 28, 1917, Eneas departed Halifax at 6 a.m. and arrived in Liverpool on April 7.

In September 1918, Eneas and his battalion fought in the Second Battle of Arras near Dury, France. The war diaries of the 50th Canadian Infantry Battalion state that on September 2, the weather was fine with a southwest wind. Firing began at 5 a.m. “Either side opened fire and furnished the heaviest and most effective barrage ever experienced by our troops.”

A map of Eneas Makokis’ movements and final resting place. Map credit: Robert H. Gustas.

Eneas was hit with shrapnel in the head and body. Injured, he was transported approximately 80 kilometres north to where the First Canadian Casualty Clearing Station had just set up at Agnez-lès-Duisans. He was one of 900 patients received by the station that day.

Eneas died of his injuries at the clearing station. He was only 21 years old. He was buried in the Ligny St. Flochel British Cemetery, far from his family, his Nation and the country he was fighting for.

Eneas Makokis’ grave. Photo credit: Phil Stevenson, findagrave.com, June 3, 2024.

L. James Dempsey writes: “When the Indian soldiers came home they believed they were returning to an enlightened society for which many of them had fought and died. Overseas they had been exposed to new ideas which had broadened their outlook and their expectations. On their return home, Indian soldiers began to seek better treatment for themselves and their people…In reality, however, nothing had changed.”

Mark Steinhauer, from Saddle Lake, attended Red Deer Industrial School from 1903 until June 1911. In 1916, in a school report of former pupils, Mark is stated to have “donned the khaki” and was completing military training in Edmonton. He enlisted in World War One on April 5, 1916, and returned home at the end of the war on June 5, 1919.

An excerpt of Mark Steinhauer’s letter to the Department of Indian Affairs, 1916. Indian Affairs. RG10, Volume 6767, File 452-15 Pt. 1, Library and Archives Canada.

Before travelling overseas, Mark questioned the benefits he would receive because of his service. He wrote the Department of Indian Affairs in 1916, requesting more information regarding enfranchisement (many First Nations people lost their legal Indian Act status as a result of serving in the First or Second World War) and his ability to receive a land grant near his home of Saddle Lake:

I have been wondering since I joined the army whether we are going to get anything out of our country that we are going to fight for pretty soon. There has been quite a number of us Treaty Indians that have enlisted since the war broke out…

I have been asked almost by everyone that I have tried to get to enlist in our Battalion, am I going to get anything out [of] the country if I go and fight for it? All the answer I could give was “I do not know.”

By 1927, only two status Indian veterans in Alberta had received a loan for land under the Solider Settlement Act of 1919. The legislation directly conflicted with a 1906 Indian Act amendment, disallowing Indians and non-Treaty Indians from acquiring a homestead on Dominion lands. Dempsey concludes: “While conditions for the majority of Canadians improved, the same could not be said for Natives. Even though they survived the war, many Indian veterans continued to live at the bottom of the economic ladder and as the years passed their situation did not improve. One can imagine the despair they experienced, especially when comparing themselves to their white colleagues.”

On Indigenous Veterans Day, we remember the Survivors of Red Deer Industrial School who enlisted in World War One: Pte. Andrew Larocque, Pte. Daniel Joshua, Pte. Eneas Makokis, Pte. Frank Makokis, Pte. James Saskatchewan, Pte. Louie Seenum, Pte. Mark Steinhauer, Pte. Ned Seenum and Pte. William Pocha.

The Historic Resources Management Branch is honoured to be collaborating with Survivor communities regarding the preservation and recognition of the Red Deer Industrial School cemetery, and on broader truth-telling initiatives. Thank you to Saddle Lake Cree Nation for helping tell these stories. Special thank you to Lorna Redcrow for her ongoing guidance and collaboration. Hiy hiy.

Sources and further reading

Dempsey, L. James. (1999). Warriors of the King: Prairie Indians in World War I. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre.

Enlistment of Indians for Overseas Service. WWI. RG24-C-1-a, Volume number: 1221, File number: HQ-593-1-7, File part: 1. Library and Archives Canada.

First Word War Personnel Records. Makokis, Eneas. RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 5862-39, Library and Archives Canada.

First Word War Personnel Records. Makokis, Frank. RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 5862-40, Library and Archives Canada.

First Word War Personnel Records. Seenum, Louis. RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 8764 – 46, Library and Archives Canada.

First Word War Personnel Records. Seenum, Ned. RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 8764 – 47, Library and Archives Canada.

First Word War Personnel Records. Steinhauer, Mark. RG 150, Accession 1992-93/166, Box 9266-15, Library and Archives Canada.

Fox, Uta. (1993). The failure of the Red Deer Industrial School [Master’s thesis]. University of Calgary. Retrieved online from https://ucalgary.scholaris.ca/items/e1672ffe-d390-4740-b7bf-3815b58e4ad4.

Gaffen, Fred. (2008). Forgotten soldiers. Produced for the Canadian Defence Academy by 17 Wing Winnipeg Publishing Office. Retrieved online from https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2023/mdn-dnd/D2-232-2008-eng.pdf.

Indian Affairs. RG10, Volume number: 3921, file 116, 818-1B. Library and Archives Canada.

Indian Affairs. RG10, Volume 6767, File 452-15 Pt. 1. Library and Archives Canada.

Red Deer Industrial Student Register, Provincial Archives of Alberta PR1979.0268/162.

Titley, Brian. (1992). “Red Deer Indian Industrial School: A case study in the history of Native education.” Exploring our educational past: Schooling in the North-West Territories and Alberta, (eds. Nick Kach and Kas Mazurek). Calgary: Detselig Enterprises Limited., 55-72.

War diaries – 1st Canadian Casualty Clearing Station = Journal de guerre – 1er Poste d’évacuation canadien. RG9-III-D-3, Volume number: 5032, Microfilm reel number: T-10921, File number: 838, File part: 1=1914/08/13-1916/06/30;2=1916/07/01-1919/03/31. Library and Archives Canada.

War diaries – 50th Canadian Infantry Battalion = Journal de guerre – 50e Bataillon d’infanterie canadien. RG9-III-D-3, Volume number: 4941, Microfilm reel number: T-10748, File number: 441, File part: 2=1918/01/01-1918/06/30;3=1918/07/01-1919/05/28. Library and Archives Canada.

“Like Little Prisoners”: Girls and Red Deer Industrial School

“Like Little Prisoners”: Girls and Red Deer Industrial School

Jared

Editor’s note: September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. Reading residential school histories can be a painful process. If reading this is causing pain or bringing back distressing memories, please call the Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419. The Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day and can also provide information on other health supports provided by the Health Canada Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program.

The banner image above is “A class in penmanship, Red Deer Institute.” ca 1914-1919. From Mission to Partnership Collection, United Church of Canada Archives.

Written by: Laura Golebiowski (Indigenous Consultation Adviser) in collaboration with Samson Cree Nation and Paul First Nation

Industrial and residential schools in Canada were established for purposes of assimilation, Christianization, and colonization.  The institutionalization of Indigenous girls, alongside boys, became an early part of that equation.

In the beginning of the industrial school system on the prairies, the federal government and churches subscribed to Victorian ideologies of gender, class, and education. These ideologies were firmly entrenched in society at the time. Schooling was seen as the means to condition and prepare men for work in the outside world, and to enforce women’s roles inside the home as wives, mothers and providers of domestic service. Additionally, colonial government officials feared that young Indigenous men would return from schools to the reserve, only to ‘revert’ back to their culture, language and religion. Indigenous women were viewed as likely culprits: men would marry, only to be, “pulled back into Indian savagery by her.” In 1883, Liberal party leader Edward Blake argued: “If this scheme is going to succeed at all, you will, unless these Indian bucks are to be veritable bachelors all their lives, have to civilize the intended wives as well as the husbands.” 

When Red Deer Industrial School opened in 1893, 52 children were enrolled. The number of boys nearly doubled that of the girls. The school operated on a half-day system, where a portion of the day was spent in the classroom, and the remainder was spent working to support the school in delegated trades and vocations. The boys were generally assigned the trade of farming, carpentry or potentially blacksmithing. Girls were relegated to domestic labour: cooking, cleaning, and making clothes.

“Students cooking at the Indian Industrial School, Red Deer.” ca 1910-1915. Source: Alfred Hives Collection, City of Red Deer Archives.
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The Adult Educator: Tatanga Mani’s Story of Survival and Strength

The Adult Educator: Tatanga Mani’s Story of Survival and Strength

Jared

Editor’s note: Aba Wathtech. June is National Indigenous History Month, an invitation to honour the history, diversity, strength and contemporary achievements of Indigenous Peoples.

The banner image above features Walking Buffalo, Stoney, at Calgary Exhibition and Stampede grounds, Calgary, Alberta, unknown date, (CU189040) by Oliver, W. J. Source: Glenbow Library and Archives, Glenbow Archives, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.

Reading residential school histories can be a painful process. If reading this is causing pain or bringing back distressing memories, please call the Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419. The Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day and can also provide information on other health supports provided by the Health Canada Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program.

Written by: Laura Golebiowski, Indigenous Consultation Adviser, in collaboration with the Stoney Nakoda Nations

When Tatanga Mani was a small boy, he went by the name of Little Bear. He grew up under the protection of his maternal and paternal grandmothers and the sheltered forests of the Bow Valley. The Stoney Nakoda (contemporarily the Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney First Nations) lived in small familial groups, hunting buffalo, moose, deer and goat. Wild carrot, wild rhubarb and sour grass were harvested from the mountains. Sweet tree sap was harvested and boiled in the springtime and cranberries, huckleberries, chickenberries and chokecherries were harvested through the summer. In the winter, groups would gather together in the valley flats of what is now Banff National Park. By Tatanga Mani’s own recollections, life was simple and happy:

In my young days, [there were] no roads, no horses. One time I remember there was five in a family. I would be about five years old. There’s my grandmother, my uncle Ben Kaquitts, there’s another uncle, and one aunt…and just one horse, to travel around with. And one dog. And I always remembered that that time, that [we were] the poorest people…but at that time we didn’t notice at all, we still lived contented and happy. We didn’t worry about nothing.

For Stoney children born one generation prior, their education was informal but holistic, grounded in respect and reciprocity. Nature was the teacher. Per Chief John Snow in These Mountains are Our Sacred Places, “A child would grow up learning about nature and the importance of respecting all things in creation…It was an ongoing educational process about religion, life, hunting, and so on. Other topics were bravery, courage, kindness, sharing, [and] survival…”

But by the 1870s when Tatanga Mani was born, Methodist missionaries had established their foothold in Stoney Nakoda territory. Despite having an extended family and community who loved and cared for him, Tatanga Mani was adopted by Methodist missionary John McLean. He was assigned the name George McLean and forced to attend the McDougall Orphanage at Mînî Thnî. (The “Orphanage” was a misnomer, per Chief John Snow: “The reason for the name is not clear; my people’s extended family system made the use of European-style orphanages unnecessary and records suggest that many children in the institution certainly had parents who were willing and able to care for them.”).

“Teachers and pupils, McDougall orphanage, Morley, Alberta.”, 1885, (CU184411) by Thom, A. B.. Tatanga Mani has been identified as the third from the left child in the second-last row. Source: Glenbow Library and Archives, Glenbow Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.
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“I Myself Consider it a Crime”: Whitecap Dakota First Nation Experiences at Red Deer Industrial School

“I Myself Consider it a Crime”: Whitecap Dakota First Nation Experiences at Red Deer Industrial School

Jared

Editor’s note: September 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. Reading residential school histories can be a painful process. If reading this is causing pain or bringing back distressing memories, please call the Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419. The Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day and can also provide information on other health supports provided by the Health Canada Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program.

The banner image above is “General view of the I.I. School.” Date unknown. Source: City of Red Deer Archives, P10890.

Written by: Laura Golebiowski (Indigenous Consultation Adviser) in collaboration with Whitecap Dakota First Nation.

In the late 1880s, a group of Dakota Oyate led by Chief Whitecap were making their home along the northern extent of their territory. They settled near Mni Duza—the South Saskatchewan River—on a landscape known as “Moose Woods”:  rich with water, wood, wildlife and plants for sustenance and ceremony.

Chief White Cap (seated centre) and members of his family, ca 1885. LH-5418, Saskatoon Public Library.
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George First Rider’s Stories of Summer

George First Rider’s Stories of Summer

Jared

Editor’s note: The banner image above is of Áísínai’pi/Writing-on-Stone. Source: Laura Golebiowski.

Blair First Rider is a Kainai (Blood Tribe) Elder and Horn Society grandparent, and an Indigenous Consultation Adviser with the Historic Resources Management Branch. Thank you Blair for sharing your grandfather’s stories. Suukapi!

Written by: Blair First Rider and Laura Golebiowski, Indigenous Consultation Advisers

In a previous RETROactive blog post, we discussed the seasonal round: the Niitsitapi (“the real people,” how the Blackfoot refer to themselves) concept that structures the year and our relationship to the land and one another. In this post, we learn some of the ways the Niitsitapi spent time during the hot summer months at the turn of the century.

This knowledge was shared by George First Rider, Blair’s paternal grandfather. George was born in 1904 on the Kainaiwa (Blood Tribe) reserve. His father was Dog Child and his mother was The Only Handsome Woman, also known as Catching Another Horse.

George First Rider was a kipita-poka: a grandparent’s child. Deeply loved and cared for by his family, he was afforded a lifestyle of traditional knowledges and practices. He was also a member of the Horn Society and other age-grade Societies (the complex social and ceremonial system that Niitsitapi men participate in from the age of seven or eight to adulthood. Niitsitapi women participate in the Motokis Society). Through ceremonial transfers, George learned many songs and earned the ability to conduct many ceremonies.

Dog Child, a North West Mounted Police scout, and his wife, The Only Handsome Woman, members of the Blackfoot Nation.” [ca 1890]. Credit: Trueman and Caple / Library and Archives Canada / PA-195224.
“George First Rider, Blood.” [1925-02-21] (CU 187940) by Atterton. Courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Library and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.

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So Far from Home: Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and Red Deer Industrial School

So Far from Home: Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and Red Deer Industrial School

Jared

Editor’s note: September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. Reading residential school histories can be a painful process. If reading this is causing pain or bringing back distressing memories, please call the Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419. The Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day and can also provide information on other health supports provided by the Health Canada Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program.

An earlier version of this article appeared in the December/January 2024 issue of Nisichawayasi Achimowina.

Written by: Laura Golebiowski (Indigenous Consultation Adviser), in collaboration with Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation.

“Eight children, an equal number of boys and girls, were going with us to enter a Residential School… I applied, but without success, to the Principal of the Brandon Residential School, for the admittance of the Indian children. That they were “non-treaty” was the alleged objection. As, however, the Red Deer school was willing to receive them, we decided to take them there…In the course of two or three years, five of those apparently healthy children had died from Tuberculosis.”

– Samuel Gaudin, in Forty-Four Years with the Northern Crees

Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation are the Nisichawayasi Nehethowuk: the people whose ancestors lived near where the three rivers meet and who speak Nehetho, the language of the four winds. Their territory includes the rich lands of the Canadian Shield and boreal forest in what is now northern Manitoba. Their central community hub is located at Nelson House, a long-time place of Indigenous occupation where the Hudson’s Bay Company established a trading post in the late 1700s.

The rocky shoreline of Footprint Lake, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation territory near Nelson House, Manitoba. Source: Laura Golebiowski.
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Season of the Birch: Continuing Practices of Woodland Cree First Nation

Season of the Birch: Continuing Practices of Woodland Cree First Nation

Jared

Editor’s note: Tansi! June is National Indigenous History Month, the opportunity to learn about the unique cultures, traditions and experiences of Indigenous communities in what is now Alberta and across Canada. This month also marks the 125th anniversary of the signing of Treaty 8, which encompasses a land mass of approximately 840,000 kilometres and includes portions of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories. In Alberta, much of Treaty 8 territory is delineated by the Athabasca River extending north. Treaty 8 territory also includes the north shore of Lac La Biche extending northeast to the Saskatchewan border, as well as portions of Jasper National Park.

The banner image above is courtesy of Laura Golebiowski.

Written by: Laura Golebiowski (Indigenous Consultation Adviser) in collaboration with Woodland Cree First Nation.

“I believe Spring speaks its truest word when you can see the women setting out pails to get that sap from the birch tree,” Chief Dan George narrates in the 1973 film Season of the Birch. The short documentary focuses on intangible heritage knowledge and practices that are still present in Cree communities in Treaty 8 today: the tapping of birch trees and the making of birch syrup.

The window for birch tapping is incredibly narrow. The waskwayâpoy (birch sap) runs best in the early spring when the snow has melted, but before the tree leaves appear. At the kind invitation of Lawrence Lamouche, Traditional Lands Manager, I visited Woodland Cree First Nation in late April, to witness this centuries-old practice and learn how Knowledge-Keepers harvest waskwayâpoy and make birch syrup.

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National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Remembering Emma Stanley

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Remembering Emma Stanley

Jared

Editor’s note: September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day. Reading residential school histories can be a painful process. If reading this is causing pain or bringing back distressing memories, please call the Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419. The Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day and can also provide information on other health supports provided by the Health Canada Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program.

Written by: Laura Golebiowski (Indigenous Consultation Adviser) in collaboration with Whitefish Lake First Nation #128.

Emma Stanley was born in 1886, in the area known today as Whitefish Lake in northeastern Alberta. Her mother was Eliza and her father was Cheepo-Koot, or Charles. She had at least two sisters. The last name Stanley was assigned to Indigenous families upon christening by the Methodist ministers of time. These assigned names are still known and common in the community today.

Emma and her family were members of James Seenum’s Band, contemporarily known as Whitefish Lake First Nation #128. Their leader was Chief Pakan, or James Seenum: “a very forceful and highly respected figure.” When the Nation signed Treaty Six, Cheepo-Koot was selected as one of three Councillors.  

In the years and decades prior to Emma’s birth, James Seenum’s Band members lived by the Cree seasonal round, which influenced their hunting, fishing, agricultural and travel practices. “In the spring-time, after the potatoes and turnips were planted, [the people] went south on their buffalo hunt, leaving the missionary and a few of the older people at home to look after the place and anything that had to be done. They would travel till they came to the buffalo range. After a good day’s hunt there was lots to do, such as curing the meat so it would keep. The surprising thing was that there was no such thing as flies to bother the fresh meat.”

“James Seenum, Pakan, and family at Whitefish Lake reserve, Alberta,” ca early 1900s. (CU194507) by unknown photographer. Source: Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.
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The Place of Frozen Smoke: Cultural Landscapes of M’behcholia

The Place of Frozen Smoke: Cultural Landscapes of M’behcholia

Jared

Editor’s note: Banner image of Dene Tha’ First Nation drummers at M’behcholia courtesy of Laura Golebiowski.

Written by: Laura Golebiowski (Indigenous Heritage Section) in collaboration with Dene Tha’ First Nation and Matt Munson (Yves Claus Didzena)

It was known as The Place of Frozen Smoke. Where, on cold winter days, the smoke from countless campfires could be seen rising high above the lakeshore. A landscape that has sustained Dene Tha’ First Nation since time immemorial. It’s name is M’behcholia, translating to Big Knife, or Bistcho Lake. The name of the lake itself is M’behcho. Multiple English spellings and translation attempts exist for these names.

For many, it is an ancestral place where all living Dene Tha’ First Nation members have a connection. Elders and knowledge-keepers tell us there are trails all around, extending from the lake. The Dene Tha’ used horses, canoe and dog teams to travel the vast expanse of shoreline, pitching tents and tipis to camp and make dry fish and meat along the way. The lakeshore was dotted with permanent settlements, seasonal camps, fishing spots, gravesites and sacred places. Each place had a Dene name, inspired by the activities that occurred there.

M’behcholia in the fall. Source: Laura Golebiowski.

It was the birthplace of several Ndátin—dreamers or prophets—including Gochee (Brother), Mbek’ádhi (He is Recovered) and Nógha (Wolverine). These spiritual leaders were trained by listening to the stories of animals and powerful ancestors, and would relay visions of the future to the Dene Tha’.

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A Protected Place: The Grotto Creek Canyon Pictographs and respectful visitation on sacred landscapes

A Protected Place: The Grotto Creek Canyon Pictographs and respectful visitation on sacred landscapes

Jared

Written by: Travis Rider (Stoney Nakoda Nations) and Laura Golebiowski (Indigenous Heritage Section)

The Stoney people have called the Rocky Mountains home since time immemorial. We are often referred to as Îyâhre Wîchastabi, meaning people of the Rocky Mountains or the people in the shimmering mountains. Today we are known as the Stoney/Assiniboine People. We are linguistically related to the woodland and plains Nakoda speakers and a part of the Great Sioux Nation. 

Stoney men in front of Mînî Hrpa (Cascade Mountain), ca 1901. Hector Crawler, Travis Rider’s great-great-great grandfather, is second from the left. Source: Peter and Catharine Whyte Fonds, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies.

I am a Stoney Nation member and language-keeper. I grew up with the teachings, language and traditions of my mother, father, grandmothers and great-grandfathers. I did not speak English until I began school, and today I facilitate in addictions and mental health, incorporating the language. I was also part of the Stoney Education Authority’s dictionary initiative, working with Elders, linguists and community members to build a database of vocabulary and develop resources for the promotion of the Stoney language for future generations.

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