This Website is owned and maintained by the Keeseekoowenin First Nation History Committee and published under the authority of the Chief and Council of Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation.
The images and text contained in this website are the property of the Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation
©Keeseekoowenin 1998
Natives of Riding Mountain
Since the year 1800, perhaps, the Indians that lived in the area of the Riding Mountains were of the saulteaux Tribe. Saulteaux is the language spoken by the Natives from the Manitoba-Ontario boundary to as far west as Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, from Pembina to the Swan River Valley.
The Sioux came after the country was settled. They were granted asylum in Canada after the Battle of the Little Big Horn in Montana, the Custer battle. Before that, there were very few Sioux north of the Souris River.
The Native people who made their home in the area around Wasagaming (Clear Lake) were the Okanese Band of which Michael Cardinal, known as Okanese, was the leader and chief. Okanese had three wives at the same time, one a Dakota, one Native and Orkney halfbreed, and one Native and French Canadian. Each wife had her own tipi and had large families. The men became very good hunters and trappers, especially the sons of the Orkney woman. The Riding Mountain country was very rich in buffalo, moose, elk, fish and fur, also food for horses and shelter in winter. There was maple sugar and fruit.
Isaac Cowie wrote when he visited the area,
"In the wooded area of the Riding Mountain from which I derived large quantities of fine furs trapped by the splendid hunters of the Saulteaux Tribe of whom the family of the Little Bones (Okeneas) were the most expert."
Okanese and his family spent seasons along the valley of the Little Saskatchewan River, ranging from Lake Audy where the river begins for some 15 miles to the site of the present reserve. A favourite camping spot was just south of the HBC post on what is now SE¼ sec 34-18-21 WPM. The valley is quite wide here, a nice open prairie away from flies and mosquitoes especially during the summer months. It was also closer to the summer buffalo hunt.
This little river had several names in 1729. It was referred to as the River St. Peter of LaVerendrye. In 1806, Alexander Henry speaks of it as the "Rapid River". Riding Mountain was then called "Fort Dauphin Mountain". The Okanese Band called the mountain Wowwaswajicus, "The Hill of the Buffalo Chase". The river running out of Lake Audy was called Keeseesatchewan, "Rapid Flowing River".
There is no record of these families except for their sons. The Dakota woman had three sons: Ouchop, Mekis, St. Paul. The French-Saulteaux wife had four sons: Antoine, William Mucatehpenese or Blackbird, John Jojo, and George, later chief. The Orkney woman had three sons: Yellowhead, Keeseekoowenin (Moses Burns) and Baptiste "Bateese" Bone of Clear Lake.
Keeseekoowenin was chief of the Riding Mountain Reserve located near Elphinstone, and Bateese Bone was chief of the little reserve at the west end of Wasagaming.
The Okanese Band lived a good life in the beautiful valley of the Little Saskatchewan River. In the winter months, they lived in the Riding Mountain around Lake Audy, west end of Wasagaming and north of the present-day Clear Lake golf-course. There was food, fuel and shelter at its best. Fur, moose and wapiti (elk) were abundant.
Some of the more popular winter campsites were along the west short of Wasagaming near the Indian Cemetery, another just north of where the Clear Lake golf course is located now, also around Lake Audy, and another favourite winter camp was at Kennis' Creek along the old Gilbert Plains on Dauphin Trail. Fishing was good. There were game birds. Lake Audy was noted for the abundance of water fowl in the fall when ducks and Geese stopped there on the migration south. Lake Audy was called Poneeakesakaekun, or "Bird Landing Lake".
In the summer, the band moved out onto the plains on the southwest side of the mountain for the buffalo chase and drying of meat, kaskkeewuk which was later pounded into nokkeewaquanuk, then mixed with tallow and wild fruit into pemeekkesegun, or "pemmican", which was stored in bags of hide or cartons of birchbark.
The people seemed to have had a good life with plenty of food and clothing. They seemed to be very thankful for these essential things of life. There did not seem to be any territorial disputes with other tribes. They lived a happy peaceful life.
{Page 1} {Page 2} {Page 3} {Page 4} {Page 5} {Page 6}
