Backgrounder

The ancestors of the Cowessess First Nation adhered to Treaty 4 at Fort Qu’Appelle in September 1874. Cowessess and his followers settled at Maple Creek in the Cypress Hills, but, in 1880, a reserve was surveyed at Crooked Lake for Headman Louis O’Soup and his followers. Shortly thereafter, Chief Cowessess was persuaded to move with his followers to the Crooked Lake reserve. In 1889, the Cowessess Indian Reserve was confirmed by order in council. Four reserves made up the Crooked Lake Agency – Sakimay IR 74, Cowessess IR 73, Kahkewistahaw IR 72, and Ochapowace IR 71.

The Cowessess Band lived, farmed, and raised livestock in the north of its reserve. The southern portions – the hay lands – were used primarily for cutting wild hay. Beginning in 1886, settlers located near the agency reserves made repeated requests to the federal government to have the southern portion of the reserves at Crooked Lake surrendered for sale and the reserves relocated a distance from the non-Indian settlement. During the 1890s, Indian Agent Allan McDonald opposed a surrender of the Cowessess Band’s southern reserve land on the grounds that it would limit the Band’s future ability to increase its stock. In 1899, a local MLA unsuccessfully appealed to the responsible Minister, Clifford Sifton, to pursue surrenders of the southern portion of the Crooked Lake Agency’s reserves, and, in 1902, a petition bearing the names of 190 local residents who supported the surrenders was sent to Ottawa.

At the July 1904 annuity payments to the agency’s bands, Indian Commissioner David Laird’s assistant discussed surrender with the band members as a means of raising funds to fence the reserves to protect them from incursions by neighbouring settlers’ cattle. According to Laird, the Cowessess Band appeared to appreciate the suggestion but wanted some time to consider it.

The matter was dropped again, but, in October 1906, Inspector William Graham received approval to propose a surrender of the southern portions of the Ochapowace, Kahkewistahaw, and Cowessess reserves. Graham held two meetings with the Cowessess Band. On January 21, 1907, he explained the proposed surrender to the Band and adjourned the meeting to January 29, at which time the Band voted 15 in favour of the surrender and 14 against. Twenty-two members signed the surrender document. Alexander Gaddie, a band member who had acted as interpreter, voted in favour. At the surrender meetings of the other two agency bands, the Ochapowace Band voted against a surrender of part of its reserve, whereas the Kahkewistahaw Band voted in favour of surrender.

On February 2, 1907, Graham and Gaddie swore the Cowessess surrender affidavit before a Justice of the Peace. The surrender was confirmed by order in council on March 4, and the land was subdivided in May 1907. It was offered for sale by auction in November 1908 and in June 1910.

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