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Beginning with the Gradual Enfranchisement Act, and replicated in the Indian Act of 1876, Indian women who married non-treaty Indian men, white men, or Metis were considered "enfranchised" and could, upon their request and approval by their First Nation, be provided with a one-time payment of ten years’ worth of annuities, referred to as commutation. During the late 1800s there were hundreds of enfranchisements, but this number increased exponentially after 1920 when the power to refuse commutation was removed from First Nations and the government took it upon themselves to remove women from tribal annuity rolls and ultimately reduce the annual treaty expenditures owed to First Nations people. A listing of women (dis)enfranchised from their Indian rights is provided below:  Treaty 1 TribesTreaty #1. St. Peter's Band 1879-80. Harriet Hunt 1883-84. Margaret McLeod, No. 146. Margaret Pritchard, No. 357. 1884-85. Lydia Sutherland, No. 354. Jane White, No. 371. Charlotte Desrosiers, No. 170. Emily Ibester, No. 361. Margaret Thom, No. 63. E. J. McLeod, No. 136. Caroline McDonald, No. 388. Victoria Young, No. 166. Nancy Leask, No. 143. Lucy West, No. 409. Nancy Marsh, No. 42. Jane Grey, No. 322. Jane M. Snider, No. 394. Lucy Fiddler, No. 101. Catherine Walker, No. 401. 1886-1887 Jessie Spence, No. 304. Catherine Kennedy, No. 510. 1887-1888 Georgina Stark, No. 365. 1888-1889 Mrs. Catherine Ann Michaud, No. 536. Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Clouston, No. 511. Mrs. Catherine Gilliaud, No. 77. 1889-1890 Eliza Daniels, No. 295. Mrs. Ed. Kippling/Keplin, No. 551. 1890-1891 Matilda Asham, No. 6. Harriet Fontaine, No. 531. 1891-1892 Mrs. Joseph Moore, No. 394.. Mrs. Sarah Sasford, No. 49. Mrs. Sarah Sargeant, No. 558. Mrs. Jane Mowat, No. 218. Eliza Ann Walker, No. 393. 1892-1893 Nancy Harper, No. 54. Annabella Gates, No. 560. 1893-1894 Mrs. Mary Ann Hamelin; No. 99. Mrs. Margaret Sinclair, No. 142. Caroline Mayo. No. 490. Esther Flett-Kippling, No. 526. Mrs. Margaret Rochen, No. 374. Juliet Kennedy, No. 569. 1894-1895 Mary Ann Folster, No. 639. Flora Bella Harper, No. 646. Mary Minnie, No. 613. Treaty #1. Long Plain Band 1885-1886 Anne Favel, No. 12. Treaty #1. Fort Alexander Band 1884-1885 Rosalie Gagnon, No. 53. 1886-1887 Agnes Briere, No. 20. 1890-1891 Mary Ann ,Johnston, No. 160. Angelique Johnston, No. 162. 1893-1894 Mrs. Elizabeth Lecoy, No. 157. 1894-1895 Maria Adele Starr, No. 40 . 1895-1896 Catherine Cavanagh, No. 182. Treaty #1. Brokenhead River Band 1884-1885 Charlotte Lapierre, No. 53. 1887-1888 Kapoosohahsohting, No. 28. 1892-1893 Alice Linklater, No. 130. Treaty #1. Roseau River Band 1894-1895 Margaret Nolin, No. 183. Treaty 2 tribesTreaty #2. Lac Seul Band 1886-1887 Hannah Mcivor, No. 75. Magna Young, No. 103. Louisa Kirkness, No. 116. 1895-1896 Mrs. A. R. J. Bannatyne, No. 102. Treaty #2. Lake Manitoba Band 1881-1882 Maria Misayabit, No. 20. Margaret Misayabit, No. 21. Shaw-aw-way-in-cit-ah-wook, No. 24. Isabella, No. 1. 1882-83. Mary Saunderson. 1891-1892 Marie Ste. Matte, No. 58. Treaty #2. Ebb and Flow Lake Band 1880-81. Isabella McAulley, No. 29. Suzanne Sinclair, .No. 37. Marguerite Moar, No. 28. Lake Manitoba Band Margaret Monkman, No. 24. 1891-1892 Elsie Spence, No. 46. Treaty #2. Fairford Band 1880-1881. Mary Jane Garreoch, No. 12. 1881-82. Elizabeth Moar, No. 5. 1893-1894 Jane Anderson, No. 55. Treaty #2. Water Hen River Band 1889-1890 Maria Lamalice, No. 33. 1894-1895 Maria Lacouette, No. 38. Treaty #2. Pine Creek Band 1894-1895 Sophie Napakisit, No. 18. Treaty 3 tribesTreaty #3. North-west Angle Band 1895-1896 Mary Morisseau, No. 12. Treaty #3. Grassy Narrows Band 1892-1893 Isabella Jette, No. 46. Treaty #3. Couchiching Band 1893-1894 Elizabeth Mainville, No. 44. Maria Jourdain, No. 7. Treaty #3. Islington Band 1894-1895 Ann Savyard, No. 16. Treaty #3. Dalles Band 1894-1895 Mrs. James Swan, No. 46. Treaty #3. Nickousemenicaning Band 1894-1895 Mary Brown, No. 19. Treaty #3. Wabigoon Band 1894-1895 Sarah Park, No. 5. Treaty 4 TribesTreaty #4. Pasquah's Band 1883-1884 Marguerite Parisien. Marie Hose Parisien. Mame Parisien. Frarcoise Parisien. Teresa St. Denis. Julie St. Denis. Rosalie St. Denis. Marie St. Denis. 1884-1885 Julia Angneau, No. 71. Melaine Wallet, No. 66. Treaty #4. Blackfoot Reserve 1886-1887 Sally Bird. Treaty #4. Muscowequan's Band 1883-1884 Francoise Desjarlais. lsabelle Desjarlais. Caroline Blondeau. Melanie Blondeau. Treaty #4. Little Black Bear's Band 1883-1884 Mary Ann McKay, No. 12. Treaty #4. Assiniboine Reserve 1885-1886 Susie Thompson, sister of Chief Jack. Keeseekouse-Mary McDonald, No. 13. Treaty #4. Cowesess' Band 1883-1884 Caroline Peltier, No. 27. Mrs. Trochier or Oopeepeewahnook, No. 9. 1885-1886 Theresa Breland. 1890-1891 Marie Gervais, No. 83. 1894-1895 Susanne Nadeau, No. 37. Treaty #4. Muscowpetung's Band 1885-1886 Sarah Fisher, No. 37. Mary Thomas, No. 37. Treaty #4. Peepeekeesis' Band 1887-1888 Philomena Daniels, No. 35. Treaty #4. Gordon's Band 1887-1888 Elizabeth H. Pratt, No. 10. 1894-1895 Virginia Favel, No. 54. Mrs. Nancy LaVallie, No. 13. Treaty #4. Gambler's Band 1887-1888 Anne Houle, No. 123. 1894-1895 Isabella Peppin, No. 15i. Victoria Nabbis, No. 160. Mary Bellehumeur, No. 140. Treaty #4. Key's Band 1891-1892 Nancy Laronda, No. 54. Flora Chartrand, No. 26. Harriet Chartrand, No. 26. 1892-1893 Mary Field, No. 4. Treaty #4. Cote's Band 1893-1894 Mary Murray, No. 131. Treaty #4. Waywayseecappo's Band 1894-1895 Cecile Fleury, No. 160. Treaty 5 tribesTreaty #5. Fisher River Band 1884-1885 Jane Shaw, No. 29. Betsy Semours. No. 26. 1887-1888 Jane Norquay, No. 61. 1890-1891 Mary J. Cochrane, No. 24. 1893-1894 Mary Favel, No. 66. 1894-1895 Elizabeth Papanakis, No. 24. Maggie Raymond, No. 190. Fannie Thomas, No. 1. Elizabeth Dahl, No. 45. Treaty #5. Norway House Band 1883-1884 Christie McLeod, No. 184. Catherine Swain, No. 138. Bella Morrisson, No. 81. Graud Rapids Band Rosalie Moore, No. 21. Harriet Houston, No. 15. 1884-1885 Adelaide Garson, No. 43. 1893-1894 Mrs. Albert Tate, No. 43. Treaty #5. Hollow Water River 1885-1886 Mary Jane Boulette, No. 82. Treaty #5. Black River Band 1887-1888 Mrs. Mary Ned, No. 17. 1889-1890 Emma Robideaux, No. 20. 1891-1892 Sarah Clarke, No. 22. Treaty #5. Moose Lake Band 1889-1890 Kitty Smith, No. 29. 1890-1891 Margaret Jane Buck, No. 69. Treaty #5. Cumberland Band 1890-1891 Philomena Budd, No. 116. Margaret Mackay, No. 110. 1891-1892 Mrs. Albert Bellendine, No. 101. 1892-1893 Isabella Judd, No. 125. 1895-1896 Nancy Custer, No. 14. Mrs. Peter Bell, No. 46. Treaty #5. Pas Band 1890-1891 Margaret Saunders, No. 41. 1892-1893 Margaret Dorion, No. 219. 1895-1896 Susan Buck, No. 244. Treaty #5. Poplar River Band 1893-1894 Maria Disbrowe, No. 142. Treaty 6 tribesTreaty #6. Cumberland Band 1881-1882. Elizabeth Brittain, No. 6. Annie Cox, No. 26. Mrs. Jourdain, No. 51. Annie McKay, No. 58. Josette Sais, No. 77. Treaty #6. Red Pheasant's Band 1881-1882 Mrs. T. T. Quinn, No. 12. 1885-1886 Mary DeCoteau, No. 33. 1886-1887 Emma Brabant, No. 53. Treaty #6. Petaquakey's Band 1884-1885 A. Laframboise, No. 27. 1893-1894 Julia Arcand, No. 4. Treaty #6. Seekaskoutch's Band 1885-1886 Emilie Vivier, No. 50. Treaty #6. James Seenum's Band 1886-1887 Louisa Donald, No. 57. 1889-1890 Judith Boucher, No. 109. 1894-1895 Genevieve Larocque, No. 138. 1895-1896 Caroline Reed, No. 141. Mary Ann Cardinal, No. 142. Treaty #6. Alexander's Band 1886-1887 Annie Whitford, No, 73. Treaty #6. Muskegwatic's Band 1886-1887 Catherine Besson, No. 34. 1887-1888 Peggy Favel, No. 26. Treaty #6. Blue Quill's Band 1886-1887 Jane Collins, No. 14. Treaty #6. John Smith's Band 1887-1888 Rosaline Fournier, No. 53 . 1890-1891 Mrs. Charles Fiddler, No. 50. 1892-1893 Band-Eliza Shaw, No. 82. Isabella. Pruden, No. 86. Treaty #6. Michel's Band 1888-1889 Adelaide Loyer, No. 132. 1890-1891 Lizzie Callihoo, No. 132. 1894-1895 Isabella Loyer, No. 5. Josephine Ladourette, No. 1. Treaty #6. Beaver Lake Band 1888-1889 Margaret Cardinal, No. 11. Treaty #6. Lac La Biche Band 1888-1889 Matilda Cardinal, No. 41. Treaty #6. Ahtakakoop's Band 1888-1889 Mrs. D. Leblanc, No. 99. 1893-1894 Maggie Drevor, No. 132. Treaty #6. Thunderchild's Band 1889-1890 Emma Higgins or Apistatim, No. 111. Treaty #6. Poundmaker's Band 1889-1890 Phoebe Jefferson, No. 189. Treaty #6. Ermineskin's Band 1890-1891 Rosalie House, No. 1. Treaty #6. George Gordon's Band. 1890-1891 Elizabeth St. Germain, No. 137. Treaty #6. Mistawasis' Band 1891-1892 Maria Beaudry, No. 36. 1892-1893 Maria Beaudry, No. 33. 1893-1894 Eliza McKay, No. 141. 1894-1895 Eliza Masketaytamay, No. 99. Treaty #6. Enoch's Band 1892-1893 Bella, No. 101. Margaret Calder, No. 27. Isabella Blanc, No. 10. 1893-1894 Marie Louise Grove, No. 120. Mary Paul, No. 131. Cecile Passpasschase, No. 93. Treaty #6. Kapahawekenum's Band 1893-1894 Maria Isabella Laliberte, No. 22. 1894-1895 Susette Morin, No. 33. Treaty #6. James Robert's Band 1893-1894 Mary Ann McLeod, No. 91. Nancy Saunderson, No. 84. Alice Saunderson, No. 70. 1895-1896 Jane Mary Nelson, No. 105. Treaty #6. Wahsatanow Band 1894-1895 Nancy Howse, No. 17. Eliza Howse, No. 42. Treaty 7 tribesTreaty #7. Running Wolfs Band, Piegan Reserve 1887-1888 Lucy Cook, No. 25. 1889-1890 Julia Choquette, No. 46. Isabella Grant, No. 59. Treaty #7. Bear's Paw Band, Stony Reserve 1888-1889 Emma Jonas Treaty #7. Blood Band 1889-1890 Mrs. Howard, No. 35. Mrs. Murphy, No. 19. Mrs. Millar, No. 34. REFERENCE:
(1897) Dominion of Canada Annual Report of the Department of Indian Affairs for the year 1896. Ottawa: E.W. Dawson.
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Women have often achieved great fame as warriors. Sometimes, when a man went to war, his wife would insist on accompanying him, and sometimes she was lucky enough to succeed in obtaining a war honor before the return of the party, in which case she received the customary feather insignia but never wore them herself, designating one of her male relatives, preferably a son or grandson, to wear it for her. She was also called by the title okitcitakwe, or "Okitcita woman”. An okitcitakwe was entitled to go to the soldiers' tent at any time when the warriors were dancing, and to join them, dancing by herself at one side. When the warriors reenacted their valorous deeds, and counted their coups, she was entitled to do the same, and her narration was received with the same respect. She might not remain in the tent overnight however.  An Ojibwe woman stated that her husband had seen a Cree woman, who was allowed to abide in a soldiers' tent with the men as a reward for some brave deed and later some Cree assured me that the head okitcita might keep his wife in the lodge. Of okitcitakwe, at least two still survived at Long Plains last summer (1913). One of these, Cinoskinige, obtained her title in this manner: -- She always went out with the warriors, and on one occasion when a Sioux was shot from his horse, she ran to count coup upon him. Being a woman she was outstripped in the race by three men, but succeeded in striking the fourth coup, killing the Dakota with her turnip digging-stick. The men then scalped him, and she painted her face with his blood. Another renowned old woman at Long Plains was out with a party who were digging turnips on the prairie. They were attacked and surrounded by Sioux who rode round and round them, firing. The men fought them off while the women hastily dug a rifle pit to conceal the party. In the meantime the men were all wounded. The pit being finished, this woman crept out under fire and rescued each of the men, dragging them back to the pit. In this manner she became an okitcitakwe. Reference:
Wissler, Clark (1916) Societies of the Plains Indians. New York: AMS Press FROM: https://www.nps.gov/people/marie-louise-bottineau-baldwin.htmMarie Louise Bottineau Baldwin (Metis/Turtle Mountain Chippewa) was born in Pembina, North Dakota. Her father, J.B. Bottineau, was a lawyer who worked as an advocate for the Ojibwa/Chippewa Nation in Minnesota and North Dakota. While a teenager, her family lived in Minneapolis, and Marie attended school there as well as in nearby St. Paul. She spent some time across the border at St. John’s Ladies College in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada), and returned to Minneapolis to work as a clerk in her father’s law office. She and her father moved to Washington, DC in the early 1890s to defend the treaty rights of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Nation. There, they became part of an established community of professional Native Americans who lived and worked in the capital. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Marie as a clerk in the Office of Indian Affairs (OIA), an agency within the Department of the Interior.[1, 2] She was hired at $900 per year, and received a raise to $1,000 before she had served a full year in the position. While this pay was low compared to what other clerks were making ($1,000 to $1,800 per year), she was the agency’s highest paid Indigenous woman.  1914 Photo (colorized) Early in her career, Marie believed that Native Americans needed to assimilate into European-American society to survive. Over time, as she became involved with the suffrage movement and the Society for American Indians (SAI), her views began to change. Instead of assimilation, Marie emphasized the value of traditional Native cultures while asserting her own (and therefore others’) place in the modern world as an Indian woman. This shift is evident in a ca. 1911 photo of Marie. Taken for her government personnel file, she chose to wear Native dress and to braid her hair. This was a radical act as a federal employee working for the OIA. At the time, was pushing for Native Americans to assimilate into white American culture-- and using Indian employees as examples of assimilation. And yet, her choice went unremarked at the time -- except by journalists, who often paired her federal service photo with one of her dressed in “modern American dress.” In 1911, Marie’s father died. His death proved a turning point in her life. That year, she gave a speech at the first meeting of the Society of American Indians, and became increasingly involved in their work to celebrate and advocate for Native identity. She became nationally known as a spokesperson for modern Indian women, testifying in front of Congress, meeting with women from across the country, and was a member of the contingent who met with President Woodrow Wilson in the Oval Office in 1914. While at the SAI, she was colleagues with Zitkala-Sa, another Native American woman who worked towards Indian suffrage.  1914 Photo (colorized) In 1912, at the age of 49, she enrolled at the Washington College of Law. Two years later, after taking night classes while still working, she graduated as an attorney. Marie was the first woman of color to graduate from the school.[3] She became active with the suffrage movement in Washington DC and marched with a group of other female lawyers in the 1913 Suffrage Parade organized byAlice Paul. Interviewed in newspapers who were covering the suffrage movement, Marie educated people about the traditional political roles of women in Native society. Changing politics and priorities within the OAI led to Marie disengaging from the group in 1918 or 1919. She continued to work for the Indian Office in Washington, DC until 1932, when she retired for health reasons. In 1949, she moved from DC to Los Angeles, where she died from a cerebral hemorrhage in 1952. She is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, Los Angeles, California.  1914 Photo (colorized) Notes:
[1] The Office of Indian Affairs changed its name to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1947. [2] When Marie began her work for the Office of Indian Affairs, the Interior Department was headquartered in the Old Patent Office building, which currently is home to the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum. Bounded by F and G Streets and 7th and 9th Streets NW in Washington, DC, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966 and designated a National Historic Landmark on January 12, 1965. From 1917 until 1936, the Interior Department headquarters was in what is now the General Services Administration Building at 18th and F Streets NW, Washington, DC. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 23, 1986. The Department of Interior is currently located at 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC, a building added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 10, 1986. [3] Washington College of Law was started in 1896 by Ellen Spencer Mussey and Emma Gillett in Mussey’s law offices when a handful of women asked to study with them -- traditional law schools refused to admit women. It was the first law school founded by women, the first with a woman serving as dean, and the first to graduate a class of all women. They merged with American University in Washington, DC in 1949. In the beginning, the law school accepted only white applicants. Marie Bottineau Baldwin graduated in 1914. The school graduated their first African American student in 1953. References: Barkwell, Lawrence J. 2014. “Bottineau-Baldwin, Marie Louise.” Virtual Museum of Metis History and Culture, January 13, 2014. Cahill, Cathleen D. 2013. “Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin: Indigenizing the Federal Indian Service.” American Indian Quarterly, 37 no. 3: 65-86. US Civil Service Commission. Personnel File Photograph of Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin; ca. 1911; Marie Baldwin; Official Personnel Folders-Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs; Records of the U.S. Civil Service Commission, Record Group 146; National Archives at St. Louis, St. Louis, MO. Throughout the early fur trade in Canada and the United States the one unspoken and (for the most part) unwritten rule was that so long as white women were absent on the frontiers, Indigenous women could be used to satisfy the carnal needs of the white men seeking to colonize the continent. To grasp the rapidity and the extent to with which Aboriginal women became sexualized as prostitutes and as persons who could be trafficked with impunity, a few passages are offered here. These are provided to show that the groundwork for the current problem with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (#MMIW) is not a modern phenomenon, but rather is the modern-day continuation of a pattern of the devaluation and degradation of indigenous women from its roots in colonial history.  One passage remarked on the social ills that had developed surrounding some of the Hudson Bay trading posts during the height of the fur trade. It stated that the ‘civilizing habits’ learned at the trading posts by the Indians were mostly the bad habits of the whites, including drunkenness and prostitution. One of the most serious difficulties, the passage states, is in reforming the growing practice of Indian parents being pushed to sell their daughters, and men hiring out their wives to white men for prostitution. The white men, in turn, were taking Indian women as their concubines, not infrequently leaving their children from these women as virtual slaves.[i] When the American Fur Company began the erection of trading posts, and buying the valuable furs of the Indian hunter and trapper, the traders would often pay the Indians in whiskey and cheap goods. As their efforts to spread their “civilization” advanced, many of the whites traders took Indian women as their concubines, living with them and using them for only as long as it suited their convenience or inclination to do so. Thus, it was reported, the traders have given the Indians their first lesson in civilization by teaching them the prostitution of their young women![ii] In yet another passage it was stated that when the Hudson lay Company opened a trading post at Fort Simpson (British Columbia), that many of the men found jobs working for the white people. This provided them money from which they could earn a living. However, at the same time the women and girls found jobs doing tasks such as sewing, washing, and other domestic tasks, but also were enticed into more nefarious jobs in prostitution.[iii] When a Hudson Bay post was established near a village 300 Indians at Bella Coola (British Columbia), the standard of living plummeted. While the Indians were able to supplement their losses by cultivating some crops, they were soon suffering in a much degraded condition, with many of the men living by the proceeds of the prostitution of their women to the local white traders.[iv] In many instances the white men who took Indian women as their wives did so for less than honorable reasons. In one case, a trader named William Banks, Sr., enticed the parents of a widowed Indian woman to allow her to be his ‘country wife’. He gave her relatives some presents, and she lived in his house, cooked for him, and cohabitated with him. Subsequently, Banks offered his new “wife” as a prostitute at any such time as he chose to use her.[v] To think that the Indians were somehow complicit, or were equal partners in the debauchery of their people and their women would be an erroneous assumption. This was certainly not the case. In a speech given at the general council of the Colville Indians, held near Kettle Falls, on August 12, 1873, Antoine, chief of the band, speaking for his people, berated the local traders by stating, “We want you to take our [word]; the liquor is coming up to our knees; we tie our people [when they are drunk], but the whites do not tie up or punish their people for selling liquor to Indians. I wish you [the local Indian agent] would take our side and stop this selling of liquor to us.” Antoine also made serious accusations against the local white men forcing Indian women who they took as “country wives” as prostitutes. Antoine noted that the bad white men do this under the guise of marriage, but that the “poor Indian woman believes she is married to a white man, [but] he treats it in the light of cohabitation only, and which he breaks off at will, often abandoning both women and children with impunity and with gross indifference.”[vi] The human trafficking was not just confined to the fur posts on the frontier. In an 1861 article about the debaucheries occurring at mining camps in the Rocky Mountains, it was noted that dance halls at these camps were maintained as places of prostitution that were exploiting indigenous women. To quote the article, it was said: “It is a misnomer to call them [dance halls] “places of amusement “. They are sinks of iniquity and pollution; prostitution and kindred vices in all their hideous deformity, and diseases in every form Iurk there.”[vii] When Indian women did stand up to the abuse offered upon them, they were not afforded protection from the local authorities due to their being “lesser” than whites due to their aboriginal blood. In one case, an aboriginal woman dragged the friend of a man who had raped her to a local constable station so that he could bear witness on her behalf, but he was detained only until she left the police station, at which time he was released without charges. In another case, an Indian woman who was raped by a policeman on the frontier was able to secure a jury trial for her attacker, but the verdict hinged on whether the evidence of the Indian woman and her three Indian witnesses mattered. The jury returned a verdict of ‘Not Guilty’.[viii] REFERENCES
[i] The Tsimsheans at Metlakahtla in Magazine of Western History (1891) [ii] Portrait and biographical album of Midland County, Mich.: Containing ... sketches ... citizens ... also ... a complete history of the county, from its earliest settlement to the present time. (1884). Chicago: Chapman Brothers. [iii] Peet, S.D., Kinnaman, J.O. (1888). The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal, Volume 13. [iv] Chittenden, N. H. (1882). Settlers, prospectors and tourists guide: Or, Travels through British Columbia. Victoria. [v] The Southwestern Reporter, Volume 51 (1899). West Publishing Company [vi] Congressional Serial Set. (1874). Washington: USGPO [vii] "The Dance Houses," (1861). British Colonist, 20 December 1861. [viii] "A Squaw Arrests a White Man," (1862). British Colonist, 17 January 1862 One of the most common forms of human trafficking practiced by colonizers during the early fur trade was the practice of taking “country brides”. Country marriages were a widespread phenomenon in Canada and the United States frontiers during the fur trade. They were essentially a way for European traders to exploit the Indigenous community by forging “alliances” with local native populations by taking native girls as “country wives”, whereby they cemented a connection with the tribal people for the purpose of trade, while at the same time satisfying their carnal urges while away from the trading centers in places like Montreal, Detroit, and elsewhere.  The country marriage was a way for colonizers to gain a competitive advantage over other competing traders, as their marriage to their native brides helped gain them access to rich fur trapping grounds, allowed them to establish franchises within native communities, and in some cases helped them to exclude other traders from also exploiting an area. At the same time, the native girls and women they took as country brides were easily-exploited sexual partners and “workers” who possessed valuable domestic and outdoors skills that could be exploited for advantage. These marriages were not based on love, but rather were a tool of colonialism used to exploit indigenous women for the benefit of the European frontiersmen. It was noted by some eyewitnesses that most of these marriages were shams, and in some cases were nothing but ruses used to conveniently handle trade and sex. One recorded observation states that, “In earlier days they [traders] had handled the situation more conveniently by contracting a so-called "country marriage" which in reality, was no marriage at all.” Another noted that while country marriages were the preferred lifestyle, when only sex was desired (rather than a protracted trade issue) that prostitution was common, and in many cases was a flourishing business around the Hudson Bay, which led to a spread of various forms of venereal disease that made its way into the indigenous community, harming the population with diseases introduced by European men traveling about and spreading it from post to post.  There was little consideration for the indigenous women who became country wives, and in the majority of cases, the early country marriages resulted in the abandonment of the women and any offspring that resulted. In one example, a young trader, having gone to the Saskatchewan River region in the early 1800s, took a French Canadian half-breed girl, aged fourteen, as his country wife. He wrote in his memoir that he, in the custom of the country, took the young girl for his wife, lived with her in the country for a time, and then, upon intending to leave the country to return east, placed her and her children under the care of an “honest man” and gave him a certain amount for her support. One can only think that this “giving” of his wife and children to another man was simply the transfer (i.e. trafficking) of his sexual slave to free himself of a burden. REFERENCES
Bryce, G. (1900). The remarkable history of the Hudson's Bay company: including that of the French traders of north-western Canada and of the North-west, XY, and Astor Fur companies. Toronto: W. Briggs. Godsell, P.H. (1939). The Vanishing Frontier -- A Saga of Traders, Mounties and Men of the Last North West. Toronto: Ryerson In writing about civil life in the early fur trade in the area surrounding the Great Lakes during the late 18th century, unions between the white men there to trade and colonize, and natives – occasionally happening due to the lack of European women at these remote posts – were certainly not causes for celebration for the young native girls who were often forced into wedlock with significantly older European men. In many cases, girls barely pubescent were literally taken from playing childhood games and wed to adult men. Their choice in the matter was not deliberated, and their age was irrelevant, as the racist sentiment of the colonizers saw their physical or emotional maturity as irrelevant to the needs of the men to secure a woman for their carnal needs. Nowadays, we would probably consider this sort of arrangement to be human trafficking, and the girls "child brides", but belief in the racial inferiority of natives played a large role in these sorts of 'marriages'. As noted in the Army and Navy Chronicle, such marriages were “quick and dirty” affairs with no consideration for the wishes of the girls:  “The commanding officer of the post, besides his military sway also held a kind of civil jurisdiction. He could grant land and solemnize marriages. We have before us a record, showing that on the 15th of November, 1791, Edward Charleton, Esq, Captain in his Majesty’s 5th Regiment, and commander of the post of Michillmackinac and dependencies, did join in the bands of wedlock, one of his subalterns with a daughter of the Surgeon of the post.” The discussion continues, describing the extreme youth of the bride, who was literally swept off the playground and forced into wedlock… “The bride was a half breed – her mother an Indian. What her age was does not appear; neither should we have any curiosity to know, except for ascertaining at that time those marriages [to extremely young girls] first came in vogue. It is said concerning the marriage of one girl, that she was called in from playing with her fellows in the streets, to be dressed for her wedding.” The same was not said for native girls, as their physical or emotional maturity was not considered of equal importance to those of white girls. “The principles of physiology [physical maturity] appear to be held in perfect contempt. Indian and half breed girls frequently marry at the age of 13-15, and for aught we know, with impunity, but a white girl who enters the married like at such an early age [would] find her cup of matrimonial bliss turbid with the dregs of affliction and regret.” REFERENCE
Mackinac. (1841, January 7). Army and Navy Chronicle, XII(1), 115-119. There is a persistent myth among some that the “country wives” of many of the European fur traders were matches based on ideals of love and mutual respect, but this wasn’t always (or even often) the case. In most cases, the marriages between traders and Indian, or half-breed, women were matters of convenience, or even matters of economic gain for the indigenous families. They sometimes cemented trading ties with Indian bands by creating kinship connections, and in some cases they were even a way to escape difficult circumstances. One curious “marriage” was described by Ross Cox (b.1793–d.1853) who was an Irish clerk in the employ of the Pacific Fur Company and the North West Company, during the early part of the 19th century. He wrote a narrative of his experiences during his time spent living in the west. In one story, Cox describes the desire of a young European man in the employ of the company who wanted a wife for himself. With no European women, and no eligible (of age) half-breed girls, available he was wedded to a willing young girl of the Spokane tribe. Little did he know he was getting more than he bargained for. His description is as follows:  "In the course of the winter an incident occurred which threatened at the time to interrupt the harmony that had previously existed between our people and the Spokane Indians. One of our younger clerks, having become tired of celibacy, resolved to take a wife; and as none of the Columbian half-breeds had attained a sufficiently mature age, he· was necessitated to make his selection from the Spokane tribe. He therefore requested the interpreter. to make an inquiry in the village, and ascertain whether any unappropriated comely young woman was willing to become the partner of a juvenile chief. A pretty looking damsel, about seventeen years of age, immediately became a candidate for the prize. As her father had died some years before, she was under the guardianship of her mother, who, with her brother, settled the terms of the negotiation. Blankets and kettles were presented to her principal relations; while beads, hawk-bells, etc. were distributed among the remaining kindred. About nine o'clock at night the bride was conducted to the fort gate by her mother, and, after. an apathetic parting, she was consigned to the care of one of the men's wives, called "the scourer," conversant in such affairs, who had her head and body thoroughly cleansed from all the Indian paint and grease with which they had been saturated. After this purification she was handed over to the dressmaker, who instantly discharged her leathern chemise, and supplied its place by more appropriate clothing; and the following morning, when she appeared in her new habiliments, we thought her one of the most engaging females that we had previously seen of the Spokane nation."  "Matters rolled on pleasantly enough for a few days, and the youthful couple appeared mutually enamored of each other; but a "little week" had scarcely passed over their heads when, one day about two o'clock, a number of young warriors well mounted galloped into the courtyard of the fort armed at all points. Their appearance was so unusual, and unlike the general manner of the Spokane nation, that we were at a loss to account for it, and vague suspicions of treachery began to flit across our imaginations; but the mystery was shortly cleared up. The bride, on perceiving the foremost horseman of the band enter the court, instantly fled into an adjoining store, in which she concealed herself; while he and his associates dismounted, and demanded to speak with the principal white chief, at the same time requesting the other chiefs would also appear. His wishes having been complied with, he addressed us in substance to the following effect: "Three snows have passed away since the white men came from their own country to live among the Spokanes. When the Evil Spirit thought proper to distress the white people by covering the waters of the rivers with ice, so that they could not catch any fish, and sent snow all over the mountains and the plains, by means whereof their horses were nearly destroyed by the wolves, when their own hunters in fact could not find an animal, did the Spokanes take advantage of their afflictions? Did they rob them of their horses like dogs? Did they say, the white men are now poor and starving; they are a great distance from their own country and from any assistance, and we can easily take all their goods from them, and send them away naked and hungry? No! we never spoke or even thought of such bad things. The white men came amongst us with confidence, and our hearts were glad to see them; they paid us for our fish, for our meat, and for our furs. We thought they were all good people, and in particular their chiefs; but I find we were wrong in so thinking. Here he paused for a short period; after which he thus recommenced: "My relations and myself left our village some days ago for the purpose of hunting. We returned home this morning. Their wives and their children leaped with joy to meet them, and all their hearts were glad but mine. I went to my hut, and called on my wife to come forth; but she did not appear. I was sorrowful and hungry, and went into my brother's hut, where I was told that she had gone away, and had become the wife of a white chief. She is now in your house. I come, therefore, white men, to demand justice. I first require that my wife be delivered up to me. She has acted like a dog, and I shall live no more with her; but I shall punish her as she deserves. And in the next place, I expect, as you have been the cause of my losing her, that you will give me ample compensation for her loss.” Our interpreter immediately explained to the Indian that the girl's relatives were the cause of the trick that had been played on him; and added, that had our friend been aware of her having been a married woman, he never would have thought of making her his wife. That he was willing to give him reasonable compensation for her loss; but that she should not be delivered to him. except he undertook not to injure her. He refused to make any promise, and still insisted on her restitution; but as we had reason to fear that her life would have been sacrificed, we refused to comply. The old chief next addressed him for some time; the result of which was, that he agreed to accept of a gun, one hundred rounds of ammunition, three blankets; two kettles, a spear, a dagger, ten fathoms of tobacco, with a quantity of smaller articles, and to leave his frail helpmate in quiet possession of her pale-faced spouse, promising never more to think of her, or do her any harm. Exorbitant as these terms were, it was judged advisable to accede to them rather than disturb the good feeling that had hitherto subsisted between us. After we had delivered the above articles to him, we all smoked the calumet; on perceiving which, the fugitive, knowing that it was the ratification of peace, emerged from her place of concealment and boldly walked past her late lord. She caught his eye for a moment; but no sign of recognition appeared; and neither anger nor regret seemed to disturb the natural serenity of his cold and swarthy countenance." REFERENCE
Cox, R. (1831). Adventures on the Columbia River including the narrative of a residence of six years on the western side of the Rocky Mountains, among various tribes of Indians hitherto unknown: Together with a journey across the American continent. London: H. Colburn. The historical record and the general conventional wisdom about the role and place of women in indigenous society has been largely determined by white historians, clergymen, and others who viewed women from a western, colonial point of view. Most primary records speak of women in highly derogatory terms, often casting them as nothing more than beasts of burden and nearly slaves to men. This is especially the case of Indian women who were attached to European men, whereby they were viewed by settler society as something less than human at times – with terms like ‘sauvage’ or ‘sauvagesse’ being used to describe them. While the Europeans maintained a generally negative view of the Indian women they sometimes took as ‘country brides’ – perhaps leading to the desire of mixed-blood children to often attach themselves to their native communities, or later to become an independent ‘Metis” nation in the Red River region – the status of women in the traditional Indigenous cultures was much different and one that was (more or less) egalitarian.  In most indigenous cultures, labor was a process wherein each person played a role that, while not the same, was equally important and valued. For instance, while hunting and trapping were tasks carried out by men, the processing of the food and the tanning of hides was a female domain. This did not mean that the women were performing as workhorses for the men, but rather that they were doing what they did best and making sure that the hides were processed correctly in order to gain the highest prices at the trading posts. Even more so, women had an ownership stake in these furs and hides and it was reported by many fur trade journals that Indian women were very shrewd negotiators – often better than the men. Women were the experts at gathering wild plant foods and medicines; during canoe building, while the men fashioned the frame of the birch-bark canoe and made the paddles, the women were the experts at sewing the bark and sealing the seams to create a watertight boat.  During large-scale hunts, women were an essential part of the action. As soon as the men killed a large number of buffalo, they were quickly relegated to a subservient role to the women who led the effort in skinning, tanning, making pemmican, and more, with men acting as ‘fetchers’ and general laborers for the women. Women knew how to best build lodges; they were valued for their skill at fashioning beautiful clothing for their families; they were the artists of the people, making beautiful beadwork, quillwork, and decorations; and they were the on-the-ground leaders at the annual maple and wild rice gathering efforts of the people.
If we are to decolonize as Indigenous people, we need to cast off the European ideas that women were nothing more than chattel and draft animals. While this might have been true for some of the early Indian women who had the misfortune of being selected as wives by voyageurs and traders, that was not their actual role in traditional society.
'For 500 years they've tried to kill us off, and for 500 years we keep coming back.' — These activists are trying to make 2018 the year Native Americans change an election. This video, "Voting While Native American in Montana", first appeared on nowthisnews.com.
The Magic Circle in the PrairieA young hunter was hunting on the prairie and he came upon a strange, circular shape on the prairie, without any trail leading to or from it. The grass there was smooth and well-beaten, and looked as if footsteps had trod in it recently. This puzzled and amazed him, so he hid himself in the grass nearby see who or what had caused this strange phenomenon. After waiting for a short time, the young man thought that he heard music coming from the sky. He listened and could clearly hear the strange sound, but when he looked upwards, all he could see was a small speck in the sky. In a short time the speck became larger and larger and the music sweeter and sweeter. The object descended rapidly, and when it came near it proved to be a strange basket which landed in the center of the circle. From out of the basket came twelve beautiful girls, who each had a kind of a ball-shaped drum in their hand which was struck with the grace of an angel. The girls began to dance in the circle, at the same time striking the shining ball in their hands. The young hunter had seen many a dances, but none were as beautiful or graceful as this. The music was sweeter than any he had ever heard. But nothing about this strange sight could equal the beauty of the girls themselves. He found them all to be beautiful, but he was most infatuated with the youngest. He wanted her for his wife and wanted to speak to her. As quietly as he could, he moved towards the girls and their basket, but before he could speak to his chosen girl, the girls spotted him and they all nimbly leaped into the basket and were drawn back to the skies.  The hunter was completely foiled. He stood gazing upward as they flew away. “They are gone forever, and I shall see them no more” he said to himself as he returned to his lodge. Even so, he could not forget this wonder that he had seen, nor the beautiful girl he wished to speak to. That night he dreamed of her and he made up his mind to go to the circle on the prairie the next day and to better hide himself so he could speak to the girl. That next day, he went back to the prairie and placed a large log near the circle and hid himself behind it. Soon, he heard the same sweet music and the basket landed. The girls commenced their dance and as he peeked at them, he thought they seemed even more beautiful and graceful than before. He slowly crept slowly towards the ring. Again the girls spied him, but in the confusion the youngest girl stumbled and did not make it back to the basket and it left without her. The girl was extremely upset and cried for her sisters to return. She fell down on the prairie and was inconsolable. The young man spoke to her and begged her to stop crying. He wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke to her to calm down. Once she had calmed down, he led her gently to his lodge and after a short time he and asked her to be his wife. She accepted and from that moment he was the happiest of men. Winter and summer passed rapidly away, and their happiness increased by the addition of a beautiful baby boy. Even though they were happy, the girl would often cry out of loneliness for her home in the stars and for her people. She did her best to hide these feelings from her husband, but she was always thinking about her family and her home. One day, she could not take it any longer and she constructed a basket that would be large enough to take her back to her people. While her husband was away hunting, she gathered some of her things, took her son by the hand, and took her basket to the ring on the prairie. As soon as she and her son stepped into the basket, the basket rose and she ascended to the sky. Her husband saw the basket rising into the sky and he ran to the prairie, but he could not reach the ring before they disappeared. In misery, he walked back to his lodge and spent a long winter and a long summer alone without her and his son.  In the meantime his wife had reached her home in the stars. She had almost forgotten the beauty of her home and her people, and she reveled in it all and started to forget her time on earth until one day when her son told her that he missed his father. The girl’s father heard this and he said to his daughter, “Go, my child, and take your son down to his father, and ask him to come up and live with us. But tell him to bring along some of the animals of the earth for me.” She accordingly took the boy and descended back to earth. The hunter, who was never far from the circle on the prairie, heard the sound of her basket as she came down from the sky. His heart beat with excitement as he saw her and their son step out of it. He rushed forward and grabbed them in his arms. She told him of her father’s message, that he could come live with her in the stars. He was overjoyed by this and began to hunt with the greatest activity to collect the specimens that her father desired. He spent whole days and nights searching for every curious and beautiful bird or animal he could, and when all was ready, they went to the circle, and were carried up in her basket. Upon arrival at her home-world her father invited all of his people to a feast, and when they had assembled he proclaimed aloud that each person in attendance could take of the earthly gifts. Some people chose birds, others chose other animals such as rabbits, deer, and muskrats. Soon, a very strange confusion arose and the people changed themselves into the animal that they had selected and ran off (or flew off). The hunter, his wife and his son chose hawks. Then they changed to become hawks. They spread their wings and descended to the earth. In this form they could fly between the earth and her home in the sky whenever they wanted to. They were happy.  |
AuthorA collaborative effort of members of the Ojibwe and Metis communities Archives
May 2019
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