@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Arts, Faculty of"@en, "History, Department of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "Coates, Kenneth"@en ; dcterms:issued "2010-05-31T18:16:02Z"@en, "1984"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Doctor of Philosophy - PhD"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description """Native peoples form a vital part of the social and economic fabric of the Canadian North. Though much neglected in the historical literature, they have maintained an important presence in the regional order from the emergence of the fur trade to the present. This study places native activities in the context of Euro-Canadian developments, tracing native-white relations in the Yukon Territory from first contact in the 1840's to the establishment of a new socio-economic structure in the 1950's. Economic, social and institutional relations are examined separately, but each illustrates the systematic placement of the natives on the margins of the regional order. Native workers found few openings in the mining and service industries, relegated instead to seasonal, unskilled positions. A distinct social environment emerged in the towns and mining camps, characterized by a white-dominated population and firm restrictions on native entry. Sustained by a vibrant if variable fur market, the fur trade districts developed differently. The natives found a more economically rewarding and socially integrated environment, one mirroring the social and economic accommodation reached during the pre-Gold Rush fur trade period. The major disruptions of the Klondike Gold Rush and the construction of the Alaska Highway and Canol Pipeline during World War II did not change the pattern significantly, as the natives remained only casual participants in the white-dominated economy and society. These divisions between native and white were re-enforced through the policies and programmes of the Anglican Church and the federal government. Both held pessimistic views of the prospects for territorial development and. although they retained a desire to "civilize." Christianize and assimilate the natives. they preferred to protect the natives' harvesting lifestyle until a more appropriate moment. The church and the government seconded public efforts to segregate the natives and sought in a very haphazard way to preserve their access to the region's natural resources. Though the actions, attitudes and programmes of the white population strongly affected the natives' position, native forces also influenced social and economic developments. The natives maintained a special affinity for the harvesting mode, preferring the reasonable returns and flexibility of hunting and trapping to the rigid discipline and insecurity of wage labour. With their religious and social values based on a continuing accommodation with the physical environment, the natives favoured the pursuit of game for cultural as well as economic reasons. Native choice as much as Euro-Canadian exclusion dictated the natives' position in the Yukon Territory."""@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/25282?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "C I BEST LEFT AS INDIANS : NATIVE-WHITE RELATIONS IN THE TUKON TERRITORY. 1840-1950 by KENNETH STEPHEN COATES B.A.i The University of Br i t i s h Columbia. 1978 M.A.. The University of Manitobaf 1980 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of History) Ve accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard. THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA MARCH 1984 fc) Kenneth Stephen Coatest 1984 in In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f the requ i rements f o r an advanced degree a t the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Co lumb ia , I agree t ha t the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and s tudy . I f u r t h e r agree t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e copy ing o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y purposes may be g ran ted by the head o f my department o r by h i s o r her r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s unders tood t h a t copy ing o r p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l ga i n s h a l l no t be a l lowed w i thou t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . Department o f U the fur trade had lost i t s economic pre-eminence in the d i s t r i c t . American traders continued to encourage the natives to trap and trade* but the embryonic development of an alternative economy* based on the extraction of mineral resources* increasingly attracted most of the business interest in the area. Based on a continuation of the natives' hunting-gathering cycles* the fur trade had proven valuable to the Yukon Indians and they had responded aggressively and creatively to the developments in the industry. Their subsistence economy had readily accommodated demands for time to trap* dress furs and* particu-larly* to undertake the numerous* often lengthy t r i p s required to trade their harvest. The fur trade lost i t s pre-eminence; a new economic or-der emerged which* at f i r s t glance* placed l i t t l e importance on the role of the Indians and their harvesting economy. It was unclear as to how the natives' would adapt to the emerging r e a l i t i e s of the mining fron-t i e r . 5 4 HBCA, B200/b/43, f o l . 755. Camsell to Chipman, 30 March 1892. 46 CHAPTER THREE NATIVES AND THE PRE-GOLD RUSH MINING FRONTIER The departure of the Hudson's Bay Comany in 1893 did not signal the end of the Yukon fur trade. But although the fur trade continued. i t gave way to an incipient but expanding mining industry. From the 1880's. there would no longer be a singular Yukon \"economy.\" Instead, the region's marketable wealth came from two sectors, mining and har-vesting, with only tenuous links between the two. Any assessment of the economic role of the Yukon Indians following the arrival of the miners must take into account the c o n f l i c t s and accommodations between the two economic sectors. Manpower requirements, demand for resources, compara-tive s t a b i l i t y of markets and the ascribed role of the natives in the different sectors, in combination with the Indians' definition of their self-interest, determined the extent and nature of the Indians' involve-ment in the mining economy. Consequently, extra attention must be paid to the functioning of the labour market on the mining frontier, for the demand and a v a i l a b i l i t y of labour set limits and defined opportunities for native involvement. As well, the relative v i a b i l i t y of what had be-come the Indian mode of l i f e — hunting for both subsistence and trade and trapping furs for market — remained a crucial determinant of the natives' response to the new economic order. Hudson's Bay Company officers and Church Missionary Society clergymen knew of the existence of sizeable quantities of gold in the tributaries of the Yukon River for some time. Anxious to retain the region as a fur preserve, the traders kept the information to themselves, as did the missionaries who wished to protect their native charges from the a n t i c i -47 pated ravages of a mining f r o n t i e r . 1 Such efforts ultimately proved un-successful as the lure of gold which had drawn thousands of prospectors to California in the 1840's and to Br i t i s h Columbia a decade later pulled miners inexorably northward. The discovery of major gold depos-i t s in the Cassiar D i s t r i c t in 1872 set off yet another \"rush.\" albeit much smaller than itB predecessors. When those diggings had been worked over, would-be miners continued northward. By the early 1880's pros-pectors were scouring the creeks of the Yukon though without much suc-cess. 2 Two streams, the Stewart and Forty Mile, both in the weBt-central Yu-kon, attracted particular attention and small mining communities formed at both locations. George Dawson, an o f f i c i a l of the Geological Survey of Canada who inspected the upper Yukon River valley in 1887. estimated the mining population at less than 250.3 That number increased slowly in subsequent years, as reports f i l t e r e d out of the region of gold in \"pay-ing\" quantities in the Yukon streams. The mining population fluctuated widely as disenchanted and financially-ruined prospectors l e f t the area, only to be replaced by those optimistic enough to believe that riches remained to be found beneath the cold waters of the Yukon River wat-ershed. Similarly, the population was extremely v o l a t i l e as the miners 1 F. Whymper. Travels in Alaska and the Yukon (London: 1869). 227; Beck-les Willson. The Li fe of Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal (Toronto. 1915). p. 427. 2 This is based on George Dawson. Report on an Exploration in the Yukon Di s t r i c t . (Ottawa: Queen's Printer. 1898); A. Wright. Prelude to Bo-nanza. A. Cooke and C. Holland. The Exploration of Northern Canada (Toronto: Arctic History Press. 1970); L. N. McQuesten. Recollections of Leroy McQuesten. YTA. Pamphlet. 1952-53. 3 Dawson. Report, p. 182. 48 eagerly abandoned one stream and headed to another at the slightest hint that a new gold f i e l d had been uncovered. To 1896* Forty-Mile remained the most profitable and consistent of the creeks, with miners realizing more than $14 a day for their efforts, a sizeable sum even after taking the high costs of goods and services at the isolated outpost into ac-count. Before the discovery of gold on Rabbit Creek, which in turn touched off the Klondike Gold Rush. the Yukon mining community remained small and geographically concentrated, content with the remunerative i f unspectacular returns* yet ever vigilant for a new or larger s t r i k e . 4 The actual mining operations offered few employment prospects for In-dians in the area. Natives seldom staked claims, apparently seeing l i t -t l e attraction in the extensive work undertaken with no guarantee of a profitable return. Those few who followed the miners to the fi e l d s usu-a l l y sold their claims within a short time. The technology and. just as important* the ideology of placer mining ensured that most miners con-ducted operations on a small scale. rarely involving more than two or three men. Unlike quartz or hard rock mining* which required labour and machine intensive operations. Yukon placer mining remained essentially small scale, with power supplied by hand and the manipulation of natural water supplies. Gold bearing d i r t was accumulated, usually during the winter, from shafts dug (often through permafrost) to the bedrock under-lying a creek bed. Miners stockpiled d i r t until spring run-off. at 4 Descriptions of the Forty-Mile Camp are found in W. Ogilvie* Informa- tion Respecting the Yukon D i s t r i c t (Ottawa: Gov't Printing Bureau* 1897). 9-155 F. Schwatka. Report of a Militarv Reconnaissance (Wash-ington: Government Printing Office* 1885); Pierre Berton. Klondike* (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. 1972); W. R. Hunt North of 53: The Wild Days of the Alaska-Yukon Mining Frontier. 1870-1914 (New York: Macmillan. 1974). 49 which time the stream would be diverted through a sluice-box (a long, narrow trough with a r i f f l e d bottom designed to trap the heavy gold dust and nuggets). The accumulated d i r t was mixed with water and run through the sluice. At an appropriate time, the flow of the water was stopped and the r i f f l e s checked. The operation of the placer mines was highly seasonal and, because of the small size of the claims, normally run by individuals or partnerships. Additional labour requirements usually came only during the spring run-off when the care had to be taken to en-sure that a l l the carefully gathered d i r t was \"washed\" while water sup-plies lasted. Each miner typically handled his own claim; to have a l a -bourer on hand was a luxury affordable only by those with a \"proved\" mine. Characterized by a small population and u t i l i z i n g an individual-ized, extractive technology, the placer mining operations in the Yukon River valley in the 1880's nonetheless had a significant economic impact on those Indians resident near the mines.5 While the border (Forty-Mile) region f e l t the principal effect, a lesser number of natives in outlying . d i s t r i c t s came into the new econo-my, drawn by miners reaching ever further a f i e l d . Most of the pros-pectors entering the d i s t r i c t came by way of the Chilkoot Pass, a small mountain divide connecting Lynn Canal and the headwaters of the Yukon River. The coastal Chilcat (Tlingit) Indians, and to a lesser degree the inland Tagish bands, earned money by transporting supplies through the mountains. Many of the prospectors and travellers who travelled this route found the Indians' charges usurious, but the Chilcats' j e a l -ously protected monopoly of the passes had to be respected and most paid 5 Ibid. 50 rather than face the prospect of packing their own supplies. 6 The pros-pectors' willingness to risk the usually placid, occasionally treacher-ous, waters of the Yukon River in hastily built scows and rafts thwarted an extension of this a c t i v i t y into river travel. As well, Alaska Com-mercial Company sternwheelers plied the waters of the Yukon from Ameri-can territory well up into Canada, bringing in the bulk of provisions and supplies required by the miners. Natives did find a limited amount of work along the river as guides, pil o t s , and packers, but the pros-pectors' generally limited financial means restricted this avenue to oc-casional work. There was considerable demand for Indian labour around the mining camps, particularly at Forty-Mile where the local natives participated extensively in the emerging economic order. The new ventures proved highly remunerative, offering material gain far in excess of that a v a i l -able through trade with the Hudson's Bay Company or i t s competitors. The limited development of the d i s t r i c t severely restricted the supply of white labourers. Whenever miners uncovered paying quantities of gold most men in the d i s t r i c t worked their own claims. With white workers at a premium, i f available at a l l , would-be employers turned, i f reluctant-ly, to the available pool of natives. Retailers and wholesalers supply-ing the mines often needed assistance unloading sternwheelers. Even more importantly, these vessels required a steady supply of cut cord wood in order to ply the waters of the Yukon. Like the other seasonal and temporary chores, the role of packer f e l l largely to the Indians. Most of the mines in the Forty-Mile d i s t r i c t were a considerable dis-e R. Friesen, The Chilkoot Pass, Manuscript Record Series, #236, Parks Canada, 1978. 51 tance from the Yukon River. Miners attempting to provision their opera-tions either carried in their own supplies or. as most chose to do, hired a packer to do the work. Most of this work went to the natives. 7 The natives seldom received the remuneration offered the feu uhites willing to hire out. Packers in the Forty-Mile area received up to $.30 a pound, for carrying the goods as far as 85 miles from the settlement. Winter rates f e l l to approximately a third of the summer stipend, but in that season dog teams could be used uith a concommitant reduction in the time and e f f o r t . 8 Wage rates in the mines and elseuhere fluctuated ac-cording to the season and the number of labourers available. Monetary offerings reflected the shortness of the summer uhich placed a premium on that season. White labourers earned betueen $6 and $10 a day, a standard maintained in several instances by a labourers' agreement that they uould not accept less. While native remuneration seldom matched that granted their Caucasian counterparts, healthy, well-regarded Indian males earned from $4 to $8 each uorking day. 9 Although there uere occa-sional signs of r a c i a l l y motivated attempts to exclude the Indians from 7 Evidence on native labour is uidely dispersed. The account is draun from PAC, HG17, B2, Church Missionary Society (hereafter CMS), Bompas to C.M.S., 20 January 1893, May 1893, 15 May 1894; PAC, MG20, B22, Og-i l v i e Papers, f i l e 4, Bompas to Lt. Governor, 3 Dec. 1891; Report of Inspector C. Constantine, 20 January 1896, Annual Report of North West Mounted Police, 1896, YTA, Anglican Church (AC) New Series, f i l e 4, Constantine to Deputy Minister of the Interior, 19 November 1896; Og-i l v i e , Information Respecting the Yukon D i s t r i c t (Ottawa: Dept. of the Interior, 1897); Ogilvie, The Klondike O f f i c i a l Guide (Toronto: Hunter Rose Co. Ltd., 1898); G. Dawson, Report of an Exploration, PAC, MG29, C92, Bowen Papers, R. J. Bowen, \"Incidents in the Li f e of R. J. Bowen,\" unpub1ished manuscr ipt. B Report of Inspector Constantine, 20 January 1896. 9 Ibid.; CMS, Bompas to CMS, 20 January 1893; Constantine to Deputy Min-ister of the Interior, 19 Nov. 1896; Bompas to Lt. Governor, 3 Dec. 1891. 52 the more lucrative work in the mines and to limit their wages? 1 0 those natives securing temporary positions improved on their former earnings. The restricted demand for native workers? however? prevented the Indians from more assertively controlling their labour? as they had done in the fur trade. In addition to employment in the mines or in related transportation activities? other Indians capitalized on a variety of additional oppor-tunities. The demand for foodstuffs? including salmon for dog meat? moose? caribou and other game for human consumption? improved dramati-cally over the fur trade era. With the major mining camps located close to the migratory t r a i l s of northern caribou herds and with moose readily available in the river valleys? the Indians easily harvested enough game to serve their own needs and those of the white population. 1 1 Natives outside the immediate v i c i n i t y of the mines carried the bulk of the pro-vision trade as those able to reach a closer accommodation with the min-ing economy found i t comparatively easy to satisfy their material or cash requirements without resorting to the hunt? except to f u l f i l l per-sonal needs. Natives occasionally took a more direct role in the mining activity? staking claims on promising or newly opened creeks and then s e l l i n g at a substantial profit to late a r r i v a l s . 1 2 Given the prospective return from the creeks? the prospectors paid seemingly unreasonable sums to secure a 1 0 PAC? RG10, Department of Indian Affairs (hereafter IA)? vol. 3962? f i l e 147? 654-1? pt. 2? Bompas to Indian Commissioner? 5 September 1896. 1 1 CMS. Bompas to CMS, 15 May 1894. 1 2 AC, New Series? f i l e 4, Constantine to Deputy Minister of the Interi-or, 19 Nov. 1896. 53 toe-hold on suitable property. Following the Rabbit Creek (Bonanza) discovery and before many realized the extent of the gold f i e l d * miners bought Indian cabins located nearby along the Yukon River, paying from $100 to $200 for each of the small structures. Vith hindsight and the intervention of Church of England missionary U. C. Bompas, the natives appealed for an extra payment in keeping with the rapid inflation of costs in the area. In this instance, the natives would have done well to have held onto their land, but the incident i l l u s t r a t e s the potential for a substantial return through the sale of native land holdings in this case cabins, but more often mineral claims. 1 3 The renowned discovery of gold in Bonanza Creek in August 1896, quickly galvinized a c t i v i t y in the Yukon River valley. Forty Mile and a l l other mining camps emptied as every miner in the area headed to grab a share of the new \"Eldorado.\" Many of the natives who profited from the mining economy at Forty-Mile followed the migration to . Dawson City and re-established themselves in their newly accepted role as provision hunters and casual labourers. The Klondike Gold Rush which followed reshaped the economic and social fabric of the Yukon in a way few envisaged. It was a major find to be sure, but those on the scene foresaw room for only a few thousand extra miners on the creeks. No one anticipated the human deluge that followed. In the short term, before news of the strike reached \"outside\" in 1897, the Yukon economy contin-ued largely as before, with the natives secure in their role as a sup-plementary labour- force to the mining community. 1 3 Ibid.; Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND), f i l e 801-30-0-01, Bompas to Minister of the Interior, 28 October 1896, Extract from William Ogilvie's letter dated 8 November 1896. 54 Before turning to a detailed examination of the gold rush and attending transitions, however, an assessment of the impact of mining on the economic strategies of the Yukon Indians is in order. Limited p r i -marily to those in the west-central region between the Stewart River and Forty-Mile to 1896. this mining a c t i v i t y affected only about 10% to 20% of the Yukon River natives. Few Yukon Indians participated in the new economic order, staying instead with hunting, gathering and. to the ex-tent to which i t s t i l l operated, the fur trade. For those Indians drawn to the mines, the potential for change was great. A cash economy based on wage labour and re t a i l stores functioned on an expanded scale for the f i r s t time. The comparative s t a b i l i t y of the Hudson's Bay Company trade was gone. The American fur trade operated as something of an intermedi-ary stage between these apparent extremes, but i t had not functioned i n -dependently long enough to serve as a meaningful transitional phase. With higher wages and more competition for their business, those natives geographically located and personally disposed to participate in the mining economy found within i t a much easier way to satisfy their s t i l l limited material needs. Even with the considerable potential for change, the natives' role during the fur trade and the pre-Gold Rush mining interlude remained surprisingly consistent. Participants in both, the Fort Youcon natives worked during the fur trade as provision hunters, fishermen and as part-time labourers, assisting the Hudson's Bay Company by manning ca-noes or moving post supplies. Their function as middlemen for natives to the west and south, whom they prevented from trading directly with the fort, limited their actual trapping operations. The experience in 55 the early stages of the mining frontier differed l i t t l e . Wages and ma-te r i a l rewards rose, but the Indians continued to serve as provisioners, albeit for an expanded population, and as a readily available short-term labour force engaged primarily in transportation and packing. S i g n i f i -cantly, these same Indians continued to obtain furs for trade, not through their own trapping efforts, but via trade with distant bands de-nied access to the mining centres. 1 4 The onset of mining had not altered the natives' economic a c t i v i t i e s in a major, or unsettling way. In-stead, the Indians retained a role analogous to that attained during the Hudson's Bay Company era, a position which allowed them to earn s u f f i -cient money to purchase their requisites from the Euro-Canadians while interfering in only a limited way with the hunting and fishing c y c l e s . 1 5 The part-time and seasonal a c t i v i t i e s undertaken for both the fur traders and the miners conformed to rather than altered the Indians' an-nual pattern. Indeed, that the natives could provide for their own sub-sistence, provision an expanding white population and occasionally work in mine-related ventures underlines the comparative \"affluence\" of the Yukon Indians' way of l i f e . Supplying their own food requirements obvi-ously did not demand a l l their time and effort, leaving them free to perform a variety of other tasks for the miners. From an economic 1 4 The best description of this process i s in \"Incidents in the Lif e of R. J. Bowen,\" 116-133. 1 5 In Constantine to Deputy Minister of the Interior, 19 November 1896, the Inspector claimed that the Indians imitated the whites, refusing to hunt and fish unless absolutely necessary. While a few temporari-ly adopted a more \"white\" mode of l i f e , his larger generalization i s misleading. Importantly, Constantine staunchly defended miners and had l i t t l e time for those, such as Bompas, who sought to preserve In-dians' rights. Constantine's comments on the Indians, appended to a refutation of Bompas' claims that the government should protect na-tive fishing and land rights, are of highly questionable v a l i d i t y . 56 standpoint, the mining a c t i v i t y did l i t t l e to alter the central basis of the Indians' l i f e s t y l e or their seasonal dependance upon the products of f i e l d and stream. The expanded opportunities for short-term employment made i t easier to satisfy an expanding but hardly voracious appetite for the retailers' wares. They purchased luxuries, including alcohol, more readily and those few items more f u l l y integrated into the natives' ma-t e r i a l culture (guns, knives and other iron goods being the prime exam-ples) could be acquired with less effort. The combination of seasonal wage labour plus a continued fur trade offered a new level of affluence for those natives able to participate. If the miners' arrival did not change native behaviour decisively, i t nonetheless introduced the rudimentary beginnings of an industrial econ-omy to the Yukon River basin. While the fur trade and the attending preconditions of racial accommodation and interdependance remained, the old order had certainly been relegated to the background. Though mining was geographically concentrated in the west-central Yukon, the new ac-t i v i t y attracted the majority of white interest. Gold, not fur, was now king and the requisites of the former industry determined the contours of regional economic development in the following decades. Since the natives were potential workers, the dynamics of the labour market held the key to the level of integration. The Indians' a b i l i t y and desire to work, a v a i l a b i l i t y of white workers, seasonal fluctuations in economic acti v i t y , the nature of the work performed, and the employers' wil l i n g -ness to hire natives worked together to form the framework of the mining labour market. While this market, a highly informal and f l u i d con-struct, remained of limited importance in the pre-Gold Rush years, the 57 system established la i d the basis for the natives' participation in the new economic order. The Yukon mines offered l i t t l e regular work on the creeks for anyone without a claim. Employment prospects came largely from the two main support industries* transportation and provisioning. The limited demand for labour was seasonal, requiring large numbers of workers in the sum-mer months and few for the remainder of the year. The need for assis-tance seldom included s k i l l e d labourers. Exceptions existed, such as the need for s k i l l e d technicians on the riverboats or trading post clerks, but most jobs required only a strong back and a so l i d constitu-tion. On the supply side, potential employers drew from a small, irreg-ular pool of white labourers or a larger, stable number of Indians. Drawn by high wages, a few whites came in each year s p e c i f i c a l l y to work in the mines. Given the location and the cost of reaching the west-central Yukon, this cadre of workers remained small. A second, and larger group of white labourers included those miners yet to strike pay d i r t or out of supplies. Often financially constrained due to unsuc-cessful mining efforts, yet unwilling to abandon the queBt for gold, these miners offered their services to raise funds for yet another foray onto the creeks. Uhile more numerous than the f i r s t group, this second body of men was a compressed and unstable work force with supply depen-dant upon the failure of prospectors already in the region. While the f i r s t to be employed, especially for work in the diggings, they could not be counted on as a steady pool of seasonal labour. That l e f t only the Indians. Self-supporting through fishing, hunting and fur trading, on-site due to the fortuitous juxtaposition of the gold fields and the 58 home t e r r i t o r i e s of the Kutchin and Han Indians, willing to accept lim-ited work in order to satisfy their material desires, the natives were ideally situated to meet the needs of the embryonic Yukon mining indus-try. The machinations of the local labour market accounted for the suc-cessful and renumerative adaptation of the west-central Indians to the expanding mining frontier. The situation before 1896, could be charac-terized as a casual, seasonal labour market, 1 6 a situation uniquely suited to the natives' needs and interests. As long as demand remained seasonal so as not to c o n f l i c t with hunting and fishing, as long as the mines supporting a c t i v i t i e s sought unskilled labourers rather than s k i l l e d technicians, and as long as the available pool of white manpower stayed small and variable, the local natives found a significant econom-ic role. Before the Gold Hush, the local economy allowed the natives to continue their harvesting pursuits while simultaneously providing short-term and renumerative employment. Since the demand for the native harvest of fish, meat and furs remained high and as the emerging economy required primarily unskilled workers, the regional order assured the In-dians a key role in the local economy. If the fur trade had offered the Yukon Indians a profitable entree into the western economy, the limited mining a c t i v i t y before the Klon-dike Gold Rush provided an even more advantageous economic situation for those natives positioned to participate in the new order. 1 7 Based on the 1 6 For an excellent description of the functioning of a casual, seasonal labour market in an industrial setting, see Garth Stedman Jones, Out- cast London, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971). Jones' work also i l -lustrates the importance of examining the structure and evolution of labour markets. 59 small number of much preferred white labourers and the limited technolo-gy of placer gold extraction, the benefits for the Indians were precari-ous. 1 8 The natives, however, achieved a successful accommodation with a small-scale, localized mining community; whether the balance achieved would stand up in the face of an onslaught of miners and a growing so-phistication in mining technology remained to be seen. Importantly, the miners made no attempt to draw the Indians to the centre of the new eco-nomic system. Instead, the now-dominant white community valued the In-dians' role as provisioners and seasonal labourers but sought to prevent any racial integration of the mines. They had, in effect, set up a ra-c i a l class system which assured a constant source of native labour. The natives seldom challenged the exclusiveness of the placer diggings, wel-coming the remunerative opportunity to combine preferred harvesting pur-suits with occasional wage labour. 1 7 Indians near the mining camps restricted the access of other natives to the markets and wage labour opportunities, a process reminiscent of attempts to preserve fur trade monopolies. See \"Incidents in the Li fe of R. J. Bowen.\" 1 8 The natives' successful adaptation to the 19th Century mining fron-t i e r in the Yukon is not unique, although i t contrasts with most por-t r a i t s of the expansion of mining ac t i v i t y . See the rather different portrayals of the B.C. experience of Robin Fisher, Contact and Con- f1ict and Rolf Knight, Indians at Work: An Informal History of Na- tive Indian Labour in B r i t i s h Columbia, 1858-1930. (Vancouver: New Star, 1978). On a more positive adaptation, somewhat analagous to the Yukon, see J. Kay, \"Indian Responses to a Wining Frontier,\" in W. Savage and S. Thompson, ed. The Frontier: Comparative Studies, Vol. 2 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979), 193-203. 60 CHAPTER FOUR NATIVES IN THE KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH ECONOMY The comparative quietude of the Yukon mining economy exploded in Au-gust, 1896, when \"squaw man\" George Carmacks and two Indians, Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie, discovered a major deposit of placer gold near the junction of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers. The i n i t i a l \"rush\" re-sembled any number of other stampedes in the region over the past decade and a half. At f i r s t hint of the find, miners throughout the Yukon Riv-er valley grabbed their tools, abandoned their diggings and headed for the new strike. Previous stampedes subsequently proved to be minor an-noyances, the discoveries shown to be either illusory or incapable of sustaining extensive mining ac t i v i t y . On this occasion, the discovery proved neither false nor limited. The story of the Klondike Gold has been oft-told and only the bare outlines need be sketched here. 1 News of the Yukon discovery reached the outside world in the summer of 1897 when miners carrying thousands of dollars worth of gold arrived in Seattle and San Francisco. The re-sponse throughout depression-ridden North America was instanteous. The great Klondike Gold Rush commenced. A few thousand prospectors made i t to the Yukon that same year, but the majority arranged their a f f a i r s so as to arrive in the gold f i e l d the following summer. Estimates as to the size of this human wave vary, but the number arriving in 1898 alone probably exceeded 50,000. Most of the would-be miners experienced shat-1 The best treatment is M. Zaslow, The Opening of the Canadian North, 101-146. A. A. Wright, Prelude to Bonanza contains a good discussion of the discovery and i n i t i a l reaction. On Dawson City see H. Quest, \"Dawson City\", (Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Manitoba, 1982). 61 tered dreams* as the prime gold-bearing ground had been staked long before their a r r i v a l . Disgruntled and demoralized, many thousands l e f t for the south soon after completing the journey to Dawson City. This toun had sprung up on the fl a t s at the mouth of the Klondike River to service the mines. While the population in the area soon dropped from the heady heights of 1898-1899. the federal census of 1901 recorded over 27.000 people in the t e r r i t o r y . 2 Many continued to leave, an exodus en-couraged by the discovery of gold near Nome. Alaska in 1699. but the lure of the Yukon nonetheless continued to exert i t s magnetic appeal. Every year would-be prospectors, each believing that they could share in the bounty of the northern \"Eldorado.\" found their way into the Yukon River basin. 3 By 1907. however, the gold rush had dwindled and a l l but died. Mammoth dredges replaced the placer miners in the creek beds and hydraulic mining operations stripped the banks and the h i l l sides of their wealth. The days of the individual miner, in the Klondike fields at least, were over. Large mining consortiums bought the rights to the major creeks and secured federal government leases to all-important wa-ter supplies. 4 As an economic force, the gold rush lasted less than a decade, giving way to the more systematic and more highly capitalized exploitation of the Yukon's mineral resources. This short duration belies i t s s i g n i f i -2 Canada. Census 1901. 3 See Guest. \"Dawson City\" for a useful discussion of the transiency as-sociated with the Gold Rush. 4 L. Green, The Gold Hustlers (Vancouver: Douglas. 1975); D. J. Hall. C l i f f o r d Sifton: The Young Napolean (Vancouver: UBC, 1982); Ian Clarke. \" C l i f f o r d Sifton In Relation to His Mines,\" unpublished paper presented to CHA, Montreal, 1980. 62 cance, for in short order the Gold Hush radically overturned the demographic* racial and economic balance in the Yukon River valley. Be-fore 1896, natives outnumbered whites by approximately four to one; the 1901 census, taken two years after the height of the rush, revealed a population of eight whites for every Indian. 5 For several decades, the natives had benefitted financially from the arrival of the whites, a prosperity tenuously founded on a shortage of white labour and the be-nign attitude of the new arr i v a l s to the native population. In the ag-gressive, indiv i d u a l i s t i c frenzy of the gold rush, the need for an ac-commodation with the Indians evaporated, any prior consideration for the natives' interest largely consumed by the lust for gold. At the same time, far more Indians throughout the region f e l t the ef-fects of the new order. Prospectors u t i l i z e d several corridors in com-ing to the Yukon, although the Chilkoot and White Passes from the Lynn Canal to the headwaters of the Yukon River remained the most favoured. Other routes, including the Dalton T r a i l in the southwest corner of the d i s t r i c t and a variety of branch routes connecting the supply centre of Edmonton with Dawson City offered access to the gold fields. Indians along each of these routes participated, i f often tangentially, in the gold rush economy. The Bennett Lake-Dawson corridor, however, remained the principle focus. (Hap 3) The mining a c t i v i t y i t s e l f centred on the tributaries of the Klondike River and while Indians throughout the territory f e l t the pull of the gold rush, the economic forces were strongest in the immediate hinter-land of the mines. A significant number of natives moved closer to Daw-5 The earlier figure comes . from a DIA estimate of 2600 natives in 1896 and approximately 600-700 whites. Canada, Census, 1901. 63 M a p 3: Routes to the K lond ike G o l d F ie lds 0 150 I i ' ' • Miles 64 BOTI City to take advantage of perceived economic opportunities. A l -though decimated by disease, the local Fort Resolution (Han) Indians re-mained in the area, as did a number of former residents of the Forty-Mile d i s t r i c t who followed the miners' migration upstream. Natives from as far away as Fort McPherson on the Peel River and along the Porcupine River in the northern Yukon came to Dawson, drawn by the social and eco-nomic a c t i v i t y . 5 While the number of Indians actually attracted to the gold f i e l d s was comparatively small, the reordering attending the rush affected most of the Yukon natives. Vastly different in scale and shape from previous economic structures, the gold rush economy offered a v a r i -ety of prospects and restrictions to those Indians who attempted to par-ticipate. The most noticeable characteristic of the Yukon Indians in the Klon-dike period is their comparative anonymity. In previous years, the na-tives maintained a high p r o f i l e and the documentary record is replete with comments on their a c t i v i t i e s . The natives receive scant attention in the gold rush literature. The records reflect the fact that the gold rush was an overwhelmingly white phenomenon, with the Indians swiftly relegated to a peripheral position. A prodigious number of diaries, b i -ographies and travelogues appeared, but the Indians, i f they appear at a l l , emerged on the margins. The authors, and one suspects the reader-ship, of these tracts had l i t t l e interest in what many perceived to be 5 R. Slobodin, \"The Dawson Boys,\" Polar Notes, vol. 5 (June 1963), 24-35; The Porcupine River was vi r t u a l l y deserted in this period as the Natives departed for Fort McPherson, Herschel Island or Dawson City, CMS, Bompas to CMS, 18 Nov. 1896; \"Report of Inspector Starnes,\" NWMP, Annual Report 1902, pt. I l l , 57; \"Report of Inspector Wood,\" ibid., p. 18; \"Report of Inspector Routledge,\" NWMP, Annual Report 1903, 89. 65 the dying remnants of yet another group of Indians. The relentless pursuit of gold and the hardships awaiting those intrepid \"Cheechakos\" (newcomers) who ventured north held far greater interest. As a conse-quence, this volumnious body of literature offers very feu insights into the a c t i v i t i e s of the Yukon Indians. 7 Also, government agents and even most missionaries vieued the care and protection of the uhite population as their principal responsibility and as a result comments on the Indi-ans also appear irregularly from these sources. 8 Despite limited contem-porary comment, the natives of course had a role to play in the develop-ment of the gold fields and their experience represented an important phase in their adaptation to the changing Yukon economy. From the beginnings of the Klondike rush, the natives attempted to retain the functions they had performed at the Forty-Hile camps. A num-ber of them uorked as labourers, guides or uood-cutters. aluays on a short-term basis. 9 In addition. the demand for meat in the camps re-7 For reasons presented here, no effort u i l l be made to l i s t the volumi-nous books, a r t i c l e s and typescripts uhich f i t this description. The reader i s referred to the useful uork by R. Friesen. The ChiIkoot Pass: A Literature Review (HRS #203; Parks Canada. 1977); H. Guest. Dawson City: San Francisco of the North or Boomtown In A Bog (HRS #241; Parks Canada. 1978); and Guest. \"Dawson City.\" 8 The only noteable exception is the records of the R.C.H.P. (PAC. RG18). although even there comments on the Indians are sketchy. See also P. Berton. Klondike. S. D. Clark. The Developing Canadian Commu- nity (Toronto: UTP. 1962); H. A. Innis. Settlement and the Hining Frontier (Toronto: Hacmillan. 1936) uhich reflect the standard Euro-centric focus. 9 Zaslou, 144-146; NWHP. Annual Reports. 1896-1904. DIAND, f i l e 801-30-0-1. Bompas to Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 12 July 1899. RCHP. vol. 189. f i l e 339. S. Sergt. Pringle to O.C. \"B.\" Division. 7 August 1900 discusses the HcQuesten area; RCHP. vol. 154. f i l e 445. Jarvis report re: Trip to Dalton Trading Post. 16 August 1898. de-scribes short-term uork in that area. Wages for guides and packers reached $4 a day. See also. Report of Superintendent Wood. NWHP. An- nual Report 1899. pt. I l l , 41. 66 mained high and a ready market existed for caribou or moose meat. Dur-ing the f i r s t months of the rush, demand for native labour exceeded a l l previous experience and high wages predominated. 1 0 As prospectors began to cross over the mountain passes and into the Yukon River basin. Indian residents near the routes found ready and renumerative employment as packers. The Chilkoot Pass provided most miners with their ingress to the Yukon. At the bottom of the pass, a number of Chilkat Indians of-fered to pack goods up the steep t r a i l s . Their prices had risen in step with demand. increasing from lc per pound in 1896 to 5c — 7c in 1897. The major onslaught of prospectors in 1898-1899 did not. however, bring greater rewards. Expanded use of tramways, packtrains and eventually the construction of the White Pass and Yukon Route railway connecting tidewater and Whitehorse undercut the Indians' packing enterprise. 1 1 Similar opportunities existed in the far north, along the passes con-necting the Mackenzie River basin and the Yukon River watershed. The number of prospectors was much smaller than in the south, but the Kutch-in found renumerative employment packing supplies across the Stony Creek Pass (joining the Peel and the Porcupine) and providing provisions for miners encamped along that route and the Peel-Wind River path to the Klondike. No white entrepreneur added transportation devices to these routes as the rush through the northern Yukon lasted for only two 1 0 YTA. AC. New Series. f i l e 4, Constantine to Deputy Minister of the Interior, 19 Nov. 1896; Archer. A Heroine of the North (London: Mac-mil lan, 1929), 160. 1 1 See R. Friesen, The Chilkoot Pass and the Great Gold Rush of 1898. . 72-95, 139-160. Most miners, themselves of moderate means, carried their own goods. Hence the famous photographs of the solitary string of bent-over men winding i t s way up the mountain pass. 67 years. 1 2 I n i t i a l l y * the Yukon Indians enjoyed a material prosperity greater than in the years of the Forty-Mile mines. Additionally, expansion of mining a c t i v i t i e s ensured that the benefits of the 1896 discovery were dispersed more widely than previously. Based on the scarcity of labour and lack of alternatives to Indian manpower, such rewards proved transi-tory. The arrival of tens of thousands of miners in 1898-1899 and the expansion of roads and r a i l lines between Dawson City and creeks elimi-nated much of the local need for native labour. 1 3 In short order, the technological advances spawned by the success of the gold fields re-stricted a number of former native occupations and severely limited the Indians' prospective role in the emerging economy. The provision trade continued to be the only section of the economy to provide consistent returns. This trade expanded geographically. Earlier efforts reached l i t t l e beyond the mining community market, sup-plemented in a small way through sales to missionaries and traders in the border region. With many thousands of miners, government o f f i c i a l s (especially the North Vest Mounted Police), and a few emerging s e t t l e -ments (Vhitehorse, Dawson, Carcross and Selkirk, being the most nota-ble), natives throughout the d i s t r i c t participated in the growing provi-sion trade. Uhile the market increased, there were nonetheless 1 2 Ken Coates, The Northern Yukon: A History (MRS #403, Parks Canada, 1979), 65-74; J. G. MacGregor, The Klondike Gold Rush Through Edmon- ton (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1970), G. Graham, The Golden Grindstone (Toronto: Oxford, 1935); E. McAdam, From Duck Lake to Dawson City ed. R. G. Moyles (Saskatoon: Western Prairie Producer Books, 1977), H. Inman, Buffalo Jones' Forty Years of Adventure (Lon-don, 1899), 454. 1 3 Technological advances in transportation are well described in G. Bennett, Yukon Transportation: A History, 24-58. 68 significant limitations to the natives' a b i l i t y to develop the markets' f u l l potential. To prevent widespread starvation, the federal govern-ment decreed that each person entering the territory bring 1,000 pounds of foodstuffs, an estimated one year supply. 1 4 This strigently enforced government edict obviously lessened demand for native produce. That many of those entering the region decided to leave soon after arriving in Dawson compounded the impact of the supply regulations. To raise the money required for a fare to the \"outside\" and to exact some pecuniary benefit from the t o i l of packing the goods over the mountains, these disgruntled sojourners sold their outfits in the mining camps, adding to the available food stocks. The miners could not bring in fresh meat and fish, but as long as resources allowed, many relied on their own hunting and fishing s k i l l s to satisfy their needs, thereby further restricting the market for animal carcasses and increasing competition for local re-sources. To supply the considerable market that s t i l l remained, the na-tives went further a f i e l d in pursuit of caribou amd moose and occasion-a l l y had to compete with white fishermen for access to the Yukon River salmon run. 1 5 The expanding transportation infrastructure, especially the provision of a year-round r a i l link between the coast and Whit-1 4 Zaslow, Opening provides a good description of administrative maneu-vers. See also Guest, \"Dawson City\", DIA, vol. 3962, f i l e 147, 6544 pt. 2, Bompas to Commissioner For Indian Affairs, 5 August 1696. 1 5 Ibid., Bompas to Indian Commissioner, 5 Sept. 1676; YTA, AC, New Se-ries, f i l e 4, Constantine to Deputy Minister of the Interior, 15 Nov. 1896. The government imposed game laws to protect resources, but ex-empted Indians. The decision reflected the government's desire to prevent natives from becoming public charges. DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12, J. Smart to Major Z. T. Wood, 17 October 1902. On decimation of game see Supt. \"H\" Division, 6 May 1902; \"Report of Inspector Wood,\" NWMP Annual Report 1902, pt. I l l , 10; \"Report of Supt. Wood,\" NWMP, Annual Report, 1903, 18. 69 ehorse. ensured a more reliable supply of foodstuffs from the south and a further reduction in demand for native supplies. Tales are legion about the gold miners' voracious appetites and the outrageous sums of-fered for specific foods, but this demand was normally restricted to such luxury items as fresh eggs, fresh milk and beef. In addition to supplying meat, several new avenues of employment opened up for the Indians. Feu offered regular or lasting income. Wo-men earned money manufacturing clothing for sale to the miners. There uas also a steady demand for other native products, including snoushoes and sleds, but the Indians' i n a b i l i t y and unwi11ingness to produce large quantities restricted the market. 1 6 Similarly, in the f i r s t days of the rush there seemed to be an insatiable demand for dogs, and those Indians u i l l i n g to part uith their animals earned sizeable sums of money. Since these same dogs uere essential to their hunting a c t i v i t i e s , the natives seldom surrendered the animals. Several unite entrepeneurs capitalized on the demand for dogs by heading to the northern reaches of the t e r r i -tory - the Porcupine River country and the Arctic slope - where they purchased dogs from Indians and Inuit. They then drove the animals back to Dauson and sold them for a handsome p r o f i t . 1 7 The a v a i l a b i l i t y of government r e l i e f also altered economic condi-tions and options. Prodded by Bishop Bompas and other members of the 1 6 Archer, A Heroine of the North, 162, suggests Indian uomen prospered during the Gold Rush. Many Native products, especially snoushoes, uere valued by the NWMP for s u i t a b i l i t y to Northern conditions. \"Re-port of Supt. Wood,\" NWMP, Annual Report 1899. pt. I l l , 62. 1 7 W. Mason, The Frozen Northland (Cincinnati: Jennings and Graham, 1910); Cody, Apostle of the North, 279 states prices for dogs reached $250 or, on a rental basis, $1 per dog each day. 70 Church Missionary Society to provide better care for the nat i v e s . 1 8 the federal government directed the North West Mounted Police to provide supplies for destitute Indians. Only those natives with access to the police p o B t s scattered along the Bennett to Dawson corridor could c a l l on the limited benefits. General prosperity, plus s t r i c t government regulations ensured, however, that few Indians called on the allotments. Government r e l i e f , u t i l i z e d by only the i l l and the aged in this period, served as an important counter-balance to the occasional insecurity of the hunting and gathering economy. particularly in those areas feeling the impact of combined native and white hunting pressure. 1 9 Though most natives continued to hunt for sustenance and market and trap furs for trade, others became more active participants. Several found semi-skilled employment. Work was available for deckhands on one of the many steamboats plying the waters of the Yukon and for woodcut-ters supplying cord wood for the same v e s s e l s . 2 0 The new economic pros-pects attracted a number of Indians to the mining camps. The Peel River Kutchin migrated almost en masse toward Dawson City. Like the area res-idents, they found a variety of seasonal and trapping employment oppor-tunities. Describing these \"Dawson Boys.\" Richard Slobodin wrote: 1 9 DIA. vol. 4037, f i l e 317.050. J. D. McLean to T. W. Jackson. 28 Jan. 1902? DIA. vol. 4001, f i l e 207, 418, Longdon to Pedley, 28 May 1903, White to Smart, 1 January 1901, Accountant to Secretary, DIA, 1 May 1902. 1 9 \"Report of Supt. Wood,\" NWMP, Annual Report 1899, pt. I l l , 55, RCMP, vol. 247, f i l e 92, Bompas to Wood, 6 July 1900; DIAND, f i l e 801-30-0-1. Bompas to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 12 July 1899; \"Report of Inspector Jarvis,\" NWMP, Annual Report 1902, pt. I l l , 70-71; \"Report of Inspector Snyder,\" NWMP, Annual Report 1903, 43. zo \"Report of Inspector Routledge, 1 Dec. 1902,\" NWMP, Annual Report 1903, 89; \"Report of Supt. Cuthbert,\" NWMP. Annual Report 1904, 43. 71 Sumner activites. however, opened up a new l i f e . Fourteen major summer occupations for this period have been recorded, of which ten were quite novel to these people. They included deckhand on steamboats, scow p i l o t , carpenter, motorboat me-chanic, pool-hall handyman, licensed trader, and, for women, laundress and mining camp cook. 2 1 Slobodin's study traced the Indians beyond the Gold Rush to the mid-1910's, and several of the noted occupations occured in the post-Klondike period. While a number of employment prospects existed, few of which uere neu to the Yukon Indians, they continued to be of a seasonal nature. Each uinter, the natives l e f t their summer positions and returned to their hunting camps and trap-lines. Importantly, the Indians accommodated most neu economic ventures within the contours of their hunting-gather-ing patterns. Summarizing the impact of the gold rush on the natives, anthropologist Alice Kehoe wrote: Dene, eager for cash or novelty, flocked to these touns, men s e l l i n g fish and meat or uorking as labourers on the steam-boats, at the river docks, and in the touns, women working as laundresses i f their husbands brought them along. The majori-ty of Dene men made excursions for wage labour on the pattern of hunting and trapping, leaving the wives and children in camp.22 Her description conforms closely to Michael Asch's characterization of the \"mixed economy\", with the natives able to readily accommodate var-ied, but transitory sources of wage labour into a regular seasonal cy-c l e . 2 3 2 1 Slobodin, \"The Dawson Boys.\" 2 2 A. Kehoe, North American Indians, 500. 2 3 Asch, \"Capital and Economic Development;\" H. Asch, \"Some Effects of The Late Nineteenth Century Modernization of the Fur Trade on the Economy of the Slavey Indians,\" Western Canadian Journal of Anthro- pology, vol. 6, no. 4 (1975), 7-15. 72 Since tuo Indians, Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie, participated in and profited from the discovery of the Bonanza claim, i t is not surpris-ing that a few natives continued to prospect. There i s , however, no i n -dication of the numbers. Several commentators agreed that after a na-tive staked a paying claim i t would be \"bargained away from him by the cleverer white.\" 2 4 Before Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie returned to Carcross, where Charlie died in 1908, they combined with Jim Boss in an attempt to hit yet another big strike. Their efforts went unrewarded. 2 5 A few Indians put aside their harvesting practises (though seldom perma-nently) while joining the mining economy. While they enjoyed varying degrees of success, most shared the fate of Skookum Jim and Tagish Char-l i e . Rich men in their day, they, like many of the \"successful\" miners, lost most of their money in short order. The a c t i v i t i e s of a few entre-peneurs, a term that applies with special v a l i d i t y to Jim Boss — miner, trader and road house operator — indicates that there was no uniform \"native\" response to the expansion and evolution of the Yukon economy. Location, timing and personality a l l played a role in determining the response of individual Indians to the prospects and limitations posed by the expansion of mining. One of the most significant implications of the Klondike rush lay in the extension of Euro-Canadian economic interests throughout the t e r r i -tory. Before 1896-1899, white a c t i v i t y remained cloistered in the west-central Yukon, with only limited expansion elsewhere. As a result. 2 4 DIAND, 801-30-0-1, Bompas to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 12 July 1899. 2 5 RCMP, vol. 251, f i l e 262, Supt. \"H\" Division to Asst. Commissioner, 10 July 1903. 73 many natives had l i t t l e or no direct contact with whites. Their attempts to expand operations were often blocked by other natives pro-tecting a middleman position. Vhen the gold-rush unleashed i t s legions of would-be miners, old barriers broke down and engulfed previously l i t -t l e known areaB. The Copper Indians in the White River region had been prevented from contacting the whites near Forty-Mile by the Han and from reaching the Haines area to the south by the Tl i n g i t . When the f i r s t N.W.H.P. patrols reported back from the d i s t r i c t . the officers noted their reliance on out-dated guns, a lack of requisite supplies and their general backwardness.2 5 The isolation of the Copper. Kaska and eastern Tutchone bands dissolved as white prospectors and traders expanded oper-ations. For these natives. new economic opportunities included l i t t l e more than provisioning and fur trading, but improved acc e s s i b i l i t y to white traders made the acquisition of material goods far easier. As before, the economic prospects of the Yukon natives depended on their own interests and the structure of the t e r r i t o r i a l labor market. 2 7 Attempts by employers to match their needs with the available supply of able-bodied workers determined the number and type of positions availa-ble to Indians. The economy retained much of i t s seasonal character, 2 6 RCMP, vol. 155, f i l e 484, Insp. Jarvis to Comptroller, NWHP, 11 Au-gust 1898; RCMP. vol. 154, f i l e 445, Jarvis report re: t r i p to Dal-ton Trading Post, 15 August 1898; \"Report of Inspector Jarvis,\" NWMP, Annual Report 1899, pt. I l l , 63. 2 7 NWMP officers offered glimpses of the Indians' a c t i v i t i e s . RCMP, vol. 295, f i l e 273, Cuthbert to Asst. Commissioner, 30 Sept. 1905; RCMP, vol. 251, f i l e 262, Supt. \"H\" Division to Asst. Comm., 7 Feb. 1903; RCMP, vol. 245, f i l e 62, Wood to Comptroller, 29 Dec. 1902, Cuthbert to Asst. Comm., 17 Dec. 1902; RCMP, vol. 231, f i l e 188, Insp. Horrigan to Asst. Comm., 3 Nov. 1902: RCMP, vol. 189, f i l e 339, Pringle to O.C. \"B\" Division, 7 August 1900; \"Report of Inspector Sternes,\" NWMP Annual Report 1902, pt. I l l , 56-57. 74 with demand expanding in the summer and contracting dramatically as winter approached. The need for s k i l l e d workers grew rapidly, particu-larly in the Dawson City and Whitehorse service industries. Lacking re-quisite technicial and social s k i l l s labour. 2 8 the natives instead vied for available unskilled positions. The large number of white workers in the d i s t r i c t prevented any major native entry into the labour force. Each winter, thousands of men and women crossed over the Chilkoot and White Passes, and travelled downstream with the break-up of the river ice. arriving in Dawson as the demand for workers increased. Unable to find suitable or renumerative gold claims, these men often offered their services to others, working in the mines or in Dawson. The size of this labour pool allowed wage rates to actually decline, even in the face of uniformly high prices. Under such conditions, the Yukon labour market offered few openings for the less desirable Indians. 2 8 The labour sur-plus ensured that the natives. regarded as a labour source of last re-sort due to dominant white perceptions of their unwillingness to work, faded to the background. Their economic pursuits extended l i t t l e beyond those pursuits deemed suitable by Indians and whites alike to their \"na-2 8 Economic a c t i v i t y in the Yukon to 1918 is covered in Zaslow. Opening. See also Guest. \"Dawson City.\" An indication of the limited a c t i v i t y in the North is found in Coates. The Northern Yukon. A wider per-spective i s gleaned from G. Bennett. Yukon Transportation. See also K. Rea. The P o l i t i c a l Economy of the Canadian North. For a conten-tious perspective on economic development, see R. Stuart. \"The Under-development of Yukon 1840-1960: An Overview\", unpublished paper pre-sented to CHA, Montreal, 1980. For a summary of a c t i v i t i e s in the southwest, see A. A. Wright, \"The Kluane Region,\" copy in YTA. 2 3 Exclusionist policies kept natives out of the mines. Policies de-signed to prevent competition from cheap labour similarly barred the Chinese. Bishop Bompas and the police encouraged such exclusion. DIA, vol. 3962, f i l e 147, 654-1, pt. 2, Bompas to Indian Commission-er, 5 September 1896; CMS, Bompas to CMS, 2 March 1898. 75 tive\" status. The natives' choice was a logical one. for they l i k e l y earned more from their hunting and trapping a c t i v i t i e s than was possible through temporary employment near the mines. Consequently, the Indians retained the position held before 1896 — fur trappers and meat harvest-ers — although even in these ventures they faced the new challenge of white competition. There was one rather ironic instance where the forces of labour sup-ply and demand worked to bar the Indians from a potentially remunerative source of income. In other gold rush and frontier settings, native wo-men earned regular incomes as p r o s t i t u t e s . 3 0 Given the overwhelmingly male composition of the incoming population many government agents and missionaries feared that the limited supply of women would similarly lead to native prostitution. There were, however, few recorded instanc-es of such activity, fewer even than in the early days of the Forty-Mile camps when native women frequently visited the miners' cabins. These early relations remained more social than financial, but the anticipated demand for female companionship in the wake of the gold rush promised to put such affections on a different footing. The extensive publicity at-tending the Gold Rush, however, ensured that women of a talent and in-clination to satisfy the miners' baser instincts quickly found their way north and began to reap their share of the gold diggings. 3 1 Because of the adequate supply of white women. native women found l i t t l e place in this financially rewarding, i f soc i a l l y and medically undesirable, pro-3 0 Fisher. Contact and Conf1ict. 19-20, 101. 113. 128. describes B.C. native prostitution. In this instance he notes that Indian prostitu-tion ceased with the arrival of a white settler population. 3 1 Guest, \"Dawson City', esp. chapter \"Langourous Li H i e s of Soulless Love.\" 76 fession. The laws of supply and demand worked to protect Indian women from absorption into an unsavoury segment of the t e r r i t o r i a l workforce. The economic legacy of the gold rush was decidedly less positive than earlier mining developments. Previously profitable native incursions based on a scarcity of white labour gave way as the massive flood of would-be prospectors f i l l e d most available jobs and even s p i l l e d over into the native spheres. The Yukon Indians no longer occupied the cen-tre of the t e r r i t o r i a l labour pool. Pushed to the periphery, they har-vested a regionally threatened resource base for sale to a population with a growing number of alternative sources of food. The fur trade, however, continued to offer a respectable r e t u r n , 3 2 but for natives in the Dawson City hinterland, those resources appeared to be rapidly dwin-dling. At the opposite end, the emergence of native c a p i t a l i s t s , i n d i -viduals motivated by the search for profit and personal material gain, indicated the f u l l range of native response to the new r e a l i t i e s . In the final analysis, the gold rush indicated the precarious nature of the natives' link to the mining economy. White society did not encourage integration of Euro-Canadians and Indians. Instead, as members of a casual labour pool, the natives served to f i l l short term demands, but generally fended for themselves outside the economic mainstream. The natives accepted this emerging condition with equanimity, for with only 3 2 There i s l i t t l e detailed information available on the fur trade in this period. See R. McCandless, \"Yukon Wild L i f e : A Social Histo-ry,\" copy in YTA; Also F. T. Congdon, \"Fur-Bearing Animals in Canada, and How to Prevent Their Extinction,\" F i r s t Annual Report of the Com- mission on Conservation, 1910. On Dalton Post, RCHP, vol. 251, f i l e 262, Supt. \"H\" Division to Asst. Comm., 7 Feb. 1903; \"Report of Supt. Wood,\" NWMP, Annual Report 1904, 12; \"Report by McDonell, Dal-ton T r a i l , \" NWMP, Annual report 1904, 72; Report of Inspector Jarvis, NWMP. 1900, pt. II, 59; Report of Insp. Jarvis, NWMP, Annual Report 1699, pt. I l l , 62-63. RCMP, vol. 231, f i l e 188. 77 a feu exceptions, most Indians willingly and ably maintained their high-ly valued hunting and gathering pursuits. The economic order presaged in the Forty-Mile and Stewart River gold camps did not come to pass. In i t s stead, the Yukon showed signs of de-veloping two separate economic systems, one based on the extraction and transportation of mineral resources, the other on fur trapping and the pursuit of game. Points of contact uere few. By the end of the Klon-dike Gold Rush. the Yukon economy had been set on yet another course, this one pulling native and white apart in contrast to the manner in which the pre-1896 mining frontier had drawn them together. 78 CHAPTER FIVE NATIVES IN THE 20TH CENTURY INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY From the arrival of the Hudson's Bay Company to the discovery of gold along Bonanza Creek in 1896, the natives of the Yukon had been closely integrated into the regional economic order. The Gold Rush altered that situation, establishing an economic order uhich offered only a peripher-al role for the Indians. With the decline of the gold rush? however, the future course of the t e r r i t o r i a l economy lay uncharted. No obvious successor emerged to the rich placer fields uhich had enjoyed such an intensive brief existence. That magnitude of economic act i v i t y would not be matched again until the Second World War when American military exigencies led to a series of major construction projects in the area. In the intervening years, the economy of the Yukon lacked clear direc-tion. 1 To 1904, the regional economy had been built on a single resource of a time, f i r s t furs then gold. The period after the gold rush saw the emergence of a more diversified, i f significantly smaller, order. The Indians had an important role in the emergent economic system, providing the most v i t a l link between two rather divergent sectors. The post-Gold Rush economy centred on a diversified mining industry and the selective harvesting of game. The continued exploitation of the Klondike gold fields, a revived search for new deposits, the opening of several new mines and a myriad of related transportation and supply a c t i v i t i e s formed the central core of the Yukon economy. Government attention, 1 For material on Twentieth Century economic a c t i v i t i e s , see footnote 28, preceeding chapter. 79 public expectations and investment capital focused almost exclusively on the prospects for mineral development. The harvesting sector, operating away from the Whitehorse-Dauson corridor, had markedly different charac-t e r i s t i c s . Based on a resurgent fur market and a growing interest in big game hunting, and reaching into v i r t u a l l y every corner of the Yukon, this segment attracted l i t t l e \"outside\" interest. The Indians had a role in both economic systems, circumscribed in the f i r s t , predominant in the second. Importantly, they provided almost the only linkage be-tween the two sectors. Mining remained the principle focus for the Yukon economy. While the slow death of the gold rush, as much a social phenomenon as an economic event, sapped the territory of much of i t s population base, mining ac-t i v i t y continued and even diversified. The gold fields near Dawson City remained in production, but the nature of that industry had changed dra-matically. The prospector's tools became obsolete, replaced by mammoth dredges which scoured the ground once again for gold l e f t behind by the inefficient methods of the earlier placer miners. With most of the creeks bound by large water-rights concessions or controlled by one of the mining firms formed to systematically exploit the resource, the i n -dividual miner was effectively shut out. While the arrival of the big companies had i n i t i a l l y created animosity, limited returns from the fie l d s convinced most prospectors to move on. The highly mechanized in -dustry continued to find gold, although in decreasing quantities. Fur-ther rationalization of the industry became economically essential, leading to the founding of the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation, a consortium of the three largest dredging firms, in 1929. This new cor-80 proration, aided by stable gold prices, continued operations through the 1930's and provided much of the territory's gold production. 2 In the gold fields, a new order had replaced the era of the pros-pector. Those individuals. characteristically dogged by their relent-less lust for gold and their irrepressible confidence, searched for new deposits. Turning away from Dawson City and i t s environs, they scoured the territory from the southern border to the Arctic coast, pushing without success into a number of previously unopened areas. Efforts in the last years of the 19th Century had uncovered gold at A t i i n in north-ern B r i t i s h Columbia but that find died quickly. Promising reports f i l -tered in from around the territory, as one prospector after another staked a discovery claim on yet another \"Bonanza\" creek. Only a few sites, such as the Livingstone Creek area in the central Yukon and the gold and s i l v e r deposits in the Kluane Lake d i s t r i c t attracted more than a cursory glance. Nonetheless, the quest continued. The most promising mineral activitycame not from gold, but from other ores detected in the search for placer deposits. Copper mines opened in the Uhitehorse area by the turn of the century. but high transportation costs limited the p r o f i t a b i l i t y of such enterprises. A major s i l v e r -lead deposit had been identified in the Mayo area by 1906. but the min-erals remained unclaimed for another decade. Once developed, the Mayo-Keho mines provided the major economic catalyst for the Yukon, and by the 1920's several mines combined with a concentrating mill were in op-eration. This development. the f i r s t significant exploitation of low grade ores in the territory. led to rapid changes in the transportation 2 L. Green. The Gold HuBtlers. and K. Rea. The P o l i t i c a l Economy of the Canadian North. 96-150. 81 infrastructure? including an upgrading of r a i l capacity and deployment of more suitable sternuheelers along the Yukon and Stewart Rivers. 3 A restructured Yukon mining economy emerged. but with an even more peripheral role for the Indians. Based on mechanized mining and s k i l l e d labour, this economy held feu openings for the natives. Demand for l a -bour, in contrast to the Klondike Gold Rush period. remained limited i f more stable. The more systematic extraction procedures required a pre-dominately s k i l l e d labour force, and the corporate management of the mines ensured that the required workers uere on s i t e . Seasonal demand for labour continued, although hard-rock mining in the Mayo area lacked a c y c l i c a l dimension. Because of improved transportation and communica-tion links to the \"outside.\" principally the Vancouver market, that de-mand could be readily met uithout resorting to the native labour pool. Some Indians entered the uork market. A limited number uho found em-ployment in the mines. almost exclusively the smaller copper operations in the Vhitehorse area. Feu managers, however, substituted native l a -bour for the readily available. highly s k i l l e d . albeit more expensive uhite workers. 4 Although only a small number of natives challenged the barriers in an attempt to enter the uhite man's uorld. the industrial economy quite clearly had feu openings for the Indians. 5 3 G. Bennett. Yukon Transportation: A History, pp. 94-114. 4 \"Report of Supt. Snyder\". 30 Nov. 1904. RNWflP, Annual Report 1904. Several Indians mined for themselves. Northern Administration Branch. RG 85 (hereafter NAB), vol. 609. f i l e 2657; AC Neu Series, f i l e 2, Vo-wel 1 and Green to Secretary of Indian Dept., 14 August, 1908. 5 AC, Neu Series, f i l e 3, A. E. Green to Secretary, Indian Department, 16 April 1909. 82 If the Indians could not, or would not, meld into the evolving indus-t r i a l order, they did find reasonable remuneration in supplying the mines and in related transportation a c t i v i t i e s . 6 Several, for example, worked as deckhands on the riverboats. No figures are available on the number securing such positions, although i t i s li k e l y that the total seldom exceeded a feu dozen. Any attempted assessment i s thrown into doubt by a Department of Indian Affairs o f f i c i a l ' s observation that a group of Fraser River Indians from southern B r i t i s h Columbia came to the Yukon each summer to find uork on the vessels. Woodcutting continued to provide a steady source of income, an acti v i t y readily incorporated into the Indians' hunting-trapping economy. The Yukon River steamship fleet consumed vast quantities of uood each year, and a ready market for uood existed along the riverbanks. These opportunities were, houever, l i m i t -ed to those l i v i n g along rivers uith regular steamship service. By the mid-1920's, houever, small vessels plied most of the major navigable 6 The description of native activites in the industrial economy i s draun from RCMP, vol. 514, f i l e 530, Bell to 0. C. \"B\" Division, 2 Sept. 1916; RNWMP, Annual report 1908, 209; AC, Young f i l e , \"Young to Stringer, 15 Oct. 1920; DIA, vol. 6478, f i l e 930-1 pt. 1, Particulars regarding Yukon Indians, Teslin Lake Band, June 1907, Stringer to Hauksely, 31 Jan. 1925; DIAND, 801-30-0-1, Taggart to Allen, 3 April 1940; AC, Selkirk Children reports, various letters; AC, Ashbee f i l e , Kirsey to Stringer, 5 Oct. 1927; AC, Misc. f i l e , Stringer to Welsh, 15 May 1916; AC, Ashbee f i l e , Ashbee to Stringer, 26 June 1926; AC, Wood f i l e , James Wood to Stringer, 15 June 1916; AC Field f i l e . Stringer to Field, 16 Jan. 1915; AC, Neu Series, f i l e 1, Particulars regarding Yukon Indians, c.1907; AC, Neu Series, f i l e 2, Vouell and Green to Secretary of Indian Dept., 14 August 1908, YRGI, Series 5, vol. 2, f i l e 198, Hitter to Controller, Mines, Lands and Yukon Branch, 6 Feb. 1917, McLean to Rouett, 10 March 1917, Mitter to Controller, Mines, Lands and Yukon Branch, 14 May 1917. See also, June Helm, Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 6 Subarctic C. McClellan, My Old People Say. During World War II, labour shortages led to the short-term employment of natives in the gold operations near Dauson. R. Stuart, \"The Impact of the Alaska Highway on Dauson City,\" Paper presented to the Alaska Highuay Symposium, Fort St. John, 1982. 83 rivers. As in many other potentially profitable ventures, the natives soon found their predominance in this f i e l d challenged by small-scale European wood-cutting operations. 7 Through to the 1950's, however, sup-plying the steamers served as a major source of native income, particu-larly for those along the heavily travelled Yukon River route. Provision hunting for the mines and settlements proved even more re-munerative and drew the Indians closer to the white communities. In the three major centres, Dawson City, Mayo and Vhitehorse, the demand for wild game remained steady. With beef and pork hard to obtain, the local population turned to the less familiar, but less expensive, indigenous supplies. While many hunted for their own requirements, others relied on native and white provision hunters. 5 The natives found this a c t i v i t y particularly attractive as i t provided a comparatively high financial return and did not require a major reorientation of seasonal patterns. There are few s t a t i s t i c a l indications of the size of the provision market, although one recent estimate of the demand in Dawson City, a town of approximately 9,000, in 1904 suggests that residents required some 600 moose and 2300 caribou annually to supplement available meat stocks. 9 While a good portion would have been provided by private hunt-ers, particularly in the Dawson area where the Forty Mile caribou herd annually passed within several miles of the town, provision hunters s t i l l had a significant role. The market proved variable, being depen-dent upon the consumption habits of the local population, price and 7 An attempt to change to coal mined near Carmacks was abandoned due to the poor quality of the Yukon product. 5 YG, vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt. J. Hawksley to Scott, 21 August 1931. a R. HcCandless, \"Yukon Wildlife\". 84 a v a i l a b i l i t y of alternative meats, competition from Euro-Canadian hunt-ers, and the a v a i l a b i l i t y of game near the touns. While the main focus of the provision trade remained on the major centres, an important sec-ondary market existed among fur traders in the back country. 1 0 The v a r i -ous traders, in a manner reminiscent of the similar trade in the H.B.C. period, readily accepted meat from the natives and often depended solely on uhat the natives sold. importantly, i t is only in this secondary and limited market that the Indians enjoyed even a modicum of security and freedom from uhite competition. 1 1 Government records provide limited evidence of the contours and p r i -f i t a b i l i t y of the provision trade. A l i s t of game licences issued in 1921 i l l u s t r a t e s the extent of uhite competition in this \"native\" f i e l d . Of the 53 licences recorded, only seven uent to natives (al l in the Mayo ar e a ) . 1 2 In no uay does this indicate the comparative participation of uhites and Indians, for natives seldom took out the licences formally required to market their harvests. It does, however, indicate that a substantial number of uhites engaged in uhat many sau as a native en-deavour. Statements of game purchased by the Waechter Brothers of Daw-son City in 1925 and 1927 i l l u s t r a t e the nature of competition and re-turns from the sale of meat. In both years, natives far outstripped uhites both in number offering produce for sale and quantity of meat sold. Prices ranged from 10c to 22c per pound, uith payment dependent 1 0 McCandless 1 1 See YTA, Codzou Papers, Account Book uhich l i s t s a number of meat purchases from natives. On sale of game in Whitehorse, see YRGI, Se-ries 3, vol. 4, f i l e 12-6A, Higgins to Percy. 25 August 1926. 1 2 RGI. Series 3. vol. 2. f i l e 12-14B. Game Hunters Licenses issued 1921. 85 upon the type of meat and manner in uhich i t was dressed. The associa-tion uith the Waechter Brothers Co. proved lucrative for several na-tives. B. Silas and J. Johns earned $236 and $565 respectively for meat sold in 1927. Since these figures relate to only one firm, i t is possi-ble that the men also sold to other retailers or. as i s most lik e l y , d i -rectly to consumers. 1 3 The market for game continued into the 1940's, ending only uhen heightened concern for w i l d l i f e conservation and a per-ceived increase in hunting pressure f i n a l l y convinced the t e r r i t o r i a l government to join other Canadian jurisdictions in banning the harvest-ing of ui l d game for r e t a i l s a l e . 1 4 The provision trade provided a profitable. i f irregular. source of income for those Indians in a position to participate. White hunters also recognized the potential profits from the enterprise, competing most e f f i c i e n t l y for available game stocks (especially close to the towns) and markets. Urban purchasers allegedly favoured the meat of-fered by uhite market hunters. George Jeckell. Commissioner of the Yu-kon, evoked the public's feeling toward the trade uhen he noted: In past years the uhite population uas small and the amount of game meat sold to the uhite population by the Indians uas i n -significant, and this uas particularly due to the fact that uhite people in general do not care to purchase game from In-dians because the game they take i s not slaughtered carefully and not kept clean and wholesome.15 1 3 RGI. Series 3. f o l . 12. f i l e 13-2A. Statement of Game Purchased by Waechter Bros. Co.. 1925; f i l e 13-28. Statement of Game Purchased by Waechter Bros. Co., 1927. 1 4 See, for example, RGI, Series 3, vol. 10, f i l e 12-20A. Gibson to Jeckell, 9 September 1942. 1 5 RGI, Series 3, vol. 10, f i l e 12-20C, Jeckell to Gibson, 13 January 1944. 86 The provision trade, in sum* was of only tangential importance to the Yukon economy. Alternative meat supplies existed, i f at higher cost, and the amount brought into the territory increased over time as trans-portation links improved. For the Indians, provisioning was a double-edged sword, offering a welcome i f inconsistent source of funds while simultaneously adding to pressure on available game stocks. Whether harvested by natives or white market hunters (the latter demonstrated l i t t l e interest in the long-term s t a b i l i t y of the trade), game supplies adjacent to major centres faced serious depletion. As well, since most hunters offered only the hind quarters for sale, the p o s s i b i l i t y of ex-tensive waste persisted. For many Indians, the provision trade and the similarly structured wood-cutting enterprise provided the only s i g n i f i -cant points of contact with the t e r r i t o r i a l cash economy. Neither ac-t i v i t y drew the Indians close to the mining industry; instead, through a combination of native choice and white-imposed limitations, the natives found themselves relegated to the economic periphery. In summarizing the natives' role in the industrial economy, two points stand out. White businessmen and mine operators clearly per-ceived l i t t l e benefit in hiring native labourers, except when labour market conditions made such practices essential. This reticence re-flected deeply embedded perceptions of the Indians' unwillingness to ac-cept industrial work discipline. At the same time, however, the natives rarely sought such employment, preferring harvesting to the r i g i d i t y of the industrial workplace. Native involvement in this sector seldom ex-tended beyond providing support services, principally wood-cutting, pro-vision hunting and working on river boats, and even those a c t i v i t i e s ad-87 hered to Indian seasonal cycles. These tasks, importantly, did not force a repudiation of the natives' nomadic and c y c l i c a l patterns. In-stead, as Michael Asch has argued, they became key elements in the \"mix-ed economy.\" Anxious for occasional infusions of cash to pay for re-quired or desired material goods, the natives sought some measure of accommodation with the cash economy (the fur trade also provided a major source of money, as will be detailed shortly). Such short-term p a r t i c i -pation, however, does not indicate that the natives wished to move out of their harvesting mode of production and into an industrial pattern. Instead, the very marginal nature of the Indians' accommodation suggests that they remained basically committed to the efficacy of the hunting and trapping l i f e s t y l e and, equally important, found the combination of hunting, fishing, trapping and occasional other work to be financially acceptable. From 1904 to 1942, native participation in the industrial sector of the Yukon economy retained this essential form. Based on the extraction of minerals and related services, this sector offered l i t t l e for the na-tives beyond part-time and peripheral employment. With the onset of World War II, the complexion of the regional economy changed dramatical-ly. The construction of the Alaska Highway and the building of the Ca-nol Pipeline from Norman Wells, North West Territories to Vhitehorse dominated the new a c t i v i t i e s . (Map 4) Proposals to build a highway through the Yukon to Alaska had been debated for many years, but the threat of a Japanese assault on Alaska and Pacific coast revived inter-est in the project. The U.S. army decided to proceed with construction. Thousands of men, accompanied by tons of equipment, descended on the Yu-88 Map 4: World War II Construction Projects i i i Miles M D 89 kon in the spring of 1942. More than 34.000 men eventually participated in the highway construction, with a smaller group working on the pipe-line at the same time. By October 1943. a usable military road was in place and work commenced on improving to highway standard. 1 5 Obviously, this massive infusion of capital and manpower and the construction of a transportation route through the previously unopened southern Yukon had significant implications for the t e r r i t o r i a l economy.17 While most of the workforce consisted of labourers imported from southern Canada and the United States, local residents found some oppor-tunities. A number of natives joined in the new enterprise, hiring on as guides for survey crews, as labourers and. in a very few instances, as equipment operators. Employment prospects for women were more li m i t -ed, but some li v i n g near construction camps found work taking in laun-dry, sewing and house cleaning. The government attempted to spur an ob-vious demand for native handicrafts by sponsoring a program to encourage native women to make souvenirs and clothing for soldiers. The lack of enough young women with the requisite s k i l l s to participate in the po-ten t i a l l y lucrative undertaking ultimately forced an abandonment of the pr o j e c t . 1 8 Positions existed and many natives took advantage of the short-term prospects. Most Indians, however, saw the new opportunities is David Remley. Crooked Road; The Story of the Alaska Highway (Toron-to: McGraw H i l l , 1976). 1 7 See Ken Coates, \"The Alaska Highway and the Indians of the Southern Yukon, 1942-1950: A Study in Native Adaptation to Northern Develop-ment,\" paper presented to Alaska Highway Symposium, Fort St. John, 1982. 1 8 DIA, vol. 7553, f i l e 41-166-1, Gibbon to Indian Affairs Branch, 10 April 1943. The f i l e contains further details on the undertaking. See in particular ibid., Lowe to Hoey, 15 June 1943. 9 0 for uhat they uere — short-term entrees into the regional industrial economy, not markedly dissimilar from the positions natives held in the mining/transportation sector in the previous half-century. They readily returned to the bush to hunt and trap uhen the transitory but lucrative opportunities passed. Throughout the period of Highuay construction and indeed up to 1946. fur prices remained high, serving as an attractive enticement to stay uith the uork they kneu and liked the best. (See Table 4) The construc-tion of the Alaska Highuay. Haines Road. Canol Pipeline and related pro-jects had a variety of implications for the Yukon Indians, but the neu a c t i v i t i e s did not spur an immediate or lasting alteration of native ec-onomic patterns. The type of uork available to Indians — unskilled and temporary — resembled the position they held since the gold rush. The ready a v a i l a b i l i t y of s k i l l e d . non-Indian (many of the uorkers and ser-vicemen uere Amerian Negroes) labour ensured that project organizers treated the local natives as a casual labour pool. As before, natives uere called upon uhen required. especially uhen they needed special In-dian s k i l l s . They uere not expected to carry out a major portion of the uork. While the scale of the American-Canadian invasion in 1942-1944 came close to matching the earlier Klondike Gold Rush, the construction phase did not reshape native economic activity. As before, most natives sought and found only peripheral and temporary employment in the indus-t r i a l sector, thus allowing a continuation of hunting/trapping practis-es. Importantly, most of those seeking an accommodation uith the neu economy soon returned to their former pursuits. 91 CHAPTER SIX NATIVES IN THE HARVESTING ECONOMY From 1896 to 1950, the Yukon Indians made only a peripheral accommo-dation with the industrial sector. Barred by personal choice and man-agement decision from a deeper integration into the mining and transpor-tation industries, the Indians opted almost as a group for the second sector of the t e r r i t o r i a l economy. Despite extensive mining develop-ment, the natives retained an option shared by few other Indian groups in North America — that of maintaining a hunting/trapping l i f e s t y l e through the f i r s t half of the Twentieth Century. Due to the small size of the white population, which dropped as low as 2700 in the 1920's and 1930's, and with a concentration in the Dawson, Mayo and Uhitehorse are-as, the natives faced l i t t l e challenge to their use of the land through-out the d i s t r i c t . Whites primarily sought minerals, alienating only an insignificant amount of land from general use. Throughout most of the Yukon, the pursuit of game remained the major economic act i v i t y . Given their s k i l l s and habits, the Yukon Indians were well-placed and predisposed to harvest, or assist in harvesting, animal resources. They were seldom completely alone, their a c t i v i t i e s intertwined with those of white fur traders, their prosperity determined in large measure by the v o l a t i l e fur markets of North America and Europe, and their hunting pro-cedures subject to fluctuating pressure from white men drawn into the hunt by potentially high returns. While a fur trade somewhat different from i t s 19th Century predecessor served as the mainstay of this second sector, other ventures including fishing and big-game guiding also at-tracted the natives' attention. These latter two pursuits, small both 92 in scale and economic impact, will be examined before turning to the larger and more important fur trade. An irreplaceable part of the aboriginal seasonal cycle, fishing s e l -dom enjoyed much success as a marketing venture. Natives around the territory, but particularly along the Yukon River and in the extreme southwest corner of the region, harvested salmon during annual runs. 1 Natives also caught other fish species. particularly whitefish and trout, uhen available and required, usually in the spring as stored food stocks ran lou. Native fishing also provided an adequate supply of dog food to sustain the canine helpers so crucial to northern Indian l i f e . Host fishing. therefore. served primarily to satisfy personal needs, uith only occasional surpluses offered for sale. The government permit-ted the Indians free access to the fishery, stepping in uhenever uhites threatened native harvest. 2 Some natives attempted to s e l l their catch, particularly in Dauson City. but these uere only small. i l l i c i t ven-tures. In one instance, a Hoosehide Indian named Silas enjoyed short-lived success marketing his catch to a Dauson restaurant. The p r o f i t -able operation ceased uhen a uhite fisherman protested the unlicensed incursion. The investigating officer noted that previous fish sales in toun had passed unchallenged, but faced uith the fisherman's complaint 1 Osgood. The Han Indians. Osgood, Contributions. Honigmann. The Kaska Indians. YG» vol. 9. f i l e 1490. pt. J. Hauksley to McLean, 9 January 1929; DIA, vol. 4081, f i l e 478, 700, J. Hauksley report on Mayo Band of Indians, 28 August 1917; YG, vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt. J, Hauksley to Scott, 18 Hay 1926. 2 Tuo examples appear in the records: a 1902 debate over rights on L i t -t l e Salmon Lake and a 1939 argument over Watson Lake. YRGI, series 3, vol. 1. f i l e 2019, Wood to Steuart, 2 July 1902; Ibid., vol. 17, f i l e 28798, Sandys-Wunsch to Secretary, Department of Indian Affairs, 28 April 1939, Gibson to Jackell, 6 October 1943. 93 he had no option but to prevent the natives from s e l l i n g their catch. 3 The Yukon River fishery remained small, serving l i t t l e more than person-al needs, as indicated by the Indians' reluctance to take out the l i -cences required to legally market their harvests. 4 While the Yukon River fishery provided few prospects, conditions in the Alsek River drainage area were more favourable. In the southwest corner of the territory, larger fish runs ensured that the harvesting of salmon remained a v i t a l part of the natives' food production. Because of the limited local market, fishing uithin the territory consisted solely of supplying personal needs. Vigourous local competition existed for available fish stocks, with loud protests following any infringement of fishing grounds or attempted government interference in the harvest-ing. The opportunity to participate in the Haines, Alaska salmon f i s h -ery was of even greater significance. While i t remained impossible to market Yukon-caught fish, natives in the southwest exported their labour to take advantage of high wages on the coast. For generations, Yukon Indians had made annual treks to the Pacific coast for trade and social gatherings. They easily adapted this cycle to incorporate a short stin t in the fisheries, where high prices for the natives' catch (8c per dog salmon and 30c for each Coho and Sockeye in 1918) ensured a regularly profitable return. Even in this instance, commercial fishing was a cas-ual rather than regular occupation, resorted to only when a specific need or desire dictated. 5 On a territory-wide basis, and even in the A l -3 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 1, f i l e 2019, Silas to Dear Sir, n.d.; McCarvill to OC \"B\" Division, 17 July 1909. * YG, vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt. J., Hawksley to Mackenzie, 15 Nov. 1933. 5 RCMP, vol. 539, f i l e 2, Sergt. Mapley to O.C. Whitehorse Sub-district, 94 sek drainage basin, fishing had only a limited market function, serving more as a regular source of food than income.6 While only technological improvements and a small cash market sepa-rated the fishery from aboriginal practises, big-game guiding represent-ed more of a departure from the natives' l i f e s t y l e . The industry took shape in the early years of the Twentieth Century. increasing slowly in scale as the Yukon came to be recognized as a world class preserve of trophy sheep, moose, and caribou. Throughout this period, however, the guiding business remained small and geographically compact, most of the acti v i t y focused on the southern territory. Fewer than twenty hunters per year entered the territory in pursuit of trophies and memories. While the individuals spent considerable sums on equipment and guides' wages, the industry was of limited economic consequence.7 The vast majority of guides were whites, the most notable exception being Johnny Johns, an enfranchised Indian and the most famous of a l l t e r r i t o r i a l operators. The Yukon T e r r i t o r i a l Game Ordinance of 1923, however, barred natives from serving as Chief Guides, limiting them to lower status positions as assistant guides and camp helpers. 6 The gov-ernment later eased that provision by giving the Commissioner of the Yu-7 February 1917; AC Champagne f i l e , \"L. G. Chappell report on mission-ary work undertaken in Champagne Di s t r i c t , Summer 1934. The extremely exploitive American fishery, both along the Alaska Panhandle and at the mouth of the Yukon River, had serious implication for upper Yukon and Alsek River fish stocks. AC, Stuck F i l e , Hudson Stuck to Isaac Stringer, 29 March 1920. 6 Ibid.: RCMP, vol. 549, f i l e 109, Inspector Bell to O.C. \"B\" Division, 24 October 1918. 7 See R. McCandless, \"Yukon Wildlife,\" for a description of the indus-try's development. 6 Yukon Territory, Ordinances 1923, Chapter 5. 95 kon discretionary powers to decide i f the Indian requesting approval could carry out the anticipated responsibilities. In 1941, B i l l y Hall applied for a license to guide a party into the L i t t l e A t i i n region. The government delegated an R.C.M.P. officer to investigate Hall's per-sonal and financial well-being. The policeman's report offered a posi-tive character reference, but questioned Hall's a b i l i t y to provide the required equipment. Commissioner Jeckell refused the licence applica-t i o n . 9 There is l i t t l e doubt that the government, supported by other guides, worked to keep the Indians out of this potentially profitable enterprise. Their discriminatory actions stemmed from a belief that In-dians could not adequately serve the hunters and would thereby harm the region's image in the industry. There was also a fear of allowing too many guides into the small guiding market. The limited number of tou-r i s t hunters could not support an overly large guiding infrastructure, and most \"guides\" worked regularly as trappers or traders. Experience in the industry typically proved rewarding, with wages for assistant guides reaching as high as $10 a day in the early 1940's. 1 0 Only a few natives, primarily in the Kluane and Southern Lakes (Car-cross, Tagish and L i t t l e Atiin) regions had access to these irregular employment opportunities. While guiding enjoyed a high pr o f i l e , i t did not represent a major economic departure before 1950, offering only a 9 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 10. f i l e 12-19B, Hall to Jeckell, 12 Nov. 1941; Jeckell to Hall, 9 Oct. 1941, Grennan report re: William Hall (Indi-an), 10 Nov. 1941. George Johnston of Teslin encountered similar d i f -f i c u l t i e s , YRGI, Series 3, vol. 7, f i l e 12-13B, Jeckell to OC, \"B\" Di-vision, 20 June 1934, Irvine to O.C. 1 \"B\" Division, 18 May 1934. Constable Irving's report was strikingly positive, but Commissioner Jeckell nonetheless rejected the application. 1 0 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 4, f i l e 12-7, Higgins to Commissioner, 12 August 1927. 9 6 few Indians yet another part-time source of income. Importantly. like most other of the opportunities available to the Indians. i t called on those talents deemed to be particularly \"native\", primarily the a b i l i t y to hunt and track game.11 In contrast to the peripheral nature of the fishery and the big game guiding business, the fur trade was a v i t a l , often expansive, enterprise through the f i r s t half of the century. If not the most remunerative ac-t i v i t y in the Yukon (mining led significantly gross receipts), the fur trade was more geographically diverse. Natives in a l l corners of the territory participated directly, with a trading post located near most major aggregations of native population. (Haps 5. 6 and 7) In 1921. for example, the government issued licenses for twenty-seven separate estab-lishments owned by eighteen different companies or individuals. The only area not directly served in that year — and i t was a major excep-tion — was the Old Crow-Porcupine d i s t r i c t . Nine years later, when the fur trade neared i t s zenith, the industry expanded even more widely with forty-six posts operated by thirty different vendors (Taylor and Drury Ltd. ran eleven of the locations) in operation. The number of estab-lishments varied on a yearly basis according to changing world prices for furs and the p r o f i t a b i l i t y of individual establishments. During most years, natives throughout the Yukon could select from several posts 1 1 There were. for example, only 3 licensed guides in the territory. YRGI. Series 3. vol. 10. f i l e 12-19B. Jeckell to S. D. Slaughter. 9 Oct. 1941. Numerous hunters wrote accounts of their northern adven-tures. H. Aver. Campfires in the Yukon (Commonwealth. 1916); T. Har-tindale. Hunting in the Upper Yukon (Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs. 1913)» F. C. Selous. Recent Hunting Trips in B r i t i s h North America (New York: Charles Scribner's and Sons. 1907); N.A.D. Armstrong. Af- ter Big Game In The Upper Yukon (London: John Long. 1937); James Bond. From Out of the Yukon. (Portland: Binsfords and Host. 1948). 97 98 M a p 6: Fur T r a d e Posts, 1930 99 Map 7: Fur Trade Posts, 1939 non-Taylor-Drury posts at that location.) Miles MO 100 within a reasonable travelling radius. (Table 2) In the v o l a t i l e markets of the late 1920's and 1930's» the option was of obvious competitive benefit to the native traders. Table 2 FUR RETURNS BY REGION SELECTED YEARS ($) Uhitenorse(1) Dauson Central(2) North 1920 1922 1924 1939 1943 104,951 100,556 129,690 143.109 170,025 79,634 33,806 41,217 82,958 67,998 48,488 18,273 53,005 23,073 45,982 125,643 55,223 70,901 69,563 90,056 (1) Includes Liard d i s t r i c t , 1939, 1942. (2) Includes Selkirk-Carmacks and Upper Steuart d i s t r i c t s . Source: YRGI, Series 4, vol. 17, f i l e 336A, Regional Breakdoun of Num-ber of Pelts, Maltby to Mackenzie, 31 August 1920; Ibid., Maltby to Tel-ford, 28 November 1922; Ibid., vol. 18, f i l e 336B, Maltby to Reid, 7 January 1925; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 10, f i l e 12-19B. Statement re: Fur Production, Trapping Season 1938-39; Ibid., f i l e 12-20C, statement re: Support tax collected for year ending March 31, 1943 in different dis-t r i c t s . The above provide a breakdoun of number of furs. Prices uere taken from Canada Year Book, 1919-1944. The eagerness uith uhich the traders entered the market i s indicative of general fur trade prosperity. From 1920 to 1950, traders exported a yearly average of $304,060 uorth of pelts from the t e r r i t o r y . 1 2 Markets fluctuated uidely as the Yukon returns varied according to the caprices of the international fur markets. Totals of over $600,000 uere attained in 1927-28, 1944-45 and 1945-46. At the opposite end, the market bot-1 2 For comparative purposes, Yukon gold production never f e l l belou $529,000 in any one year, reaching as high as $3,205,000 in 1942. 101 tomed at a low of $78,000 in 1920, with a secondary branchmark of $123,000 set in 1933. The fur trade economy operated like most commodi-ty markets, ranging e r r a t i c a l l y over the years. The trade peaked in the 1924-28 period, dropped noticeably the following five years, then re-gained previous form in the 1939-1948 period. Table 3 YUKON FUR RETURNS - 1919-1950 Number of Pelts Value of Pelts ($) 1919-20 55,354 323,467 1920-21 16.125 78,189 1921-22 69,796 203,402 1922-23 46,198 199,522 1923-24 50,070 347,079 1924-25 36.616 309,549 1925-26 35,767 320,803 1926-27 25,991 382,261 1927-28 64,375 610,348 1928-29 35,736 484,919 1929-30 108,632 295,492 1930-31 61,832 145,224 1931-32 57,679 132,268 1932-33 52.282 146,055 1933-34 43,803 122,999 1934-35 41,309 230,074 1935-36 42,768 276,946 1936-37 50,308 347,558 1937-38 67,655 295,857 1938-39 77,475 267,721 1939-40 80,617 288,292 1940-41 70.953 373,399 1941-42 66.700 398,132 1942-43 52,897 338,035 1943-44 78.005 467,188 1944-45 87,292 669,217 1945-46 107.252 677,495 1946-47 58.777 373,176 1947-48 131.227 230,117 1948-49 151.969 143,810 1949-50 153,574 199,086 Source: K. Rae, P o l i t i c a l Economy of the Canadian North, 386-387. 102 While the overall market went through i t s gyrations, so too did the price of individual pelts. Yukon trappers fortunately lived in a region that supported a variety of fur bearing animals in harvestable quanti-ties, the most important of which were marten, beaver (uhen not protect-ed by government edict), lynx, muskrat. and several species of fox. But even this variety did not totally insulate the local market from the va-garies of international demand. Muskrat prices. for instance. ranged from a lou of only $.53 in 1931-32 to over $3.00 a pelt in 1946. Among the higher priced furs, the s i l v e r fox uas particularly vulnerable to changing demand. uith the national market price dropping from a 1919 figure of $246 to s l i g h t l y over $12 thirty years later. Seldom gradual or easy to forecast, these fluctuations originated largely in the chang-ing trends of high fashion. In one particularly traumatic period. 1947-1950. prices f e l l from 60% to 75% in three years. (Table 4) Table 4 FUR PRICES — FIVE YEAR AVERAGES. 1920-1949 Beaver Lynx Silver Fox Marten Mink Muskrat White Fox 1920- •24 17.81 21.38 152.91 24.47 9.78 1.56 38. 12 1925- •29 23.85 31.69 94.38 24.72 15. 11 1.49 41.47 1930- •34 13.12 23.86 44. 17 14.57 9.15 .70 22.98 1935- •39 11.35 30.60 27.73 22. 10 11.05 1.05 13.75 1940- •44 26. 15 42.89 23.76 38.47 12.12 2.01 22.80 1945- •49 33.93 27.16 19.37 35.99 20.19 2.40 38.47 Source: Canada Year Book. 1920-1950. Since the prices quoted here represent final and average market val-ue, they indicate only in a general uay the amount of money actually tendered for furs in the Yukon River basin. With high costs for trans-103 portation and supplies combined uith Yukon businessmen's eagerness to protect themselves from the vagaries of the fluctuating market* i t i s obvious that the traders offered substantially louer prices than those attainable in southern markets. At the same time and as a result of the area's extreme uinter climate* the Yukon offered a prime product. In consequence* many of the Yukon furs uould have been valued at substan-t i a l l y above the national average. Unfortunately* no traders' records are knoun to be extant uhich uould allou for an analysis of prices of-fered to nativ e s . 1 3 Several comments in the records* houever* suggest the prices offered* as uell as the fierce competition for the Indians' furs. Anglican missionary* Chas. Johnson* noted from Carcross in 1920 that tuo local traders had bought 300 muskrats from trapper John Johns for $1,000 and that the price subsequently rose to $5 a pelt. The na-tional price for muskrat pelts that year averaged only $2.54. 1 4 E s t i -mates made by Corporal Thorntuaithe of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of the value of furs traded in the Porcupine River area in 1928 seem closer to the mark. Cross fox he liste d at $40 sold nationally for an average of $75 and lynx estimated at $30 per skin brought the wholesaler around $47. 1 3 Similarly. in 1930 muskrats bought near Old Crou for 20-25c each sold in the southern markets for around 84c. 1 6 1 3 Dan Cadzou of Rampart House l e f t portions of an account book for 1907-1912 uhich reveal that trappers received substantially less than that paid in southern markets. The source (YTA. Cadzou Papers. Ac-count Book) i s very incomplete and unreliable. On Cazdou. see. T. Riggs, \"Running the Alaska Boundary.\" Beaver* Outfit 276 (Sept. 1945), 40-43. 1 4 AC, C. F. Johnson f i l e 2, Johnson to Stringer, 7 April 1920. 1 3 NAB, vol. 797, f i l e 6535, Maclean to Cory, 12 October 1928. 1 6 AC, Rampart House, Fort Yukon and Old Crou f i l e , McCullum to String-104 Estimating prices paid to the Indians for furs i s , in reality, a fu-t i l e task, both due to the lack of systematic evidence and, even more importantly, because most trade operated on a barter and credit system. Traders could manipulate prices simply by increasing the cost of their trade goods, thus reducing the real value of the trappers' returns. Everyone anticipated lower prices as traders, shippers and auctioneers a l l expected their share of the returns. Acknowledging that the traders took a healthy segment of the value of each fur, evidence nonetheless suggests that the fur trade offered a renumerative source of income to successful trappers, both uhite and Indian. The variable returns and the high cost of securing supplies for a uinter's trapping led to the extensive use of credit or, in the trade vernacular, \"jaubone\". The granting of credit had, of course, been a prominent feature of the Yukon River fur trade from the earliest years of Hudson's Bay Company operations, although the practise extended l i t -t l e beyond the Fort Youcon-Porcupine River corridor. As traders fanned out throughout the territory during and after the Gold Rush, they adopt-ed the practise of supplying a trapper in advance of payment.17 The sys-tem had as many variants as i t had practitioners, uith terms changing according to market conditions and the level of regional competition. Traders spared no effort in their attempts to t i e the individual trap-per, particularly those uith recognized s k i l l s , to a single post. Sev-eral of the larger firms, especially Taylor and Drury Ltd., paid for er, 23 July 1930. 1 7 The topic is covered in HcCandless, \"Yukon Wildlife\", and A. Tanner, \"The Structure of Fur Trade Relations\". Both suffer from the lack of useful records covering the Tuentieth Century fur trade. 105 their furs with tokens redeemable only at company stores. Competition uas occasionally fierce, particularly in the halcyon, days of the 1920's and 1930's. In 1928, for example, six traders vied for the Porcupine River trade, uith tuo establishments at Rampart House, three at Old Crou and a final one at LaPierre's House. The returns that year, estimated to be in excess of $133,000, j u s t i f i e d the vigourous battle for the trappers' business. 1 8 Under such circumstances, traders eagerly granted debt to any competent trapper, expecting in return to have right of re-fusal to his catch. The competition had the related impact of forcing fur prices up (and commodity prices doun). The natives, uell versed in competitive trade, sought the best market for their furs. If a local trader offered acceptable prices and extended credit, he could l i k e l y count on a sizeable portion of the local trade. 1 9 At the same time, hou-ever, natives willingly travelled considerable distances to alternative markets i f the traders in their home areas were perceived as demanding exhorbitant prices for goods. This eagerness to search for competitive trade expanded greatly following the introduction of the motor pouered boat in the 1920's, thereby making traders even more cognizant of the need to respond quickly to changes in market conditions. z a Though far from compliant pauns in the fur trade, the natives were vulnerable to price changes and to the potential uithdraual of credit. The Indians quickly became accustomed to a yearly cycle uhich included the securing of supplies on credit in the f a l l and the repayment of debt 1 8 NAB, vol. 797, f i l e 6535, Maclean to Cory, 12 October 1928. * 9 NAB, vol. 609, f i l e 2657, extracts from report of Constable Young, 18 March 1925. 2° AC, Morris f i l e , Morris to Stringer, 24 June 1928. 106 in the winter or spring. Any sudden or unexpected alteration in the a v a i l a b i l i t y of credit, be i t for market or punitive reasons, would se-verely upset the trappers' plans and prospects. Rampart House trader Dan Cadzow, an ardent Anglican who saw his role extending far beyond his basic economic function, used the withholding of credit to encourage na-tives to act responsibly (according to his definition of the market of course). 2 1 Altering the pattern of credit disbursement typically lacked such philosophical overtones. In 1914, C. C. Brett of Teslin noted that \"The Indians will be in need of r e l i e f about Xmas. Taylor and Drury have cut off their credit entirely, as they conduct business to suit themselves and as Hr. Drury told me that 'they weren't running a benev-olent society for the Indians'.\" 2 2 As Adrian Tanner demonstrated in an extensive study of more recent trading practises, the granting of credit varied markedly from monopoly to competitive situations, with the latter of obvious benefit to the Indians. 2 3 Improvements in transportation technology, high prices and a consistently large number of traders ac-tive in the f i e l d ensured that from the 1920's, the natives found credit generally available either in their immediate v i c i n i t y or within a rea-sonable distance. The structural outline of the fur trade remained intact throughout the period from 1900 to 1950. Prices varied on a yearly basis (not to mention according to the quality of the fur), but available credit and competition ensured an equitable return for the fur trapper. The pur-2 1 AC, Cadzow f i l e , Cadzow to Stringer, 20 Harch 1917. 2 2 AC, Brett f i l e , Brett to Stringer, 16 October 1914. 2 3 Tanner, 44-72. 1 0 7 suit of fur bearing animals provided a reasonable, at times lucrative income, but not without major variations causing short term and lo c a l -ized distress. Natural cycles in the a v a i l a b i l i t y of game remained an integral part of the natives' hunting-trapping economy and could be readily accepted and accommodated. Price fluctuations and changes in market demand proved more d i f f i c u l t , but long-standing experience in the fur trade, credit disbursements, and the traders' and trappers' faith in the s t a b i l i t y of the industry carried both groups through lean years. Government regulations proved more d i f f i c u l t to accommodate, principally because they functioned largely oblivious to market conditions. Host government intervention in the fur trade came in the form of ex-port taxes targetted at the marketing end of the industry. In the 1920's and 1930's. however, growing concern over the depletion of re-sources led the Yukon government to impose a series of trapping r e s t r i c -tions in an attempt to rebuild w i l d l i f e stocks. The t e r r i t o r i a l govern-ment's decision to regulate the harvesting of game had. in each instance, noticeable repercussions for those involved in the fur trade economy. The seasonal cycles of the Indians and their white counter-parts involved the regular harvesting of species, depending on location. Government moves to prevent the taking of a particular type of fur-bear-er disrupted routines and schedules, throwing into question the trap-pers' a b i l i t y to repay their debts. Similarly, traders faced the unwel-come prospect of being unable to supply an eager external market. There were several major trapping closures before 1950. including beaver (1918-1924, 1928-1931. 1946-49), marten (1924-26)2* and a series of sea-24 YRGI, Series 4, vol. 10, f i l e 241A, T e r r i t o r i a l Secretary to Const. C. D. Tidd, 30 August 1918; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 3. f i l e 12-5B, Gold 108 sonal closures relating to other species. 2 5 While granting short-term concessionSf such as allowing traders to export furs caught before the neu regulations had been explained to trappers* the government enforced i t s legislation uith some care. Trappers typically accepted the various restrictions without prolonged argument, suitching their traps to other game. The government eased the transition someuhat by imposing only seasonal closures, uith the period set aside for harvesting often coin-ciding uith the prime trapping times. Beaver. for example, uere of greatest value uhen taken in mid-uinter. When the total closure on bea-ver uas l i f t e d in 1924. the government imposed a shortened season stretching from January 1 to Hay 15. 2 6 Since most trapping of beaver for market occurred in the uinter months, this particular restriction caused l i t t l e inconvenience. 2 7 A series of government regulations barring non-Yukon Indians from hunting uithin the territory had a more direct impact. The various game laus did not e x p l i c i t l y intend to exclude the Indians. Rather. poor planning and limited knowledge on the part of t e r r i t o r i a l o f f i c i a l s led Commissioner to J. H. Mervyn, 5 July 1924. Gold Commissioner to M.R. Jackson. 30 June 1924; YRGI. Series 3. vol. 4. f i l e 12-7B. Proclama-tion dated 1 Sept. 1928; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 3, f i l e 12-5B. Cadzou to Gold Commissioner. 20 July 1924. 2 5 See, for example. YRGI, Series 3, vol. 10, f i l e 12-19B, R. A. Gibson to G. A. Jackell, 9 June 1941 uhich deals uith restrictions on the Old Crou muskrat season. 2 6 YRGI, Series 4, vol. 10, f i l e 241A, T e r r i t o r i a l Secretary to Const. C. B. Tidd, 30 August 1918. Furs trapped outside the territory but traded in the Yukon received exemptions. Ibid., Isaac Taylor to Geo. Mackenzie, 10 July 1918, Affadavit by Wm. Drury, 24 Nov. 1919. 2 7 Since some fur bearers uere harvested for food, these restrictions had considerable impact. Game caught for sustenance generally es-caped the regulations, YTA, Teslin Band Collection, Hauksley to Dear Sir, 8 Nov. 1923. 109 to the inadvertent closure of traditional hunting t e r r i t o r i e s . The Yu-kon Game Ordinance of 1927 required a payment of $100 from a l l persons not resident in the territory in return for a grant of hunting p r i v i l e g -es. 2 9 The new regulations severely affected natives hunting in the Por-cupine River area. Alaskan natives had long entered the d i s t r i c t to trade and avoid export taxes? 2 9 and Indians from Fort McPherson contin-ued their long-standard practise of hunting in the Peel River basin and on the western slopes of the Richardson Mountains. Federal government o f f i c i a l s , particularly 0. S. Finnie. urged the t e r r i t o r i a l government to remove the restriction on natives from the North West T e r r i t o r i e s . 3 0 Citing allegations of over-hunting by the Fort McPherson Indians, the Yukon government was reluctant to comply. They f i n a l l y gave in and on September 3. 1929. made the necessary revisions to the Game Ordinance. 3 1 No similar provisions were forthcoming for the Alaskan natives, a s i t u -ation applauded by the Canadian Indians along the Porcupine. due prima-r i l y to the direct threat they posed to the economic v i a b i l i t y of the 2 9 YRGI. Series 3. vol. 4, f i l e 12-BA, Insp. Caulkin to P. Reid, 2 Au-gust 1926; ibid., f i l e 12-6B. Thornthwaite to Gold Commissioner. 31 January 1927. 2 9 DIA. vol. 6761. f i l e 420-12. O.S. Finnie to G. J. MacLean. 28 Dec. 1928; YRGI, Series 3. vol. 5, f i l e 12-8B. Urquhart to 0. S. Finnie, 10 August 1929; Const. A. S. Wilson to O.C., R.C.M.P. Edmonton, 10 August 1929; Ibid., f i l e 12-8A, Thornthwaite to O.C. RCMP, Dawson, 26 Feb. 1929, Hawksley to McLean, 3 January 1929; DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12, Insp. Wood to Commissioner, RCMP, 5 August 1929. Fur-ther attempts to res t r i c t native harvesting across t e r r i t o r i a l or provincial boundaries met similar resistance, Ibid., Ralph Parsons, HBC Fur Trade Commissioner to Dr. H. W. McGill, 17 Dec. 1937. 3 ° YRGI, Series 3, vol. 5, f i l e 12-8A, Maclean to Finnie, 6 Feb. 1929. 3 1 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 7, f i l e 12-14B, G. A. Jeckell to J. Lome Turn-er, 16 April 1935. 110 regional fur trade.32 To the south, the Yukon-British Columbia border region posed similar problems as residents from both jurisdictions read-i l y crossed the border to hunt or trade. However, an amicable relation-ship between Yukon Indian Agent John Hawksley and his Stikine Agency counterpart Harper Reed ensured that no government regulations prevented natives from hunting and l i v i n g where they wished. Both agreed, how-ever, that the natives had to observe a l l provincial and t e r r i t o r i a l game laws. 3 3 While not exclusively tied to the fur trade, the various re s t r i c t i v e measures imposed and accommodations reached by the Yukon government regulated access to the fur resources of the territory. Through to the 1940's, however, the government continued to pursue an essentially open policy, with a l l residents and approved non-residents able to compete equally for available fur bearing animals. The f i r s t proposals that the government find some means of regulating individual accesB to w i l d l i f e came from native trappers. Joe Squam, an Indian \"chief\" of dubious standing from Teslin requested in 1932 that an area he described as \"my hunting and trapping ground\" be granted for his permanent personal use. 3 4 The government rejected his appeal for fear that, as Yukon Comptroller G. Jeckell phrased i t , \"such actions would greatly hamper the exploration and development of the mineral resources 32 DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12, Thornthwaite to OC, RCHP, Dawson, 9 April 1929; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 5, f i l e 12-8A, Gold Commissioner to O.S. Finnie, 3 January 1929. Eagle, Alaska natives, closely related to those at Moosehide, were accorded more li b e r t i e s . YRGI, Series 3, vol. 6, f i l e 10A, Hawksley to Gold Commissioner, 14 Hay 1931. 3 3 For the best statement of this ongoing arrangement, see YG, vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt. J, John Hauksley to Harper Reed, 25 Feb. 1933. 3 4 DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12, Squam to Indian Department, 22 Aug. 1932. I l l of the t e r r i t o r y . \" 3 5 While authorities ignored this suggestion for trap-line designation, increasing tensions in the 1940*s between uhite and Indian trappers over access to valued lands brought the issue to the fore once again. South of the border in Bri t i s h Columbia, registered traplines had been in place since 1926 and uere generally conceded to have been effective in protecting native access to game.35 By 1947, the Yukon government uas compelled to consider a similar system. Launched primarily by Indian Agent R. J. Meek and supported by a nascent conser-vationist movement in the territory, this appeal originated in the per-ceived need to protect the natives from uhite encroachment. 3 7 Meek sought to protect native access to game. He suggested that traplines be granted f i r s t to Indians, then half-breeds and \"old-timers\" and lastly to uhite trappers draun into the business by the abnormally high prices of the decade. 3 5 With widespread support for the program, including Meek's assurance that the Indians backed the system, the government be-gan the registration of traplines in 1950. 3 5 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 6. f i l e 12-UB, Jeckell to Hume, 21 Nov. 1932. An earlier effort by Harper Reed to re s t r i c t trapping hardly repre-sented an attempt to impose traplines. It was simply a temporary re-sponse to poor trapping returns. YTA, Teslin Band Collection, Reed to Chief B i l l y Johnston. 16 July 1930. 3 5 YTA. Teslin Band Collection. Stikine Agency Inspection Report no. 3. 31 July 1935. Simpson to Chief B i l l y JohnBton. 1 October 1942. 3 7 YRGI. Series 3, vol. 11, f i l e 12-22, Gibson to Gibben, 19 May 1947, DIA. vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12-2-2, Meek Report, 28 February 1947; Ibid., f i l e 420-12-2-RT-l. Meek to D. J. Allen. 27 Nov. 1947, Conn to Meek, 4 Dec. 1947. 3 5 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 11, f i l e 12-22, Extract from Indian Agent R. J. Meek's Quarterly Report, 10 October 1947. 112 When unveiled, the registration program included an unpopular sur-prise. Yukon Game Commissioner Thomas Kjar imposed a $10 annual fee per trapline. With fur prices at lou ebb, many feared the Indians uould be unable to meet the expected payments. Again, Indian Agent Meek support-ed the natives, arguing that the payment uas excessive, that Br i t i s h Co-lumbia imposed no such fees for Indian trappers, and that lou fur prices already threatened to make trapping uneconomical. 3 3 Although Week's ap-peal garnered considerable support uith the federal bureaucracy 4 0 and among the Indians, 4 1 i t failed. Registration proceeded in the f a l l of 1950 uith the $10 charge i n t a c t . 4 2 The registration program came into effect just as fur prices entered a strong downward slide and as a lim-ited, but grouing, number of alternative employment prospects came available. The registration program proved both economically and so-c i a l l y disruptive after 1950. Government agents encountered serious d i f f i c u l t i e s getting the natives to identify their personal trapping areas. Even more important, the Euro-Canadian insistence on male owner-ship and inheritance challenged the natives' matrilineal social struc-ture and threatened the s t a b i l i t y of social relations in many native camps. Trapline registration capped an expanding series of legislative i n i t i a t i v e s designed to regulate the fur harvest. While the registra-3 3 DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12-2-RT-l, Meek to Hugh Conn, 17 Jan. 1950; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 11, f i l e 12-23B, Week to Gibson, 27 Sept. 1950. 4 0 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 11, f i l e 12-23B, Director to R. A. Gibson, 14 Feb. 1950. 4 1 Ibid., Chief Peter Hoses, Councillor MoseB Tizya and Councillor Jo-seph Netro to R. J. Heek, 24 July 1950, Chief Wm. A. Johnston et. a l . (petition), 7 July 1950. 4 2 Ibid., Gibson to Heek, 4 Nov. 1950. 1 1 3 tion program contributed to a steady decline in the fur trade after 1950, government intervention before that date had minimal impact. Government regulations only added to the uncertainty and irregularity of the fur trade. With market prices varying widely, the a v a i l a b i l i t y of credit subject of the traders' caprices, and an inconsistent supply of fur-bearing animals, the trappers often found themselves in precari-ous p o s i t i o n s . 4 3 Compounding their d i f f i c u l t i e s , the Indians faced in-creasing competition from white trappers. Typically less committed to trapping as a full-time occupation, whites usually entered the f i e l d as prices rose, dropping out at the f i r s t sign of a major decline. Any suggestion that white and native trappers co-existed harmoniously i s not supported by available evidence, 4 4 although i t i s equally incorrect to suggest that the traplines provided a forum for inter-racial violence. Indians frequently complained of white incursions into their trapping t e r r i t o r i e s 4 5 and they opposed the government's decision to allow whites (but not natives) to use poison to k i l l wolves. 4 6 Similarly, government agents and R.C.M.P. officers regularly commented on inter-racial ten-sions, pointing out almost in unison that the white participants exhib-4 3 DIA, vol. 4081, f i l e 478, 698, John Hauksley, Report of Forty Mile Band of Indians, 29 March 1917; AC, McCull urn f i l e . Wood to Stringer, 14 April 1926; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 4. f i l e 12-6B, Thornthwaite to Gold Commissioner, 26 April 1927; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 5, f i l e 12-8C, Thornthwaite to Gold Commissioner, 31 Dec. 1929. 4 4 This i s repeatedly suggested in McCandless, \"Yukon Wildlife\". 4 5 DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12, Squam to Indian Department, 22 August 1932; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 4, f i l e 12-A, Clyde Thompson to Mr. Hawk-sley, 20 October 1927. 4 6 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 6, f i l e 12-10A, Squam to Department of Indian Affairs, 26 March 1931; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 10, f i l e 12-19A, Const. Harrington to O.C., RCMP, Aklavik, 26 March 1940. 114 ited l i t t l e regard for native rights and uere endangering game supplies uith their exploitative h a b i t s . 4 7 Uhite trappers occasionally expressed similar sentiments about the Indians, blaming them for any marked de-crease in trapping returns. 4 9 Government records reveal n© instances of violence over trapping rights, but i t is apparent that tranquility did not characterize relations in the uoods. The Indians outlasted most of their uhite competitors because the Euro-Canadians could not overcome the ir r e g u l a r i t i e s of the fur trade. Throughout the f i r s t half of the century, and excepting those feu uho accepted a more complete accommodation uith the industrial/extractive economy, the Yukon natives continued to follou a pattern of subsistence hunting, gathering and fishing. Indeed, even many of those uho uorked as woodcutters or day labourers did so only seasonally, devoting much of their time to the pursuit of game.49 The natives uere not indifferent to the fur trade, for they developed a taste for — even a dependance upon 4 7 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 5, f i l e 12-8C, Thornthuaite to Gold Commission-er, 31 Dec. 1929; ibid., vol. 3, f i l e 12-5B, Gold Commissioner to Nelson, 30 June 1924; DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12-2-2, Meek Report, 28 Feb. 1947; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 11, extract from Indian Agent Meek's Quarterly, 10 October 1947; DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12. Har-per Reed to Sir, 1 Sept. 1934; \"Report of Supt. Knight,\" NWMP, Annual Report 1917, 306. 4 9 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 9, f i l e 12-1BB, Boyerchuck to Dear Sir, 20 June 1939! YRGI, Series 3, vol. 2, F i l e 12-3B, Lloyd to Mackenzie re: complaint by Game Warden T. A. Dickson, 20 May 1920; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 10, f i l e 12-16B, Dahl to Supt. T. B. Caulkin, 5 Sept. 1936, Const. T. Henderson to OC, RNWMP, \"A\" Division, 26 October 1910; RCMP, vol. 393, Supt. Snyder to Asst. Commissioner, RNWMP, 11 July 1910, Jim Thompson et. a l . to Major Snyder, 4 July 1910; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 11, f i l e 12-22, Bond to Gibben, 23 June 1943. 4 9 For an excellent series of descriptions on this mingling of a c t i v i -ties very much like M. Asch's \"mixed economy,\" see AC, Selkirk C h i l -dren Reports f i l e s uhich detail movements and economic undertakings at Fort Selkirk. 115 — the products of the trading post but neither were they irrevocably wedded to i t . Lou prices or insufficient demand, forced the natives to postpone trapping ventures until markets recovered or they developed an acute need for particular material goods. 5 0 In extreme cases, natives abandoned the trade for several seasons, usually because of decreases in regional food supplies. Importantly, the natives could and occasionally did survive uithout the fur trade. This f l e x i b i l i t y and the a b i l i t y to survive the vagaries of the market place through a reliance on subsis-tence hunting (in turn based on the natives acceptance of limited ma-t e r i a l abundance) 5 1 assured the Indians of a pre-eminent role in the Yu-kon fur trade. The Twentieth Century fur trade stood in stark contrast to the com-parative s t a b i l i t y of the Hudson's Bay Company era. Even after the ar-rival of American traders along the Yukon River after 1869, the trade focused on a few posts uith the H.B.C. and the Alaska Commercial Company attracting most of the furs. Competition uas vigourous, but controlled, uith both firms looking to the long-term interests of the industry. Af-ter the turn of the century, and particularly beginning in the 1920's, conditions changed. Although several large firms led by Taylor and Dru-ry Company maintained a commanding presence, the trade included a plethora of small entrepeneurs. The fur rush replaced the search for gold and as prices remained high through to the end of the 1940's trad-ers competed vigorously for the natives' pelts. Price fluctuations, 5 0 See, for instance, Sergeant Clay to OC. \"B\" Division, 5 March 1915, RNWMP, Annual Report 1916, 200; YRGI, Series 7, vol. 33, f i l e 33937, pt. 9, Report - Patrol from Dauson to Snag, Vellesley Lake, etc. 19 Feb. 1931. 5 1 Again, see Sahlins, \"The Original Affluent Society.\" 116 government regulation, competition from white trappers, frequent altera-tions in trading patterns, improvements in harvesting techniques (in-cluding better r i f l e s , canvas tents, and improved traps) and differen-t i a l credit systems added to the growing complexity of the fur trade. These changes affected the natives most strongly. As before, compe-t i t i o n worked to their short-term benefit, forcing up prices for furs, lowering commodity costs and encouraging more flexible credit arrange-ments. The expansion in the number of location of posts doubtlessly aided Indian trappers, allowing primarily for a more regular manipula-tion of fur trade competition. New credit arrangements which encouraged natives to transfer allegiances as market forces dictated, and the i n -troduction of a monied trade (even i f only in Company tokens) represent-ed a substantial s h i f t from the comparatively inflexible trade of the H.B.C. before their 1893 withdrawal. Technological innovations espe-c i a l l y motorized boats (introduced in the 1920's) added to the ease of trapping and enabled a more rapid exploitation of resources over a broader range than ever before. That the trapping — both by whites and Indians — may have been excessive in the face of high fur prices is suggested by the t e r r i t o r i a l government's decision to regulate hunting patterns. The revitalization and expansion of the fur trade in the Twentieth Century clearly benefited the trappers of the Yukon, particularly those Indians well-placed and conditioned to respond to the new opportunities. Far from being forced into the fur trade through exclusion from the i n -dustrial sector, the natives choose the industry for i t s exemplary f l e x i b i l i t y , i t s s u i t a b i l i t y to preferred seasonal and cultural patterns and for i t s comparatively profitable returns. 117 Even uith a v i t a l fur trade, subsistence hunting contained i t s draubacks. The natives' reaction to poor hunting conditions reveals that the harvesting of fish and game served as the cornerstone for par-ticipation in the fur trade. Securing an adequate supply of game obvi-ously remained pre-eminent. The pursuit of fur-bearers became feasible only uhen required amounts uere set aside. Whenever meat supplies f e l l low, the Indians lacked the resources to pursue smaller game. Until they solved this fundamental problem, trapping operations uere typically held in abeyance. There are a number of recorded instances, particular-ly in the Old Crou are a , 3 2 uhere poor meat harvests forced indefinite postponement of trapping. 5 3 As trader Dan Cadzou reported from Rampart House in 1917 uhen meat and fish supplies f e l l perilously lou, \"there is quite a l i t t l e fox and martin (sic) but no lynx but the trapping is at a s t a n d s t i l l . \" 3 4 The interdependance of hunting and trapping uorked both uays, keeping the Indians in the bush uhen markets declined, but con-versely preventing them from participating in a potentially lucrative harvest uhen faced uith food shortages. The hunting-trapping economy relied on a ready and consistent supply of ungulates and fur-bearing animals. Throughout the Tuentieth Century, houever, many charged that uhite and native overhunting had significant-5 2 AC, Amos Njootli f i l e , Njootli to Stringer, 1 April 1917; AC, Gold-rich f i l e , Cadzou to Stringer, 14 Dec. 1919; AC, Rampart House, Fort Yukon and Old Crou f i l e , H. Anthony to Stringer, 16 Nov. 1925; NAB, vol. 609, f i l e 2657, Thornthuaite to O.C., RCMP, Dauson, 17 Nov. 1928; DIA, vol. 6478, f i l e 932-1 pt. 1, extract from report of G. Binning, 17 July 1935. 5 3 AC, Moosehide F i l e , Sarah Eseau to Bishop Stringer, 31 August 1919; AC, Leigh f i l e , Leigh to Bishop, 24 Oct. 1927. 5 4 AC, Cadzou f i l e , Cadzou to Stringer, 23 Dec. 1917. 118 ly depleted t e r r i t o r i a l animal resources. While there is l i t t l e doubt that the influx of gold seekers during the Klondike Gold Rush put abnor-mal pressure on game stocks, particularly in the Whitehorse-Dauson cor-r i d o r , 5 5 the territory-uide impact is less clear. Numerous allegations surfaced that the Indians, upset over uhite incursions, engaged in wan-ton destruction of game in an attempt to drive out the miners. Several miners levelled repeated charges against the natives in the Kluane-Bur-uash area in 1911 and again in 1920. The Indians'apparent disregard for the entreaties of the R.C.M.P. officer sent to settle the dispute, only served (in the minds of some) to confirm the reported destruction. 5 5 Not a l l so readily accused the Indians. 5 7 In an o f f i c i a l report on the pres-ervation of game in the Yukon, Supt. R. E. Tucker of the R.C.n.P. not-ed, \"Some time ago the Indians did slaughter game ruthlessly, but nou the export of hides is forbidden there is no object to k i l l i n g more than they require for food.\" Tucker, uhose experience in the territory dated from 1898, also commented that big game uas more plentiful in 1920 than tuenty years e a r l i e r . 5 5 The question of over-hunting is d i f f i c u l t to re-solve adequately, although i t is important to note that subsequent sur-5 5 DIA, vol. 3462, f i l e 147, 654-1, pt. 2, Bompas to Secretary, Depart-ment of Indian Affairs, 25 May 1906. 5 5 RCMP, vol. 409, f i l e 109, Const. C. H. H i l l to OC, Sub-Div. \"B\", 25 Jan. 1911; RCMP, vol. 599, f i l e 1343, Supt. Commanding \"B\" Division to Commissioner, RCMP, 15 March 1920. Attached to the letter are dispositions by T. A. Dickson, former RCMP officer, and Ole Dickson (no relation) attesting to the slaughter; see also YRGI, Series 3, vol. 2, f i l e 12-3B, Gold Commissioner to Lloyd, 14 June 1920. 5 7 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 2, f i l e 12-4A, Report of Major N.A.D. Armstrong concerning Game Conditions in the Yukon Territory, 29 Nov. 1920. 5 5 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 2, f i l e 12-4A, Supt. R. E. Tucker to Commission-er, RCMP, 20 April 1921. 119 veys of the Yukon turned up feu signs of unwarranted destruction of game . When confirmed depletion uas encountered, i t uas generally at-tributed to uolves. 5 9 A more uidely accepted assessment of native hunt-ing habits uas offered by R.C.M.P. Constable McCormick uho commented, \"The Indians are careful about k i l l i n g the game, having had lots of ex-perience of being on short rations, indeed almost starving some years.\" B O The construction of the Alaska Highuay, discussed ear l i e r in relation to the industrial sector of the Yukon economy, also affected hunting and gathering. The major impact came from hunting along the neuly opened corridor. C i v i l i a n and military personnel uorking on the highuay re-ceived special hunting permits. Numerous allegations surfaced that Americans k i l l e d animals solely for sport and that great uastage of game occurred. 6 1 Though doubtlessly exaggerated, the comments convinced the government to pass regulations prohibiting the discharge of firearms uithin one mile of the highuay. Of more serious consequence to the In-dians in the Buruash-Kluane Lake region uas the 1942 decision to set aside much of the land betueen the highuay and the Alaska-Yukon border 6 9 YRGI, Series 3, vol. 2, f i l e 12-14B, Supt. Tucker to Gold Commission-er, 20 March 1922; YRGI, Series 4, vol. 27, f i l e 408-4, E. Jacquot to G. A. Jeckell, n.d.; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 10, f i l e 12-20A, J. E. Gibben to R. A. Gibson, 17 Dec. 1942. 6 0 Const. McCormick to OC, RCMP, Dawson, 1 August 1924, (NAB, vol. 609, f i l e 2657). A complaint by T. A. Dickson that natives near Kluane used meat for dog food uas supported by RCMP investigation. D i f f i -c ulties of enforcement made action impossible. YRGI, series 3, vol. 9, f i l e 12-18A, Report re: Complaint of T. A. Dickson — General Game Conditions, 26 Sept. 1938. 6 1 See McCandless, \"Yukon Wildlife\"; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 11, f i l e 12-21A, Bostock to Gibson, 28 Nov. 1946. 120 as a game preserve. 6 2 The government declared the Kluane Game Sanctuary, later a national park, o f f - l i m i t s to a l l hunting and trapping, barring local natives from a we11-used and well-stocked hunting ground. Appeals on behalf of the Indians by Indian Agent Meek and local Catholic mis-sionary Rev. E. Morisset 6 3 did convince the government to make limited muskrat trapping concessions within the park. 6 4 The opening of the Alaska Highway did not dramatically alter occupa-tional patterns. The natives of the southern Yukon, the area most af-fected by the new construction, remained primarily as hunters and trap-pers, participating in the industrial sector in a limited and impermanent fashion. An Anglican missionary at Champagne in the summer of 1949 summarized the situation: The white population is occupied exclusively in connection with the maintenance of the Alaska Highway . . . . Many of the Indians are similarly occupied, though spasmodically. in more menial capacities. Hunting and trapping in winter, and f i s h -ing in summer, are the principal interests of the Indians gen-erally, the young men being employed by the various Highway authorities occasionally. Few of the Indians accept, or are suited for. regular employment.65 6 2 YRGI. Series 3, vol. 11, f i l e 12-22, Summary of the Game and Fishing Regulations, Yukon Territory, 1947; Ibid., f i l e 12-23B, Gibson to Simmons, 22 April 1950. 5 3 Ibid., Morisset to Simmons. 13 April 1950; Morisset to Indian Affairs Branch, 11 April 1950, Gibson to Simmons, 22 April 1950. 6 4 DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12-2-RT-l, Conn to Meek, 22 May 1950; YRGI, Series 3, f o l . 11, f i l e 12-23B, Gibben to Gibson, 19 June 1950; DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12-2-RT-l, Meek to Conn, 20 June 1950. 6 5 YTA, AC, Champagne f i l e . Report to the Diocese of Yukon upon the present state of the Champagne (Y.T.) Mission Field, Summer 1949 by Anthony Guscoyne. 121 It is d i f f i c u l t to ascertain with any precision the extent of native involvement in the mining and harvesting sectors. The argument has been advanced that movement toward the mining sector was temporary in nature, limited by reduced long-term employment prospects, white employers' preference for Euro-Canadian workers, and a general native preference for the \"hunting way.\" The natives of the Yukon made short-term adjust-ments, in their economic patterns, on a seasonal and occasionally annual basis, to take advantage of new economic opportunities. They had done so in the early fur trade, during the expansion of mining in the 19th Century and throughout the gold rush years. Their occupational f l e x i -b i l i t y was then maintained up to 1940. The construction of the Alaska Highway similarly f i t into this pattern, offering temporary opportuni-ties for unskilled labourers. Uhen those positions ended, as most did after the i n i t i a l construction phase, the Indians returned to their trap lines. Indeed, even the few more regular opportunities, such as highway maintenance, f i t into a seasonal cycle which, while centering on the pursuit of game, had long accommodated short-term, season specific em-ployment in the industrial s e c t o r . 5 6 It i s d i f f i c u l t to assess with precision native participation in the two sectors of the Yukon economy as limited census material on the area offers few insights. One set of documents, registrations of native births, provides some imprecise indications of native economic patterns. The registration of native births dates from the 1930's, but only began e s For a somewhat contrary view, see J. Cruikshank, \"The Gravel Magnet: The Impact of Alaska Highway Construction on the Yukon Indians,\" pa-per presented to Alaska Highway Symposium, June, 1982. Importantly, Cruikshank pushes her study through to 1980, examining a rather d i f -ferent set of variables than the ones discussed here. 122 to be collected systematically after the introduction of Mother's Allowance in 1945. 6 7 As part of the registration process, the recording agent (usually the t e r r i t o r i a l Indian Agent) noted the father's occupa-tion. A sample of registration entries (approximately 30% of total cas-es) indicates that even in the aftermath of the construction of the Alaska Highway the vast majority of Indian males continued to consider themselves trappers. There are as well two weaknesses in the data base which suggest an understatement of the number thus occupied. Because of Indian Agent Meek's own interest in encouraging industrial employment, i t i s l i k e l y that he and other recording agents over-emphasized non-tra-ditional economic practises, even i f the individual worked as a woodcut-ter, section hand or labourer only part-time. Similarly, the continuing inconsistency of the registration process often meant that inaccessible areas (where trapping would obviously predominate) were not incorporated systematically in the sample. Once again, the likelihood i s that non-trapping occupations were over-represented. The following table none-theless i l l u s t r a t e s that among the active male population, trapping con-tinued to be the predominant occupational pursuit through to 1950. (Table 5) B 7 Records are found in Yukon T e r r i t o r i a l Government, Vital S t a t i s t i c s Branch, active f i l e s . The materials could only be examined on the condition that they be sampled and that no names be recorded in data notes. 123 Table 5 FATHER'S OCCUPATION AS LISTED AT TI HE OF REGISTRATION OF INDIAN BIRTHS, 1930-1950 Occupation 1930-1935 1936-1941 1942-1950 Trappers Labourers Section Hands Woodcutters Not Given/Dead 40 (87%) 4 (9%) 63 (85%) 6 (8%) 14 (9%) 4 (3%) 12 (8%) 7 (5%) 113 (75%) 2 (4%) 2 (3%) 3 (4%) 46 (100%) 74 (100%) 150 (100%) Source: Random Sample (Approximately 30% of total cases) From Native Birth Registrations, Vital S t a t i s t i c s Branch, Yukon T e r r i t o r i a l Govern-ment. A noticeable decrease followed the construction of the Alaska Highuay, but even then three quarters of the lis t e d males considered themselves trappers. While by no means conclusive, the data suggests the prepon-derant importance of the hunting-gathering sector to the Yukon Indians as late aB the 1950's. Although i t is clear that the Indians continuously opted for the har-vesting sector, a decision conditioned both by uhite economic exclusion-i s t policies and native choice, any i d y l l i c notion of natives co-exist-ing in b l i s s f u l harmony with their environment is out of place. The inconsistency of supply caused by uhite competition, natural game cycles and decreases in salmon stocks due to American fisheries on the louer Yukon injected serious insecurities into the lives of the Yukon Indians. The hunting-gathering economy held out a number of prospects. Some, like the fur trade, uere f a i r l y lucrative. The opportunity to continue subsistence hunting allowed for a persistence of preferred practises and customs. While occasional hardship remained part of the Indians' ac-cepted lot, thoBe natives opting for the pursuit of game normally found their economic expectations realized. 124 The natives' lack of interest in the aggressive, accumulative materi-alism of the industrial sector ensured that few crossed over to the dis-cipline and control of the industrial work place. Instead, the fur trade and provision hunting, both of which readily conformed to the cy-cles and practices of their subsistence l i f e s t y l e , provided for the c i r -cumscribed material needs of the Yukon Indians. Though pushed to the margins of the larger Yukon society. particularly as viewed from the white, industrial perspective, the natives generally accepted the c u l -tural and material benefits of their mixed economy. Despite significant economic change in the territory, the natives avoided gradual or rapid integration into the industrial order. preferring a tangential and pe-ripheral accommodation which permitted and even valued a continuation of harvesting practises. Within the framework and constraints of their ec-onomic outlook, a perception which the whites found d i f f i c u l t to under-stand and accept, the hunting-trapping economy offered the natives a re-a l i s t i c , even appealing, alternative to the uncertainty of wage labour. From the expansion of mining in the 1880's through to the construction of the Alaska Highway in the early 1940's the attractions of the indus-t r i a l economy could not overcome the special appeal of the harvesting l i f e , which meant everything to the Indians and v i r t u a l l y nothing to the whites. 125 CHAPTER SEVEN NATIVE-WHITE SOCIAL RELATIONS Canadian historians have paid remarkably l i t t l e attention to the evo-lution of northern society. A pre-occupation with explorers, government scientists and Euro-Canadian mining a c t i v i t i e s has diverted attention from this important subject. The prevailing notion of the Yukon as a \"temporary\" society has led to several detailed studies of social condi-tions during the Klondike Gold Rush 1 but very l i t t l e on previous or subsequent developments. This emphasis obscures both the long-term changes in the t e r r i t o r i a l order and the evolution of native-white so-c i a l relations. The central threads running through the social history of the Yukon are native permanence and Euro-Canadian transiency. T e r r i t o r i a l popula-tion fluctuated widely over time in keeping with the c y c l i c a l nature of the northern economy. The natives commercially dominated the fur trade period, despite a major decline in population caused by the introduction of new diseases. The arrival of thousands of gold seekers during the Klondike Gold Rush upset the comparative equilibrium of the early mining frontier. By 1900. whites far outnumbered the dwindling native popula-tion. The number of non-natives declined thereafter as the gold economy a l l but collapsed. The natives slowly regained their numerical impor-tance, constitutinga/bout 40% of the population in 1931, but in real num-1 Morris Zaslow, The Opening of the Canadian North, Chapter 6; P. Ber-ton, Klondike (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1972). A recent study, rich in detail but largely inaccessible due to Parks Canada's questionable circulation procedures. i s H. Guest. \"A History of the City of Dawson. Yukon Territory. 1896-1920\". Parks Canada, Microfiche Report Series #7. 126 berB their population remained stagnant (Table 6). Table 6 YUKON POPULATION, 1901-1971 Total Yukon Native X Native 1901 27,219 3,322 12.2 1911 8,512 1,489 17.5 1921 4, 157 1,390 33.4 1931 4,230 1,638 38.7 1941 4,914 1,508 30.7 1951 9.096 1,563 17.2 1961 14,628 2,207 15. 1 1971 18,385 2,580 14.0 Source: Canada Census, 1901-1971. The number of uhites expanded rapidly after 1940, as World War II con-struction projects brought thousands of temporary, and hundreds of per-manent, workers into the Yukon. The demographic inbalance, including both early native dominance and subsequent uhite numerical superiority, strongly influenced the evolu-tion of the regional social order. A continuing sexual imbalance in the uhite population, uith men far outnumbering uomen (Table 7), led many males to seek the affections of native uomen, i f only temporarily. Table 7 SEX RATIOS, YUKON POPULATION, 1901-1951 (Males per 100 Females) 1901 572 1911 325 1921 211 1931 202 1941 179 1951 150 Source: Canada Census, 1901-1951 As important as the shortage of uhite females, houever, uere attitudes concerning the d e s i r a b i l i t y of native-uhite social contact. Beginning 127 with the fur trade and continuing through to 1950. racist attitudes dom-inated by negative appraisals of native social and moral behaviour lim-ited social contact. The region's dual nature, therefore, re-emerged in social patterns. The fur trade provided a comparatively integrated set-ting, while white exclusionist policies ensured that towns and mining camps remained largely segregated. Social interaction i l l u s t r a t e d most graphically the distances between native and white in the Yukon. Relegation of Indians to physically pe-ripheral reserves. restricted native access to hospitals and schools, and the frequent observation of unhealthy or inebriated Indians high-lighted the native marginalization and points to a central theme in the social history of the Canadian north. Contemporary northern communi-ties, consisting typically of demarked native reserves and carefully protected Euro-Canadian subdivisions, are creations of the past, demon-strating the continued importance of segregationist attitudes from the Gold Rush to the present. Social contact obviously began with the fur trade and the opening of trading posts in the Yukon River valley. The nature of fur trade social relations has recently attracted considerable attention, particularly in the work of Sylvia Van Kirk and Jennifer Brown.2 Documenting the exten-sive and variable relations between native women and white traders, their work focuses on an elusive search for a definition of fur trade \"society\". Van Kirk's study is of particular importance here for. a l -though she does not deal e x p l i c i t l y with the Yukon d i s t r i c t , her argu-2 Sylvia Van Kirk. Many Tender Ties: Women In Fur Trade Society. 1670-1870 (Winnipeg: Watson and Dwyer. 1980); Jennifer Brown, Strang- ers in Blood (Vancouver: UBC Press. 1981). 128 merit concerning changes in the pattern of selecting marital partners is challenged somewhat by the practises of the northern fur trade. Focus-ing primarily on the southern d i s t r i c t s and especially Red River. Van Kirk argues that by the 1840's fur traders opted for uhite women over half-breeds and natives as their marital partners. By the time the Hud-son's Bay Company opened Fort Youcon in 1847, the long-entrenched pat-tern of taking a native or \"country-born\" wife had, she argues, ended. Uhite women increasingly dominated Red River society; the development of long-term liaisons with non-white uomen remained no longer the accepted practise for high rank company employees. Vhile Van Kirk amply demonstrated her thesis in the context of the Red River area, analysis of social contact in the Yukon fur trade puts some of her generalizations regarding fur trade society/ into question. Because of changes in attitude in the upper echelons of the company's service, i t uas no longer appropriate by the late 1840's to discuss l i -aisons uith native uomen in company correspondence. As a consequence, after that time the typically insightful records of the Hudson's Bay Company offer l i t t l e on inter-personal relations betueen the fur traders and Indians. At the opposite extreme the f i r s t commanding offi c e r at Fort Youcon, Alexander H. Murray, brought his uhite uife uith him to the north. 3 From this example, i t might appear that Van Kirk's argument holds for the Yukon. If this uere indeed true, then the social impact of the fur trade in the Yukon uould have been very limited. 3 Murray, Journal of the Yukon, HBCA, B240/2/1, f o l . 27, Youcon Jouranl, 31 August 1847. 129 Despite corporate disapproval and contrary to Van Kirk's suggestion, however, liaisons with native and half-breed women continued once the Hudson's Bay Company expanded into the Yukon River valley. The firm clearly deterred officers from cavorting. with the \" i n f e r i o r \" Indians and half-breeds. Such upper level restrictions dissuaded upwardly mo-bi l e young men from establishing public liaisons with native women. These restrictions had less effect on the company's lower ranks. En-gaged servants and minor o f f i c i a l s , especially those who acknowledged their limited prospects for personal advancement, enjoyed open sexual contact with the Indians. Again, evidence is sparce, with the normally valuable corporate record v i r t u a l l y barren on the topic. Scattered com-ments by travellers in the area, however, point to f a i r l y systematic l i -aisons. Antoine Houle, half-breed interpreter at Fort Youcon, frequent-ed Indian camps and allegedly supported several wives. 4 John Firth, who eventually became postmaster at Rampart House, married a Fort McPherson \"Loucheux\" Indian. 5 Such alliances appeared frequently in the d i s t r i c t . W. Dall, who visited Fort Youcon in 1867, f e l t that the Hudson's Bay Company actually'encouraged relationships. As he phrased i t . Every effort is made, to make these men (company servants) marry Indian wives; thus forcing them to remain in the country by burdening them with females whom they are ashamed to take back to c i v i l i z a t i o n and cannot desert. 5 4 U. Dall, Alaska and Its Resources (Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1970), 106. 5 HBCA. B200/b/43, f o l . 209. Camsell to Grahame, 24 March 1884. Firth's wife may have been a half-breed, K. Crowe, Original Peoples of North- ern Canada (Montreal: Arctic Institute, 1976). 5 Dall, Alaska, 104. 130 Dall's comments must be approached uith caution. An American unfamiliar uith Company-servant relations, he found the labour system at the post archaic, almost feudal in i t s oppression of the workers. Nevertheless, the observation suggests that personal inter-racial relations uere a fa-miliar feature at Fort Youcon. Further confirmation i s provided by Rob-ert Kennicott, a scientist attached to the Smithsonian Institution, uho passed the uinter of 1861 at LaPierre's House. He thought l i t t l e of the traders' choice of uives, pointing out that they \"uere by no means fa i r to look upon, one uas fat and the other forty, [ s i c ] age sixty, for that matter.\" He further noted that post officer James Flett and at least one other employee had native uives. 7 Numerous questions remain unanswered and, for the most part unanswer-able. There is no indication as to uhat happened to the Indian uives uhen their husbands l e f t the d i s t r i c t . It i s l i k e l y that they stayed behind i f the trader departed for a distant post or for Red River. Sim-i l a r l y , there i s no evidence to suggest hou the native uomen re-entered Indian society, although i t is expected that the pattern of easy and rapid re-integration common elseuhere held true for the Yukon. There is l i t t l e evidence to indicate uhy native uomen accepted uhite traders as mates, beyond the again typical assertions that they did so for personal gain and to s o l i d i f y trading relations betueen the Company and the band.e 7 R. Kennicott, \"The Journal of Robert Kennicott, 19 Bay 1859, 11 Feb. 1862,\" in J. A. James, The F i r s t S c i e n t i f i c Explorations of Russian America and the Purchase of Alaska (Evanston: Northuestern Universi-ty, 1947). B Van Kirk, p. 75-94 expands on the notion of Indian uives as \"uomen in betueen\" in the context of trade relations. 131 This picture of fur trade social relations is admittedly incomplete. Native men came into contact uith uhite society almost exclusively through their economic a c t i v i t i e s , particularly the limited trading cer-emonies. As well, the fur traders dreu an indeterminate number of Indi-an uomen to the fur trade posts as sexual partners. 9 Since many of those taking uives, like John Firth, remained in the region and as the number of uhites involved uas small, the social dislocations uere limited. At the same time, the lack of social approval ensured that the liaisons re-mained uithin the lower ranks of the Hudson's Bay Company and that ap-proval for such a c t i v i t i e s remained unwritten. Though the upper ech-elons had, as Van Kirk suggests, restricted their relations with native women, their model uas not being adopted at the louer ranks. The fur trade \"society\" of the Canadian west and north included far more men and women than this select group. The continuation of past marital practis-es among the lower echelons suggests that the inter-racial nature of the regional society — and of fur trade d i s t r i c t s in general — continued long after uhite uomen drew the affections of corporate officialdom. The failure to secure the approval of the white social e l i t e i r o n i -c a l l y became the major legacy of social relations in the fur trade era. While the company allowed, i f not encouraged, their men to keep native uives, the simple fact that the officer class maintained their social distance implied a degree of disapprobation. To the e l i t e fur traders, 9 Experience elsewhere in North America i l l u s t r a t e s that when white wo-men were not available males enthusiastically turned to women of other racial backgrounds for sexual release. Regarding whites and blacks, see Winthrop Jordan's White Over Black - American Attitudes Toward the Negro, 1550-1812 (Chapel H i l l : University of North Carolina, 1968), 140; G. Nash. Red, White and Black (Englewood C l i f f s : Prentice Hall, 1974) deals with the issue more broadly. M. Horner, Race Mixture in the History of Latin America (Boston: L i t t l e , Brown, 1967). 132 missionaries and explorer/travellers, marriage to an Indian remained unacceptable. Characterized as \"lazy\", \"aggressive\". \"turbulent\" and. in V. C. Bompas' phrase, \"the lowest of a l l people.\" the natives clear-ly stood apart from the \"better\" class of whites. 1 0 As Bompas' comment suggests. the whites readily applied the evolution-based theories of cultural superiority then current in western intellectual c i r c l e s , and obviously found the Yukon Indians wanting. 1 1 This negative stereotype of the Yukon Indians, devoid of any conception of the \"noble savage\", sub-sequently provided the intellectual basis for further attempts at social segregation which also conditioned their attitudes about the natives' economic u t i l i t y . Such concerns remained for the moment the preserve of the established classes. For the miners who followed the fur traders, consideration of racial character and the snobbish disapproval of inter-racial sexual contact held limited significance. The image often expressed of the early Yukon mining frontier i s of a rapacious group of prospectors uho. when not scouring the creeks for gold. eagerly debauched the local na-tives. 1 2 There i s a great deal of missionary hyperbole in such assess-ments, for the clergymen of the Church Missionary Society sought signs of the degeneration of the Indian in the face of advancing white c i v i l i -1 0 S. Jones. \"The Kutchin Tribes.\" W. Hardisty. \"The Loucheux Indians\" HBCA. B200/b/33, f o l . 15. Ross to Council, 29 Nov. 1858; HBCA. B200/b/34, f o l . 130. Jones to Hardisty. 23 June 1863; HBCA, B200/b/35, f o l . 106, Hardisty to McDougall, 4 April 1865; PAC, MG19 D13. Pelly and Lewes Journal, vol. 1, 9 June 1848, PAM, AEPR, MG7, Al, Box 4001, \"Rev. W. W. Kirby's journey to Fort Youcon;\" CMS, Bom-pas to Secretaries, CMS, 6 Dec. 1872; Coates, Northern Yukon, p. 43. 1 1 See R. Berkhofer, White Man'a Indian, for the broader context sug-gested here. 1 2 H. A. Cody, An Apostle of the North, 253-272. 133 z a t i o n . 1 3 Unfortunately, these same missionaries offered the only de-tailed descriptions of relations betueen whites and natives. Sexual contact increased markedly in this period and relationships thus consumated differed strikingly from those of the earli e r fur trade era. In the virtual absence of white women in the area, native females provided the only readily available sexual solace. As the Reverend R. J. Bowen commented on the border region mining campsi the white prospectors . . . had been thoughtless enough to lure the Indian squaws into their home(s) and into the dance h a l l . The results of such action was seen in the number of half-breed c h i l d r e n . 1 4 Missionary correspondence is replete with accounts of systematic de-bauchery, of native women lured unwittingly into the miners' tents, of Indian men \"s e l l i n g \" young daughters to avaricious prospectors and of the widespread use of alcohol. Liquor figured prominently in the mis-sionaries' rhetoric, typically being described a B an irresistable lure for native women or as a reliable method for placating native men.15 Similar relations characterized native-white contact at Herschel Is-land, off the Yukon's northern coast. American whalers entered the area in 1890 and quickly established an extensive land-based fur trade that attracted many Indians from the Porcupine River d i s t r i c t . The trading ceremonies were lusty social events. Native women clambered on board 1 3 J. Usher, \"Social Program.\" 1 4 PAC, Bowen Papers, \"Incidents in the Lif e of R.J. Bowen.\" 1 3 Cody, Apostle of the North, Archer, Heroine of the North, CHS, Bompas to S ec, 24 May 1895, Bompas to Dear Sirs, 2 March 1895; Bompas to CMS, 15 May 1894; Bompas to CMS, 26 July 1895, Bompas to CMS, 3 Janu-ary 1894; diocese of Selkirk by U. C. Bompas, c 1893; Bompas to CMS, 20 January 1893; DIA, vol. 3906, f i l e 105, 378, Bompas to Minister of the Interior, 5 June 1894, Deputy Supt. General to Hon. T. Wayne Daly, 18 Sept. 1893. 134 the s a i l i n g vessels into the arms of long-deprived sailors, and the con-sumption of seemingly endless supplies of liquor ensured a constant state of inebriation. A marked contrast to the sedate exchanges in the interior, the coastal trading events served as an attractive enticement for inland Indians. 1 6 As Charles Constantine reported from his vantage point at Fort Cudahy. several hundred miles to the south. \"This liquor i s sold or traded to the natives for furs, walrus ivorybone and their young g i r l s who are purchased by the officers for their own foul purpos-e s . \" 1 7 While these comments and other descriptions of the Herschel Is-land trade refer primarily to the coastal Inuit. many Porcupine River Kutchin also participated. Along the Yukon River and off Herschel1 Is-land there appears, therefore, to be evidence to support the missionar-ies' claims concerning the debauching of the natives and the deleterious social impact of the arrival of miners and whalers. The miners and whalers sought out the sexual favours of the native women, and such relationships became the major point of contact between Indians and whites. The frequency and significance of these liaisons, however, is less clear. While half-breed children appeared as a logical consequence of miscegenation, a distinctive cross-cultural social group did not appear. The missionaries saw the children as deserving of spe-c i a l consideration and attempted to draw them out of the native world 1 6 Peter Usher. \"Canadian Western Arctic: A Century of Change.\" Anthro-pologica 13, No. 1/2 (1971), 169-83; I. Warner, \"Herschel Island,\" Alaska Journal, vol. 3, no. 13 (1973), 130-143; K. Coates, The North- ern Yukon, 55-65. 1 7 PAC, MG30 E55, Constantine Papers, Constantine to 0. C. Regina, 20 Nov. 1896; See also RCHP. vol. 336, f i l e 254-07, Whittaker to Col. White, c. 1905! CHS, Bompas to CHS, 24 Hay 1895. 135 and place them under the wing of resident c l e r g y . 1 8 For the most part, however, the half-breed offspring of impermanent liaisons remained uith the Indians. The small and geographically isolated number of such c h i l -dren ensured that there uould be no ready institutionalization of half-breed status. Unlike the southern plains, uhere a sizeable Metis popu-lation uith a distinctive identity evolved, in the Yukon River valley half-breeds remained members of native society, barred by colour and culture from a permanent place uithin the mining community. It i s particularly d i f f i c u l t to determine the extent of the alleged debauchery. Uhite miners made liquor available for their native \"friends\", either in their oun cabins or in native camps. In many i n -stances, these gatherings provided an opportunity for the miners to e l i -c i t sexual favours from inebriated native uomen. Endless appeals by the missionaries to put a stop to the liquor trade led, in 1894, to the establishment of a North-Uest Mounted Police pres-ence in the area. The police officers remained pessimistic about their chances of effecting a noticeable change in social relations. Inspector Charles Constantine noted in 1896 that ue cannot expect that a mining country u i l l become polished and in a high state of c i v i l i z a t i o n in the course of a feu months, but has to (be) done gradually more persuasively at f i r s t than by forcing i t . 1 8 Constantine's superiors shared his reluctance to impose s t r i c t controls on social behavior. N.V.M.P. Comptroller Fred Uhite echoed a uidely held vieu uithin the force uhen he urote, \"It is d i f f i c u l t to convince 1 8 PAC, Bowen Papers, \"Incidents and the Life of R. J. Bouen\"; Archer, Heroine, Cody, Apostle. 1 8 PAC, Constantine Papers, vol. 4, f o l . 120-121. Constantine to Macin-tosh, 25 June 1896. 136 the goody-goody people that in the development and settlement of a neu country, allowances must be made for the excesses of human behaviour.\" 2 0 The institutionalization of the inter-racial drinking party stands as the major legacy of the pre-Gold Rush mining era. With the natives spending most of their time auay from the mining camps, these brief, i n -tense celebrations became the principal medium through uhich the tuo groups came together. From the uhite perspective, and this i s evident for the miners, missionaries and policemen, the natives' social a t t r i -butes came to be vieued largely in light of their party behaviour. The uomen's lack of \" c i v i l i z e d \" morals and the men's i n a b i l i t y to control the effects of liquor (desires and actions uhich, incidentally, mirrored those of the miners and uhalers) became the dominant images of the na-tives. For the Indians, however, these parties l i k e l y represented l i t -t l e more than brief flings, a decided change from the routine of the bush and a sought-after component of the regular trading excursions. Very quickly, houever, these parties provided unintended evidence to confirm the North American Nineteenth Century stereotype of the drunken and morally lax Indian. 2 1 White commentators, particularly C.M.S. missionaries, decried the uidespread a v a i l a b i l i t y of alcohol and feared the consequences of con-tinuing consumption. Their concern, born as much out of a s e l f - i n t e r -ested anxiety about uncontrollable, inebriated natives as concern for the Indians' well-being, reflected the uidespread stereotype of the de-2° Quoted in W. R. Morrison, \"The Mounted Police in Canada's Northern Frontier,\" 144. 2 1 R. Berkofer, White Man's Indian. One of the best examples of this attitude i s Report of John Hauksley, DIA, Annual Report, 1915/16, 117. Hauksley came to the Yukon in the period in question. 137 b i l i t a t i n g impact of alcohol. Accepting the common images and fears, the Canadian government imposed a permanent interdiction on native drinking. Importantly, when Inspector Charles Constantine led the f i r s t North Vest Mounted Police detachment to the area in 1894. he carried ex-p l i c i t instructions to address the problem of native drinking. Though the NWMP modified law enforcement practises to conform to the wider t o l -erances of the mining frontier, police officers placed particular empha-si s on restricting Indian access to alcohol. Much of the early efforts concentrated on white suppliers, with fines beginning at $100 imposed on anyone caught s e l l i n g or providing liquor to na t i v e s . 2 2 These government imposed restrictions actually served to shape the structure of native drinking in the d i s t r i c t . Legal barriers blocking access to legitimate suppliers forced those natives desiring liquor to turn to the less satisfactory options of manufacturing homebrew or pur-chasing through white bootleggers. The i l l i c i t trade became particular-ly important, both in the early mining phase and thereafter, spreading quickly throughout the territory despite RNWMP vigilance. Legal prohib-itions similarly forced the natives to consume their liquor either in their camps or. as was particularly common before the Gold Rush. in the miners' cabins. Ironically, the law brought natives and whites together in the presence of alcohol, simultaneously placing Indians in the role of supplicants dependent upon others for their pleasures, precisely what the government designed i t s legislation to prevent. 2 3 2 2 The courts, however, refused to accept native testimony. The d i f f i -culty this entailed in securing convictions did not however dampen the policemen's ardour. RCMP. vol. 485. f i l e 221. Moodie to Commis-sioner. 4 August 1918. See also RCMP. vol. 549. f i l e 109. Report of Serg. Maple. 28 September 1918. 138 While commentaries on native a c t i v i t i e s in this period are replete uith discussions of Indians' drinking, the precise context and s i g n i f i -cance of that consumption is d i f f i c u l t to assess. The role of alcohol in native societies has draun considerable attention — but l i t t l e con-sensus — among anthropologists and historians. Donald Horton's argu-ment that liquor served to reduce anxiety dominated much of the early discussion. He suggested that, acting as a power disinhibitor, alcohol allowed the relaxation of aggressive and sexual tensions to a tolerable l e v e l . 2 4 Numerous scholar s , 2 5 including ethnographers I. and J. Honig-mann working among the Kaska, 2 5 applied Horton's analysis to a variety of \"primitive\" groups, offering slight modifications of the central theory. Later studies questioned Horton's interpretation. 2 7 Many, particular-ly those focusing on contemporary situations, emphasize \"socio-economic deprivation\" as the prime determinant of native d r i n k i n g . 2 5 Others ar-2 3 As this relates to contemporary American context, see P. Hay, \"Ar-rests, Alcohol and Alcohol Legalization Among An American Indian Tribe,\" Plains Anthropologist 26 (1975), 129-134. 2 4 D. Horton, \"The Function of Alcohol in Primitive Societies: A Cross-Cultural Study,\" Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol 3 (1943), 119-220. 2 5 C. Wasburne, Primitive Drinking: A Study of the Uses and Functions of Alcohol in Pre-1iterate Societies, (Neu Haven, 1961), G. H. Le-nient, \"The Use of Alcohol in Three Salish Indian Tribes,\" QJSA 9 (1958), 90-107. 2 5 I. Honigmann and J. Honigmann, \"Drinking in an Indian-White Communi-ty\", QJSA 5, (Harch 1945), 575-619. 2 7 P. Field, \"A Neu Cross-Cultural Study of Drunkenness,\" D. Pittman and C. Snyder, eds.. Society, Culture and Drinking Patterns, (Neu York: John Wiley and Sons, 1962). 2 5 E. P. Dozier, \"Problem Drinking Among American Indians: The Role of Socio-economic Deprivation,\" QJSA, 27 (1966), 72-87. For a series of 139 gued that the natives' apparent lust for alcohol originated in liquor's u t i l i t y in assisting the attainment of dreams, a most valued experi-ence. 2 3 Alternate explanations suggest that drunkenness served as a sub-stitute for institutionalized social interaction uith uhites or. as Nan-cy Lurie suggests, as an assertion of Indianness. 3 0 The various theories accounting for the natives' apparent a f f i n i t y for alcohol share a common i n f l e x i b i l i t y . They assume a uniform \"Indian\" response to liquor. More useful, particularly in understanding conditions in the Yukon, is the approach advocated in Edgerton and MacAndreu'B Drunken Comport- ment. Arguing that there is no uniform physiological response to alco-hol, they suggest that drinking behaviour has to be learned. In native societies, uhere feu models for intoxicated behaviour existed, patterns came from the uhite man. At the f i r s t stage at least, the response of specific native groups came from lessons offered by the uhites bringing the a l c o h o l . 3 1 Edgerton and MacAndreus also point out, supported by a contemporary study of Indian d r i n k i n g , 3 2 that social scientists t y p i c a l -a r t i c l e s dealing uith contemporary native drinking in the north, see John Homer and Jack Steinbring, eds., Alcohol and Native Peoples of the North (Boston: University Press of American, 1980). 2 3 R. C. Daly, \"The Role of Alcohol Among North American Indian Tribes as Reported in the Jesuit Relations,\" Anthropologica 10 (1968), 45-57. 3 ° Nancy Lurie, \"The World's Oldest On-Going Protest Demonstration: North American Indian Drinking Patterns,\" Paci f i c Historical Review vol. 40 (1971), 311-32. Lurie's argument i B supported by a major uork on Indians in Neu France, C. Jaenan, Friends and Foe: Aspects of French-Amerindian Cultural Contact in the 16th and 17th Centuries. (Toronto: McClelland and Steuart, 1976), 114-116. 3 1 R. Edgerton and C. MacAndreus, Drunken Comportment: A Social Expla- nation (Chicago: Aldine, 1969). 3 2 J. Levy and S. Kunitz, Indian Drinking: Navaho Practise and Anglo-A- merican Theories, (Neu York, 1974). 140 ly ascribe a l l deviant behaviour to post-conquest consequences of alco-hol consumption, missing the obvious observation that violent, aberrant actions uere a part of native l i f e before the arrival of the uhites. The Yukon provides a useful case study for the Edgerton-MacAndreu ap-proach. Natives greeted the introduction of alcohol enthusiastically and imbibed regularly. The demand, bouever, had f i n i t e limits, and there uas l i t t l e violence associated uith consumption. The many \"Hootch\" parties remained peaceable, uith feu beatings, no murders be-fore the tuentieth century and l i t t l e destructiveness. The police and missionaries, however, refused to acknouledge the possible peaceful role of alcohol, l i v i n g in dread of intoxicated violence. That natives failed to act as expected reflected the social context uithin uhich na-tive drinking began. The crucial preliminary exposure to alcohol came, for most of the Yu-kon Indians, in the form of \"spree\" drinking. Miners returning from their diggings, often burdened uith the results of a winter's uork, and the whalers anchored off Herschel Island engaged in regular and raucous celebrations. Despite the missionaries' remonstrances, Indians joined in the parties, obviously enjoying the recreational value of liquor. While drinking, the uhite men uere not noticeably violent, even before the arrival of the North West Mounted Police. The behaviour the Indians aassociated uith the consumption of alcohol did not generally include violence or u i l d debauchery. Instead, liquor uas typically consumed in small groups, uith the emphasis on uhat a native uoman from Teslin re-ferred to as a \"hi-you\" time. 3 3 3 3 RCMP, vol. 514, f i l e 521, A. C. Bell to QC \"B\" Division, 12 August 1916. 141 Alcohol consumption in Yukon society, for both uhites and Indians, uas recreational and drinking uas normally associated uith pleasure, sexual or otheruise, and partying. Not surprisingly, the natives readi-ly integrated alcohol into the potlatchs held to celebrate funerals, to trade or exchange g i f t s . Equally important, alcohol became closely tied to sexual relations betueen native uomen and uhite men. Short-term l i -aisons normally revolved around the inter-racial drinking party. The Indians accepted drinking and sexual behaviour as a standard social re-sponse both to the use of alcohol and relations uith uhite men. This period also sau the emergence in the Yukon of a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r -ent European type, typically (and derogatorily) referred to as a \"squau man.\" Commonly used throughout Canada and the United States, the pejo-rative term described those uhite men who lived uith Indians. 3 4 These individuals uent further than simply taking a native uife, although that alone uas a socially questionable choice by the North American standards of the 1880's. They also opted to li v e in the hunting-trapping manner. But the squau men did not completely separate themselves from uhite so-ciety, often preserving their materialistic points of vieu and an auare-ness of the p o s s i b i l i t i e s for personal profit through the fur trade or prospecting. They remained men in betueen, not f u l l y integrated into the Indian uay of l i f e , yet significantly divorced from uhite society. Importantly, uith feu exceptions they did not f u l f i l l the role of \"pa-trons\" or intermediaries betueen the two groups. To those in the mining communities, men uho \"descended\" to live uith the Indians became margi-nal men, only tangentially connected to the larger society and deemed 3 4 Again, see Nash, Red, White and Black, Morner, Race Mixture. 142 l i t t l e different from the n a t i v e s . 3 5 The natives had less d i f f i c u l t y ac-cepting the squaw men. allowing them into their camps, recognizing their liaisons uith native uomen, and encouraging their participation in the hunting economy. There is no precise indication of the size of this particular social group before 1896, although the comparatively small number of half-breed children recorded by the missionaries suggests that i t uas not large. Whereas before 1896 social contacts remained geographically and demo-graphical ly circumscribed, the Klondike Gold Rush and the attending i n -flux of miners radically altered the demographic balance. In short or-der, uhites numerically suamped the natives as thousands of prospectors poured over the mountain passes into the Yukon River valley. The l i m i t -ed social contacts of the earlier period f e l l into d i s a r r a y . 3 5 Large scale mining frontiers are seldom kind to indigenous populations. Given the magnitude of the population s h i f t , the most remarkable characteris-t i c of the Klondike period is the surprisingly limited amount of inter-racial contact. With feu exceptions, natives stayed socially distinct from the gold rush community, placed by choice, encouragement and regu-lation on the margins of t e r r i t o r i a l s o c i e t y . 3 7 Part of the explanation for the racial exclusiveness of Gold Rush so-ciety l i e s in the efforts of the Church of England missionaries and the North West Mounted Police. Bishop Bompas' main task involved separating 3 5 George Carmacks, co-discoverer of the Klondike fields, uas a \"squaw man\" and encountered significant discrimination as a result. A. A. Wright. Prelude to Bonanza discusses the problems he encountered af-ter locating gold on Rabbit Creek. 3 5 Fisher. Contact and Conf1ict. 95-118. 3 7 Pierre Berton. Klondike. Hal Guest. \"Dauson City\". 143 uhites and natives. To Bompas, the rationale uas obvious: To abandon them nou that the place i s overrun by miners uould involve their destruction by more than a relapse to heathe-nism, namely in their being swallowed up in the miners' temp-tations to drink, gambling and immorality. 3 8 Anxious to protect the Indians from their oun \"weaknesses\", Bompas urged the natives in the Dauson City area to remain on the Moosehide reserve, some three miles dounstream from the mining centre. The federal con-stabulary seconded Bompas' efforts, particularly as regards alcohol uhich uas acknouledged to be the greatest evil facing the Indians. The presence of a sizeable police force added substance to earlier proscrip-tions and the N.U.n.P. spared l i t t l e effort in pursuing uhites accused of distributing liquor to the na t i v e s . 3 8 Once again, alcohol emerged as the principal social intermediary. The natives' willingness to pay high prices for liquor ensured a consis-tent supply. The consensus uas that efforts to stop the use of liquor had been unsuccessful. Euro-Canadians readily agreed that avaricious uhites easily led the natives, uith their insatiable demand for intoxi-cants, touard inebriation and corruption. Since most uhites saw drunk-enness as a sign of demoralization, the general public readily accepted Bompas' conclusion that \"their habits are deteriorating through too much contact with the whites.\"* 0 The liquor parties hardly reflected native l i f e s t y l e and customs. It appears that for most Indians parties contin-ued to be occasional, often seasonal events. They il l u s t r a t e d not that the natives had sunken into depravity through contact with the whites, 3 8 CMS, Bompas to CMS, 4 May 1898. 3 8 Report of Supt. Wood, NWMP, Annual Report 1902, pt. I l l , 10-11. *° CMS, Bompas to CMS, 23 August 1898. 144 but rather that they continued to be so c i a l l y distinct. Beyond these occasional forays into the uhite man's world. feu opportunities existed for extended social contact. Host of the Yukon Indians uere physically isolated from the Gold Rush, and the preponderance of uhites ensured that the geographic segre-gation uas replicated in social distance. This separation often re-flected Indian choice. The N.W.M.P. officer at McQuesten noted in 1900 that a number of natives l e f t the area as a result of uhite encroach-ments and alleged thefts of Indian goods. 4 1 Living in the shadou of Dau-son City. Moosehide residents tended to stay in their place, maintaining only irregular contacts uith the toun. Even here there uere feu at-tempts, or opportunities, to breach social barriers, and the natives limited their intervention to a small number of peripheral economic ac-t i v i t i e s . The high incidence of disease in the Moosehide community also restricted attempts by the local Indians to enter Dauson's social sphere. Perceived economic opportunities attracted other natives to the mining community, but i t is doubtful that they shared uidely in the myr-iad of social a c t i v i t i e s . 4 2 In the pre-Gold Rush period, the miners' sexual desires and the lim-ited number of uhite uomen ensured a regular desire for the sexual fav-ours of Indian uomen. During the Klondike Gold Rush the demand remained surprisingly limited. There are several explanations. including the presence of the North-West Mounted Police, and the efforts of other gov-ernment o f f i c i a l s and missionaries to prevent such contact. More impor-4 1 RCMP. vol. 189. f i l e 339. Davis to OC, Dauson, 2 Oct. 1900. 4 2 Slobodin. \"The Dauson City Boys,\" R. Knight Indians at Work, 174-176. 145 tarit, however, was the a v a i l a b i l i t y of prostitutes to service the miners. Recognizing the sexual imbalance in the territory (men outnum-bered women by more than 5 to 1 in 1901) and the likelihood of unrest i f prostitution was prohibited, the government and police decided to allow the \"lascivious ladies of soulless love\" to ply their trade, although under s t r i c t regulations. Uith a readily available supply of \"profes-sionals,\" the miners resorted less often to the \"socially undesirable\" Indian women.43 For a l l i t s grandeur, the Klondike Gold Rush did not significantly alter patterns of social relations. The process of marginalization re-mained more one of disregard than callous action on the part of the whites. The natives stayed close by, performing minor though valuable seasonal functions, but integration into the larger society did not f o l -low. Liquor parties moved from the mining centres and dance halls to the Indian camps. Social and legal proscriptions removed prior public sanction for such events, with severe punishment for any whites caught in the act. Previously the medium for much of the interaction, native women no longer attracted as much attention as sexual partners. In-stead, as stereotypes of the Indians as \"drunken\", \"dirty\", and \"dis-eased\" took firmer root, even temporary cohabitation with a native be-came cause for social disapproval. 4 3 Hal Guest, \"Dawson City\" has the best discussion of this topic. On the N.U.H.P. generally, see the provocative a r t i c l e , Thomas Stone, \"The Mounties as Vigilantes: Reflections of Community and The Trans-formation of Law in the Yukon, 1885-1897,\" Law and Society Review, vol. 4, no. 1 (Fall, 1979). 146 A major indication of the Indians' social marginality during the Klondike Gold Rush is their virtual i n v i s i b i l i t y in the vast literature generated by this event. The gold rush attracted a great deal of media attention and in the era of \"yellow journalism\" writers earned sizeable sums by feeding an insatiable southern demand for information. Living in the Yukon, but not soc i a l l y part of i t , the Indians appeared in this material more as part of the physical environment than of the elaborate social m i l i e u . 4 4 It is significant that the only major published pieces dealing exclusively with the natives, two short a r t i c l e s by the well-re-garded journalist Tappan Adney, described moose hunting techniques among the northern Indians. 4 5 The Gold Rush developed around and amongst the Indians, but seldom incorporated them in anything more than a marginal way. This exclusiveness reflected native choice in part. Uith the ex-ception of the \"Dawson Boys\" from Peel River, few Indians moved toward the gold fields. Uith few jobs available, other native groups physical-ly separated themselves from the mining camps. Excepting the missionar-ies and the N.U.M.P., most whites simply ignored the natives. Uhat lim-ited accommodation occurred resulted from economic considerations, and the nature of those ties ensured that social integration did not follow. 4 4 See Hal Guest, \"San Francisco of the North\", and R. Friesen, \"Chil-koot: A Literature Survey\" for discussions of available materials. P. Berton, Klondike, i l l u s t r a t e s the predominantly white character of the Gold Rush. See also M. Zaslow, The Opening of the Canadian North. 4 5 T. Adney, \"The Indian Hunter of the Far Northwest: On the Tra i l to the Klondike,\" Outing, 39, no. 6 (1907). 623-633; Adney, \"Moose Hunt-ing With the Tro-Chu-Tu\" Harpers New Monthly Magazine, 100 (1900), 495-507. 147 The outmigration of uhites following the gold rush gave the Indians a reneued numerical importance. The period from 1904 to the construction of the Alaska Highuay did not, houever, see significant alterations in existing patterns of social integration. Instead, institutionalization of distinctiveness, and r i g i d exclusion of natives from the dominant uhite society characterized this forty year period. The separateness of the races derived in large measure from the tuo-sector form of the re-gional economy. Because of the exclusiveness of the mining economy, there uas l i t t l e in that environment to drau natives and uhites togeth-er. In contrast, any uhites uho participated in the trapping business, as trappers, traders or in related transportation a c t i v i t i e s , found con-siderable cause to reach a social accommodation uith the Indians. The same motivation did not exist for the majority of the uhites, carefully cloistered in protected residential environments or uorking in the uhite dominated mining industry. A more complete integration of native and uhite occurred auay from the Dawson-Whitehorse corridor. In those instances uhere uhites uorked and lived amongst the Indians and uhere economic prosperity hinged on interdependence betueen trappers and traders, harmonious relations ex-isted. As Reverend C. C. Brett commented concerning the Teslin area in 1914, The uhites generally speaking, are rather exceptional here. I heard the trapper say that during his eight years here, he has not heard a native uoman complain of a uhite saying anyhting (sic) to insult them. 1 don't uish to infer that the uhites there pretend to be saints, but they are a pretty good croud of men on the uhole. 4 S 4 6 Letter from Rev. C. C. Brett, Across the Rockies, vol. V, No. 7 (July 1914). 148 Although the Teslin natives apparently resented the occasional derogatory reference to themselves as \"Siwashes,\" they appeared well sa t i s f i e d with the inter-racial accommodation.47 In the back country d i s t r i c t s , like Teslin, relations extended beyond trade and friendship. It i s in these back country d i s t r i c t s that squaw men became particularly prevalent. Dan Cadzow, trader at Rampart House after the turn of the century, is perhaps the most prominent example. Committed to the Porcu-pine River fur trade, he took a native wife soon after his arrival and remained a prominent figure in the area until his death. Cadzow was unique in that he eschewed the Indian way, building a handsome cabin for himself and his wife, which he furnished with the best he could buy from southern r e t a i l e r s . 4 8 Men such as Cadzow, Poole Field at Ross River, Eu-gene Jacquot at Burwash, Del Vangorder at Ross River and others around the territory committed themselves to their respective areas. Their ac-ceptance of the Indian way for themselves or, as in Cadzow's case, the people they chose ' as neighbours obviously led them to more complete re-lationships with the Indians. Marriages did not always follow. The men often sought short-term l i -aisons, especially i f they intended only a brief stay. This was partic-ularly true in the 1920's and 1930*s, when the p r o f i t a b i l i t y of the northern fur trade brought a number of short-term operators into the business. Although over-stated, the contention by Grafton Burke, physi-cian at the Hudson Stuck Memorial Hospital at Fort Yukon that \"traders in these isolated places vie with each other as to who can 'swell the 4 7 RCMP, vol. 387, f i l e 181, Macdonald to Asst. Comm., 1 Sept. 1910; RCMP, vol. 549. f i l e 109. Report of Sergt. Mapley, 28 Sept. 1918. 4 8 T. Riggs, \"Running the Alaska Boundary.\" 149 population'.\" 4 3 demonstrates that many traders did not share the commit-ment of Cadzou and others to the Yukon Indians. The general population continued to disdain or at least question the squau man. N.A.D. Armstrong's reaction to the marriage of his friend Couard to a \"dusky bride\" named Alice i s not untypical. \"What a pity.\" he urote in his diary. \"that the fine specimen of a man should have fallen so lou as to marry a full-blooded squau — such i s l i f e . \" 5 0 The indictment offered by such men as N.W.M.P. Assistant Commissioner Z. Uood i s no less striking. Referring to the Whitehorse area, he comment-ed. \"These (squau) men purchase liquor and reta i l i t to the Indian, and ue have also reason to believe they allou their squaus to cohabit uith other uhite men and Indians.\" 5 1 Those uho opted for an Indian bride faced ostracism from the \"better\" elements of uhite society. Laura Ber-ton described the case of one young man. the son of a Dauson c i v i l ser-vant, uho had married a half-breed uoman uhile his parents uere \"out-side.\" As Berton urote: She uas a pretty l i t t l e thing. bright and neat, and I think could have made him a good uife. but the parents uere BO shocked they uould neither see nor speak uith him. This a t t i -tude drove him from the toun and back into the bush, uhere his l i f e uas spent among the Indians, hunting and cutting uood for a li v i n g . Nou here he uas. standing by the river uith his dark, uiry children clustered about him. the fish uheel in the background turning slouly uith the current, the salmon smoking under the trees. In a l l intents and purposes he uas a na-t i v e . 5 2 4 3 AC, Fort Yukon f i l e , Grafton Burke to J. Hauksley. 21 May 1926. 5 0 PAC. MG30. EZ. vol. 3. N.A.D. Armstrong Papers. Diary 1921. 8 July, 2 Sept. 5 1 Report of Asst. Comm. Wood, RNWMP, Annual Report 1909, 209. 5 2 L. Berton, l_ Married the Klondike, 169. 150 Selecting a native wife forced d i f f i c u l t choices* for in so doing an individual cut many bonds uith uhite society. Occasionally* those uho stayed uith their Indian uives used their knouledge of white society to the benefit of their native friends and family. Such men uere excep-tions, however* as the squaw men did not automatically assume a role as intermediaries between the races. Instead* they were more often shunned i f not ostracized* their morals and taste questioned by the upright res-idents of Uhitehorse and Dawson. The disdain for the squaw men was particularly evident during at-tempts to provide school f a c i l i t i e s for half-breed children in Dawson and Uhitehorse. Although public schools were available in both centres* as late as 1947 i t was noted that \" i t is not denied that these children (natives and half-breeds) are not welcome there.\" 5 3 Mission schools for half-breed children were established in response. full-blooded natives already being served through Anglican day schools and the Carcross Indi-an Residential School. The Anglican church built St. Paul's Hostel in Dawson in 1920. and in 1946 the Reverend E. Lee opened a similar f a c i l i -ty in Uhitehorse. In both instances. the public opposed the schools, although few accepted the alternative of allowing the children into the t e r r i t o r i a l establishments. 5 4 The opening of such schools did not as-suage public anger. Instead. the fact the federal government provided financial assistance only added to the h o s t i l i t y . 5 5 Opposition to the 5 3 DIA, vol. 6477, f i l e 929-1 pt. 1, Meek to IAB, 25 Oct. 1947. 5 4 DIA, vol. 6479, f i l e 940-1, pt. 1, Stringer to DIA, 5 March 1912; AC, Johnson f i l e 1, Stringer to C. F. Johnson; AC, Contributions: St. Paul's Hostel F i l e , St. Paul's Hostel, 14 Feb. 1947. 5 5 DIA, vol. 6481, f i l e 941-1 pt. 1, Duncan Scott to Sir James Lougheed, 2 May 1921. 151 founding of St. Paul's Hostel revealed the general disapproval of the squau men. As the Mayo-Keno Builetin noted in September 1925? Why should the people's money be used to house, feed and clothe the someuhat p r o l i f i c progeny of able bodied men uho have mated uith native uomen . . . . Does the Federal Govern-ment realize that the result of i t s misplaced generosity is to encourage a certain class knoun as 'squaumen' to s h i f t their parental responsibilities on the shoulders of an unwilling p u b l i c . 5 S While the regularity and permanence of several of these relationships cannot be denied, there i s no accurate means of assessing their number and longevity. Commenting in 1909 on the situation around Whitehorse, Superintendent Snyder of the Royal North West Mounted Police urote, There are in this d i s t r i c t a number of uhite men uho are l i v -ing uith Indian uomen . . . . While some of these men profess to regard these uomen as their uives, I do not think any of them seriously intend to live uith them for l i f e — as other-uise there is nothing to prevent their being married to them in the usual manner l e g a l l y . 5 7 Three years later, Bishop Stringer noted that there uere only \"about half a dozen\" men in the Yukon li v i n g permanently uith native uomen. Given the far reaching tentacles of the Anglican church and the mission-aries' familiarity uith local conditions, i t i s li k e l y that his estimate uas not far urong. The legality of these informally constituted mar-riages, usually r a t i f i e d only according to Indian custom, uas an impor-tant issue. Any woman so marrying lost her legal status as an Indian, as did her c h i l d r e n . 5 8 Census materials and even t e r r i t o r i a l marriage 5 8 AC, St. Agnes Hostel f i l e , Extract from Mayo-Keno Bulletin, 8 Sept. 1925. 5 7 RCMP, vol. 369, f i l e 133, Snyder to Asst. Comm., 29 Jan. 1909. 5 8 This issue uas not adequately resolved before 1950. As long as there uas no formal marriage, the government considered uomen to be na-tives. Children remained native unless their fathers assumed f u l l and public responsibility. See RCMP, vol. 369, f i l e 133, Pedley to 152 registers do not offer much insight; the incidence of mixed marriages and those involving half-breeds largely escaped bureaucratic purview. 5 9 The impermanent nature of most of these liaisons would distort any sta-t i s t i c s thus garnered, making i t impossible to accurately assess the in-cidence of such relationships. That these informal and transitory liaisons formed a significant part of the social landscape is suggested by strong demographic pressures within white society. Because of i t s northern isolation and economic in s t a b i l i t y , the Yukon remained a frontier society through to 1950. Few long-term settlers came north, the work force sustained instead by a continuous circulation of transient workers. Typically unaccompanied by wife or family, these men found few outlets for their romantic and sex-ual desires within the white community, except as could be assuaged through heartless trysts with prostitutes. With a massive imbalance in favour of males among the uhite community, (Table 7), a large number of young men sought out Indian women. Originating more in lust than ro-mance, contracted by men with l i t t l e intention of remaining long in the north, these liaisons were typically short-lived, sexually-oriented and often related to the consumption of alcohol. Functioning without the restrictions on sexual behaviour dominant among white females. Indian women accepted the status, pleasure and occasional material returns from such liaisons. White, 3 March 1909; YG, vol. 9, f i l e 1490 pt. J.. Meek to Gibben, 28 May 1947, Gibben to Hoey, 4 June 1947, Gibben to Hoey, 20 June 1947, McCrammon for Supt. Reserves and Trusts to Gibben, 19 August 1947. 5 9 YTG, Vital S t a t i s t i c s Branch, marriage registrations to 1950 did not indicate ethnicity. 153 These frequent liaisons carried significant social cost. Largely because of the Euro-Canadian competition? Indian males found themselves unable to attract suitable partners until they uere comparatively old. Anglican Church records of native marriages point to a fundamental tran-s i t i o n in patterns of union betueen 1900 and 1950. Females consistently married younger than males? uith the gap uidening significantly over time. Betueen 1925 and 1950? the average age d i f f e r e n t i a l betueen na-tive partners uas tuelve years? almost three times the value for the preceding tuenty-five year period. (Table 8) Other evidence substanti-ates this observation. Native birth registrations recorded the ages of fathers and mothers? permitting another survey of the age differences of partners. Again? the age di f f e r e n t i a l increased over time? although the change uas not as dramatic as that suggested by the church materials. (Table 9) A tabulation of conjugal condition in the 1941 federal census points in the same direction. Of uomen betueen the ages of 15 and 24? for example? 42% uere married compared to less than 13% of males of the same age. In the 25 to 44 cohort? feuer than 6% of females remained un-attached? uhile the percentage of males yet to marry stood three times as high. (Table 10) The evidence cumulatively suggests that females readily found a uhite or native partner at around tuenty years of age (see Table 11) (and documentary materials indicate that sexual activity began even earlier)? but Native males on average could not find a mate until they reached 29 years. 6 0 B O This represented a marked change from pre-contact conditions. See McClelland? My_ Old People Say? June Helm? Handbook. 154 Table 8 AVERAGE AGE AT FIRST RECORDED MARRIAGE, ANGLICAN CHURCH RECORDS, 1900-1950. 1900-1924 1925-1950 Females Males Females Males Fort Selkirk 25.9 (29)(1) 27.5 (33) 22.2 (13) 28.3 (14) Rampart House 17.9 (15) 22.0 (13) 18.0 (27) 36.5 (25) Moosehide 20.5 (44) 25.6 (44) n/a n/a Total Yukon 22.1 (95) 26.2 (95) 19.7 (51) 32.1 (51) (1) Number in bracket indicates number of cases. Source: Parish Records, Anglican Church, Diocese of Yukon. Table 9 AGES OF FATHERS AND MOTHERS, FIRST RECORDED BIRTH, 1930-1950 Males Females 1930-34 23.7 21.3 1935-39 27.5 18.9 1940-44 28.3 20.7 1945-50 28.6 20.6 Source: Birth Registrations, Vital S t a t i s t i c s Branch, Government of kon. 155 Table 10 CONJUGAL CONDITION, YUKON INDIANS, 1941 15-24 25-44 45-65 Males Females Males Females Males Females Total 142 137 167 173 144 137 Single 123 74 30 10 9 1 Married 18 58 126 149 114 86 OtherU) 1 5 11 14 21 50 (1) Other refers to separated, divorced or widowed. Source: Canada Census, 1941. Table 11 AGE AT MARRIAGE, INDIAN-WHITE MARRIAGES, ANGLICAN CHURCH RECORDS, 1906-1928. Age At Husbands Wives Marriage (White) (Native) Less than 20 0 5 20-29 1 8 30-39 9 2 40-49 2 1 50+ 4 0 Average Age 40.4 24.4 Source: Parish Records, Anglican Church, Diocese of Yukon. While competition limited the Indians males' a b i l i t y to locate a wife, the impermanence of most relationships frequently hurt the fe-males. The transitory nature of such contacts led to frequent misunder-standings. Native uomen often found themselves pregnant by a uhite man uho l e f t the d i s t r i c t before claim could be made on his financial re-sources. Short-term liaisons, usually brief encounters in the aftermath of drinking parties, served to re-enforce notions of Indian uomen as promiscuous, even amoral. To many uhites, the native uomen served as 156 playthings? not partners? to be discarded when no longer required. In-ter-racial sexual relations re-emphasized the marginality of the Yukon Indians? pointing once again to the natives' causal u t i l i t y and the whites' continuing refusal to offer the Indians permanent status within their communities. Internally destructive and functioning without the approbation of white society? such liaisons remained an important feature of the Yukon social environment? especially outside the Dawson-Whitehorse corridor. The fur trade economy once again constructed i t s special version of na-tive-white social relations. Anglican Church records of inter-racial marriages suggest that such liaisons maintained a special character. Husbands averaged 16 years older than their native wives? most of whom married under twenty years of age. (Table 11) Most were well-established traders or hunters uho had decided to remain permanently in the t e r r i t o -ry. Sanctioned alliances remained the exception? houever? as short-term relationships dominated native-uhite interaction in the fur trade envi-ronment. In those areas removed from the mines and the Yukon River transportation system? especially the Kluane? Teslin? Pelly River and Porcupine River districts? mixed marriages? formalized or not? of short and long duration? remained an indelible part of the social fabric. Tuo dis t i n c t social environments can therefore be seen to have exist-ed in the territory? one encompassing the scattered fur trading popula-tion? the other oriented around Dauson? Vhitehorse and the mining camps. The natives dominated the former. The only uhites uere a feu R.C.II.P. officers? a small number of fur traders and uhite trappers? and several missionaries. In each instance? occupation and purpose brought the 157 whites into close contact with the natives, resulting in generally har-monious relations. Numerically, the natives far outnumbered the whites. In the isolated Old Crow d i s t r i c t in 1928, there were fewer than twenty-five whites in the midst of more than 200 Indians. When the fur trade declined in the late 1940's, the number of Europeans dropped to less than t e n . B 1 Under such conditions, and in a manner reminiscent of rela-tions during the Hudson's Bay Company era, natives and whites reached a mutually acceptable social accommodation, although impermanence contin-ued to typify most relationships. In the more densely populated Whitehorse-Dawson corridor, the reverse held true. The towns and mining camps remained white enclaves for the most part. Whites exerted considerable effort to ensure that the set-tlements retain their essentially Euro-Canadian character. Aided by the government and missionaries, the white communities attempted to keep the towns clear of Indians. Accomplishing this task seldom proved easy. The a v a i l a b i l i t y of occasional work enhanced the attractiveness of the towns to the natives. Abundant liquor supplies, medical f a c i l i t i e s and government offices also added to the drawing power of what passed for urban places. The number of Indians residing near and in the c i t i e s fluctuated according to the a v a i l a b i l i t y of work and wages. Similarly, as government r e l i e f for indigents and health care for the infirm became available, Whitehorse and Dawson in particular attracted a steady number of the i l l and the aged. The white population responded negatively to any influx to the margins of the towns, urging government to maintain s i NAB, vol. 797, f i l e 6535, G. J. McLean to W. W. Cory, 26 Sept. 1928; AC, Old Crow, P.E. Moore to H. A. Alderwood, 17 Dec. 1946. 158 social segregation. 5 2 Federal government o f f i c i a l s . including Indian agent John Hauksley and various Royal North West Mounted Police officers, agreed uith the residents' concerns. Investigating possible sites for an Indian r e s i -dential school in 1910, School Inspector T. Bragg echoed the uidely held vieu that natives be kept out of toun because immoral influences are generally found in uhite com-munities., and such social conditions generally exist as u i l l afford bad examples to Indian children and put temptation in their uay . . . .1 think, houever, that i t is safer to keep them auay from places where liquor i s sold and uhere Indians are known to procure i t and from places uhere Indian g i r l s are knoun to be livin g in amoral relations uith uhite men.63 From the government's paternalistic perspective, the touns uere complex social environments from uhich the \"chi l d l i k e \" natives had to be pro-tected. While saving the Indians from the ravages of uhite debauchery provided the o f f i c i a l j u s t i f i c a t i o n for the attempted exclusion of Indi-ans, there is no doubt that uhite residents pressured the government to enforce the desired racial segregation. The government adopted several approaches to prevent or regulate na-tive incursions into uhite residential space. The physical segregation of the races proved the most popular and successful. The government es-tablished special native reserves outside the touns. Given that many of the Indians lived near the touns on a seasonal basis, the best option 6 2 On Indians near touns, see RCMP. vol. 352, f i l e 128, Supt. \"H\" Div i -sion to Asst. Comm., 3 March 1908, 1 May 1908; RCMP, vol. 316, f i l e 241, Cuthbert to OC, RNWMP, 30 April 1906; RCMP, vol. 192, f i l e 995, Primrose to O.D., 1 Nov. 1902; RCMP, vol. 335, f i l e 191, Supt. \"H\" Division to Asst. Comm., 6 May 1907; RCMP, vol. 315, f i l e 228, Supt. \"H\" Division to Asst. Comm., 7 Aug. 1906. 6 3 DIA, vol. 3962, f i l e 147, 654-1, T. Bragg to Sec, DIA, 23 June 1910. See also Dept. of Supt. Moodie, RNWMP, Annual report 1914, 274. 159 seemed to be to isolate them close to, but decidedly auay from, the urban centres. This maneuver had the added benefit of working both ways. Not only did i t keep natives out of towns, but because the gov-ernment could legally control access to the Indian reserves, i t also en-sured that few whites entered the native camps.54 In a l l major popula-tion centres, Dawson City (Moosehide reserve), Mayo, Fort Selkirk, Carmacks, Carcross and Whitehorse, the government opened small reserva-tions to keep the Indians outside of white settlements. In most instances, white protests over natives s e t t l i n g within the towns in i t i a t e d the process. In Whitehorse, the Indians' construction of a series of ramshackle huts among the white homes convinced the gov-ernment of the need to establish a reserve. 5 5 John Hawksley noted re-garding Carmacks, \"Last year the white residents complained to me of the Indians camping within the limits of the village of Carmacks. Action was at once taken, authority was obtained from the Department of Indian Affairs for surveying a reserve.\" 5 5 Practical considerations conditioned the town of Hay's insistence that the Indians be removed: Some rich s i l v e r mines have been discovered and there is con-siderable a c t i v i t y in the v i c i n i t y . . . . It is thought that owing to the above the town will develop and the land which the Indians now occupy will be needed. 5 7 5 4 YG vol. 29, f i l e 13014, W. C. Bompas to Commissioner of Y.T., 29 Nov. 1904. 5 5 The reserve issue is discussed in a different context in the last chapter. 5 5 YG. vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt. J, Hawksley to Black, 23 October 1916. 5 7 DIA, vol. 4081, f i l e 478, 700, Hawksley to J. D. IlcLean, 7 April 1915. 160 There was obviously more than just the need for land behind the subse-quent decision to relocate the natives two miles downstream from Mayo — and on the opposite side of the river. The Indians were physically, though not forceably, removed from residential proximity and placed un-der the theoretical protection of a government reserve. 6 3 Creating a residential reserve solved few problems, for the natives seldom remained within i t s confines. With no treaty between the govern-ment of Canada and the Yukon Indians and with small reserves that could barely suffice as seasonal homes, the authorities had no legitimate means of forcing the Indians to stay on si t e . While the government en-couraged the natives to leave the reserves to hunt and trap, every ef-fort was made to keep them out of the towns. As Superintendent Hoodie reported in 1913, \"They are kept out of town as much as possible, but i t is o n l y by b l u f f . \" B 3 Lack of legal authority to block native access proved to be l i t t l e impediment. Indian Agent Hawksley regularly imposed curfewB, demanding that a l l natives vacate the towns each night (around 5 p.m. i n the w i n t e r and 7 p.m. i n the summer).70 The program occasion-a l l y lapsed, and at one p o i n t Hawksley despaired over his i n a b i l i t y to prevent the Indians from settling amongst the white population. 7 1 With the assistance of the police, however, Hawksley expanded his curfew pro-E a See also YG, vol. 29, f i l e 13014, F. J. A. Demeres to Asst. Comm., RNWHP, 6 Jan. 1905; YG, vol. 46, f i l e 29967, McDonald to Black, 23 July 1915. 6 3 Report of Supt. Moodie, RNWMP, Annual Report 1914, 274. 7 0 DIA, vol. 4081, f i l e 478, 700, John Hawksley Report on Mayo Band of Indians, 27 July 1916. 7 1 YG, vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt. J., Hawksley to E. A. Packett, 29 Dec. 1927. 161 gram in 1929. establishing a nightly limit of 8 p.m. (the end of the Dauson picture show), after uhich time a l l natives had to leave toun. The i n i t i a t i v e remained in force even though acknouledged to be \"ultra v i r e s . \" 7 2 Such legal barriers to regular interaction uere eventually ex-panded. By 1933. Hauksley allowed natives to reside in Dauson only uith a special temporary permit granted only for employment purposes. 7 3 As late as 1947. R. J. Meek adopted similar tactics to keep the natives on their reserves and away from Dauson. 7 4 Supported by the RNWMP. the Indi-an Agent established a series of r i g i d impediments in the uay of Indians uishing to enter the touns. Coupled uith the residential reserve pro-gram, these undertakings ensured the Indians' continuing physical and social segregation. Such efforts did not. houever. completely achieve their goals. En-franchised Indians, the feu that there uere. could not be barred from the touns. and several even managed to secure regular employment. Pre-venting the native ministers of the Anglican Church from residing in the touns posed particularly sensitive d i f f i c u l t i e s . Mrs. Robert McDonald, native uife of the respected northern Yukon missionary, remained in Dau-son for a number of years after her husband's death, sustained by church and government pensions. Likeuise. Anglican synod meetings and other ecclesiastical gatherings often brought such native missionaries as J u l -ius Kendi and his uife into the touns for short periods. While uhites 7 2 Ibid., Hawksley to McLean, 17 April 1929; DIA. vol. 7155. f i l e 801/-3-10 pt. 1. Hawksley to McLean. Notice by John Hawksley. 1929. 7 3 YG. vol. 9. f i l e 1490. pt. J.. Hawksley to A. F. Mackenzie. 16 Nov. 1933. 7 4 DIA. vt.6477. f i l e 927-1. pt. 1, Meek Report. 28 February 1947. 162 tolerated these selected and trained exceptions, toleration remained far removed from acceptance. 7 5 Even those tolerated temporarily within the urban societies uere there on sufferance, in this instance because of their ecclesiastical significance. That the uhite population did not uish any close accommodation, or even familiarity, uith the Indians is further revealed in the debate over native involvement uith schools and hospitals. Institutions uhich may have provided a meeting ground became instead the most v i s i b l e sym-bols of racial segregation. The Indians and uhites had separate school systems, a situation encouraged by the Anglican clergy. Uith a number of natives and half-breeds residing close to each of the touns, houever, i t seemed that some accommodation uith the t e r r i t o r i a l ! public school system uas desirable. Any such attempted integration uas sternly re-sisted and as late as 1 9 4 9 , Teslin offered the only integrated school in the Yukon. 7 6 As Indian Agent R. J. Meek recorded that year, the Yukon School Ordinance does not discriminate against Indi-ans, but the several times Indian children were placed in Ter-r i t o r i a l Schools i t ended as a fiasco. A case as recent as 1 9 4 7 happened at Mayo. Neither the administration nor the teachers would discourage admitting Indians to T e r r i t o r i a l Schools, i t is always a few parents who raise a violent objec-t i o n . 7 7 As mentioned earlier, the rancour led to the establishment of d i s t i n c t l y \"Indian schools\" in Dawson (St. Paul's hostel for half-breeds) and Uhi-tehorse (Reverend Lee's school for Indians and half-breeds). Once again, significant impediments to native-white interaction had been 7 5 Berton, J_ Married the Klondike, 5 9 - 6 0 . 7 6 DIA, vol. 6 4 7 3 , f i l e 9 3 0 - 1 , pt. 1, extract from report submitted by Supt. R. J. Meek, April 1 - June 3 0 , 1 9 4 9 . 7 7 DIA, vol. 6 4 7 8 , f i l e 9 2 9 - 1 1 , pt. 1, Meek to IAB, 2 4 Nov. 1 9 4 9 . 163 erected. Further evidence of discriminatory barriers can be seen in the treat-ment offered to the natives by the t e r r i t o r i a l medical fraternity. As uith the schools, Indians encountered tuo separate standards of health care, one for themselves and one for the uhite population. In most cen-tres, the people consistently demanded the segregation of hospital fa-c i l i t i e s . Uhites in Dauson, Mayo and Whitehorse repeatedly refused to share hospital uards uith native p a t i e n t s . 7 5 The riayo hospital, funded by the local Treadgold Mining Company, refused to admit natives to i t s general uards. Instead, Indians received treatment in a tent to the rear of the main structure, even in winter. 7 3 The medical professionals apparently shared the general attitude, although they continued to serve their native p a t i e n t B . In 1939, a number of doctors refused to offer their services to Indians at the same rates charged to uhites. The De-partment of Indian Affairs argued that i t uas \"not prepared to admit that sick Indians are less desirable patients than uhite people\" 5 0 but the prevailing feeling in the d i s t r i c t defeated the Department's opposi-tion. As Yukon Controller G. A. Jeckell urote concerning hospitaliza-tion practises, They (uhite residents) most decidedly object in maternity cas-es to have their uives and infants share a maternity uard uith an Indian mother and infant and the management of St. Mary's Hospital at Dauson is compelled to defer to this opinion. 5 1 7 s RCMP, vol. 296, f i l e 274, Supt. \"A\" Division to Asst. Comm., 6 March 1905. 7 3 YRGI, Series 4, vol. 24, f i l e 403-2, G. I. MacLean to 0. S. Finnie, 16 Ausgust 1928. ao YRGI, Series 7, vol. 7, f i l e 1490-19, pt. 1, G. A. Jeckell to E. L. Stone, 25 Oct. 1939. 164 Discriminatory attitudes did not abate significantly over time. During a 1947 tuberculosis survey in Uhitehorse, white residents opposed the request that they share hospital gowns with \"diseased\" Indians. Alter-natives were hastily found. 8 2 Medical care, like the schools and even the touns, became a bastion of segregation, providing graphic evidence of the continuing social distance betueen uhite and Indian in the Yukon. The image of the Indian in the public mind both derived from, and provided a j u s t i f i c a t i o n for, these policies of social segregation. The fur trade portrayal of the native lasted but a short time. The natives' assertive role in the Hudson's Bay Company trade contributed to a uidely held vieu of the Indians as assertive, self-interested and aggressive, 8 3 but that perception died uith the coming of the Gold Rush. Most of the new arrivals saw l i t t l e u t i l i t y in the native way of l i f e , and disdained Indian standards and customs. The emergent images reflected actual c i r -cumstances, but also i l l u s t r a t e d a general tuentieth century deprecia-tion of the v i t a l i t y of Indian s o c i e t y . 8 4 \"Dirty\" and \"diseased\" ap-peared frequently in connection with the Indians, an indication of the impact of epidemics and disapproval of native standards of c l e a n l i -ness. 8 5 Whites similarly challenged the Indians' perceived i n a b i l i t y to B I Ibid. 8 2 YG, vol. 65, f i l e 813, Report of a Tuberculosis Survey in the Yukon Territory, cl947. 8 3 PAC, Pelly and Lewes Journal, vol. 1, 9 June 1848; HBCA, B200/b/33, f o l . 15, Ross to Council, 29 Nov. 1858; HBCA, B.200/b/34, Jones to Hardisty, 23 June 1803; HBCA, B200/b/35, f o l . 106, Hardisty to McDougall, 4 April 1865; Hardisty, \"The Loucheux Indians\", Jones \"The Kutchin Indians\". 8 4 Berkhofer, The White Man'a Indian, On the function of changing white images of the Indian, see F. Jennings, The Invasion of America. 165 work and their apparent lack of morality. Several commentators ex-pressed hope for their possible improvement, provided of course that they could be kept from alcohol and whites. 8 6 In general, houever. a less positive perception of the natives prevailed. While i t is risky to extrapolate from the scattered comments of missionaries, policemen, and Indian agents to the vieus of the general population, there appears to have been a marked s h i f t in popular attitudes over time. The natives' peripheral economic and social position, the evident impact of disease, and the frequent appearance of inebriated Indians near population cen-ters contributed to the formation of a decisively negative image. Based on incomplete knouledge and antipathy for native cultural forms, the stereotype of the Indians as drunken, s h i f t l e s s and uneducable contrib-uted si g n i f i c a n t l y touard the process of social segregation. To the uhite population, the Indians belonged on a different, someuhat degrad-ed, intellectual plane. Acting through the government. the uhite population remained deter-mined to keep the races apart. Indians had their uorld — in the bush — and i t served both groups i f they remained amongst the trees and the animals. The touns and the mining camps, on the other hand, remained as uhite preserves. Given the impressive efforts to keep native and uhite segregated, the question arises as to the success of the government and uhite population in achieving the goal. The evidence, draun largely from census data, is contradictory and incomplete. Although there is no BS YRGI, Series 2. vol. 44, f i l e 36496; J. Loche to J. G. Gibben, 28 Sept. 1949; RCHP. vol. 295, f i l e 273, H. Cuthbert to Asst. Comm., 20 June 1905; PAC, NAD Armstrong Papers, vol. 3, Diary 1920, f o l . 47, 20 June 1920. 8 6 Report of Supt. Snyder, RNWHP, Annual Report 1909, 223. 166 information as to how census takers compiled their data, i t is li k e l y that Indians in the v i c i n i t y of population centres, even i f on residen-t i a l reserves, were incorporated into urban totals. In 1931. for i n -stance, the national census l i s t e d 158 Indians as liv i n g in towns. Two years later. Indian Agent John Hawksley noted that no Indians lived in Dawson, none in Mayo and only four families comprising less than twenty individuals resided in Whitehorse. 8 7 To further complicate matters. In-dians often camped or erected cabins near towns on a seasonal basis, while spending most of their time on the traplines and hunting grounds. Recorded population data therefore, decisively overstated the number of Indians permanently resident in the towns and did not account for local patterns of segregation and seasonal mobility. Limited data suggests that the process of social isolation succeeded. (Table 12) In Dawson in particular* white efforts to keep the Indians on the Moosehide reserve seem to have worked. The figures for Whitehorse suggest otherwise* although population s t a t i s t i c s do not l i s t those on the reserve near the town separately. Here* as in Dawson* the Indians resided primarily on the reserve and not in the white settlement. The urban centers held out numerous attractions for the nativesijobs* alco-hol* government services* r e t a i l stores* health care and occasionally educational f a c i l i t i e s . Those Indians who insisted upon li v i n g near the towns* most of whom did so only on a seasonal basis* found themselves on the physical and social margins. Exclusionist policies and public a t t i -tudes worked to keep them there. To World War II* those programs suc-ceeded to a considerable degree. 8 7 YG* vol. 9, f i l e 1490. pt. J. Hawksley to Mackenzie. IB Nov. 1933. 167 Table 12 NATIVE RURAL/URBAN POPULATION. 1901-1951 Rural Urban 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 3,322 1, 152 1,382 1,469 1,362 1,320 337 8 158 276 230(1) (1) Indians in WhitehorBe only. Source: Canada, Census 1901-1951. The construction of the Alaska Highuay, begun in 1942, radically a l -tered existing demographic and racial patterns in a manner reminiscent of the Klondike Gold Rush. Countless opportunities for native-uhite i n -teraction and neu demands on the Indians uorked against the existing barriers to inter-racial accommodation. Despite the social restructur-ing attending the arrival of several tens of thousands of construction uorkers uithin a three year period, houever, attitudes and policies did not change significantly. Uith a sizeable number of jobs available along the highuay route, the native population shifted temporarily to-uard the urban centers, especially Uhitehorse. That reorientation, hou-ever, uas not of the magnitude typically suggested and in most instances lasted but a short time. 8 8 Instead of a radically neu social order, uith cataclysmic consequences for the Indians, betueen 1942 and 1950 the na-tives faced an elaboration and intensification of past experiences. The magnitude of social contact increased markedly, especially in previously 8 8 For an expansion on these themes, see Ken Coates, \"Alaska Highuay Construction and the Indians of the Southern Yukon.\" For a contrary vieu, see Julie Cruikshank \"The Gravel Magnet,\" and D. Remley, The Crooked Road. 168 isolated d i s t r i c t s . There had been feu uhites in the southuest corner of the territory before 1942. the coining of the highuay brought several thousand through the area, i f only b r i e f l y . Again, houever, patterns of contact did not deviate significantly from past practises. Alcohol and the inter-racial party continued as the principle medium of social interaction, and, as before, liquor served to entice sexual favours from native uomen. The social and recreational functions of l i -quor consumption continued to dominate Indian drinking. The police stepped up enforcement measures, particularly in the southern Yukon, leading to a significant increase in arrests for alcohol consumption. The dramatic rise led several commentators to suggest that the construc-tion of the highuay spurred a surge in native drinking. As uith most crimes of social control, recorded breaches of the lau actually indicate as much about the size and zeal of the police force and prevailing pub-l i c attitudes as they indicate about actual occurrences. Evidence from the Uhitehorse Police Court supports this contention. Superficially, the increase in average yearly convictions from 17 in 1940-44, to over 53 in the next five years might imply a marked (but hardly alarming) rise in alcohol consumption. Uhen the size of the police force, uhich shifted i t s headquarters from Dauson to Uhitehorse in 1943-44 is taken into account, i t is more li k e l y that the increase is attributable more to changes in patterns of enforcement than alterations in drinking hab-i t s . (Table 13) Though there uere indications of several individuals uith notable drinking problems (significantly most uere graduates of the Carcross Residential School), for the most part native alcohol consump-tion adhered to the past patterns of frequent inter-racial parties and spree or pot-latch drinking. 169 Table 13 NATIVE ALCOHOL-RELATED CONVICT IONS(1) AND POLICE MANPOWER, SOUTHERN YUKON, 1940-1949 Convictions Pol ice Force 1940 3 4 1941 9 4 1942 28 4 1943 27 15 1944 34 25 1945 51 25 1946 75 30 1947 82 27 1948 61 21 1949 55 (32C21) 22 (1) Supplying, Possession, Breaches of Indian Act, Drunkenness. (2) To July 1949 only. 55 equals rate of conviction projected over the entire year. Native-white sexual relations clearly became more prevalent, and ve-nereal disease developed into a veritable epidemic among young native g i r l s and women. White prostitutes again followed the construction workers north, lessening demand for native women, except in isolated d i s t r i c t s where Indian females, even young g i r l s , received considerable a t t e n t i o n . 8 3 The incidence of sexual contact stands in stark contrast to the continuing pattern of racial segregation. The overabundance of s i n -gle men, and not a s h i f t in attitudes toward Indians, accounted for much of the interest. This pattern of resorting to women outside \"accepta-ble\" society is not at a l l uncommon and indeed stands as one of the more constant features of frontier societies dominated by unaccompanied 8 3 I. Honigmann and J. Honigmann, \"Drinking in an Indian-White Communi-ty\", QRSA, vol. 5, (March 1945), 575-619; See also J. Honigmann, \"On the Alaska Highway\" Dalhousie Review, (January 1944), 401-408. Most of Honigmann's work related to the Kaska Indians in the Liard River d i s t r i c t . 170 men.90 Sex and liquor continued to provide the meeting ground for na-tives and whites in the Yukon. The coming of the Alaska Highway increased the frequency of such en-counters, leaving behind a sizeable legacy of half-breed children and abandoned uomen. but i t did not alter basic racial relationships. Im-provements over the pre-1942 period uere minor indeed. Indian Agent Meek wrote in 1948. The Indians of Uhitehorse seem to be slouly breaking doun cer-tain barriers of prejudice uhich uas(sic) unfortunately very prevalent in the past. At the ceremony in celebration of Scout Week, Indian boys uere invited to p a r t i c i p a t e . 9 1 Such 'victories' had l i t t l e impact. A limited number of individuals moved touard a more complete accommodation. Changing employment habits and attempts to educate their children, particularly evident among the natives of Uhitehorse and CarcrosB, suggest that a feu natives escheued former patterns. To 1950, that group remained a small minority, not representative of the larger native population uhich continued to prefer the pursuit of game over the pursuit of material wealth. In social matters, as uith the economy, the persistence of well-es-tablished patterns, even in the face of substantive pressures to change, is notable. The Hudson's Bay Company's tenure in the area established the practise of closely a l l i e d economic and social relations. Even af-ter the venerable firm l e f t the territory, the fur trade social environ-ment survived, exhibiting a stronger and more permanent accommodation betueen uhite and Indian. Squau men, themselves typically involved in 9 0 Nash, Red, Uhite and Black, Morner, Race Mixture. 9 1 DIA, vol. 5479, f i l e 940-1, pt. 2, extract from report of R. A. J. Meek, 9 April 1948. 1 7 1 the fur trade* became the most v i s i b l e symbol of that inter-racial accommodation. Toun and mining camp l i f e differed markedly. For a va-riety of reasons* the urban centers attracted natives* but mainly on a seasonal basis. Once there* they found no ready acceptance. Instead* major social and institutional barriers served to keep natives distinct from uhites. The only significant mediating institution, the inter-ra-c i a l party, functioned to further entrench that distinctiveness, the su-p e r f i c i a l i t y and impermanence clearly i l l u s t r a t e d to a l l involved. Ex-ceptions existed. Several individuals and families sought and achieved a more complete integration, but they stood out for their uniqueness. Once established and particularly uhen ossified through government policy, these patterns proved d i f f i c u l t to alter. Even under the demo-graphic pressures of the Klondike Gold Rush and the construction of the Alaska Highuay. relations did not s h i f t except in small degrees. from past procedure. To be sure, the intensity of social relations changed under such conditions. There uere more parties, alcohol uas more uidely available, and more men sought the sexual favours of native uomen. Im-portantly, the meaning of these temporary contacts did not change. The Indians remained marginal. of interest only uhen uhite needs and inter-ests demanded. From the natives' perspective, such temporary contacts proved quite disruptive. The influx of single young men in 1896-1904 and again in 1942-1945 drew auay even more of the younger native uomen. making i t more d i f f i c u l t for native males to find suitable mates. The impermanence of inter-racial liaisons mitigated against any significant demographic c r i s i s . Indeed, since most of the offspring of such a l l i -ances uere raised as Indians the native population actually increased. 172 The Indians remained on the periphery. looking in on a uhite society that held l i t t l e attraction. The continuation of economic practises seem to have lessened the severity of the discrimination. for feu na-tives attempted to breach the entrenched social barriers. In the 1950's. as government programs such as the Mother's Allowance, old age pensions and increased welfare assistance expanded and as f a l l i n g fur prices undermined the v i a b i l i t y of the hunting-trapping uay of l i f e , houever. these entrenched social relations persisted. These combined forces dreu the Indians into the touns. but past attitudes prevailed. Segregation policies, in place since the Gold Rush, took on neu meaning as the natives moved closer to Whitehorse. Dauson and other touns through the 1950's and 1960's. Solidly entrenched and seldom before challenged, the exclusionist barriers proved excessively d i f f i c u l t to erode, let alone breach. 173 CHAPTER EIGHT POPULATION AND DISEASE The assessment of social interaction must proceed beyond the consid-eration of native choice and European exclusionism. At a more fundamen-tal levelt the meeting of races went beyond a clash of values and cus-toms, beyond the parameters of uhite prejudice and native disdain for industrial uork patterns. Uhen the f i r s t Europeans entered the Yukon River valley, they ushered in a confrontation of immunological systems, bringing diseases and infections that urecked havoc on the native popu-lation. The medical consequences assisted significantly in the margi-nal ization of the Yukon Indians. The question of the demographic consequences of contact has attracted considerable attention of l a t e , 1 although feu Canadian scholars have contributed to the discussion. 2 The focus for much of the debate has 1 The uork of Borah and Cook uas instrumental in touching off interest in the topic. U. Borah and S. Cook, The Aboriginal Population of Cen- tral Mexico on the Eve of Spanish Conquest, (Berkeley: University of California, 1963). American Scholarship since 1960 can be traced to the influence of H. F. Dobyns, \"Estimating Aboriginal American Popula-tion: An Appraisal of Techniques uith a Neu Hemispheric Estimates,\" Current Anthropology, 7 (1966), 395-416; U. Deneven, The Native Peo- ples of the Americas in 1492, (Madison: University of Wisconsin, 1976); U. Jacobs, \"The Tip of an Iceberg: Pre-Columbian Demography and Some Implications for Revisionism,\" Wi11 jam and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Series, vol. 31, No. 1 (1974), 123-132; A. Crosby.\"Virgin Soil Ep-idemics as a Factor in the Aboriginal Depopulation in America,\" WMQ, 3rd Series, vol. 33, no. 2, (1976); H. Dobyns, Native American Histor- ical Demography (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1976). 2 S. Krech, \"On the Aboriginal Population of the Kutchin,\" Arctic Athro- pology 15 (1978), 89-104; V. Miller, \"The Decline of Nova Scotia Mic-mac Population, AD 1600-1850,\" Culture, vol. II, no. 3 (1982), 107-120; Robin Fisher, dismissing much of the recent literature, ar-gues that the uhites' arrival did not have severe or lasting demo-graphic consequences. R. Fisher, Contact and Conf1ict, XIV-XV, 20-23, 45. 174 been the re-estimation of aboriginal populations, providing a radically different basis for the consideration of the impact of disease. The im-portance of reaching an acceptable estimate of the early habitation of the Yukon is clear. As a hunting-gathering people in an area typically regarded as harsh and forbidding, the sub-arctic natives are usually de-scribed as feu in number, uidely dispersed, and l i v i n g on the meagre fringes of subsistence. Houever. such a vieu has been offered uithout a proper assessment of the l i k e l y pre-contact population. By offering an admittedly speculative calculation of aboriginal population. i t is pos-sible to examine more adequately the demographic implications of uhite expansion. 3 Tuo considerations complicate any such calculation. F i r s t , indirect contact began long before Robert Campbell and John Bell breached the eastern and southern mountain barriers. Russian. Spanish and English traders had navigated the uaters off the Pacific North-West coast since the mid-18th Century. North-West Company and Hudson's Bay Company trad-ers uere similarly active in the nearby Mackenzie River drainage basin and beginning in the 1830's the Russian American Fur Company commenced trading along the louer Yukon River. As discussed ear l i e r , the natives of the Yukon participated in the expanding fur trade through i n t e r - t r i -bal exchange and. in certain circumstances, direct contact uith distant trading posts. 4 These early traders also brought diseases uhich spread 3 For an excellent example of the value of an assessment of pre-contact population, and hou that estimate conditions subsequent analysis, see F. Jennings. The Invasion of America. 4 S. Ugarenko. \"The Distribution of the Kutchin.\" and W. Ostenstat. \"The Impact of the Fur Trade.\" establish the importance and f l u i d i t y of those contacts. 175 rapidly among vulnerable native populations. It is impossible to assert uith certainty that such illnesses penetrated into the upper Yukon, but i t is reasonable to assume that regular trade contacts made such passage probable. Therefore, before the f i r s t uhite commentators reached the area, disease had li k e l y v i sited upon the Indians, hampering any specif-ic determination of the native population based on historical sources. Compounding this d i f f i c u l t y i s the absence of useful contemporary en-umerations in the pre-mining period. The feu census l i s t s extant are highly localized. referring to specific bands or narrouly defined re-gions. The only significant aggregation of data relates to the northern Kutchin Indians. Estimates by fur traders, missionaries and ethnogra-phers have allowed Shepherd Krech to study demographic change in this region and to determine the li k e l y extent of pre-contact Kutchin habita-t i o n . 5 Similar records do not exist for the rest of the region, a re-flection of the limited travel in the area before the gold mining pe r i -od. 6 As a result, a systematic reconstruction along the lines adopted by Krech i s not possible. While s t a t i s t i c a l precision cannot be guaranteed. recent debate over the proto-historical native population allows for a speculative excur-sion into the f i e l d . Until recently, scholars deemed the Canadian north capable of supporting only a sparse, non-agricultural population. Long 5 Krech. \"On The Aboriginal Population.\" 6 The closest i s W. H. Dall, \"On the Distribution and Nomenclature of the native tribes of Alaska and the adjacent territory,\" Contributions to North American Ethnology, vol. 1. (Washington: Government Printing Office. 1877). Dall's study uas admittedly speculative and seriously incomplete. Of some use. but uith similar limitations i s George Dau-son. \"Notes on the Indian Tribes of the Yukon D i s t r i c t . . .\" Annual Report of the Geological Survey. 1887. (Montreal: Government Print-ing Office. 1889). 176 the seminal work on the topic, James Mooney's The Aboriginal Population of America North of Mexico (1926) suggested a Yukon River valley popula-tion of around 4,000.7 A.L. Kroeber attempted to add more precision to Mooney's calculations, arguing that the barren north supported a popula-tion density of less than one person per 100 sq. km. a figure uhich con-verts to a pre-contact Yukon population of approximately 4,700.B Ethnog-rapher C. Osgood lent credence to the lou estimate uhen he suggested in 1936 that the i n i t i a l Kutchin population (covering about 1/3 of the ter-ritory) had been close to 1200.3 The Mooney-Kroeber estimates, uhich posited a total native population in North America of about one million before the arrival of Europeans, faced feu challenges before the I960'a. The f i r s t indications of the need for a reassessment emerged from scholars studying Mexico, particu-larly V. Borah and S. Cook. 1 0 Henry Dobyns brought their insights to a consideration of North American aboriginal population uhen he suggested that a more reasonable estimate uould be ten million natives, or ten times Mooney's earlier f i g u r e . 1 1 Dobyn's a r t i c l e sparked neu interest in the topic, leading to a spate of uork on native demography. The histo-7 James Mooney, The Aboriginal Population of America North of Mexico Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 80, no. 7 (Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1928). He claimed there uere 2200 Kutchin and 800 \"Nehane.\" 3 A. L. Kroeber, Cultural and Natural Areas of Native North America (Los Angeles: University of California, 1963). He suggested a density of .87 per 100 km. 3 C. Osgood, Contributions to the Ethnography of the Kutchin. The e s t i -mate uas based on an 1858 HBC survey. 10 Borah and Cook, The Aboriginal Population. 1 1 H. Dobyns, \"Estimating Aboriginal American Population.\" 177 riographic renaissance f i l t e r e d through to the Canadian North. Shepherd Krech examined the area in the northern Yukon - lower Mackenzie River for which extensive documentation exists relative to Dobyn's debate. He concluded that the aboriginal population of the Kutchin stood at approx-imately 5.400. double Mooney's and Kroeber's estimates and about 1/3 the value calculated through an application of Dobyn's depopulation rat-ios. 1 2 Krech's work offered two approaches to estimating native population: a calculation based on population density u t i l i z i n g available documenta-ry evidence and a determination of depopulation as suggested by Dobyn. (Table 14) Based on an extrapolation from Krech's detailed study (and i t is important to note that he makes no claims for his work beyond the Kutchin Indians). the pre-contact Yukon population l i k e l y stood at be-tween 8.000 and 9.000. (Table 15) The population was unevenly dis t r i b u t -ed, with larger concentrations in the resource-rich Southern Lakes. A l -sek-Kluane. Central Yukon and Porcupine River d i s t r i c t s . This number of natives, which is on the order of three times the f i r s t federal estimate in 1898 for the territory. appears consistent with population loss among other North American native groups and with the evidence Krech 1 2 Krech. \"On the Aboriginal Population.\" Although I accept Krech's thrust, evidence he did not c i t e supports a possible upward revision of his estimate. A. H. Murray estimated a trading population (Fort Youcon Kutchin and some Han) of 250-300 Indian males in 1847. HBCA. B200/b/22. f o l . 15. Murray A. McPherson. 20 Nov. 1847. Krech uses a published estimate, also from Murray, of 210 adult males. Similarly. Bishop Bompas of the C.M.S. estimated the number of Indians at Fort Youcon. LaPierre's House, and Peel River in 1865 to be \"at least 1000.\" Church Missionary Intelligencer, vol. 11. New Series (1866). See also YTA. AC 80/93. \"Statement of the Indian Population of Mack-enzie River D i s t r i c t 1871.\" which li s t e d a total of 812 persons at the three posts. Further cr i t i c i s m of Krech's approach can be found in Ugarenko. \"The Distribution of the Kutchin.\" 14-15. 178 used in analysing the Kutchin. Table 14 YUKON NATIVE POPULATION RATIOS Ratio Nadir Estimated Populations\" 1) Pre-Contact Dobyns (1966) 20.1 1500 30,000 Krech (1978)[21 6.1 1500 9,000 (1) Approximate population in 1930 from Department of Indian Affairs, Annual Report, 1929. Several Yukon Indian groups were included in B.C. population s t a t i s t i c s . (2) Relates only to the Kutchin Indians. Table 15 PRE-CONTACT POPULATION DENSITY Per 100 km(2) Total Yukon Pre-Contact(l) Kroeber (1939) .87 4,700 Krech (1978)C21 1.7 9,100 Department of Indian Affairs (1895) .48 2,600 (1) Area of Yukon equals 536,324 km(2). (2) Kutchin only. To further validate this assessment of the proto-historical popula-tion, i t i s essential to account for the population decline from 8-9,000 to the federal estimate of 2,600 in 1895. 1 3 (The latter figure, more a guess than an enumeration, uas lik e l y too high.) Due to limited e v i -dence, the period to 1900 can be examined only through documentary re-1 3 Department of Indian Affairs, Annual Report, 1896 suggested a popula-tion of 2,600. 179 cords. Further, estimating the impact of disease before the arrival of Campbell and Bell in the 1840's remains speculative, based on an extra-polation from conditions in adjoining t e r r i t o r i e s . It i s nonetheless likely that a major decrease in population occurred before the turn of the century. The decline originated primarily in the particular virulence of \" v i r -gin s o i l epidemics.\" According to Alfred Crosby, a leading scholar in the f i e l d , the term refers to those epidemics \"in which the population at risk has had no previous contact with the diseases that strike and are therefore immunologically almost defenseless.\" 1 4 From recorded expe-riences throughout North America, natives died at an alarming rate in the face of such epidemics. There is no reason to suspect that the In-dians of the Yukon were any less vulnerable. It might be argued, how-ever, that the isolation of the Upper Yukon River valley protected the inhabitants from the spread of deadly illnesses. In considering the p o s s i b i l i t y of shelter through isolation, i t must be remembered that inter-regional exchange characterized pre-contact l i f e in the area. Originating to f a c i l i t a t e the exchange of indigenous products, the networks increased in importance with the arrival of Euro-pean traders on the periphery. These intensified contacts served as po-tential conduits for epidemic disease. Given the rapid diffusion of ep-idemics along paths of communication, an occurrence A. J. Ray has ill u s t r a t e d for the Canadian p l a i n B , 1 5 the interior natives soon faced 1 4 Crosby, \"Virgin Soil Epidemics,\" 289. Interestingly, he used the Yu-kon experience in the 1940's to i l l u s t r a t e his case. Further, see A. Crosby, The Columbian Exchange (Uestport: Greenwood Press, 1972); William McNeill, Plagues and Peoples (Garden City: Anchor Books, 1976). 180 the same diseases raging among the Indians of the Pacific North-West, lower Yukon and Mackenzie River drainage areas. From 1835 to 1839, for example, a major small-pox epidemic devastated the natives in the Alas-kan interior and in the Lynn Canol region. 1 6 It i s extremely li k e l y that the i l l n e s s spread into the interior. Suggestive evidence of such early diseases comes from Anglican missionary T. H. Canham, active in the Por-cupine River d i s t r i c t in the 1880's. In an insightful commentary on the l i f e and attitudes of his native communicants, Canham attributed a \"great diminution during the past century in the number of native inhab-itants\" to \"the ravages of smallpox communicated from the southern Indi-ans soon after the date of the earliest explorations.\" 1 7 The appearance of small-pox, consistently the most deadly of a l l virgin s o i l epidemics, at an early date suggests a significant population loss before the a r r i -val of Europeans. 1 8 1 5 A. J. Ray, \"Diffusion of Diseases in the Western Interior of Canada, 1830-1850\", in S. E. A. Shortt, Medicine in Canadian Society (Montre-a l : McGill-Queen's University, 1981), 45-74. 1 8 On the Alaskan smallpox epidemic, see J. VanStone, Ingelik Contact Ecology. Anthropological Series, no. 71 (Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, n.d.), 58-51; A. Wright, Prelude to Bonanza, 18; L. A. Zagaskin, Lieutenant Zagaskin's Travels in Russian America, 1842-44 (Toronto: UTP, 1967); N. B. Stoddard,\" Some Ethnological Aspects of The Russian Fur Trade,\" in People and Pelts (Winnipeg: Pequis, 1972), 39-58. On the Pacific Coast, see James Gibson, \"Smallpox on the Northwest Coast. 1835-1838,\" BC_ Studies, no. 56 (Winter 1982-83), 61-81 which offers a very different perspective than Robin Fisher, Contact and Conf1ict. 1 7 GSA, M56-2, Series C-23, Canham Papers, T. H. Canham, \"Untitled Com-ments on the Indians of the Far North.\" 1 8 The transmission of disease in advance of direct contact is at the centre of debate on the size of aboriginal populations. Earlier forecasts originated in the early reports of population size by white commentators, despite the fact that such descriptions may have come a century or more after the arrival of Europeans in contiguous regions. Most historians and demographers now accept that significant depopu-181 There is* fortunately, more substantive evidence of a major native depopulation than Canham's suggestive comments and numerical extrapola-tion from other d i s t r i c t s . H.B.C. traders and Church Missionary Society clergymen offered a variety of f i r s t hand assessments of the continuing devastation of European diseases. Shortly after arriving at Fort Youcon in 1847, Alexander H. Murray noted \"the great mortality amongst their uomen last summer,\" although he did not attribute their deaths to a spe-c i f i c cause. 1 9 Four years later, Robert Campbell and Fort Youcon traders described an epidemic \"carrying off\" a large number of Indians. Camp-be l l , travelling along the Yukon River in the summer of 1851, estimated that as many as one third of the natives died from an i l l n e s s he be-lieved to be the mumps.20 Minor outbreaks uere so frequent that H.B.C. traders became seemingly inured to the sight of sick Indians. 2 1 A scarlet fever epidemic uhich hit the area in 1865 uas among the most severe (and the most extensively documented) outbreaks. H.B.C. boat creus from Fort Simpson carried the disease into the Yukon. 2 2 The company allowed the supply vessels to continue, despite the p o s s i b i l i t y lation occurred in many instances in advance of the arrival of uhites. H. Dobyns, \"Brief Perspectives on a Scholarly Transforma-tion: Widouing the 'Virgin' Land,\" Ethnohistorv, vol. 23/2 (Spring 1976), 95-105; Crosby, \"Virgin Soil Epidemics.\" 1 9 HBCA, B240/2/1, f o l . 45, Youcon Journal, 27 Nov. 1847. 2 0 B200/b/29, f o l . 184, Hardisty to Anderson, 31 May 1852; f o l . 183, Hardisty to Anderson, 6 July 1852, f o l . 153, Hardisty to Anderson, 5 Nov. 1852; f o l . 113, Anderson to Council, 30 Nov. 1852; PAC, MG19 A25, Robert Campbell, \"Journal of the Yukon,\" p. 138. 2 1 In 1868, for instance, i t uas casually noted that sickness had v i s i t -ed the fort and tuenty-tuo Indians died. HBCA B200/b/35, f o l . 140; McDougall to Gentleman in Charge, 27 October 1868. 2 2 HBCA, B200/b/36, f o l . 43, McDougall to Hardisty, 25 Sept. 1865. 182 of widespread infection. in order to supply Fort Youcon and maintain their trade. The disease spread rapidly as natives at the post became i l l and carried the fever to distant bands. 2 3 The i l l n e s s spread up-stream and downstream, channelled by the Fort Youcon trading networks. James McDougall at Fort Youcon estimated that 170 of the post Indians died. The trader at Lapierre's House similarly noted that almost half the local band. 34 in a l l . succumbed.24 Depopulation started long before the Europeans made direct contact with the Yukon Indians and accelerated with the arrival of miners and American traders after 1869. Although the individual outbreaks did not match the severity of the 1865 scarlet fever epidemic. the number and variety of diseases had a great cumulative impact. Measles. influenza (la grippe), dysentery, and a host of unspecified maladies assaulted the natives r e l e n t l e s s l y . 2 5 Imprecise reporting and the fact that most Yukon 2 3 HBCA. B200/b/25. f o l . 74, Hardisty to McDougall, 28 August 1866; HBCA, B200/b/35, f o l . 158, Hardisty to McDougall, 2 April 1866; Ibid., f o l . 140, Hardisty to Council, 28 Nov. 1865. 2 4 HBCA. B200/b/36, f o l . 58, McDougall to Hardisty, 5 July 1866. On La-pierre's House, see HBCA, B200/b/36, f o l . 42, Flett to Hardisty, Jan-uary 1866. To provide some context, the 1861 population in the Por-cupine River area was less than 200 persons. Fort Youcon is outside the Yukon's boundaries, but many of the Indians trading at the post moved back to Canadian territory after the fort passed to the Ameri-cans in 1869-70. HBCA, B200/b/36, f o l . 43, McDougall to Hardisty, 25 Sept. 1865. Inspector Charles Constantine recounted the tale thirty years later, although he claimed i t spread from the Chilcat Indians to the south. He also added that an entire band of the Kutchin Indi-ans died. PAC, Department of Indian Affairs (DIA), RG 10, vol. 3906, f i l e 105, 378, Report of Inspector Charles Constantine, 10 October 1894. 25 Numerous illnesses were reported. CMS, Bompas to CMS, 6 Dec. 1872; HBCA, B200/b/43, Camsell to Grahame, 23 March 1881; CMS, Canham to CMS, Nov. 1889; CMS, Bompas to CMS, 19 Dec. 1898; CMS, Bompas to CMS, 23 Aug. 1899; CMS, Reeve to Baring Gould, 23 July 1900; PAC, Royal Canadian Mounted Polite, RG18 (hereafter RCMP), vol. 154, f i l e 445, Bowridge to Comptroller, N.W.M.P., 1 Dec. 1900; D. Legros, \"Structure 183 Indians remained beyond the purview of uhite commentators make a specif-ic measurement impossible, but ongoing d i f f i c u l t i e s uere noticeable throughout the region. Bishop W. C. Bompas noted that 39 individuals died in the Dauson-Fort Selkirk region betueen 1896 and 1898. In the same period, the group of less than 200 Indians recorded only 12 b i r t h s . 2 6 Taking into account the documented severity of virgin s o i l ep-idemics elseuhere in North America and the appearance of small-pox, scarlet fever, mumps, measles and influenza betueen 1840 and 1890, the previously suggested depopulation ratio of 2/3 appears consistent uith both evidence and logic. That epidemics had such a severe impact reflects both the natives' immunological weaknesses and their i n a b i l i t y to deal effectively uith such a f f l i c t i o n s . Facing the ravages of unexplainable illnesses, the natives relied upon the shamans (medicine men) to explain and counter the devastation. Typically, disease uas blamed on sorcerors. Europeans came under the net of accusations but did so on the basis of traditional expectations. When several men died following the Chilcat's attack of Fort Selkirk in 1852, the natives blamed Robert Campbell's \"bad medi-cine\" and threatened to attack Fort Youcon. 2 7 Insufficient knowledge Socio-Culturelle\", provides more detailed discussion of the cycle of diseases. See also II. Wesbrook, \"A Venture Into Ethnohistory: The Journals of V. C. Sim, Polar Notes, No. 9 (May 1969), 41 and espe-c i a l l y S. Krech III, \"Throwing Bad Medicine Sorcery, Disease and the Fur Trade Among the Kutchin and other Northern Athapaskans,\" in S. Krech, ed., Indians, Animals and the Fur Trade (Athens: University of Georgia, 1981). 2 6 CMS, Bompas to CMS, 19 December 1898. 2 7 W. Hardisty, \"The Loucheux Indians\", Strachan Jones, \"The Kutchin Tribes,\" A. H. Murray, Journal of the Yukon, 1847-48 a l l describe na-tives blaming sorcerors for illnesses. See also the important dis-cussion in S. Krech, \"Throwing Bad Medicine,\" On Campbell, see HBCA, 184 also limited native response to the outbreaks. Instead of isolating or quarantining those affected, the Indians typically fled the scene of i n -fection, resulting in wider dispersal of the disease and a further weak-ening of those already stricken. The natives' i n a b i l i t y to treat the i l l also influenced the eventual severity of the i l l n e s s . Ravaged by an unknown disease, the natives of-ten sank into lethargy and despair. Efforts at hunting and fishing were severely curtailed, l i t t l e effort uas made to minister to the sick and, as Reverend Canham noted, they \"soon lose heart in time of sickness.\" 2 8 Fur traders and missionaries often misunderstood the natives' confusion, attributing malaise and inactivity to \"stupidity\" and \"laziness\". Both groups suggested the Indians could have escaped the force of the epidem-ics had they acted uith more dispatch in caring for themselves. 2 8 The apparent diffidence of the Indians toward fatal i l l n e s s i s a further i n -dication of the devastating impact of the inexplicable diseases. The appearance of epidemics and a high i n i t i a l death rate do not of necessity point to an on-going depopulation. In a detailed study of In-dian-white relations in B r i t i s h Columbia, Robin Fisher argues that un-less mortality is \"age-selective,\" with particular impact on the c h i l d -bearing cohort, the native population could quickly s t a b i l i z e after an B200/b/32, f o l . 24, Hardisty to Anderson, 15 October 1853; HBCA B240/2/1, f o l . 14, Youcon Journal, 25 July 1847. 2 8 Canham, \"Untitled Comments:\" see also, HBCA, B200/b/42, f o l . 18. Har-disty to Grahame. 4 Aug. 1876; HBCA, B200/b/43, f o l . 35, Cansell to Grahame, 29 July 1879. 2 8 HBCA, B200/b/35, f o l . 186, Hardisty to Council, 30 July 1866; for a later example of the same attitude, see RCMP, vol. 295. f i l e 273. Cuthbert to Asst. Comm.. Dawson. 30 June 1905. 185 epidemic. 3 0 Although Fisher appears to have decisively understated the impact of disease on the North-Vest coast. 3 1 his argument i s worth con-sideration. Contrary to Fisher's portrayal of Br i t i s h Columbia, evi-dence in the Yukon suggests that adults of child-bearing age were s e r i -ously affected by disease. On separate occasions. HBC traders noted that various illnesses caused \"great mortality amongst their women.\"32 the death of \"several of the most influential men.\"33 and during the 1865 scarlet fever scourge, had \"carried off nearly half of them, and amongst those many of our best provision hunters.\" 3 4 Similarly, when the Chilcat Indians returned to the coast after ransacking Fort Selkirk, several of their hunters succumbed.35 High mortality among adults l i k e l y characterized the general impact of epidemics. Since hunters and trad-ers travelled the most and maintained extensive contacts with different native groups and European settlements. they endured greatest exposure to the epidemics. Far from being immune to the devastation, the adults of child-bearing age suffered as much, i f not more, than other members of the native population. 3 0 Fisher, Contact and Conf1ict, 21-23; Fisher draws heavily on his un-derstanding of contact situations throughout the Pacific and in this instance relies on Norma HcArthur. I Bland Populations of the Paci f i c (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 1967). 3 1 See in particular, Gibson, \"Smallpox on the Northwest Coast, 1855-1838.\" which directly addresses Fisher's argument. 3 2 HBCA, B240/2/1, f o l . 45, Youcon Journal, 27 Nov. 1847. 3 3 HBCA, B200/b/29, f o l . 153, Hardisty to Anderson, 5 Nov. 1852. This comment could possibly relate to elders although the context suggests otherwise. 3 4 HBCA, B200/b/36, f o l . 43, McDougall to Hardisty, 25 Sept. 1865. 3 5 HBCA. B200/b/32, f o l . 24, Hardisty to Anderson, 15 Oct. 1853. 186 To 1900. the Yukon Indians encountered sustained population loss uith obvious social and economic consequences. Their population reduced by up to tuo-thirds. seasonal cycles and uork patterns disrupted by uhat Crosby called the \"pulverizing experience\" 3 6 of successive epidemics, the natives lost considerable f l e x i b i l i t y in their dealings uith the uhite people. The Europeans' \"bad medicine\" uidened the gap betueen In-dian and uhite. adding to the natives' suspicion of the intruders and convincing many traders. miners and missionaries that the uidely held image of the diseased and demoralized Indian reflected Yukon native re-a l i t i e s . Medical and demographic conditions changed sig n i f i c a n t l y after the turn of the century. Conscious of the continuing devastation caused by European diseases, the Canadian government provided an extensive, i f not elaborate, medical care netuork. Of central importance uas the govern-ment's willingness to impose quarantines to contain the epidemics. Fol-lowing the Gold Rush. federal authorities moved rapidly to isolate i n -fected individuals and groups. restricting the spread of disease among the s t i l l vulnerable Indians and. just as importantly, limiting the pos-s i b i l i t y that the natives' i l l n e s s uould be transmitted to the uhites. Systematic attempts to control and treat diseases had the desired ef-fect, and death rates f e l l far belou the estimated figures for the pre-Gold Rush period. Haphazard recording of native v i t a l s t a t i s t i c s be-tueen 1900 and 1930 hampers a consideration of death rates in the f i r s t thirty years of the century. Recorded deaths from 1930 to 1950 (Table 16) i l l u s t r a t e s , houever. the impact of medical assistance as death 3 6 Crosby. \"Virgin Soil Epidemics,\" 294. 187 rates remained comparatively low. Government quarantine efforts and medical attendance in conjunction with increasing immunity to several of the diseases limited the annual number of recorded deaths to between 18 to 37 before 1942. Table 16 RECORDED NATIVE BIRTHS, DEATHS AND NATURAL INCREASE, 1931 - 1950 Births Deaths Natural Increase* 1) 1931 15 24 (9) 1932 15 25 (10 1933 29 20 9 1934 24 18 6 1935 26 33 (7) 1936 17 37 (20 1937 35 29 6 1938 34 25 9 1939 34 28 6 1940 32 20 12 1941 35 26 9 1942 45 64 (19 1943 37 52 (15 1944 57 48 9 1945 36 35 1 1946 50 35 15 1947 77 28 49 1948 81 42 39 1949 65 35 30 1950 67 32 35 (1) Brackets indicate net natural decrease. Source: Canada! Vital S t a t i s t i c s , 1930-1950. Contrary to the trends evident from 1900 to World War II, the na-tives' demography between 1942 and 1945 il l u s t r a t e s their continuing vulnerability to European diseases. During the construction of the Alaska Highway and Canol Pipeline (1942-1945), hundreds of Indians pre-viously subjected to l i t t l e direct European contact inter-acted with 188 thousands of soldiers and workers involved uith the projects. Canadian Liaison Officer C.K. LeCapelain urote: There is no question but uhat the impact of a l l the construc-tion a c t i v i t i e s in the Southern Yukon and i t s consequent in-flux of uhite people is having a very harmful effect upon the natives, and i t is noticeable that the degree of this harm is in direct proportion to the closeness of the association that the natives have uith the uhites. The neu era i s here to stay and is and u i l l continue to present many problems to the ad-ministration. One of these problems is hou to soften the blou upon the natives and ameliorate conditions so as to prevent their complete devastation. 3 7 LeCapelain's description uas on the mark, for recorded deaths in 1942 reached a tuenty year high of 64. At Teslin Lake, the medical conse-quences of construction uere particularly evident. Dr. John Harchand of the Public Roads Administration noted betueen 1942-43 the Teslin Indians suffered successive attacks of measles, German measles, dysentery, ca-tarrhal jaundice, uhooping cough, mumps, t o n s i l l i t i s and menigitis. 3 9 Feu areas faced such sustained epidemic pressure, 3 9 but no Indian bands in the southern Yukon entirely escaped the devastation. The Alaska Highuay epidemics did not match the severity of the pre-1900 diseases since the impact uas considerably offset by expanded medical assistance and uelfare benefits. Nonetheless, as late as the 1940's, the Yukon In-dians' continuing vulnerability to European diseases is painfully appar-ent. 3 7 PAC, Yukon Government Records, RG91 [YG], vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt. J, C. K. Le Capelain to R. A. Gibson, 17 July 1943. 3 9 J. F. Harchand, \"Tribal Epidemics in the Yukon,\" Journal of the Amer- ican Hedical Association, CXXII (1943), 1019-120. 3 9 John Honigmann, letter to the editor, JAMA, CXXIII (1944), 386. Hon-ingmann noted that the diseases Harchand sau at Teslin did not appear among the Liard River Indians. 189 On a territory-wide scale* population change from 1900 to 1950 consisted of marginal losses and gains. The high estimates of native population before 1911* while suggestive of earlier populations* were too impressionistically calculated to be of much u t i l i t y . Similarly* there is l i t t l e corraborating evidence to suggest that pre-Gold Rush population loss continued to 1911 on the scale suggested by the popula-tion figures. From 1911 to 1951* the number of Yukon Indians maintained a rough equilibrium* with enumerations ranging between 1300 and 1600. Recorded native births and calculations of natural increase for the period 1945-1950 suggest that the demographic stagnation was nearing an end. A slowly increasing population through the 1940's coincided with an increased incidence of short-term liaisons between construction work-ers and native uomen. The resulting surge in births over deaths hinted at a large* forthcoming native population increase. Trends established in the late 1940's* uhich mirrored a nation-uide increase in native birth r a t e s * 4 0 continued over subsequent decades. The t e r r i t o r i a l na-tive population* uhich stood at 1583 in 1951. rose to 2*207 ten years later and by 1971 had climbed to 2*580. (1981 population: 3*200 Status Indians). The Yukon Indians have not regained the population levels of the pre-contact period* but they have clearly rebounded from the demo-graphic stagnation evident through much of the f i r s t half of the Twenti-eth Century. 4 0 Romaniuk and V. Richer* \"Natality Estimates For the Canadian Indians . 1900-1969,\" Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, vol. 9. No. 1, (1972). 1-26. 190 The demographic s t a b i l i t y evident to the 1940's uas rooted in a birth rate l i k e l y close to the national average of 50 births per 1,000 people each year and a comparatively high death rate. Further evidence of the dynamics of the native population comes from the age-sex structure of the Yukon Indian population. The shape of the population pyramids (Fig-ures 1, 2 and 3. Note that the 1951 figure i s skeued by the use of d i f -ferent age categories) are characteristic of pre-industrial populations, indicating high natality, severe infant and child mortality and a con-tinued erosion of population through the l i f e cycle. Up to 1950 the age-sex structure remained comparatively stable. The natives, houever, retained their vulnerability to disease, continuing to hold the prospect of a major decline as threatened during the construction of the Alaska Highuay. The population structure also held the prospect of a rapid i n -crease. Medical care targetted at infants and youths combined uith more adequate protection from disease promised a decrease in the wastage of population through the child-bearing years and a concommitant increase in the number of Indians. Federal government programming for Indians in the 1950's and 1960's followed this latter scenario; a 65% increase in population betueen 1951 and 1971 suggests that the demographic recon-struction i s underuay. While this general p r o f i l e suggests the demographic framework uithin uhich the Yukon Indians lived, a consideration of the causes of death and s p e c i f i c a l l y the impact of endemic disease i s necessary to complete the picture. An analysis on the causes of recorded native deaths i l l u s -trates, beyond the irregular importance of epidemics, the on-going im-pact of tuberculosis. (Table 17) During the Twentieth Century this s i n -191 Native Age Sex Diagrams, 1931 75 + 70-74 es-es 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-38 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19 10-14 5-9 0-4 Male Female 115 | — i — 100 \" I £B 211 19 20 30 I 28] 32 | 39 49 \\ 17 17 33 J 4 7 44 ~ I — 60 80 Source: Canada Census 1931 F i g u r e 1 | 120 ~~1 125 ~Tl23 -1 140 75 + 70-74 6549 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19 10-14 5-9 0-4 Native Age Sex Digrams, 1941 Male 20, 24 f 20 I 43 43 si r , . r 9 7 J Female — i — 100 |27 12' ]37 | 70 67 I 92 1 93 Source: Canada Census 1941 F i g u r e 2 Native Age Sex Digrams, 1951 70 + 65-69 55-64 45-54 35-44 25-34 20-24 15-19 10-14 5-9 0-4 , , i r us r Male 2 3 | Female I 50 I 52 ~| 118 Source: Canada Census 1951 F i g u r e 3 192 gle ailment accounted for betueen a quarter and a half of a l l recorded native deaths. By a l l accounts endemic among the Indians, this disease uas a v i t a l part of native l i f e in the d i s t r i c t . A consideration of the biological causes and implications of this disease aids significantly in understanding native socio-economic conditions in the f i r s t half of the Tuentieth Century.* 1 Table 17 CAUSES OF DEATH 1900-1949 Old Infant Tuberculosis*1) Pneumonia Age Death Heart Influenza 1900-04 39(25%) 11 6 2 — 1905-09 24(27%) 3 2 2 3 — 1910-14 44(38%) 3 2 — 4 — 1915-19 47(32%) 1 4 5 3 13 1920-24 34(35%) 5 4 — — 13 1925-29 23(33%) 10 3 — 3 1 1930-34 53(46%) 6 9 1 5 1 1935-39 88(58%) 9 12 2 2 9 1940-44 68(35%) 22 13 6 4 7 1945-49 74(40%) 18 8 7 7 5 Whooping Total Recorded Menigitis Cough Measles Deaths 1900-04 — 4 157 1905-09 — — — 90 1910-14 3 — — 117 1915-19 1 3 1 146 1920-24 1 — — 98 1925-29 1 1 — 69 1930-34 2 — — 115 1935-39 — — — 152 1940-44 5 4 14 194 1945-49 — 4 — 184 4 1 This description is draun from A. R. Rich, The Pathogenisis of Tuber- culosis 2nd Ed. (Springfield: C. C. Thomas, 1951); Stanley Robbins and Ramai Cotran, Pathologic Basis of Disease. (Toronto: W. R. Saunders, 1979), 396-404. 193 (1) For much of the period to 1930, tuberculosis uas alternatively lis t e d as consumption. Source: Canada, Vital S t a t i s t i c s , 1930-1950, and Death Register, Vital S t a t i s t i c s Branch, Government of Yukon. Tuberculosis i s primarily a disease of poverty, spauned in malnour-ishment, overcrowding, and poor hygiene and is the most uidespread of a l l infectious diseases. 4 2 Natives across North America have been par-t i c u l a r l y susceptible to the i l l n e s s and the Yukon Indians shared this vulnerability. While there has been considerable debate as to whether tuberculosis uas indigenous to North America, there is no doubt that the arrival of Europeans dramatically altered the incidence of the dis-ease. 4 3 Across the continent, tuberculosis became one of the greatest k i l l e r s of natives. The Indian mode of l i f e increased this vulnerabili-ty as regular trading excurions brought them into contact uith tubercu-l i n Europeans and natives, and their cramped li v i n g accommodations proved excellent breeding grounds for the disease. The Yukon natives uere no exception to the general North American pattern. 4 4 Missionaries, police officers and Indian Agents agreed that tuberculosis stemmed from the Indians' liv i n g conditions, but disparaged 4 2 Robbins and Cotran, 403. 4 3 W. McNeill, Plagues and Peoples, T. K. Young, \"Changing Patterns of Health and Sickness Among the Cree-Ojibua of Northuestern Ontario,\" Medical Anthropology, vol. 3, No. 2, (1979), 171-273. On the ques-tion of pre-Columbian tuberculosis, see Jane Buikstra, ed., Pre-His- toric Tuberculosis in the Americas. Northuestern University Archaeo-logical Program, Science Program, No. 6 (Evanston: Northuestern University, 1981). 4 4 For a discussion of tuberculosis among the Canadian Indians, see DIA, Annual Report 1931, 940; DIA AR 1926, 8-11; G. Graham-Cumming, \"Health of the Original Canadians, 1867-1967,\" Medical Services Jour-nal of Canada, vol. 23 (1967), 115-166. 194 the prospects of rectifying the cramped quarters, poor hygiene and inad-equate nourishment uhich contributed to the disease's persistence. 4 5 An-glican missionaries assisted disease prevention. The natives received preliminary education in the pathology of tuberculosis and encouragement to improve sanitation practices. Following a v i s i t to Forty Mile in 1915. Indian Agent John Hauksley, noted uith pride that ear l i e r appeals to ventilate cabins, change bed linens regularly and move outhouses auay from homes had been substantially successful. 4 5 These short-term t r i -umphs proved highly localized and often transitory. Government and church o f f i c i a l s nonetheless maintained their efforts as part of a Cana-dian-wide campaign to uipe out the \"uhite plague.\" 4 7 While hundreds of Indians in the Yukon suffered from tuberculosis, the extent of infection remained quantitatively unknoun until 1947. 4 8 Betueen that year and 1949, the government held a series of x-ray sur-veys throughout the Yukon. The goal uas to identify those uith the dis-ease and insist upon hospitalization for those seriously a f f e c t e d . 4 3 The 4 5 See, for example, DIA, vol. 4601, f i l e 207, 418, Inspector Taylor to Officer Commanding, \"B\" Division, 22 May 1903, \"Report of Asst. Com-missioner Wood, 1 December 1904, RNWMP, Annual Report 1905, 19, AC, Old Crou F i l e , McCabe to Coldrick, 4 December 1937. 4 8 DIA, vol. 4081, f i l e 478, 698, Report of Forty-Mile Band of Indians, 7 June 1915. 4 7 GSA, M74-5, 1-A1, Stringer to Commissioner, Y.T., 11 April 1912; on the larger process, see G. Wharett, The Miracle of the Empty Beds: A History of Tuberculosis in Canada. (Toronto: UTP, 1977). 4 8 See Stringer to Commissioner, 11 April 1912; RCMP, vol. 5049, f i l e 109, Knight to Commissioner, 16 October 1918. 4 3 The federal government ordered compulsory hospitalization of those affected. Since the Yukon lacked adequate f a c i l i t i e s , the regula-tions uere not enforced. YG, vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt. J, Gibben to I.A.B., 1 March 1946; Ibid., P. E. Moore to R. A. Gibson, 5 April 1946. 195 government sent natives uith the diseases, especially children, to the neuly opened tuberculosis uard at the Whitehorse General Hospital or the Charles Camsell Hospital in Edmonton for more specialized care. The surveys offered feu surprises, indicating that close to a quarter of the Indians shoued signs of advanced tuberculosis. A July 1949 survey, for example, indicated an infection rate of 143 out of 605 natives tes t e d . 5 0 While the confirmed high rate of secondary tuberculosis did l i t t l e more than provide a precise definition of the extent of the disease, the sur-veys, more significantly, marked the beginning of a concerted effort to deal uith the problem. At this point, the government did l i t t l e more than hospitalize or isolate the affected individuals. For over half a century, the ill n e s s had been a major cause of death among Yukon Indi-ans, striking children and adolescents uith particular vehemence. (Ta-bles 18, 19, i l l u s t r a t e the high incidence of death among the young. Note that totals represent deaths from a l l causes.) Beginning in 1947, authorities took tentative steps touard fighting, i f not immediately eliminating, the disease. 5 1 5 0 YG, vol. 65, f i l e 813, Summary of x-ray survey, Indian Residents, Whitehorse, July 1949. In the same f i l e , see Summary x-ray survey Yukon-Whitehorse, 4 Feb. - 11 Feb. 1949; Summary x-ray survey - Old Crou Band - Yukon Agency, 15 Dec. 1948; Summary x-ray survey - Yukon Territory Indians, June 1948. See also Gibben to Kennleyside, 4 Sept. 1947, Gibben to Heltiex, 10 March 1949; Report on a Tuberculo-s i s Survey in the Yukon Territory by J. Locke (1949). For a personal account of the surveys, see Amy Wilson, Ng_ Man Stands Alone (Sidney: Grey's Publishing, 1966). 5 1 Robbins and Cotran, Pathologic Basis of Disease, 397. 196 Table 18 DEATHS OF YUKON INDIANS, BY AGE, 1900-1949 <% OF TOTAL DEATHS) Less Than 1 1 - 19 2 0 - 4 9 50 1900-04 8.5 46.8 27.7 17.0 1905-09 16.5 36.5 36.6 10.6 1910-14 19.6 38.2 27.5 14.7 1915-19 12.6 42.2 26.7 20.0 1920-24 2.1 45.3 30.5 22.1 1925-29 14.7 44. 1 23.5 17.6 1930-34 12.2 53.0 16.5 18.3 1935-39 19.2 41. 1 19.9 19.9 1940-44 21.2 37.0 23.8 18.0 1945-49 25.8 31.9 25.3 18.7 Source: Canada, Vital S t a t i s t i c s , 1930-1950, and Death Register, Vital S t a t i s t i c s Branch, Government of Yukon. Table 19 AVERAGE AND MEDIAN AGE AT DEATH, BY SEX, 1900-1949 Average Age At Death Median Age At Death Male Female Al l Male Female 1900-04 21.9 25.6 23.6 18 20 1905-09 22.3 20.4 21.3 20 15 1910-14 19.4 23.5 21.2 18 17 1915-19 22.2 25.8 23.8 17 19 1920-24 25.2 31.4 28.2 16 25 1925-29 25.6 19.6 23.4 16 12 1930-34 25.0 19. 1 22.8 12 11 1935-39 23.7 25.9 24.7 12 15 1940-44 21.4 22.8 22.1 11 19 1945-49 23.4 24.2 24.0 14 17 Source: Canada, Vital S t a t i s t i c s , 1930-1950, Death Register, Vital Sta-t i s t i c s Branch, Government of Yukon. The Yukon Indians did not suffer alone from tuberculosis. As one medical expert commented, the disease \"flourishes wherever there i s pov-erty, malnourishment, poor liv i n g conditions, and lack of medical 197 care,\" s z a description which f i t many of the natives across Canada and the United States. Preying on those poorly sheltered or weakened by want, tuberculosis was and is a disease of poverty. As such, the ex-treme incidence of the ailment among the Yukon natives indicates a great deal about the Indians' liv i n g conditions. Indeed, available commenta-ries on native housing and sanitation practises conforms to medical de-scriptions of conditions under which tuberculosis flourishes. In the semi-permanent camps and on residential reserves, the natives inhabited cramped homes, often poorly ventilated, handled human and cooking wastes in such a way as to increase disease, practised irregular personal hy-giene and adopted irregular eating habits which fluctuated between the standard fare of the northern harvester and the processed food products of the south. Continuing nomadism, particularly through fur trading ventures, ensured the continuing transmission of tuberculosis and other diseases. Such contacts ensured that isolated groups and previously unaffected bands faced routine exposure to tuberculosis. Besides the obvious demographic consequences, tuberculosis had s i g -nificant on-going social and economic implications. The i l l n e s s attacks the respiratory system with particular vigour, leading to a shortage of breath, a significant drop in stamina and general body debility. Given the natives' subsistence a c t i v i t i e s and particularly the need for ex-tended physical exertion, these symptoms struck at the core of native lifeways. The natives' nomadic pursuits placed a premium on extended travel by foot and boat, demanded extensive i f not regular physical ac-t i v i t y and required a modicum of health and strength. Along with re-52 DIA, Annual Reports, 1948-1950. 198 spiratory ailments such as pneumonia and bronchitis, also common among the natives, tuberculosis attacked precisely those strengths necessary for survival in the northern environment. The disease imposed obvious limits on the many hundreds affected, although the magnitude of the strictures can only be speculated, particularly as i t is a progressive rather than instantly debilitating i l l n e s s . On a regional basis, hou-ever, the cumulative impact uas significant. Many natives reduced their physical exertions, a serious problem i f the individual happened to be the family provider. Others l e f t for distant hospitals often never to return. Beyond this, the uidespread stereotype of the malingering na-tive, based on the frequent observation of Indian men and uomen seeming-ly incapable of extended physical exertion, raised the p o s s i b i l i t y that many of these \"lazy\" natives uere in the throes of tuberculosis or an-other similarly debilitating disease. Any discussion of the non-medical consequences of tuberculosis must remain speculative, houever, as the documentary record offers feu direct insights into the impact of the disease on uork patterns and acti v i t y levels. This limitation notwith-standing, there is l i t t l e question that the il l n e s s had a uidespread so-c i a l and economic impact mirroring i t s demographic implications. Tuber-culosis k i l l e d many Yukon natives, uhile severely limiting the productive capacity of hundreds of others. Yukon natives continued to feel the effects of European disease dur-ing the f i r s t half of the Tuentieth Century, but the demographic conse-quences of contact remained less severe than in the pre-Gold Rush peri-od. The expansion of medical care f a c i l i t i e s , particularly the control of epidemics through quarantines, limited the impact of disease but came 199 far too late to prevent a major population IOBS. While the immediate demographic consequences of epidemics declined, endemic diseases such as tuberculosis flourished. The epidemics epitomized the demographic re-sults of native-white contact, for the Indians faced periodic devasta-tion through the introduction of virgin s o i l epidemics. While similarly tied to increased inter-racial contact, tuberculosis remained deeply em-bedded in the Indians' l i f e s t y l e and habitation patterns, representing the evolving position of the natives on the margins of Yukon society. The arrival of the Europeans in the Yukon River valley had demograph-ic implications uhich both conditioned and reflected social relations. The introduction of neu diseases in the early years contributed to a ma-jor decrease in population and obviously influenced relations betueen natives and uhites. Indian characterizations of diseases as the Europe-ans' \"bad medicine\" increased social and economic tensions. Conversely, the sight of many sick natives apparently incapable of caring for them-selves served to confirm uhite stereotypes of natives as diseased and sub-standard. The loss of population through the Gold RuBh and continu-ing medical d e b i l i t i e s thereafter limited the natives' a b i l i t y to re-spond positively to neu opportunities and threatened their precarious position uithin the Yukon economy. Similarly, the regular appearance of disease among the Indians and the perception of uhites that such i l l -nesses threatened uhite communities, added support to government and public efforts to segregate the natives. The biological restructuring obviously influenced the marginalization apparent in native-uhite social relations, limiting the Indians' a b i l i t y to participate in the larger community and increasing the uhites' determination to keep the natives 200 at arm's length. 5 3 5 3 For an excellent socio-economic study of the impact of disease, see D. B. Rutman and A. H. Rutman. \"Of Aques and Fevers: Malaria in the Early Chesapeake.\" William and Mary Quarterly. 3rd Series, vol. 33. (1976), 31-60. 201 CHAPTER NINE RELIGION AND THE YUKON NATIVES Disparate economic and social forces combined to assign the Yukon In-dians to the physical and psychological edges of the regional order. For the most part, these influences lacked coherence or sustained direc-tion, varying widely according to time and place. Uhile these amorphous forces dominated much of inter-racial contact, two institutions - church and state - promised more directed control. The following three chap-ters assess the purposes, efforts and impact of missionary and govern-ment plans for the Indians of the Yukon, plus the natives' responses to those i n i t i a t i v e s . Though historical writing on missionaries and the government domi-nates the literature on the Yukon, l i t t l e attention has been given to the consequences and significance of such a c t i v i t i e s on the natives. Studies of the churches tend toward biographical accounts of \"wilderness saints,\" who l e f t the comforts of southern Canada or England to spread the gospel. L i t t l e has been offered analyzing the impact of their mis-sion work. Similarly, writing on government a c t i v i t i e s emphasizes the role Of federal agents and agencies in \"opening\" the northern frontier. Uith few exceptions, such works offer only cursory assessments of con-tact between government o f f i c i a l s and their native charges. 1 The a c t i v i -1 The work of Morris Zaslow, The Opening of the Canadian North and Read- ing the Rocks (Ottawa: Macmillan, 1975) exemplifies this tradition. Although his thesis reflects his supervisor's (Zaslow) influence, U.R. Morrison's, \"The Native Peoples of the Northern Frontier,\" in Hugh Dempsey, ed., Men in Scarlet (Calgary: McClelland and Stewart, 1975) assesses North Uest Mounted Police attitudes toward northern natives. 202 ties of both the church and the federal government, therefore, require more systematic analysis. Contrary to contemporary and scholastic expectations, the clergy and government o f f i c i a l s did not immediately undertake the deliberate re-structuring of native society upon arrival in the Yukon. Both made pro-nouncements of their lofty expectations for the native peoples of Cana-da, but their idealism uas soon tempered by regional r e a l i t i e s . Though correctly described as agents of directed cultural change, deliberately seeking the transformation of native society, 2 missionaries and federal agents found that local conditions prevented the achievement of national objectives. An assessment of religion, education and federal program-ming, the three main elements of institutional a c t i v i t y in the region, i l l u s t r a t e s a continuing willingness to accommodate, i f not accept, a continuation of native cultural forms. This limited restructuring re-flected parsimonious funding, insufficient manpouer, and a pessimistic forecast of the prospect for sustained regional development. It did not represent a conscious desire to abandon the goals established by the church missionary organizations or the policy directives outlined in the Indian Act. Nonetheless, i t u i l l be argued, missionaries and government agents did not have the impact in the Yukon typically ascribed elseuhere in Canada, nor did they pursue their aspirations of the cultural refor-mation of native society uith the singlemindedness long assumed. 2 The phrase originated with Ralph Linton, Acculturation in Seven Indian Tribes (Neu York: Appleton-Century, 1940). For an application of this theory in a Canadian context, see R. Fisher, Contact and Conf1ict (Vancouver: University of B r i t i s h Columbia Press, 1978). 203 On a national level, both church and state expected that their ef-forts would accelerate the integration of natives into the wider Canadi-an society. Religion, education and a variety of government programs were expected to serve as mediating institutions, drawing the Indians closer to white norms and preparing them for f u l l e r participation. These a c t i v i t i e s in the Yukon did not follow such a path, at least not with the coherence of purpose so often ascribed. Government agents and missionaries approached their duties with ambivalence, unsure as to whether their native charges were capable of c i v i l i z a t i o n or whether the limited developmental prospects for the region j u s t i f i e d the restructur-ing of native l i f e . Conversely, the natives did not accept the dictates of church and state compliantly. Instead and consistent with their eco-nomic and social behaviour, they adopted those religious components am-menable to their own culture and responded to government programs ac-cording to their perceived best interests. The question of native response to Christianity is one of the central themes in the study of native-white relations. Through their religious preachings, missionaries of Catholic and a variety of Protestant denomi-nations hoped to bring the natives of North America closer to the domi-nant culture. Their efforts suffused with religious zeal, and their re-actions to the Indians' conditioned by a belief in the inherent superiority of both Christianity and western c i v i l i z a t i o n , the church set out to reform, restructure and ultimately undermine a l l remaining vestiges of a \"pagan\" existence. The missionaries' motives were sincere and, to them, unassailable. Their willing abandonment of the cloistered comforts of Europe or the settled colonies for the insecurity of the 204 frontier sprang from a deep desire to bring the truth - both s p i r i t u a l and cultural - to the unwashed. If. as recent scholarship has indicat-ed, their religious message included a condemnation of the aboriginal groups, most missionaries nonetheless came to their task convinced of i t s righteousness. 3 On an institutional level. the church missions had as a conscious goal the elimination of native s p i r i t u a l i t y and the u p l i f t i n g of Indian society towards a more c i v i l i z e d norm.4 While the larger church goals remained essentially consistent, i t is less clear that the organization-al imperatives necessarily shaped missionary-Indian relations in the f i e l d . Policy guidelines sketched in the meeting rooms of the Church Missionary Society in England, for example, represented ideals, not nec-essarily workable directives for missionary operations. An analysis of church a c t i v i t i e s in the Yukon reveals that the clergy adopted a sur-prisingly latitudinarian approach to native s p i r i t u a l i t y and. like their government counterparts. resisted suggestions that they work to swiftly undermine Indian culture. The goal of bringing natives to the wonders of Christianity and western c i v i l i z a t i o n never wavered, but a r e a l i s t i c consideration of conditions in the North limited the application and 3 There is a very substantial hagiographic literature on the Yukon. See H.A. Cody. An. Apostle of the North, and Archer, A Heroine of the North. F. Peake, The Bishop Who Ate His Boots (Toronto: Anglican Church of Canada, 1967) is more analytical; Charles Whittaker, Arctic Eskimo (London: Seeley, 1937); T.C.A. Boon, The Anglican Church from The Bay to The Rockies (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1962); C. Swanson, Days of My Sojourning (Calgary: Glenboro-Alberta Institute, 1977). 4 Robert Berkhofer, Salvation and the Savage Berkhofer, \"Protestants, Pagans and Sequences among the North American Indians, 1760-1860,\" Ethnohistory, vol. 10, 201-216. In a northern setting, see James Van Stone. Ingalik Contact Ecology. For B r i t i s h Columbia, see Jean Usher. Wi11iam Duncan of Metlakatla. 205 achievement of the church's l o f t l y goals. This analysis of native-church relations w i l l , of necessity, focus on the efforts of the Church Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada (Anglican). I n i t i a l l y working through the England-based C.M.S., the Anglican Church maintained a continuous presence in the Yukon River basin from 1859 to 1950. In addition to being the only major branch of the Christian church ministering regularly to the Indians, they also op-erated a territory-wide day school system and administered the area's f i r s t two boarding schools. The Catholic Church uas sporadically i n -volved in the region. Members of the Oblate order attempted to breach the Anglican domination in the 1860's and 1870's, but uere repulsed by the combined efforts of the competing church and the Hudson's Bay Compa-ny. Catholic clergy continued irregular operations thereafter, particu-l a r l y in the eastern and southern d i s t r i c t s , but did not offer a consis-tent missionary effort until the late 1930's. In the final decade, 1940-1950, the missionary scene clouded as Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians vied for the Indians' attention. While the discussion u i l l focus on the motivations and practises of the Anglican Church in undertaking i t s northern missions, i t i s essen-t i a l to offer a feu introductory comments on native s p i r i t u a l i t y . A l -though the topic, given the dearth of primary sources, is properly a f i e l d for anthropological inquiry, a description of the Indians' belief system i s an essential pre-condition to an assessment of persistence or change in the post-contact phase. The outline sketched here does not, as anthropologists appropriately do, pay heed to minor variations in structure and practise betueen native groups. Importantly, and unlike 206 many early evangelists in Neu France and colonial America, the northern missionaries acknouledged the presence and feared the v i t a l i t y of native s p i r i t u a l i t y . They accordingly based much of their appeal on deliberate attempts to supplant specific native beliefs. The central characteristic of Yukon Indian s p i r i t u a l i t y , common to a l l subarctic Athapaskans, uas the absence of a codified or structural religion. Lacking ceremonial consistency, beliefs uere strongly i n f l u -enced by regional conditions and individual experience. Among a l l the groups, houever, animism and shamanism dominated s p i r i t u a l formulations. Natives believed that animals possessed s p i r i t s , inanimate objects had souls, and that humans had to respect the temperament of their ecologi-cal surroundings. There is ethnographic and documentary evidence to suggest that the natives' interpretation of the religious uorld culmi-nated in a belief in a supreme supernatural pouer or diety. Public man-ifestations of these concepts came principally through the shamans, or medicine men. Possessed uith special a b i l i t i e s to control and interpret the s p i r i t s , shamans used their pouer to respond to i l l n e s s , famine and climatic d i f f i c u l t i e s , or to cast spells on enemies.5 Religion among the Inland T l i n g i t uas more formalized, reflecting coastal ancestory and connections, but i t differed more in style than substance from the gen-5 C. Osgood, The Han Indians, 161; S. Jones, \"The Kutchin Tribes,\" 325; Hardisty, \"The Loucheux Indians,\" 318. See also GSA, 1156-2, Series C-23, Canham Papers, \"An undated account of the Indians of the Far North,\" Canham suggested the Kutchin referral to God as \"Vittukuii-chanchyo,\" a name they previously applied to the \"Good S p i r i t . \" See also CMS, McDonald to Long, 31 January 1865; F. Peake, \"Robert McDo-nald (1829-1913): The Great Unknoun Missionary of the Northwest,\" Journal of the Canadian Church Historical Society, vol. 17, no. 3 (1975), 71-72. W.W. Kirkby, f i r s t Yukon missionary, said the Indians had only medicine men and no idea of a superior \"God.\" W.W. Kirkby, \"A Journey to the Youcon, Russian America,\" Smithsonian Institution, Annual Report 1864, 419. 207 eral pattern. 6 Missionaries entering the Yukon encountered a people with no formalized religion, few regular ceremonies and ecclesiastical power concentrated in the shamans' hands. The natives' s p i r i t u a l vision should be characterized more a B a world view than a religion, for i t lacked most of the ceremonial regularity associated with on-going r e l i g -ions. 7 This amorphous, irregular s p i r i t u a l i t y became the target of Church Missionary Society attempts to win converts to Christianity. Part of an international network of missions to the unconverted, C.M.S. clergy also brought a clear program for launching their appeal. Idealists in their belief in the ultimate salvation of even the more regenerate peoples, the missionaries had few ill u s i o n s as to the ease of their task. The most renowned of the Yukon missionaries, William Carpenter Bompas, sum-marized those beliefs when he wrote, \"These mountain Loucheux (Kutchin) seem 'the lowest of a l l people.' But I cannot help hoping that they are a 'chosen race.' 6 Under the guidance of Henry Venn, the C.M.S. developed a sophisticated approach to evangelism, one intended to soften the c u l -tural clash and to bring Christianity swiftly to the centre of native l i f e . 6 C. McClellan, My. Old People Say. 7 For a more complete analysis, the best place to begin is June Helm, ed. Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 6, Sub-Arctic. See also more detailed studies by McClellan, My. Old People Say, esp. Chapters 2, 12, 17; Osgood, Contributions, Osgood, Han, Honigmann, Kaska Socie-ty_. 6 CMS, Bompas to Secretaries, CMS, 6 December 1872. 208 Although the missionaries sought to restructure Indian customs? Venn and the C.fl.S. cautioned their clergy to respect native societies. Venn argued for the rapid appointment of native catechists (lay leaders)? even i f they lacked religious training and theological insight. Simi-larly? the translation of the Bible into native vernacular remained the f i r s t order of business. Respecting native culture? the C.tl.S. hoped? uould prevent a complete societal breakdoun uhile evangelism uas under-way. By adopting cross-cultural proselytizing? the church intended to make the neu religion culturally relevant and comprehensible. Catec-hists and b i b l i c a l translations allowed for the internalizing of Chris-tianity? as opposed to the more disruptive alternative of imposing a re-ligious order on an unprepared people. The C.tl.S. planned to build upon the anticipated acceptance of their religious appeal? using Christianity to bring the natives closer to the modern? industrializing world. Vic-torian England? the centrepiece of uestern civi l i z a t i o n ? served both as inspiration and model for the C.fl.S. missions. Their native communi-cants received more than a neu s p i r i t u a l interpretation; these \"child-l i k e \" people uere to be exposed to the morals? uork habits and material comforts of the uestern uorld. Drafted primarily by Henry Venn? this C.H.S. formula provided the basis for missionary education and acted as a practical guide for missions throughout the non-European uorld. C.H.S. clergymen entering the Yukon River valley after 1859 came uith zeal? a sense of purpose and uith dedication to a program designed to elevate the heathens of the north out of their deprived state. 9 9 The above description is based on Jean Usher? \"Apostles and Abori-gines: The Social Theory of the Church Missionary Society?\" Histoire Social/Social History? vol. 7 (1971). 28-52; see also Usher? Will jam Duncan. Usher's description broadly conforms to the conclusions in 209 Proselytizing efforts commenced in 1859 uhen the Reverend William West Kirkby travelled to Fort Youcon. Despite a cool reception. Kirkby returned the following year, anxious to spread C.M.S. influence in the area before the Catholic missionaries arrived. The natives responded more favourably the second time and the clergyman recommended that a permanent mission be opened. 1 0 In response to a wide-ranging appeal for volunteers. Robert McDonald, a half-breed resident of Red River, an-swered the c a l l . McDonald commenced his teachings among the Kutchin. both along the Porcupine and Youcon Rivers and in the lower Mackenzie drainage area. in 1852. When McDonald f e l l i l l several years later. William Carpenter Bompas. a London curate and avid follower of the Church Missionary Society, offered his services. Bompas then spent sev-eral years in the Mackenzie D i s t r i c t , culminating in his appointment as Bishop of Athabasca in 1870. McDonald continued to direct most of his efforts toward the Yukon, although the arrival of several new missionar-ies eased his burden. T.H. Canham arrived in 1881 and worked at several stations, including Rampart House and Forty Mile. V.C. Sim served along the Porcupine River from 1881 until his death four years later. Robert McDonald's brother Kenneth similarly worked in the Rampart House area for a short time before he retired in 1875 to join the Hudson's Bay Com-pany. John Ellington joined the missionary corps in 1886 and was as-signed to work in the border mining region. 1 1 Robert Berkhofer. \"Protestants. Pagans and Sequences.\" 1 ° T.C.B. Boon. \"William West Kirkby;\" CMS, Kirkby to Secretaries. 29 November 1862; CMS, Kirkby's Journal, 25 May 1861-May 1862; W.W. Kirkby, \"A Journey to the Youcan, Russian America.\" 1 1 This chronological survey i s taken from several works. The place to start i s T.C.B. Boon, The Anglican Church From the Bay to the Rock-210 Somewhat unhappy uith his Mackenzie River charge, Bompas appealed on several occasions for permission to return to the Yukon missions. The Anglican church and the C.M.S. granted his request in 1891, naming him Bishop of Selkirk (later Yukon) and directing him to devote his energies to that d i s t r i c t . From a rather small base, Bompas attempted to expand his ministry. He remained at Forty-Mile, assisted by his uife and f e l -low missionary Benjamin Totty. Bompas dispatched Canham and his uife to Fort Selkirk and neuly arrived evangelists Mr. & Mrs. G.G. Wall is to Rampart House. By the time the Klondike Gold Rush began, the C.M.S. had developed an extensive presence among the Indians. Despite, and even because of, the influx of miners, Bompas ri g i d l y defended the need to maintain a dis-tinctive native ministry. While meeting the prospectors religious needs through a series of neu and separate establishments, the church endeav-oured to extend i t s ecclesiastical care of the Indians. By 1900, the Anglicans had significantly expanded their Yukon netuork. Bompas oper-ated out of his neu dioceBan headquarters at Caribou Crossing (Car-cross), Canham remained at Fort Selkirk, Totty moved to Moosehide, neu recruit John Hauksley ministered to the Forty-Mile natives and the church operated a series of eight temporary missions along the Yukon River betueen Tagish and Dauson. In the midst of the expansion, the C.M.S. in London uithdreu from further responsibility i n the area, a l -though by 1903 that participation consisted of only routine financial ies, pp. 204-223; Archer, Heroine of the North, Cody, Apostle of the North, F. Peake, The Anglican Church in B.C., Peake, \"Robert McDo-nald;\" Northern Lights, vol. 30 (August 1941); Mary Wesbrook, \"A Ven-ture into Ethnohistory: The Journals of Rev. V.C. Sim, Pioneer Mis-sionary in the Yukon,\" Polar Notes no. 14 (1969), pp. 34-45; Church Missionary Intel 1igencer, various issues commencing in 1865. 211 contributions. 1 2 Wedded to the belief that natives and uhites required separate missions, the Anglican Church assumed control of the extensive netuork of native congregations and a grouing number of churches target-ted at the uhite population. In the half century from Kirkby and McDo-nald's f i r s t efforts, the church's presence had expanded significantly and moBt natives came, i f only casually, under the extended arm of An-glican supervision. Maintaining, let alone expanding, church operations proved burden-some. Accepting a native charge in the Yukon hardly aided a clergyman's climb through the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Distance from church pouer. combined uith a firmly entrenched image of the North as a frozen and barren uasteland hampered recruitment efforts. Coming north, often uith their uives, required men to devote several years to the church in harsh surroundings. V.C. Sim's death in 1885, attributed to the rigours of his uork, offered graphic testimony to conditions in the f i e l d . 1 3 Under such circumstances, the missionaries either offered the total dedication typical of Robert McDonald or W.C. Bompas or sought alternative post-ings. Idealism spauned in the parlour rooms on England often faded in the face of the northern social and physical setting. For those of mid-dle class Canadian or English background, the transition often proved arduous. G.G. Wall i s ' reports from Rampart House commented more on \"dust and desolation\" than the prospects for mission uork. 1 4 Following 1 2 CMS, List of Missions in Selkirk Diocese, 1900. On the ending of the relationship uith the C.M.S., see CMS, Bompas to C.M.S., 18 January 1897; CMS, Bompas to C.M.S., 3 May 1898. 1 3 Wesbrook, \"A Venture Into Ethnohistory.\" 1 4 CMS, Wall is to Secretaries, 30 December 1892. 212 Wall i s ' resignation after only three years, Bompas requested that the C.M.S. send only \"those of an inferior grade (who) in going to the far west generally rise a peg uhich i s mostly pleasant to themselves and their neighbours.\" Rejecting middle class idealists, Bompas uanted men of committment and \"hardy constitution\" willing to bring their uives and dedicate themselves to the solemn task at hand. 1 5 Recruitment efforts occasionally failed. Kenneth McDonald stayed only a short time before leaving for more remunerative employment uith the Hudson's Bay Company. Benjamin Totty stayed uith the church, but uas of questionable benefit. Totty either came uith a serious ear inju-ry or uas infected uith the malady shortly after his a r r i v a l . Reflect-ing his limited prospects for advancement uith the Church, Bishop Bompas \"arranged\" for Totty to marry a local Indian woman uho, in turn, uas ex-pected to care for him. 1 6 Though of uidely varying talents, the missionaries attempted to ad-here to the policies enunciated by Henry Venn and the C.M.S. establish-ment. Robert McDonald translated the scriptures into the Kutchin lan-guage as quickly as he uas able, obviously assisting his efforts to have the natives carry the gospel further a f i e l d . 1 7 Cross-cultural communica-tion proved a constant barrier, especially uith missionaries neuly ar-rived from England or Canada. R.J. Bouen found himself in charge at 1 5 CMS, Bompas to Church Missionary Society, 3 January 1895. 1 S Laura Berton, j_ Harried the Klondike, p. 61; CMS, Bompas to C.H.S., 13 January 1896, t e l l s the story differently, suggesting that Bompas had tried to snip a budding inter-racial romance but had failed. 1 7 F. Peake, \"Robert HcDonald;\" CHS, HcDonald to Long, 31 January 1865; CHS, HcDonald to Brother in the Lord, 25 June 1864; CHS, HcDonald to Secretaries, 30 June 1870 re: efforts by Bompas and H.B.C. trader James Flett at translation. 213 Forty-Mile in 1895 even though he spoke not a word of the local native language. 1 8 Similarly, uhen the Canham's moved to Fort Selkirk from the Porcupine River, they found their hard-earned lin g u i s t i c s k i l l s of v i r -tually no u t i l i t y . 1 8 As Venn directed, houever. the early missionaries attempted to translate the Bible and. in order to make use of the trans-lations, taught some of the Indians to read. Early translations and es-pecially the compilation of uritten vocabularies proved particularly beneficial in easing the uork of subsequent missionaries. Overcoming lin g u i s t i c barriers represented only the f i r s t challenge. To be effective, the missionaries had to get the word. in uhatever lan-guage, to the Indians. Accomplishing this proved d i f f i c u l t and before 1896 evangelical efforts remained confined to the Porcupine. Forty-Mile and Fort Selkirk d i s t r i c t s . The church maintained only casual contacts uith the rest of the territory, not moving into the southern Yukon until after the Gold Rush. 2 0 The church opened several mission stations. but native mobility and seasonal harvesting cycles limited the u t i l i t y of central meeting places. Adapting their ministrations to suit native needs, clergymen took to regular itinerating. Based in Fort Youcon and later Fort McPherson. R. McDonald travelled extensively in an attempt to meet his goal of v i s i t i n g each band at least once a year. His travels, like those of his brother Kenneth and V.C. Bompas. took him throughout the region, as far north as the Arctic Coast, south to Fort Selkirk and several hundred miles uest of Fort Youcon. These regular vis i t a t i o n s 1 8 Northern Lights, vol. 30 (August 1941). 1 8 CMS, Canham to Fenn, 17 February 1893. 2 0 CMS, Bompas to C.M.S., 3 September 1896 re: his insistence on being allowed to open a mission to the south. 214 declined as the mission network and transportation systems expanded. Because they greatly improved the effectiveness of the ministry* how-ever, they were never totally dropped. 2 1 The natives' unwillingness to settle at mission sites forced the clergymen to follow their nomadic congregations in order, as R. McDonald phrased i t , to \"prevent them los-ing what they have been taught.\" 2 2 The missionaries lauded the success of itinerating, although they probably mistook hospitality for a desire for Christian leadership. The sessions often took on the external characteristics of a camp revival. \"Each day I spent in the Indian camps,\" Bompas reported in 1872, \"was like a Sunday as the Indians were clustered around me from early morning t i l l late at night learning prayers, hymns and Scripture lessons.\" 2 3 In-terpreting friendship as fervor, the clergy placed great faith in their solitary and transient proselytizing. Missionaries stayed only a few days with each band, their travels seldom bringing them to each band more than once or twice a year. Itinerating, whatever i t s weaknesses, kept Christianity in front of the Indians, encouraging them to consider at least the elementary principles of the pro-offered faith. 2 1 Ken Coates, The Northern Yukon: A History, pp. 38-43. The l i s t of itinerating travels is very long. A l l trips were described in very vague terms. Church Missionary Record, vol. 14, New Series, no. 5 (June 1869), pp. 172-179; Church Missionary Intelligencer, vol. 7, New Series (1871), pp. 333-341; ibid., vol. 11, New Series (1875), p. 63; CMS, Bompas to Secretaries, 6 December 1872; CMS, Kenneth McDo-nald to Bompas, 30 December 1874; CMS, R. McDonald to Secretaries, 7 January 1870; CMS, R. McDonald to Secretaries, 30 June 1870. 2 2 CMS, R. McDonald to Dear Friend, 26 March 1877. 2 3 CMS, Bompas to Secretaries, 6 December 1872. 215 To enhance the insufficient mission and itinerating efforts. the church relied on the recruitment of native clergy, another of Henry Venn's central recommendations. The use of Indian catechists. even i n -adequately trained, served. Venn argued, to identify Christianity uith the native population. Importantly, the neu religion uould no longer loom solely as an imposed standard of a foreign culture. Missionaries hoped the native clergy uould also undermine the authority of local sha-mans uho s t i l l controlled native s p i r i t u a l i t y . The attempt began uith Kirkby's f i r s t v i s i t to the Yukon valley. The missionary took pride in noting that \"Doctor.\" a local shaman, \"publically denounced his past fai t h . \" Kirkby put l i t t l e stock in Doctor's theatrical conversion, but recognized the potential of offering alternative s p i r i t u a l leadership. 2 4 The church expended considerable effort in subsequent years recruit-ing native catechists. Missionaries identified at least one individual in each band for special religious instruction. Once trained, the man held prayer sessions after the band l e f t the mission s t a t i o n . 2 5 These leaders. one appropriately renamed Henry Venn Ketse. seldom worked out as intended. In 1875. McDonald noted that of eight catechists. only four proved of much use as religious leaders. 2 5 Though paid for their efforts - 5 pounds a year or double that i f required to leave their band 2 7 - native catechists generally lacked committment and basic under-2 4 CMS. Kirkby's Journal, 25 May 1861. 7 May 1862. entry for 8 July 1861. 2 5 CMS. McDonald to Secretaries. 25 January 1876. 2 5 CMS. McDonald to Secretaries. 25 January 1875. 2 7 BompaB' report, Church Missionary Intel 1igencer and Record, vol. 11, no. 122 (February 1886), pp. 104-105. 216 standing of their intended r o l e . 2 8 Remuneration and the attending social status? houever? ensured no shortage of potential candidates. Since catechists worked beyond the purvieu of their ecclesiastical superiors? their contribution and impact is d i f f i c u l t to gauge. Shamans may have assumed the role of lay leaders? thus maintaining their suprem-acy as interpreters of the s p i r i t u a l world. 2 3 Apparently influenced by the missionary's power - i t s e l f an extension of the mystical techno-logical and biological powers of European c i v i l i z a t i o n - various men claimed they had been \"commissioned by the Almighty to teach them (the n a t i v e s ) . \" 3 8 Shamans doubtlessly resented the missionaries' and catec-hists' intrusion into their realm; that some would try to co-opt the new religion? as the \"Doctor\" seemed willing to do? is l i k e l y . There is as well some question as to what theological wisdom the catechists? shaman or not? were capable of imparting. Marginally literate? i f at a l l . and possessing only a rudimentary comprehension of a complex doctrine. lay leaders lacked the knowledge to pass on a comprehensive description of Christianity. As catechists. former shamans lik e l y mingled their ani-mist s p i r i t u a l i t y with the rude framework of Christianity. using the latter to preserve or enhance their authority. 2 8 CMS. V.C. Sim to Secretaries. 9 January 1882. 2 3 A. Welsh. \"Community Patterns and Settlement Patterns in the Develop-ment of the Old Crow Village.\" Western Canadian Journal of Anthropol- ogy, vol. 2. no. 1 (1970). p. 24. 3 8 CMS. McDonald to Dear Brother. 25 June 1864. This practice is appar-ently not uncommon. See L.F.S. Upton. Micmacs and Colonists, p. 154; A.F. Chamberlain. \"'New Religions' among the North American Indians.' Journal of Religious Psychology, vol. 6 (1913). pp. 1-49; A.F.C. Wal-lace. \"Revitalization Movements.\" American Anthropologist, vol. 58. no. 2 (1956), pp. 264-281. The church's use of poorly trained catechists to spread their message raises questions about natives' adoption of Christianity. Anthropolo-gist Anne Welsh argued that the Old Crou Kutchin accepted the faith uith alacrity, \"seeing in the various ri t u a l s and paraphernalia the probable source of the uhite man's pouer.\" 3 1 Given haphazard contact. language barriers uhich sloued i f not prevented meaningful communication of basic theological concepts. inconsistent evangelical uork by missionaries of varying talents, and the Indians' commitment to their oun interpretation of the s p i r i t u a l uorld. uidespread acceptance of Christianity seems un-lik e l y . The natives appeared to adopt the external forms of the faith. Marriages, burials (usually a mingling of both traditions), baptisms, church services, prayers and hymns offered a ceremonial dimension large-ly absent in Athapaskan practises. Importantly, such r i t u a l s could be adopted uithout contradicting traditional beliefs. For the natives of North America, spiritualism uas an integral component of their uorld vieu, defining their relationship uith the ecology as uell as other hu-mans. The missionaries' appeals lacked a replacement for much of the animist and s p i r i t u a l notions, concentrating instead on the more re-stricted relationship betueen man and a mystical diety. The transforma-tion of the natives' uorld vieu, and hence the substance of their s p i r -i t u a l i t y , uas not yet a part of the church's mission. Had i t been, effecting such a change uas clearly beyond the linguistic and l o g i s t i c a l capacities of the Anglican clergy. 3 1 Welsh, \"Community Pattern and Settlement Pattern\" p. 24; A similar argument is made in Calvin Martin, \"The European Impact on Indian Culture: An Ecological Interpretation.\" William and Mary Quarterly. 3rd Series, vol. 31 (1974), pp. 3-26. 218 Whatever the limits of their achievements, most missionaries confidently asserted the success of their efforts. Robert McDonald uas i n i t i a l l y restrained, noting in 1864 that he refused to baptize natives as they lacked sufficient knouledge of the ceremony.3 2 Catholic pressure on Anglican missions forced many clergymen to speed up the baptismal p r o c e B B . For the clergy, the rush for souls became of pre-eminent im-portance. Bompas claimed in 1874 that the Indians nou had advanced knouledge and that he had baptized 35 adults and 80 c h i l d r e n . 3 3 As time passed, more natives sang the hymns (off-key as missionaries frequently noted), said the prayers and followed church ceremonies. Such outward manifestations, houever, do not prove inner conversion and there i s l i t -t l e evidence to suggest that many Indians made the transition. Excep-tions existed, such as John T t s s i e t t l a of Fort McPherson, ordained dea-con in 1893. 3 4 Before 1900, i t is lik e l y most Yukon Indians sau Christianity as a focus for celebration and ceremony, not as a reposito-ry of the true meaning of the sp i r i t u a l world. 3 5 After 1900, the Anglican church attempted to place i t s scattered mis-sion program on an expanded and firmer footing. They added several per-manent missions and expanded itinerating into isolated corners of the territory. Bompas' removal of the diocesan headquarters to Carcross and the opening of a church under R.J. Bouen at Whitehorse gave the Angli-cans a neu presence in the southern Yukon. Following the death of Bom-3 2 CMS, McDonald to Dear Brother, 25 June 1864. 3 3 CMS, Bompas to Secretaries, 17 July 1873. 3 4 Church Missionary Society Proceedings, 1893-1894, pp. 246-249. 35 por a statement on the status of the mission at century's end, see CMS, Bompas to C.M.S., 4 May 1898. 219 pas in 1906, Isaac 0. Stringer, a young minister known for his uork among the Inuit at Herschel Island, assumed the Bishop's mantle. Stringer reorganized the diocese, moving the base to Dauson City, ex-panding the use of native clergy and catechists and using theological students to conduct summer missions in poorly served areas. Stringer remained in charge until 1932, uhen A.H. Sovereign temporarily replaced him. Reorganization of the diocese followed, uith the Yukon placed un-der Bishop Geddes of Mackenzie River. In 1941, the d i s t r i c t became part of the ecclesiastical province of B r i t i s h Columbia. 3 5 Throughout the f i r s t half of the century, the Anglican church contin-ued i t s efforts to expand religious services for the Indians. Indeed, though the church provided required services for the uhite population, they maintained a strong and distinct commitment to their native commu-nicants. The missionaries eagerly intervened in non-religious matters involving the Indians, appealing frequently to government agents or the police as deemed necessary. 3 7 Feu government o f f i c i a l s uelcomed the mis-sionaries' a c t i v i t i e s outside their religious sphere. Yukon Commission-er Frank Congdon commented to the Deputy Minister of the Interior, \"My complaint uith regard to the missionaries is that instead of teaching the Indians self-reliance and independence, they aid most strongly in 3 5 T.C.B. Boon, The Anglican Church, pp. 221-231; F. Peake, The Anglican Church in B r i t i s h Columbia, pp. 179-191; Cody, Apostle of the North Peake, The Bishop Who Ate His Boots. 3 7 Anglican Church, Diocese of Yukon, Yukon T e r r i t o r i a l Archives (here-after AC), Carcross Property f i l e , Memo for the Minister re: Yukon Indians, c. 1907; Journal of the Synod of the Yukon, 1907 this role has scarcely been relaxed to the present. H.C. McCullum and K. McCullum, This Land JB Not For Sale - Canada's Original People and Their Land (Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, 1975); GSA, M74-3, 1-A-l, Stringer Papers. Stringer to Commissioners, Yukon Territory, 11 April 1912. 220 making them medicants. 1 am daily in receipt of letters from Indians* written by a missionary, asking for a l l sorts of favours.\" 3 8 To their credit, houever, the Anglican clergy remained committed to the Indians' protection. Though limited by budgetry and manpouer shortages, the bishops at-tempted to maintain their f i e l d uork. 3 9 Acknouledging the indifferent results from itinerating, the clergy sought men uho, often uith their uives, uould accept year round placement in Indian camps. In 1911, reg-ular missions operated at eight places: Moosehide (Totty), Forty-Mile (A.C. Field), Selkirk (Canham and Hauksley), Whitehorse (Blackuell), Teslin and Champagne (C.C. B r e t t ) , 4 8 Carcross (Canham), and Rampart House (Njootli). Lay leaders carried the gospel even further a f i e l d . Eleven years l a t e r , 4 * the mission netuork differed l i t t l e , uith six reg-ular missions 4 2 and five native catechists serving northern and eastern d i s t r i c t s . Arrangement varied yearly depending upon the a v a i l a b i l i t y of missionaries and funds provided by the Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada (M.S.C.C.). 3 8 RG10, vol. 4001, f i l e 207, 418, Congdon to Pedley, 28 May 1903. 3 9 Getting financial assistance uas not aluays an easy task and had plagued Bompas for years. CMS, Bompas to C.M.S., 4 May 1898, AC, Neu Series, f i l e 2, A. O'Meara memorandum, 15 January 1906. 4 0 The tuo stations uere usually administered by the same missionary uho changed his base according to the Indians' seasonal movements. RG10, vol. 6477, f i l e 925-1 p t . l , Bragg to Secretary, Department of Indian Affairs, 30 October 1913. 4 1 AC, Neu Series, f i l e 1, Stringer, \"Indian Work in the Diocese of Yu-kon, \" 14 September 1911. 4 2 For a description of Martin's efforts, GSA, M74-3. 1-A-5-A, K. Martin to Stringer, 21 January 1921, 20 October 1917; AC, M.S.C.C, f i l e #2, Stringer to Dr. Gould, 16 February 1922. 221 To supplement permanent staff, the diocese began in the 1920's (and in a feu instances earlier) to recruit students, 4 3 principally from the Anglican Theological College in Vancouver. Their expenses paid in part by Department of Indian Affairs' stipends for day school teachers, the student ministers spent several months in such places as Ross River, Teslin, Carmacks and Champagne. Their evident enthusiasm, houever, of-ten failed to compensate for naive idealism and a lack of practical ex-perience in dealing uith Indians. 4 4 Often laden uith platitudes, the students' reports revealed hou l i t t l e they kneu of their native communi-cants. 4 5 More importantly, the students generally acknowledged the lim-ited act of their ministries, the experience obviously of more benefit to the summer clergy than the natives. From the larger church perspec-tive, the ventures did reassert Anglican t e r r i t o r i a l claims, an increas-ingly important goal given the Catholic Church's rising challenge in the Teslin, Louer Post and Mayo d i s t r i c t s . 4 3 The program began in earnest in the 1930's but a feu came north the previous decade. AC, Unsuorth F i l e , J. Unsworth, \"Report of Stu-dents' V i s i t to Ross River, July 1923. 4 4 RG10, vol. 6477, f i l e 925-1 p t . l . Hauksley to Mackenzie, 15 June 1933, They also served as day school teachers, as u i l l be discussed later. 4 5 AC, Teslin F i l e , \"What Place has the Church in the Lives of Teslin Indians, 1932;\" AC, Carmacks-Little Salmon, G.W. Long, \"A Report of the Missionary Work Carried on From May 23 to August 31, 1934 in and about Carmacks, Yukon;\" AC, Teslin F i l e , \"Report on Teslin Missions -June-September 1931;\" AC, Champagne F i l e , L.G. Chappell, \"Missionary Work Undertaken in Champagne Di s t r i c t , Summer 1934;\" AC Teslin F i l e , \"Report on Teslin Mission, May-June 1932;\" AC, Champagne F i l e , W.S. Jenkins, \"Report on Champagne-Klukchu School and Mission, 1936;\" AC Champagne F i l e , Anthony W. Gascogne, \"Report to the Diocese of the Yukon upon the present state of the Champagne (Y.T.) mission f i e l d , Summer 1949.\" 222 Native catechists uere of greater importance in church plans to spread the gospel. Expanding on the practises of the earlier century, the Anglican Church continued to recruit and support Indian f i e l d uork-ers. The use of catechists seemed especially expedient given the na-tives' continuing mobility and the church's i n a b i l i t y to expand perma-nent missions. While some hoped this system uould assist evangelical efforts, practical considerations governed the reliance on native lay leaders. The church expected catechists to supplement the lou stipends through hunting and trapping. The fear that native leaders might rely too heavily on non-guaranteed church remuneration led Bishop Bompas to urite to John Martin of Mayo that \"You u i l l not be expected to give a l l your time to your uork at the Church but u i l l be free part of the time to hunt and trap.\"* 6 The church clearly feared encouraging native depen-dence on limited diocesan coffers. Catechists typically received only a token remuneration. 4 7 more to indicate their status to the community than as an alternative means of Bupport. Anglican clergy used the na-tive lay and ordained leaders primarily to f i l l in the blanks on the Yu-kon mission map. holding l i t t l e faith in their a b i l i t y to effectively spread the gospel. 4 6 4 6 AC, Martin F i l e , Bishop to John Martin, 29 July 1935; GSA. M74-3, l-A-4, Semple to Stringer, 10 July 1932; AC, Amos Njootli F i l e , Stringer to Njootli, 26 January 1917. 4 7 \"Jim,\" uho may have been James Pelissa, received only $50 a year -and had trouble collecting that amount. His problem uas compounded by the fact that his i n i t i a l agreement uas uith the Mackenzie River Diocese. AC, Suanson F i l e , Cecil Suanson to Bishop, 30 July 1914. 4 8 In 1922, only Rev. Julius Kendi at Mayo received a f u l l salary ($550). Native catechists received less: John Tizyz, Old Crou, $100; Joseph Kunnizzi, Peel River, $100; Richard Martin, Porcupine, $75; Johnathan Wood, Moosehide, James Pelissa, Ross River, $50. AC, MSCC #2 f i l e . Stringer to Gould, 16 February 1922. 223 Catechists varied even more widely in effectiveness than missionaries and students. Some. such as Amos Njootli. remained active for many years but had only marginal influence on their congregations. Njootli's personal problems, the nature of which i s only hinted at in the records, seriously undermined his mission. 4 3 Others similarly allowed domestic turmoil to affect their work as lay leaders. The Reverend A.C. McCullum noted from Old Crow in 1930 that quarrels between catechist \"Big Joe\" (Kikavichick) and his wife created dissension within the band. 3 0 Several native catechists enjoyed wide respect for their devotion. i f not their complete theological understanding. Joseph Kunizza. John Tizya and es-pecially Reverend Julius Kendi and his wife enjoyed considerable respect within the missionary f r a t e r n i t y . 3 1 More than any other. John Martin exemplifies the problems and pros-pects of u t i l i z i n g native catechists. Raised in Fort McPherson and giv-en early Christian training. Martin responded to Bishop Stringer's re-quest that he take up residence among the natives of Ross River. Discouraged by his ecclesiastical immobility through the 1930's and the limited attention given his charge by church superiors. Martin p e t i -tioned for ordination as a minister in 1932. 3 2 Bishop Geddes visited his 4 3 AC, Amos Njootli F i l e . Stringer to Njootli. 26 January 1917; AC. Tot-ty F i l e . Totty to Bishop. 17 September 1918; AC. Amos Njootli F i l e , Njootli to Bishop, 1 April 1917; Regarding his death in 1923, see AC, Eunice Njootli F i l e , Eunice Njootli to 1.0. Stringer, 20 February 1923. so AC, R.H.. F.Y., and Old Crow F i l e , A.C. McCullum to Stringer, 23 July 1930. s i AC, M.S.C.C. #2 F i l e , Stringer to Gould, 16 February 1922; AC, Buck F i l e , F.H. Buck to Superintendent, Church Camp Mission, 9 September 1920. S 2 AC, John Martin F i l e , Martin to Gaddes (Gaddis), 10 January 1934. 224 station two years later. but to Martin's dismay refused ordination. Martin appealed once again. \"I not trouble about uhere I go and stay but I uant ordain Priest that a l l 1 uant I told him (Geddes) and he told me I got to go to school for that.\" His plaintive plea. \"1 uant to be Preist Please archbiship t e l l me uhat am urong I may try learn more.\" cut to the heart of the catechist's problems uithin the church. S 3 Inade-quately trained, typically functioning uithout supervision in isolated corners of the territory, often far removed from families and friends, the catechists had feu opportunities for upuard mobility. Martin clear-ly sought improved remuneration and social status, among uhites as much as uithin the native communities. Inadequate education prevented him and others from achieving that goal. Martin moved to Mayo after his sti n t in Ross River. Rebuffed from advancement uithin the clergy, he seemed preoccupied uith the possible material benefits of his position. Martin demanded a neu set of furni-ture for his house, befitting his position as a community leader, and ran up considerable debts at the local Taylor and Drury store. His su-periors repeatedly pointed out that material comforts and \"uhite man's grub\" did not go uith the post. and directed him to pay more attention to his trapping. 5 4 Requesting that Reverend Hughes of Mayo oversee the catechist, the Bishop urote \"You must remember that John Martin is only a native and uhile in many respects he may be a highly intelligent na-tive yet in many situations he u i l l have the outlook and behaviour of a 5 3 GSA, M74-3, l-A-4, Martin to Stringer. 16 July 1934. 5 4 AC. Sovereign F i l e . Coldrich to Bishop Sovereign. 16 February 1932; AC. Martin F i l e , Bishop to Rev. John Martin, 29 July 1935. 225 c h i l d . \" 5 5 His superiors thought l i t t l e of Martin's theological compe-tence. His task uas to ensure that prayers* services* and hymns - the forms but not the substance of Christianity - remained in front of the Indians. S B The Anglican clergy uere a mixed lot* including missionaries of such diverse talents as William Bompas and Benjamin Totty* summer students of unquestioned enthusiasm and matching naivete* and native catechists uith the a b i l i t y of Julius Kendi and the problems of John Martin. Compound-ing this obvious diversity uas the lack of continuity in religious lead-ership. With the exception of B. Totty. whose infirmity ensured that he remained at Moosehide. uhite missionaries moved regularly. Cecil Suan-son's experience (only tuo years among the L i t t l e Salmon Indians before being assigned to a uhite pastorate in Whitehorse) uas not uncommon. Reflecting later on his experience. Suanson wrote. I f e l t that I should have been l e f t there ( L i t t l e Salmon) for at least seven years. It takes time to develop a trusting re-lationship uith the Indians, and a lifetime to learn and use the language. The strength of the Roman Catholic missions i s the continuity of pastorate by the fathers of the OMI. the missionary arm of the church. Short-term missionaries are useless. 5 7 Transiency* a malady endemic throughout Yukon society* affected the missionary corps. A constantly shifting church hierarchy ensured rapid movement through the ranks and constant mobility in the f i e l d . The brief and often ineffectual forays of the summer students into the back 5 5 AC* Hughes Fil e * Bishop of Yukon to Mr.Hughes* 22 August 1935. 5 5 The change in the Mayo band after his death suggests he had a posi-tive impact. RG10* vol. 6478* f i l e 935-1 p t . l . Binning Report* 7 July 1937. 5 7 Cecil Suanson* The Days of My Soiourning. p. 35. 226 country represented only an extension of a problem besetting the entire church effort. Catechists stayed longer? particularly i f appointed to serve among their own people? but their insufficient preparation and generally unsophisticated comprehension of Christianity negated their longevity. Mobility? lack of language fluency? even uith the b i b l i c a l translations provided by McDonald? Bompas? Canham? Hauksley and others? highlighted the variations in missionary talents and limited the church's a b i l i t y to transmit their message. Their effort and i n s t i t u -tional commitment remained constant? but i t is doubtful that much of the message got through. The nature and extent of native conversion is? of course? central to assessing the consequence of religious contact. Despite impressive bap-tismal l i s t s and laudatory accounts of their oun accomplishments? the missionaries recognized their uork to be incomplete. s s Clergymen throughout the Yukon readily acknouledged the persistence of native s p i r i t u a l beliefs and superstitutions through to 1950. The missionaries could? and did? point to the natives' adherence to Christian r i t u a l s and a general acceptance of uestern. moral standards. Most native groups adopted appropriate marital ceremonies? but only i f a clergyman uas con-veniently available. Even then? missionaries disparagingly noted that such old practises as polygamy? trading of uives and discarding of part-ners continued. As Carmacks summer missionary Max Humphrey noted in ss RG10? vol. 5478? f i l e 930-1? Additional Memo re: Teslin Lake Indi-ans? c. February 1909. As part of a general survey in 1908-1909 con-ducted by the Anglican Church and Canadian government to ascertain the need for increased education and mission uork? police officers and missionaries uere requested to provide summaries of conditions among local Indians. Virtually a l l reports e x p l i c i t l y note the con-tinuing importance of native religion. See the reports in AC? Neu Series. 227 1932* \"The Indians are quick to notice and respond to uhat is usually knoun as 'practical Christianity' but uhat is hard to overcome is the apparent apathy of the average Indian in church.\" 5 9 The persistence of native customs should not be surprising. Despite the substantial efforts? the Anglican missions had been uneven. Many natives? particularly in southern districts? sau missionaries infre-quently. Language d i f f i c u l t i e s and lack of understanding prevented these sporadic contacts from bearing much f r u i t . Only in the Porcupine River area (and to a lesser extent at Moosehide and Dauson) could the church claim notable success. Most of the native catechists? including Ttssiettle? Richard and John Martin? Amos Njootli? Joe Kikavichick? J u l -ius Kendi and John Tizya came from the Fort McPherson-Porcupine River district? an area long served by the redoubtable Robert McDonald. 6 0 Even here? houever? shamanism and a variety of non-Christian practises re-ap-peared reg u l a r l y . 6 1 Acknouledging their i n a b i l i t y to provide sufficient pastoral care for the Indians? the clergy accepted the more superficial 5 5 AC? Diocese-Synod File? Humphrey to Your Lordship and Members of the Synod? 1932. Examples of persistence are far too numerous to l i s t . Most summer student reports and many internal documents of the Angli-can Church echoed Humphrey's claim. See also letter from Rev. C.C. Brett? Across the Rockies? vol. 5? no. 7 (July 1914). Amy Wilson? a nurse in the southern Yukon in the late 1940's and early 1950's? not-ed repeated instances of dependence on old s p i r i t u a l beliefs? espe-c i a l l y as regards healing. A. Wilson? No. Man Stands Alone (Sidney: Grey's Publishing? 1966). That ethnographers such as C. McClellan uere able to piece together such a vivid reconstruction of pre-con-tact beliefs i s a further indication of persistence. McClellan? My. Old People Say. 6 0 There uas a ten year hiatus following the departure of the Hudson's Bay Company from Rampart House in 1893. K. Coates? The Northern Yu- kon? pp. 41-42. 6 1 See various comments from Lucy? a nurse sent to Old Crou in the late 1940's. GSA? Lucy papers. 228 re-ordering of sp i r i t u a l practises. Though never abandoning the hope for f u l l conversion, missionaries aimed instead for outward conformity to church practises. Marriages, baptisms, burial rites, acceptable mor-al and social behaviour represented the clergy's goals and the limits of their accomplishments. Their hope for meaningful conversion - a f u l -fillment of the Christian s p i r i t believed inherent in a l l men - rested on the preliminary restructuring of religious practises and social be-haviour. P r a c t i c a l i t i e s , houever, ensured that missionaries tolerated such apparently minor deviations as burying personal effects uith the deceased. As Reverend Ashbee noted, \"It uas a harmless belief on their part and shoued they had, at any rate, a belief in l i f e beyond the grave.\" s z It also il l u s t r a t e d the native interpretation of l i f e here-after remained prevelant. The conversion process proved much slouer than the Anglican missionaries expected. 5 3 Realism forced upon the missionaries an uncharacteristic latitudina-rianism in dealing uith deviations from Christian practise. Though a reflection of their faith in the in e v i t a b i l i t y of f u l l adoption of Christianity, i t also il l u s t r a t e d a native desire to maintain their oun s p i r i t u a l i t y . The resulting Anglican f l e x i b i l i t y uas amply demonstrated in 1917 uhen a Champagne native, Johnny Ned, attracted a cult following. Claiming to have had a vision and being miraculously blessed uith the a b i l i t y to speak English (he attended day school for several years), Ned preached a random amalgam of native and Christian beliefs. The charis-5 2 AC, Ashbee F i l e , Ashbee to Lord BiBhop, 8 July 1926. 5 3 On religious persistence generally, see E. Spicer, Cycles of Conquest H.W. Bouden, American Indians and Christian Missions (Chicago: Uni-versity of Chicago Press, 1981). 229 matic evangelist garnered much support in the southern Yukon through a series of revival-style meetings. One service at ChampagneF for exam-ple, attracted over 200 adherents uhile a simultaneous Anglican meeting dreu but a dozen. Ned's crusade withered abruptly, allegedly through the principal's immorality which led to an early death. The Anglican Church looked with disapproval at the threatening sect, but decided not to intervene. As Bishop Stringer commented, \"For the most part his teaching is a l l right. However, he has some fantastic ideas and has mixed up some native superstitions with Christianity. I think i t is better to recognize evertylthing that is good in his teaching rather than attempt to antagonize him.\" 6 4 The Yukon cult experience mirrored similar revitalization movements among other North American Indian groups and indicates the Anglican clergy's hands-off approach to the persistence of native s p i r i t u a l i t y . 6 5 The missionaries' early goal of converting the Indians to Ch r i s t i a n i -ty f e l l to the d i f f i c u l t i e s of northern evangelism and the tenacity of native s p i r i t u a l i t y . Inadequate staff and funding, nomadic Indians and isolation hampered Anglican efforts to restructure native religious be-l i e f s . The Indians became nominal Christians, accepting the outward manifestations of the new faith, but did not surrender their previous religious identity. The two were not incompatible, for the natives ap-parently integrated their interpretation of the s p i r i t u a l world uith the 6 4 AC, Young F i l e , Stringer to W.D. Young, 25 April 1917. GSA, M74-3, 1-0-18, \"Re: Indian reported to have seen visions and spoken in un-knoun languages;\" Suanson, Days of My Sojourning, pp. 40-49; AC, Ben-nett F i l e , Stringer to Bennett, 13 July 1918. 6 5 Upton, Micmacs and Colonists, p. 154; A.F. Chamberlain, \"'Neu Relig-ions' Among the North American Indians\"; A.F.C. Wallace, \"Revitaliza-tion Movements.\" 230 external forms of Christianity. Given the unstructured form of pre-con-tact beliefs, the missionaries' message provided a framework, and r i -t u a l i s t i c form, for dealing with religious matters. The natives were not prepared to surrender their religion, even after almost a century of proselytizing. Linguistic and cultural barriers hampered the efforts of a rather indifferent missionary corps to trans-mit their message. More importantly, native s p i r i t u a l i t y was, in large measure, impervious to attack. It lacked rig i d focus, depended on re-gional and personal interpretation and was inextricably interwoven with the natives' interpretation of the world. The manner in which the na-tives viewed their human, animal and geographic landscape related close-ly to their s p i r i t u a l i t y . Since the Christian missions offered no a l -ternative world view, focusing instead on the limited goal of revising their relationship with the diety, the clergy missed the core of native religion. Indian s p i r i t u a l i t y continued because the natives' world re-mained substantially intact; the two were inseparable, and the Anglican missionaries had done l i t t l e to draw them apart. The Indians remained r i t u a l i s t i c Christians, accepted the forms of the faith, especially in the missionaries' or catechists' presence. More than that, they re-mained Indians, possessors of a different and, to the Europeans, misun-derstood interpretation of the world. B B s e For an excellent application of this concept of sp i r i t u a l persis-tence, see I. Clendinnen, \"Landscape and Uorld View: The Survival of Yucatec Maya Culture Under Spanish Conquest,\" Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 22, no. 3 (1980), 374-393. See also E. Spicer, Cycles of Conquest, 502-539. 2 3 1 Anglican evangelism, therefore, both failed and succeeded in i t s at-tempt to bring the natives into the European uorld. The acceptance of social Christianity, especially a vague acceptance of Christian morali-ty, brought the natives closer to the pattern set doun by the missionar-ies. The continuation of native s p i r i t u a l i t y , re-enforced by the Angli-can's ready admittance that their aboriginal communicants remained unprepared for a closer accommodation uith the larger Canadian communi-ty, ensured that preliminary Christianization did not lead to integra-tion. As late as 1950, native missions and uhite churches remained sub-sta n t i a l l y distinct, a public acknouledgement of the continuing distinctiveness of the two Anglican communities in the Yukon Territory. 232 CHAPTER TEN EDUCATION AND THE YUKON NATIVES As uith religion, the Anglican Church attempted to use education to speed and smooth the natives' integration. Often complementary, occa-sionally contradictory, s p i r i t u a l and secular improvement represented the church's tuo-pronged approach to cultural homogenization. Combining schools uith theology, lacing their curriculum uith Christian values just as they often overburdened their ecclesiastical message uith social instructions, the Anglican clergy believed they could breach the cultur-al and li n g u i s t i c barriers betueen themselves and the Indians. They d i -rected their effort at the children, the ones deemed most vulnerable to cultural transformation. In the realm of education, the Anglican church enjoyed veritable hegemony, proceeding unchallenged until faced uith a significant threat from Roman Catholic and Presbyterian mission schools in the 1930's and 1940's. Administrators intended education, even more e x p l i c i t l y than r e l i g -ion, to assist uith the government's and church's declared goal of as s i -milating the natives. By opening the uorld to an intensely localized, allegedly backward people through the provision of requisite s k i l l s to compete in the modern economy, and highlighting the deficiencies of na-tive society, many hoped that schools uould enable the Indians to move s u i f t l y from their heathen past. Again, the Yukon example i l l u s t r a t e s that enunciated public goals of federal administrators and church lead-ers (and equally, entrenched historical interpretations of their inten-tions) do not equate uith the regional reality. Despite established as-233 similationist goals, Indian schools in the Yukon did not serve as the motor for cultural integration, functioning more as a divisive force within Yukon society and deviating significantly from the national d i -rectives of church and state. Recent historians have abandoned the previously whiggish interpreta-tion of the development of Canadian education. 1 Adopting a more c r i t i c a l line, they question the e l i t i s t assumptions which governed the estab-lishment of schools and examine the role of education in the emergent ca p i t a l i s t system. Of interest here is the body of literature which links economic and educational considerations under the rubric of c u l -tural imperialism. Rejecting the notion of the educator as liberator, proponents argue that schooling served the interests of the internal or external colonizing power, functioning s p e c i f i c a l l y to prepare the une-ducated for participation in the capitalist-merchantile economy. Martin Carnoy, a leading scholar in this f i e l d , argues, \"Western formal educa-tion came to most countries as part of imperial domination. It was con-sistent with the goals of imperialism and the economic and p o l i t i c a l control of the people in one country by the dominant class in another.\" He went on, \"the transformation of unskilled man into valuable input for the c a p i t a l i s t production process became an important function of schooling in c a p i t a l i s t society.\" 2 Educators expressed the values of their own culture and readily depreciated the interests of peoples com-1 For Canadian examples, see Allison Prentice, The School Promoters (To-ronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1977) and M. Katz'and P. Mattingly, eds. Education and Social Change: Themes from Ontario's Past (New York: New York University, 1975). 2 Martin Carnoy, Education as Cultural Imperial ism (New York: David McKay, 1974), 3, 4. 234 monly characterized as backwards. Anglican mission schools, laden with the aspirations of middle class England and Canada, clearly f i t the c u l -tural imperialist mold. More useful than this basic formulation, especially in understanding the impact of western schooling on Indians, is the \"colonial school\" model defined by P. Altbach and G. Kelly. Assessing American missionary schools, they argue that education attempted to remake natives in the image of the white man, simultaneously usurping or degrading Indian so-ciety. The colonial school, replicated in Anglican and Catholic native programs in Canada and s t i l l functioning in Third World countries, aimed to assimilate the Indians in the interests and image of the dominant na-tion state. Such schools typically limited their offerings to language instruction and moral education, thus providing the perceived prerequi-sites for social integration. Flaws inherent in the system, however, limited their success, while broadening the negative impact of the pro-grams. Restricted by the schools' aspirations, educators failed to be-stow s k i l l s necessary for meaningful integration, providing l i t t l e more than a depreciation of native culture. 3 As a result, Indians thus edu-cated found themselves unable to compete in a society for which they supposedly had been s p e c i f i c a l l y groomed, and instead found themselves entrenched in a sub-cultural, dependent r o l e . 4 3 Gail Kelly and P. Altbach, \"Introduction,\" in Altbach and Kelly, Edu- cation and Colonial ism (New York: Longman, 1978), 15. 4 K. Iverson, \" C i v i l i z a t i o n and Assimilation in the Colonized Schooling of Native Americans,\" in Altbach and Kelly, 149-180! M. Szasz, Educa- tion and the American Indian: The Road to Self-Determination, 1928-1933 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 1974). For a forceably argued Canadian example, see A.D. Fisher, \"A Colonial Educa-tion System: Historical Changes and Schooling in Fort Chipewyan,\" Canadian Journal of Anthropology, vol. 2, no. 1 (Spring 1981), 37-45. 235 The colonial school notion provides a useful means of assessing the regularized education provided American Indians, and even the industri-al/boarding school format employed throughout Canada. Uhere national policy clearly dictated curriculum, the over-riding hand of the coloniz-er is easy to i d e n t i f y . 5 The Yukon, houever, provides a more ambiguous setting. Though federally funded, native education remained in the hands of the Anglican church. Limited resources, houever, restricted church efforts to an irregular day school program and several small boarding schools. As uith their s p i r i t u a l mission, the clergy found that problems of funding and staffing interfered uith the application of the preferred program. Far from achieving national assimilationist goals, Anglican education both reflected and assisted the ongoing margi-nal ization of the Yukon Indians. Bible and slate uere v i r t u a l l y indistinguishable from the start. To ensure the continuing transmission of religious teachings, Church Mis-sionary Society workers sought to impart a modicum of literacy to their congregation. Missionaries translated Bibles and attempted to teach a feu Indians in each band to read. 5 Preliminary adult education marked the beginnings of a more sustained effort. Until the 1880's, houever, limited staff prevented the church's educational offerings from proceed-ing beyond basic literacy, and that uas limited to teaching a feu Indi-5 Altbach and Kelly correctly distinguish the importance of a \"national\" component in the formation of a colonial education system (p. 43). The Yukon educational netuork lacked this over-riding control, but did not deviate in theoretical terms from accepted patterns and programs. 5 On Venn, see Jean Usher, \"Apostles and Aborigines: The Social Theory of the Church Missionary Society,\" Histoire Sociale/Social History vol. 7 (April 1971), 28-52; F. Peake, \"Robert McDonald (1829-1913): The Great Unknoun Missionary of the Northuest,\" Journal of the Canadi-an Church Historical Society vol. 17, no. 3 (1975), 71-72. 236 ans to comprehend phonetic translations of b i b l i c a l passages. In the short term, efforts focused on the religious aspects of their mission. Education came later. Inadequate funding slowed any attempted educational reform. Though Bishop Bompas repeatedly argued that \"schooling i s the most hopeful branch of mission uork,\" 7 the C.M.S. refused to provide the required mo-nies. Bompas' problems emanated from his insistence that education be targetted at half-breed children, an acknouledged departure from C.M.S. practise. 8 Answering the London Committee's repeated rejections, Bompas declared \"such half-breed children are liable to become i f untrained and le f t u i l d the bitterest enemies and most formidable obstacles to our mission, uhereas i f trained in the mission schools they may become our foremost and most useful friends.\" 9 Bompas proceeded unassisted and in 1894 had four half-breed g i r l s and tuo Indian g i r l s l i v i n g in his mis-sion house. As the Diocese of Selkirk (Yukon after 1907) expanded through the decade, missionaries attempted to follou Bompas' lead, of-fering rudimentary education for Indian and half-breed children. Limited C.M.S. funding offered l i t t l e security, and church leaders sought more regular backing. Though reluctant to accept any responsi-b i l i t y in the area, in the 1890's the federal government f i n a l l y succum-bed to Bompas' incessant requests. 1 0 Though the Department of Indian Af-7 CMS, Bompas to CMS, 3 January 1894. 9 Bompas uas assisted by his uife and Miss Mel lot. Cody, Apostle of the North, 253-272; Boon, The Anglican Church, 222-223. 9 DIA, vol. 3905, f i l e 3078, Bompas to Minister of the Interior, 18 June 1896. 1 0 ibid., Duncan Scott, Memorandum to Deputy Superintendent General, 2 January 1908. 237 f a i r s retained formal responsibility for approving the opening of schools and the appointment of teachers, in practical terms the Bishop of the Yukon handled most administrative duties. The church retained considerable discretionary power, the only expression of national inter-est being occasional v i s i t s by school inspectors or Indian Agents. Though Bishop Bompas confidently declared that schooling enabled \"them to share in the blessings of c i v i l i z a t i o n . \" the federal government did not hold such expectations. Ottawa reluctantly provided funding, and only after considerable debate within the bureaucracy about the ef-ficiency of church-administered schools. 1 1 The Anglican church, however, demanded that education remain in church hands, an appeal which culmi-nated in a 1908 petition to the Department of Indian Affairs for funding for a native boarding s c h o o l . 1 2 Again, bureaucrats hesitated to entrench Anglican domination. 1 3 but the church's p o l i t i c a l power prevailed. In what became a typical pattern. Frank Oliver. Minister of the Interior, granted the capital and operating budgets while asserting \"I will not undertake in a general way to educate the Indians of the Yukon. In my judgement they can. i f l e f t as Indians, earn a better l i v i n g . \" The con-1 1 GSA. M75-103, Series 2-14. Missionary Society of the Church of Eng-land (MSCC). Memorandum on Indian Mission Schools by R. Mackay. c. 1906. 1 2 AC. New Series, f i l e 1. Notes made from interview uith Rev. Mr. 0'-Meara. re: Indians in the Yukon. 1908. ibid.. f i l e 2. O'Heara to Stringer. 6 January 1909; ibid., f i l e 3. Memo for Archbishop regard-ing Yukon Indians Work. c. 1909; ibid., f i l e 3. Draft: Proposed Re-quests Regarding Indians, c. 1908; ibid.. f i l e 1. Indian Matters: Recommendations of Messrs. Hawksley and O'Heara. c. 1908; ibid., f i l e 3. Requests regarding Yukon Indians, c. 1908; ibid.. A.E. O'Heara to Stringer. 15 January 1908; ibid., f i l e 1. Hemorandum for Minister re-garding Yukon Indians. 1 3 GSA. M74-3. l-A-2. F. Pedley to F.Oliver, 23 January 1908. 238 cessions* were \"done as a matter of charity toward the Indians as poor citizens.\" Oliver wished to prevent a repeat of the maladministration uhich plagued native schooling in southern d i s t r i c t s . 1 4 As one of O l i -ver's subordinates suggested* boarding schools should \"be considered merely as orphanages or refuges for neglected children.\"is Ironically, though the government uished to avoid a systematic education for the na-tives* at least in 1910. public pressure exerted through the Anglican Church ensured at least a minimal level of service. The day school program, expanded from one to five schools in 1910* and the residential school, opened in enlarged quarters in 1911. rested on false, or at best contradictory, premises. The Anglicans desired mission schools, but lacked the requisite financial resources. The fed-eral government provided the money, but remained uncommitted to the need for native education in the d i s t r i c t . To the Department of Indian Af-fairs, the Indians' continuing prosperity eliminated the need to alter social and economic patterns through a sustained educational effort, just as providing industrial s k i l l s uas unsuited to the li k e l y future prospects of the territory. Extensive education raised false expecta-tions, provided unmarketable s k i l l s and cost the government a considera-ble amount of money. The willingness to leave the natives uneducated lasted until the late 1940's. uhen a major s h i f t in federal programming led to more universal schooling. Writing in 1933. Indian Agent and for-mer missionary John Hauksley commented: 1 4 AC. Neu Series, f i l e 2* Notes of Intervieu. 26 February 1909. is DIA. vol. 3906. f i l e 105* 378* Scott. Memorandum to Deputy Superin-tendent General. 21 January 1908. 239 The Indians, owing to changed circumstances, cannot afford to stay around those villages or leave their families while the men go away to hunt and trap. They are compelled to separate into small parties and liv e in the woods for the purpose of hunting and trapping in order to make a living. Opportunities for obtaining work from white people are very much reduced. To in s i s t upon the Indian families staying in the villages (which has been suggested) would mean that some of them would have to receive help in the way of provisions. It appears to be a much wiser policy to keep them independent, earning their own liv i n g , and they are less l i a b l e to get into bad h a b i t s . 1 6 Maintaining only a marginal committment to education, the federal gov-ernment willingly l e f t administration of the schools to the Anglican clergy. Themselves enthusiastic. the missionaries lacked the funding and staff necessary to offer the scale and quality of education desired. The resulting Indian school program varied widely by time and region and accomplished few of the Church's stated goals. Day schools represented the clergy's greatest dilemma. The schools drained the diocese's limited financial resources without showing an ap-preciable return. Continuing native nomadism damaged efforts to sustain educational contact. Instead, the day schools operated opened only when natives were in camp and attended class. Government agents challenged the judiciousness of continued expenditures. \"Whether such intermittent teaching i s of any real value.\" John Hawksley wrote in 1926. \" i s open to question, very l i t t l e progress i s possible under such conditions. i t leads one to doubt whether the expenditure i s j u s t i f i e d . \" 1 7 The clergy responded that education. however flawed. surpassed total neglect. Bishop Geddes claimed that \"As citizens of a Christian country we have a 1 6 YG. vol. 9. f i l e 1491, John Hawksley to A.F. Mackenzie, 29 August 1933. 1 7 YG, vol. 74, Hawksley to J.D. McLean, 20 November 1926; See also ibid., Russell Fernier, Superintendent of Indian Education to J. Hawksley, 27 October 1925. 240 duty or a responsibility to the native peoples of Canada\" that could be discharged only through education. 1 8 Reacting to a 1933 decrease in funding, Bishop Sovereign sanctimoniously declared: In an intensive training, these teachers (summer students) have given to the Indian a knouledge of the uritten and spoken English, a training in simple Arithmetic, a knouledge of the rules of health and sanitation, a love of their country and their Empire and a true loyalty to their Empire's King. More-over, they are taught the Ten Commandments and a knouledge of God, so that they might grou up as lau-abiding citizens. Surely such a training i s beyond estimation. 1 3 Isaac Stringer approached the matter more practically. Regular school attendance, he argued, contradicted the church's and state's de-termination to keep the Indians auay from trading posts and urban cen-tres. The church hoped only that seasonal schools uould impart the seeds of learning uhich the children themselves uould nurture. Limiting his claims. Stringer noted that due \"to the start they received in schools quite a number of Indians in different parts of the Territory are able to urite letters and read a letter, and also uork out a r i t h -metical problems such as are necessary for t r a d i n g . \" 2 0 Stringer also urote to a recent recruit, \"It is important that the regular day school should be held whenever possible; not only does i t benefit the Indians educationally, but also i t i s a means of getting an influence over them, and of doing them good.\" 2 1 Schools remained an extension, not just an 1 8 DIA, vol. 6477, f i l e 925-1, p t . l , W.A. Geddes to Secretary, DIA, 23 January 1934. 1 8 AC, Indian Affairs f i l e , Rt. Rev. A.H. Sovereign to Secretary, D.I.A., 21 August 1933. 2 0 DIA, vol. 6478, f i l e 931-3, p t l . Stringer to Hauksley, 9 February 1925; Stringer to Hauksley, 31 January 1925; AC, Hipp f i l e , Stringer to T. Hipp. 14 February 1930. 2 1 AC. Middleton f i l e . Stringer to Middleton. 25 April 1917. 2 4 1 adjunct* of the religious mission. Combining education and proselytiz-ing allowed the church to distribute the financial burden between Bchool house and mission. They were also the only agency capable of providing schooling given the government's parsimonious budget. The f i r s t day schools operated only in conjunction with permanent missions. The f i r s t such f a c i l i t y , opened at Buxton Mission (Forty-Mile) clearly held some attraction. Bompas claimed an attendance of 30 to 40 people, including many adults, whenever the natives visited the settlement. 2 2 The clergy opened schools at Moosehide when the Gold Rush drew natives to that point and at Carcross when Bompas moved the dioce-san headquarters there. 2 3 Thomas Canham similarly maintained a school, albeit irregularly, while at Fort Selkirk. Extended government financ-ing in 1910 allowed the church to place new schools at Champagne, Teslin and Whitehorse. Over the next forty years, the network expanded and contracted according to the a v a i l a b i l i t y of funds and suitable teachers. The system peaked at nine schools in 1916-1917 and shrunk to as few as two in 1941-1942. Only those attached to mission stations attempted year-round programming, though even there Indian mobility often forced school closures. Moosehide and Selkirk generally maintained a class, but the schools at Champagne, Teslin, L i t t l e Salmon, Old Crow, Ross Riv-er and other locations seldom operated for more than a few months each summer. (Map 8) 2 2 DIA, vol. 3962, f i l e 147, 654-1, pt.2, Bompas to Deputy Minister of the Interior, 15 June 1905; CMS, Bompas to CHS, 20 January 1893. 2 3 ibid. 242 243 Restricted to an erratic network of schools, the Anglican Church con-sistently contacted less than half of the e l i g i b l e student population. I n i t i a l l y , the schools had an important recreational function. the classes f i l l i n g with adults. leaving l i t t l e room for interested c h i l -dren. Though anxious to attract younger pupils, the missionaries none-theless hesitated to discourage any interest in their offerings. During the 1909 summer session, the average age of Teslin students was 20 years and only 6 of 37 were of school age (6 to 16). 2 4 The children who regis-tered, furthermore, attended only sporadically, hampering educational efforts (Tables 20 and 21). TABLE 20 YUKON INDIAN CHILDREN CONTACTED BY DAY SCHOOLS, 1920-1954 (FIVE YEAR AVERAGES) AVERAGE ELIGIBLE % STUDENTS ENROLLED STUDENTS(l) ENROLLED 1920-1924 97.2 253 38.4 1925-1929 140.4 229 51.3 1930-1934 122.6 284 43.2 1935-1939 123.8 347 35.7 1940-1944 70.6 375 18.8 1945-1949 178 310 57.4 1950-1954(2) 230(277) 366 62.8(75.7) (1) Off Department of Indian Affairs Census, taken every f i f t h year. Ages 7-16 (1924), 6-15 (1929, 1934), 7-16 (1939, 1945, 1949, 1954). (2) Figures in brackets represent average annual day school enrollment plus average enrollment of natives in t e r r i t o r i a l public schools. Source: D.I.A. Annual Reports, 1920-1955. 2 4 DIA, vol. 6478, f i l e 930-1, p t . l . Report of Teslin Lake Mission School, 5 July to 19 August 1909. 244' TABLE 21 DAY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, YUKON INDIANS, 1900-1954 (AVERAGES) Average % Schools Boys Gi r l s Total Attendance Attending 1900-04(1) 2.5 24 31 55 31 56.4 1905-09 1.8 14.6 18 32.6 19 58.3 1910-14 5.0 70.2 44.8 115 39.8 34.6 1915-19 6.0 79.4 58 137.4 43.6 31.7 1920-24 4.0 50 47.2 97.2 37.4 38.5 1925-29 6.0 72.8 67.6 140.4 58.8 41.9 1930-34 6.0 56.4 66.2 122.6 53.6 43.7 1935-39 5.6 56.8 67 123.8 64 51.7 1940-44 3.8 32 38.6 70.6 42.2 59.8 1945-49 7.2 80.4 97.6 178 125.4 70.5 1950-54(2) 6.2 105.4 124.6 230 206.7 89.9 (1) Two years only, 1901-02, 1902-03. (2) 47 students per year (average) enrolled in t e r r i t o r i a l public schools are included in the tabulation. Source: D.I.A., Annual Reports, 1900-1955. Not until the implementation of Mother's Allowance and enforced school enrollment in the late 1940's did students attend regularly. Registra-tion data i l l u s t r a t e s that teachers encountered d i f f i c u l t i e s forming classes and ensuring the children came to school. 2 S Inconsistent attendance represented the greatest deficiency in the day school program. Native mobility undermined systematic education, forcing teachers to begin v i r t u a l l y anew each season. The church's i n -sistence that schools be opened whenever possible only compounded the problems. Uhen neu schools opened at Ross River and Rampart House in 2 5 DIA f i l e s contain many day school returns indicating attendance i r -regularities, ibid., Particulars regarding Indians of Teslin Lake by J. Bythell, 3 December 1909. Despite Bythell's enthusiasm for the school program, only 7 of 37 students attended more than half the classes. 16 shoued up for less than 10 of the 33 sessions. 245 1916, the church hired recent graduates of the Carcross Indian Residential School as teachers. The Department of Indian Affairs chal-lenged the appointments and that of Julius Kendi (hired to teach at Mayo though he spoke l i t t l e English) on grounds of academic competency. 28 in defense of Jacob Njootli at Rampart House* Bishop Stringer urote, \"He is perhaps not as uell qualified to teach as most of our teachers, but he uas the best man available. Again, at this place the Indians have to go off for ueeks and months to hunt and fish, so that school can be held only uhen they come to the Post for a feu ueeks!'27 Native teachers uere seen in the same light as catechists; marginal instruction, houever flaued, surpassed neglect. The government reluctantly accepted String-er's appeal, although they provided significantly louer stipends for the three native teachers. The enlistment of summer theology students beginning in the 1920's aided the Church's effort to expand the school netuork. Enthusiastic beyond their experience, the students received assignments to the most poorly-served areas, educationally and religiously. They seldom re-turned to an area more than tuo successive summers, compounding continu-ing educational i r r e g u l a r i t i e s . 2 8 Even permanent missionaries added to the over-all transiency, circulating freely uithin the territory and of-ten departing for friendlier climates. 2 9 Uith the exception of Benjamin 2 8 DIA, vol. 3962, f i l e 147, 654-1, pt.2, J.D. McLean to John Hauksley, 30 August 1916; ibid., Hauksley to McLean, 1 August 1916. 2 7 ibid., Stringer to Hawksley, 24 October 1916. 2 8 AC, New Series, f i l e 4, Hawksley to Bishop of the Yukon, 15 December 1916. 2 9 DIA, vol. 6477, f i l e 925.1, pt . l t A.F. MacKenzie to Arthur Sovereign, 19 June 1933. 246 Totty (28 years), C.C. Brett (17 years at Teslin and Champagne) and Kathleen Martin (an interrupted 8 year s t i n t at Fort Selkirk), teachers seldom remained long in one area. Fear of excessive cost, particularly uith minimal expectation of re-turn, increased the government's reluctance to expand the school net-work. The Indian Agents repeatedly challenged church attempts to open neu establishments and in 1933 even tried to uithdrau funding for three seasonal schools. Uhen Father florrissett of the OMI requested school supplies in 1944 for Buruash, the officer in charge of Uelfare and Training warned, \"These could, of course, be provided, but our experi-ence is that once this i s done ue receive a request shortly afteruards for teacher's salary, and rent of building, furnishings, e t c . \" 3 0 The government's reticence evaporated at uar's end. Neu legislation requir-ing school attendance prodded the Department of Indian Affairs to expand educational f a c i l i t i e s . The government conducted a series of education-al surveys and uhere appropriate, as at Old Crou in 1950, opened neu or long-closed schools. 3 1 Uhile money uas available for day schools, in the post-war period the government favoured the less expensive option of integrating the c h i l -dren into an expanding t e r r i t o r i a l public school system. A l l earlier attempts had been quickly, even rudely, rebuffed. In the early 1930's, several natives attended the Whitehorse public school, but for unknown 3 0 DIA, vol. 6478, f i l e 934-1, p t . l , R.A. Hoey to J.E. Gibben. 4 August 1944; ibid.. J.L. Coudert to Philip Phelan. 17 March 1945. 3 1 AC. Old Crou. E.A. Kirk to O.C. Uhitehouse Sub-Division. 13 November 1947; DIA, vol. 8762, f i l e 906-25-007, p t . l , Extract from Supt. Meek's Quarterly Report, 25 October 1950; ibid., L.J. Lucey to IAB, 30 April 1951. 247 reasons authorities revoked that privilege in 1935. 3 2 A similar effort at Mayo f e l l in the face of exclusionist pressure. The Teslin Joint School, opened in the late 1940's and available to both native and uhite students, offered a more positive portent. 3 3 The Teslin institution pro-vided a model for the following decade, as public schools replaced na-tive day schools. By 1955, 126 native children enrolled in t e r r i t o r i a l public schools uhile 198 attended a duindling number of church-adminis-tered f a c i l i t i e s . 3 4 Seasonality, limited attendance, native mobility and teacher tran-siency effectively undermined the restricted potential of the Anglican day schools. Children maintained only irregular contact uith the educa-tion system even in such comparatively permanent settlements as Moose-hide and S e l k i r k . 3 5 With no standardized instruction and a teaching corps of uidely varying quality, the impact of education uas minimal. Even Archdeacon Canham, active translator and noted missionary, alleged-ly said that he placed \"very l i t t l e faith in the uork that he uas accom-3 2 DIA, vol. 6477, f i l e 925-1, p t . l , W.A. Geddes to Secretary, DIA, 6 February 1935. 3 3 DIA, vol. 6478, f i l e 930-1, p t . l , R.J. Meek to IAB, 16 October 1948, Meek to IAB, 25 January 1950; Extract from Quarterly Report of R.J. Meek, 1 April - 30 June 1949. 3 4 Indian Affairs Branch, Annual Reports, 1950-1956. 35 Moosehide encountered particular d i f f i c u l t i e s attracting suitable teachers. Long-time missionary Benjamin Totty had serious hearing problems; AC, Totty, Stringer to Totty, 26 March 1918; DIA, vol. 3962, f i l e 147, 654-1, pt.2, John Ross to Secretary, DIA, 18 December 1903. In the 1940's, M.J. Bridge operated the school. Parents com-plained about his teaching and the fact that the children uere re-quired to do uork in his home. DIA, vol. 6477, f i l e 927-1, p t . l , Agent's Report, Moosehide Indian School, May 1948, Meek to IAB, 29 June 1949; CA. Clark Report re: Moosehide School, 11 July 1947; AC, Moosehide f i l e #2, Bernard F. Neary to W.R. Adams, 6 July 1949. 248 plishing in the education of these Indian children and claims that they have not made any improvement since a few years.\" 3 6 Acknowledging the limitations? teachers sought to offer only basic literacy and mathemati-cal s k i l l s ? prefering to mingle education with healthy offerings of practical Christianity and moral training. While a few teachers? exhib-iti n g more enthusiasm than insight? waxed eloquently of the transforma-tion they had wrought? 3 7 most admitted their rudimentary accomplish-ments. 3 6 The day school program lived up to the federal government's pessimistic forecast and served primarily as a means of financing an ex-tension of the Anglican missions. Day schools did not accomplish their fundamental purpose. Intended to effect a basic alteration of native knowledge and interests? the schools instead had a negligible impact. At best? the teachers provided a marginal literacy and elementary computational s k i l l s ? but only to a 3 6 DIA? vol. 3962. f i l e 147? 654-1? pt.2? John Ross? Supt. of Schools to F.T. Congdon? 1904. 3 7 DIA. vol. 6477, f i l e 925-1. p t . l , A.H. Sovereign to Secretary. DIA, 21 August 1933; AC, Parsons f i l e , Arthur B. Parsons to Coldrick, 10 November 1933. 3 6 DIA, vol. 3962. f i l e 147, 6544, Ross to Congdon? 18 April 1904, Ross to Secretary, DIA, 16 December 1902; GSA, 1174-3, 1-A-l, Stringer to Secretary, DIA, 7 October 1911; DIA, vol. 6478, f i l e 930-1, p t . l , Stringer to Secretary, DIA, 22 March 1911; DIA, vol. 6042, f i l e 166-10-1, p t . l , Stringer to Hawksley, 19 November 1914; DIA, vol. 4081, f i l e 478, 698, Report of the Forty-Mile Band of Indians, 29 March 1917; DIA, vol. 4081, f i l e 478, 700, Report of the Mayo Band of Indians, 28 August 1917; DIA, vol. 6478, f i l e 931-1, pt.2. Report of Ross River Band of Indians, c 1917; DIA, vol. 6477, f i l e 928, p t . l , Report on the Work of the Pupils of Moosehide Day School, 25 March 1918; DIA, f i l e 927-1, p t . l , Hawksley to Mackenzie? 3 April 1933; AC? Teslin F i l e , \"What Place has the Church in the Lives of Teslin Indi-an, 1932\"; AC, Carmacks-Little Salmon, G.W. Long, \"A Report of the Missionary Work\"; AC, Teslin, \"Report of Teslin Mission, June-Septem-ber 1931\"; AC, Champagne f i l e , L.G. Chappell, \"Missionary Work Under-taken in Champagne Di s t r i c t , Summer 1934\"? AC? Teslin file? \"Report on Teslin Mission? May-June 1932\"; AC? Champagne file? W.S. Jenkins? 249 few of those in attendance. Throughout the territory, the schools func-tioned alternatively as community recreation, drawing most of the adults and many children, or as a baby-sitting service, the children in atten-dance only as long as their parents wished to remain in camp. Few na-tives committed their children to the intermittent program, undermining the church's best efforts on a strained budget. Importantly, the feder-al government did not share the clergy's dismay at the problems faced by the day schools. Bureaucrats and ministers deemed the Yukon an area of slow industrial development and foresaw l i t t l e purpose in providing ex-tensive education for natives l i k e l y to remain as hunters and trappers. In theory, and even according to Anglican intentions, the colonial schools sought to undermine native culture while offering the s k i l l s be-lieved necessary for participation in the dominant society. Without federal moral, legal and financial backing, however, the Anglican church's enthusiastic program f e l l short, having only a marginal impact on i t s native students. The same cannot be said for the Carcross Resi-dential School. To most educators, residential schools offered the best means of ef-fecting a scholastic and cultural transformation of native students. By separating children from family and environment for an extended period, ensconcing them in a \"total institution\" which offered guidance in a l l areas of moral and social development, boarding establishments provided an opportunity to turn out graduates vastly different (administrators said superior) to their parents and fellow natives. Altbach and Kelly's \"Report of Champagne-Klukshu School and Mission, 1936\"; AC, Champagne f i l e , A.W. Gascogyne, \"Report upon the present state of the Champagne (Y.T.) mission f i e l d , summer 1949.\" 250 description of the colonial school spoke directly to the residential institution? for i t uas this educational situation that theoretically allowed educators to shape their students according to an ordained mold.33 Though the Anglican Church's Carcross Residential School lacked much of the cultural imperialism typically associated uith such f a c i l i -ties? i t had a noticeable impact on those students passing through i t s portals. Bishop Bompas established a boarding school at Forty-Mile in 1891? although most of his students uere orphans or abandoned c h i l d r e n . 4 0 Uhen Bompas transferred his diocesan base to Carcross in 1900? he i n i t i a l l y l e f t his small school behind? although he continued to pursue the pro-ject. Convinced of the need for a better boarding school? he appealed to the Department of Indian Affair s : I am wishing nou to apply to the Government to open a neu In-dian Boarding School for orphan and other Destitute Indian children either at Uhitehorse or here at Caribou Crossing and to maintain i t themselves. I think this the only uay to make the remnant of the Indian race in the next generation useful members of s o c i e t y . 4 1 The government rejected the request. Bompas then transplanted the For-ty-Mile school to Carcross? offering a foster home to approximately tuo dozen children each year. Uhen Bompas died in 1906? John Hauksley as-sumed responsibility for the school and the neu Bishop? Isaac Stringer? continued his predecessors' campaign for government assistance. 4 2 3 3 Altbach and Kelly? \"Introduction.\" 4 ° Boon? The Anglican Church? 222.223; Cody? Apostle? 253-273; PAC? Bou-en Papers? \"Incidents in the Life of R.J. Bouen?\" p. 100. 4 1 DIA? vol. 3962? f i l e 147? 654-1? pt.2? Bompas to,Hon. J.H. Ross? 7 March 1903. 4 2 Cody. 310-336; YTA. Preliminary Manuscripts. \"History of Chouttla 2 5 1 The Anglican Church's appeal for a boarding school came at a most inauspicious time. From 1871, uhen the federal government signed i t s f i r s t treaty uith the Indians of uestern Canada, education and negotiat-ed settlements uent hand in hand. Modelled after eastern programs, the government organized boarding schools on reserves and, in 1883, opened an industrial school at Battleford. \"It is self-evident,\" the govern-ment confidently declared. \"that the prime purpose of Indian education i s to assist in solving uhat may be called in the Indian problem, to e l -evate the Indian from his condition of savagery, to make him a self-sup-porting member of the state and eventually a c i t i z e n in good stand-ing.\"* 3 The goals remained intact for a long time but by the early 20th Century many educators and bureaucrats acknowledged the apparent f a i l -ings of the boarding-industrial school format. Typically wary of increased expenditures, the government especially feared further involvement in an allegedly flawed experiment. Senior Department of Indian Affairs o f f i c i a l Frank Pedley suggested a more flexible program, arguing that \" i t would seem to be good policy at this School\", M. Gibbs, \"History of Chouttla School,\" YTA, Acc. 82/77. David Greig, \"The Anglican Mission Schools and the Beginning of the Ca rcross Residential School from 1890 to 1907,\" in J.A. Wilson, \"Schooling of a Distant Frontier,\" (unpublished manuscript) YTA, AC 82/526. * 3 GSA 75-103, Series 2-14, MSCC, F. Pedley, Deputy Superintendent Gen-eral of Indian Affairs to Rev. L. Norman Tucker, 21 March 1906. J. Gresko, \"White 'Rites' and Indian 'Rites': Indian Education and Na-tive Responses in the West, 1870-1910,\" in A.W. Rasporich, ed. West- ern Canada Past and Present (Calgary: McClelland and Stewart, 1975), 163-182. Gresko argues that the Qu'Appelle Industrial School re-en-forced Indian identity and stimulated native culture awareness. The point i s re-enforced in Paul Tennant, \"Native P o l i t i c a l Organization in B r i t i s h Columbia, 1900-1969: A Response to Internal Colonialism,\" B.C. Studios, no. 55, (Autumn 1982), 3-49. Many of the leaders of the native movement came out of the residential school environment. 252 juncture to attempt to devise a better system of Indian education, applying to each l o c a l i t y methods uhich uould best achieve the desired res u l t . \" * 4 Particular concern centred on the schools' i n a b i l i t y to pro-vide effectively for the \"after l i f e of the Indian.\" Advanced technical training of literary s k i l l s served l i t t l e purpose for native children destined for l i f e on a reserve or a trapline. The Anglican church ac-knowledged the deficiences of the institution. A special committee of the Missionary Society of the Church of England in Canada (M.S.C.C.) re-commended that teaching be limited to basic literacy and computational s k i l l s plus \"such additional uork as u i l l f i t the child to take his place as a uorkman in the lo c a l i t y in uhich he is to l i v e . \" 4 5 Minister of the Interior Frank Oliver offered more ex p l i c i t c r i t i c i s m . In de-fense of the (less expensive) day schools, Oliver argued: My belief i s that the attempt to elevate the Indian by sepa-rating the child from his parents and educating him as a uhite man has turned out to be a deplorable fail u r e . . . . The mutual love betueen parent and child i s the strongest influence for the betterment of the uorld, and uhen that influence is abso-lutely cut apart or is deliberately intended to be cut apart as in the education of Indian children in industrial schools the means taken defeats itself....To teach an Indian child that his parents are degraded beyond measure and that whatever they did or thought was wrong could only result in the child becoming, as the ex-pupils of the industrial schools have be-come, admittedly and unquestionably very much less desirable element of society than their parents who never saw the schools. 4 5 4 4 Pedley to Tucker, 21 March 1906. 4 5 GSA, Memorandum on Indian Missions and Indian Schools, submitted on behalf of the Special Indian Committee of M.S.C.C, 14 March 1906. The concurrance of the Anglicans, Presbyterians and Methodist (the Roman Catholics refused to participate in an inter-denominational conference) with Pedley's comments is found in GSA 75-103, MSCC, \"Memorandum of a Conference,\" 24-27 March 1908, S.H. Blake, Chairman. 4 5 GSA 75-103, Series 2-14, MSCC, Frank Oliver to A.C.C., 28 January 1908. V 2 5 3 While both the federal government and the M.S.C.C. viewed boarding schools with disfavour. Bishop Stringer proceeded with his appeal. The 1907 Synod of the Diocese of the Yukon endorsed the p r o j e c t . 4 7 as did T.G. Bragg. Superintendent of Schools for the Yukon. 4 8 Resistance at the national level persisted nonetheless. J.L. McLean. Secretary for the Department of Indian Affairs. shared Oliver and Pedley's reservations. He wrote. \"The immediate protection of Indian children has too often been considered as the chief end in view, not the final results that are to be achieved and the usefulness of the education to be imparted to en-able the children to support themselves when they are thrown upon their own resources.\" 4 8 McLean directed B.C. Indian School Inspector A.W. Vo-wel 1 and A.E. Green to v i s i t the Yukon and assess the need for such a f a c i l i t y . Their report l i k e l y met with some resistance in Ottawa for their 1908 submission seconded Stringer's request. 5 8 Oliver reluctantly complied with the recommendations, although he re-mained personally unconvinced. Completed in 1911 and located on a small farm near Carcross. the f a c i l i t y i n i t i a l l y housed only thirty students, an increase over the twenty formerly handled in Bompas' quarters. The new building, complete with dormitory and school f a c i l i t i e s , remained in 4 7 Vancouver School of Theology. Anglican Church Archives; Journal of the Synod of the Diocese of the Yukon. Whitehorse. 1907; Boon. p. 228. 4 8 YTA. Record Group 1 (YRG 1). Series 4, vol. 13. f i l e 308. T.G. Bragg to Hon. Alexander Henderson. Commissioner. 14 December 1907. 4 8 DIA, vol. 3962. f i l e 147. 654-1. J.D. McLean to A.W. Vowell. 4 April 1908. The comments came directly from a subordinates letter, ibid.. Accountant. Memorandum to Deputy Superintendent General. 20 February 1908. 5 8 YTA. AC. New Series, f i l e 2. Vowell and Green to Secretaries. DIA. 14 April, 1908. 2 5 4 use until destroyed by f i r e in 1939. The school operated out of several different temporary quarters until 1954 when, after protracted debate as to the best s i t e for the institution, the government erected a 120 stu-dent structure. The Anglican clergy had the boarding school long de-manded, but problems persisted. They encountered d i f f i c u l t y securing students, had d i f f i c u l t y defining the appropriate educational and social program, and struggled to assist their graduates' re-entry into the In-dian communities. 5 1 In attempting to f i l l the school, the clergy sought to satisfy two divergent g o a l s . 5 2 Administrators wished to maintain Bompas' original purpose of providing a home for the destitute and orphaned, but also hoped to use the school as a training ground for the future leaders of the Yukon Indians. Removed from the baleful influences of a backward home environment and cloistered from the insidious depredations of avar-icious whites, boarders would be educationally and morally prepared to elevate families and communities. The school, i t was hoped, uould not only improve the students, for they in turn uere to serve as instruments of \" c i v i l i z a t i o n \" for the dispersed native population. To meet the dual aspirations, clergy attempted to locate the poor and deprived, but also 5 1 ibid., Notes of Intervieu, 26 February 1909. 5 2 Gibbs, \"History of Chouttla School\"; Church of England in Canada, Chouttla Indian School (Missionary Society, Indian Residential School Commmission, n.d.); A. King, The School at Mopass (Toronto: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967), 36-38; The latter, a study of the school in the 1960's, contains sketchy and unreliable historical sections. On the debate to relocate the school, see DIA, vol. 6479, f i l e 940-1, pt.2. McGill to Deputy Minister, 25 November 1942, Geddes to McGill, 11 November 1942; AC, Carcross Property f i l e ; DIA, vol. 8762, f i l e 906/25-1-001, C. Clark, \"An Educational Survey uith Reference to the Relocation of Carcross Indian Residential School,\" 8 September 1950. 255 sought to recruit \"the best both in health and i n t e l l e c t . \" 5 3 Marketing the school proved more d i f f i c u l t than anticipated. Ongoing missionary efforts to \"procure children\" directed special attention at the off-spring of influential Indians. Bishop Stringer not surprisingly expressed dismay that \"some of our best and most influential Indians ob-ject to sending their children away to school.\" 5 4 Stringer carefully cultivated his territory-wide contacts, often allowing special condi-tions to win adherents. Administrators allowed the daughter of trader Poole Field to enroll in Carcross in 1918 because. as Stringer wrote, her father had \"an immense influence over the Liard and Pelly Indians, and can do a great deal in getting children for our schools.\" 5 5 Stringer and the Anglican clergy expended considerable energy in securing such well-placed children. but often found parents unwilling to part with their off-spring. Convincing parents to accept the prolonged separation proved to be a major stumbling block in many instances. Children from the Stewart and Porcupine River areas. for example, stayed away for up to ten years as the school and the government would not authorize summer vacations to such distant posts. The affective bond between parent and child proved a serious r e s t r a i n t . 5 5 but other factors also impinged upon the decision 5 3 History of Chouttla School. 12. 5 4 AC. Uestgate f i l e . Stringer to Dr. Uestgate. 19 April 1923. 5 5 AC. Acquisition 79/52. Stringer to Johnson. 24 August 1918. He also arranged for the entry of half-breed Jeff van Gorder from Ross River at the same time. 5 5 AC. New Series, f i l e 2. Additional particulars regarding L i t t l e Salm-on Indians. June 1908; DIA. vol. 6479. f i l e 940-1. p t . l . Hawksley to McLean. 16 April 1923. 256 to enrol students. Children had an important economic function in the Indians' nomadic lifestyle? particularly as they entered their teens? helping with harvesting or camp operations. Expectation of economic hardship? therefore? added to parental reluctance to accept the church's appeal. Occasionally children rebelled against their enforced depar-ture? resisting the unknown in favour of the security of family. 5 7 Such actions typically succeeded? but most children seem to have simply ac-cepted their lot. The missionaries' efforts succeeded to a certain extent? as they kept the school f i l l e d close to capacity. A number of parents obviously agreed with the clergy's argument that their children's future lay uith literacy? advanced training and religious guidance. Many native catec-hists? already influenced by the church's teachings? sent their children to the schoo l . 5 5 The attempt to attract the \"better\" Indians? houever? f e l l far short of i t s goal. I n i t i a l reticence increased in the 1920's uhen a series of deaths in the school and numerous stories about poor food and cramped quarters undermined the institution's respectability. The f a c i l i t y did considerably better as a home for destitute and or-phaned children. Betueen 1930 and 1950? a minimum of 30% of a l l neu students came from identified situations of family distress (Table 22). 5 7 AC? AC 79/52? Stringer to Johnson. 24 August 1923. 5 5 Re: the children of Amos Njootli. see AC. Amos Njootli f i l e . String-er to Njootli. 26 January 1947. 257 TABLE 22 STATUS OF PARENTS, NEW REGISTRANTS, CARCROSS RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL, 1930-1950 Both Al ive Both Alive Destitute(1) Mother Dead Father Dead Both Dead Total % Family Distress 1930-44 1945-50 70 69 4 2 8 8 18 18 7 2 107 99 34.6 30.3 Source: Registration documents, Carcross School, RG10, vol. 6481, f i l e 940-10, pt.4 to pt.6. The collection of registration forms does not ap-pear to be complete. (1) Destitution as can be ascertained from supporting documents. The number is l i k e l y understated considerably. Missionaries, government agents and police officers readily identified chldren in need of special care and ensured that they uere sent to the scho o l . 5 9 The Carcross School, then, continued to meet Bompas' original purpose, providing a home for many children uho otheruise may have suf-fered. It uas less successful in attracting the selected children uhom the clergy hoped uould serve as leaders for the Yukon Indians. 5 0 That despite missionary recruitment, care of the destitute and ef-forts by government agents to secure students the school often had ex-cess capacity indicates continuing reservations among the Indians. Epi-5 9 See for example correspondence re: the Chitzi children of Old Crou, sent to the school follouing their parents separation, DIA, vol. 6481, f i l e 940-10, pt.5, J.E. Gibben to Secretary, IAB, 23 May 1945, 16 July 1946. There uas some concern expressed that some parents uould \"dump\" their children on the school's care. AC, Barlou f i l e , Barlow to Bishop of Yukon, 18 March 1925. Such fears proved general-ly unfounded. 5 0 DIA, vol. 6479, f i l e 940-1, p t . l , Hauksley to McLean, 16 April 1923; YG, vol. 9, f i l e 1491, pt.4, Hauksley to McLean, 15 October 1929; DIA, vol. 6481, f i l e 940-10, pt.5, Meek to Welfare and Training, 17 January 1947. On one occasion, agents received instructions to re-cruit children from close to Carcross to reduce transportation costs. DIA, vol. 6481, f i l e 940-10, pt.4, Philip Phelan to Commissioner, RCMP, 9 September 1940. 258 demies* including an outbreak of influenza uhich claimed four lives in 1920, frequently hit the school. The death of children at the i n s t i t u -tion uas not uncommon, although they often succumbed to tuberculosis or other diseases contracted long before their a r r i v a l . The school's repu-tation as a dangerous place for children gained greater currency uith each death and serious i l l n e s s , impeding further recruitment e f f o r t s . s i School administrators nonetheless succeeded in attracting a substantial, though seldom complete, complement of students up to 1950. The i n -crease in attendance noticeable in the 1940's i l l u s t r a t e s increased school capacity and, after 1945, the federal government's introduction of compulsory education. B Z Registration records reflect the church's d i f f i c u l t i e s in attracting suitable candidates. Ideally, educators uanted children as young as possible and sought to drau them equally from around the territory. Such a policy, they hoped, uould have the greatest possible impact and uould ensure that trained leaders uould disperse throughout the t e r r i t o -ry. Although children as young as six years (and occasionally younger in the case of orphans) came to the schools, the average age at entry ranged from nine to eleven years. Most came to Carcross uith l i t t l e ed-ucational background, except for temporary sessions at the day school.(Table 23) s i \"History of Chouttla School.\" p. 11; DIA, vol. 6479, f i l e 940-1, p t . l , Stockton to Deputy Superintendent General, 19 November 1912; King, The School at Mopass. sz DIA, vol. 6481, f i l e 940-10, pt.6, B. Neary to R. Meek, 19 August 1949. 259 TABLE 23 CARCROSS SCHOOL ENROLLMENTS* CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDENTS, 1930-1950 Recorded No Previous Registra- Average School- Less than Hore than Resident-tions Age ing(l) One Year(2) One Year i a l 1930-34 40 9.1 25 7 5 3 1935-39 30 9.2 14 11 5 0 1940-44 51 10.8 29 10 4 8 1945-50 99 9.3 67 0 28 4 (1) Either identified as no previous schooling or simply no entry in the relevant blank on the registraton form. (2) Less than one season in a native day school. Source: Same as Table 22. Registrations in the pre-1944 period suggest that efforts to bring stu-dents from around the territory f e l l short. The southern d i s t r i c t s ac-counted for most of the registrants, with more than 70% coming from Whi-tehorse, Teslin, Champagne, Carcross and Atlin. Importantly, children from these areas typically returned to their families each summer, main-taining at least minimal contact while enrolled in school. Following the introduction of compulsory education in 1945 (the element of compul-sion was applied gradually), the geographic distribution shifted. Be-tween 1945 and 1950, less than half (45%) came from the south while Old Crow, uhich had provided no children for the school in the preceeding fifteen years, sent tuenty-tuo, or almost one quarter of a l l neu regis-trants. Indeed, the total number of students from the area north of Fort Selkirk increased almost three times (17 to 49).(Table 24) 260 TABLE 24 ORIGINS OF NEW REGISTRANTS, CARCROSS RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL, 1930-1950 1930-44 1945-50 1930-44 1945-50 1930-44 1945-50 Carcross 30 8 Al t i n 2 0 Peel 6 0 Carmacks 8 2 Tahltan 8 0 Pelly 2 0 Tagish Big Salmon 2 0 Selkirk 5 14 2 0 Whitehorse 18 15 Mayo Kluane Moosehide Teslin Champagne Old Crou 2 6 2 1 4 7 17 16 9 1 0 22 Source: Same as Table 22. Government intervention, and not relentless church appeals, provided the impetus for uider enrollment. It uas not until after 1945 that the school attracted the number and range of students administrators had long anticipated. Inconsistent registration failed to deter the Anglican Church from i t s educational objectives. To the clergy, the school promised to \"ele-vate\" the Yukon Indians. Despite their expectations, church boarding schools approached the education component of their program uith limited goals. Neither government nor clergy sau the Carcross f a c i l i t y as e i -ther an industrial school or a scholastic institution. When recommend-ing construction of the f a c i l i t y B r i t i s h Columbia School Inspectors Vo-uell and Green suggested: At the present time, the simplest form of education, such as reading, writing and arithmetic, uith instruction as to hou-sekeeping, sanitary measures, and, i t may be, carpentry, is a l l that, in our opinion, is necessary; to go beyond that uould be rather to unfit them for their condition in l i f e i n -stead of aiding them to overcome such d i f f i c u l t i e s as may be 261 met uith in their struggle for existence. 6 3 Educators did not intend to turn out industrial uorkers. Instead, in recognition of the fact that most uould return to families and a har-vesting l i f e s t y l e , different p r i o r i t i e s took effect. Instead of \"uhite\" Indians, the school sought to make \"better\" Indians, schooled in the ne-cessities of health, hygiene, nutrition. Christian morals and the Prot-estant uork ethic, yet armed uith the requisite s k i l l s of the hunter and trapper. The school program featured an amalgam of education and practical t r a i n i n g . 6 * Instruction in reading, uriting and arithmetic typically oc-cupied the morning, uith the remainder of the day spent on uork around the school and occupational lessons. Boys chopped uood, fished, hunted, uorked in the carpentry shop and attempted agriculture. G i r l s assisted in the kitchen and uith household chores around the school. Teachers expanded beyond such standard instruction, offering the g i r l s training in moccasin making and beaduork, pursuits uhich uould \"be useful and profitable to them in after l i f e . \" There uere deviations from the pat-tern, including the installation of a student-run printing press, used to publish the church quarterly Northern Lights for several years and an expanded industrial uorkshop. On balance, houever, the teachers sought to provide necessary s k i l l s , albeit defined by Anglican clergy, for suc-cessful re-entry into Yukon society. The goal uas not to turn out i n -6 3 AC, Neu Series, f i l e 2, Vouell and Green, to Secretary, DIA, 14 Au-gust 1908. 6 4 For reports of the program in practise, see AC, Carcross School, f i l e #2, Report of E.D. Evans, 29 April 1912; Report of U.T. Tounsend, 31 March 1914; AC, CF. Johnson, f i l e 2, Report of Chas. Johnson, 31 March 1918, plus frequent reports in Northern LightB. 262 dustrial workers for the Canadian economy.55 Work-related instruction did not seek to disrupt existing s k i l l s , but in a major departure from typical native child-rearing practises, the school insisted upon a s t r i c t , often authoritarian code of d i s c i p l i n e . 5 5 Administrators restricted socializing. within the school; under most principals, boys and g i r l s seldom came in contact and enjoyed l i t t l e ac-cess to the nearby Carcross community. As principal from 1918-1920. Dr. Grasset-Smith allowed v i r t u a l l y no interaction between the sexes, a lev-el of control even other missionaries found objectionable. 5 7 Breaches of school regulations, especially regarding theft or malicious damage were dealt with firmly. Facing a rash of thefts in 1940. H.C.J1. Grant cut a l l the hair off any child who broke school ethics. As he succinctly noted. \"It checked stealing at once.\" 5 5 Programming varied as principals and staff passed swiftly through the school, but the ri g i d work sched-ule, limited socializing, firm discipline and forced adherence to the 6 5 The summary i s based on ibid.. \"Report of the Superintendent of Indi-an Education.\" DIA. Annual Report 1909-1910. 351; DIA. vol. 3952. f i l e 147. 654-1. pt.2. Ross to Congdon. 16 April 1904. ROBS to DIA. 2 April 1906. T.C. Bragg to McLean. 1 May 1907. Bragg to Secretary. DIA. 21 April 1910; DIA. vol. 6479, f i l e 940-1. p t . l , Stockton to Deputy Superintendent General, 29 November 1912, Stringer to Secre-tary, DIA, 31 March 1913 (a reply to Stockton's crit i c i s m ) , Hawksley to J.D. McLean, 7 January 1915; ibid., pt.2, Hawksley to A.F. Macken-zie, 25 March 1931; H.C.M. Grant to Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 5 February 1940; AC, Carcross School, f i l e #1, E.D. Evans to J.D. McLean, 29 April 1912; \"Report of Venerable Archdeacon T.H. Canham, 31 March 1913, DIA, Annual Report 1912/13, 618; GSA, 75-103, Series 2-14, MSCC, Collins to Blake, 27 April 1904, 13 March 1909, 11 Febru-ary 1909; Northern Lights (various issues); \"History of Chouttla School.\" 5 5 AC, Johnson f i l e #2, Report of Chas. F. Johnson, 31 March 1918. 5 7 AC, Carcross f i l e , C E . Whittaker to Dr. Smith, 2 July 1919. 5 5 DIA, vol. 6479, f i l e 940-1, pt.2. Grant to Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 5 February 1940. 263 teachers' guidance remained intact. The combination of an apparently flexible instructional program and ri g i d behavioural control uas fraught uith contradictions. Educational concern for the student's later l i f e uas offset by the residential school regime. Social s k i l l s were, at best, not taught. At uorst. they uere repressed. The firm discipline and uork schedules lacked relevance to the natives' mode of l i f e , the environment to uhich they uere shortly expected to return. Most importantly, the concerted effort to improve native hygiene and to inculcate modern uork habits and values of neces-si t y called into disrepute the mannerisms and standards of the c h i l -drens' parents. Ironically, though supposedly prepared to re-entry to native society, the students had been taught to abhore that environment, to look uith disrespect i f not disgust upon their families' customs. Sent home for a variety of reasons. including graduation, parental appeal, disciplinary reasons, or because deemed incapable of learning, the children of the Carcross Residential School faced a traumatic tran-s i t i o n . B S Removed from nomadism to the dormitory confines of the board-ing school, students encountered a d i f f i c u l t task upon re-entry. Ini-t i a l l y , the clergy sau the departure of students as the end of their uork. each child representing a neu mission uorker assisting in the gen-eral improvement of the Yukon Indians. Expectations shortly turned to 6 3 On specific cases, see AC. Moosehide f i l e . Sarah Jane Esau to Bishop. 31 August 1919; DIA, vol. 6481. f i l e 940-10, pt.4, Grant to Deudney, 17 November 1941, Phelan to Grant, 8 August 1938, Grant to Phelan, 24 August 1938, Binning to Secretary, DIA, 11 April 1938, Grant to O.C., RCMP, 2 March 1934, Meek to IAB, 18 August 1947; ibid., pt.4, T.B. Caulkin to Principal, 16 March 1935; Binning to Secretary, DIA, 15 December 1937; DIA, vol. 6481, f i l e 940-10, pt.6, Meek to IAB, 19 Au-gust 1947; ibid., pt.4, Grant to Binning, 12 May 1938; ibid., pt.6. Meek to IAB, 4 April 1949. 264 despair as missionaries came to fear the consequences of attempted return to the r e a l i t i e s of village l i f e . An Old Crow commentator noted in 1926: If Caroline Moses(') g i r l comes back, she is going into the f i l t h i e s t hovel in the country....A d i r t floor, two tiny win-dows which cannot be seen for the f l i e s , stinking meat and fish being a l l over the cabin, the stench unspeakable, six people already there, and now a seventh, and under the willows on the d i r t floor, a l l the f i l t h of a long winter throwing off a deadly effluvia, in a s t i f f ling heat.... Bishop, I plead with you not for humanity's sake, but for the sake of the Dear Lord who redeemed us, not to send a decent g i r l back to untold mis-ery and e v i l , where she cannot help but curse the very day she was born. 7 0 Allowing for morally-inspired excess, the writer makes the point, r e - i t -erated repeatedly, that the Carcross students faced a d i f f i c u l t chal-lenge. While many graduates found i t d i f f i c u l t to meld residential school values with village l i f e , a few did considerably better. The clergy made much of these successes, closely following the careers of such i n -dividuals as James Wood, Jacob Njootli and Maggie Daniels who served the church as day school teachers or native catechists. Several others u t i -lized their school s k i l l s to make a more complete entry into white soc i -ety, s e t t l i n g near Whitehorse or Dawson and even applying for enfran-chisement. 7 1 Others attempted to follow up on their school experience in a less noticeable but perhaps more important way. The church took par-ticular pride in the efforts of one student who, upon returning to Sel-kirk in 1939, effected a radical change in her family's habits and man-7 0 AC, McCullum f i l e , Wood to Stringer, 14 April 1926. 7 1 \"History of Chouttla School,\" 13-14; YG, vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt.5, Hawksley to Mackenzie, 7 March 1930. The government viewed a Car-cross graduate favourably when reviewing applications for enfran-chisement. 265 r i e r s . 7 2 Such successes uere feu, noted by the church a l l the more for their uniqueness. Most of the children found themselves trapped, torn betueen school values and the r e a l i t i e s of camp l i f e . Many simply dis-carded the years of education and returned to their pre-school manne-risms. For others, a longer, more painful transition ensued. As a sum-mer missionary at Carmacks noted in 1934, \"They are potential outcasts of their oun people and are not quite up to the standards of the uhite i n t e l l e c t . In other uords, they are 'betwixt and betueen' - a condition of p i t i f u l helplessness.\" 7 3 Because the success of the residential school program rested on these students, the Anglican clergy maintained a close uatch on their prog-ress. Instead of revelling in the results of the venture, the graduates serving as educators in the camps, the clergy scrambled to protect them from the t r i a l s of readjustment. To preserve their investment, mission-aries endeavoured to keep the young people from the tuin e v i l s of v i l -lage l i f e and uhite dominated urban centres. Ironically, the Church ended up protecting the students from the very environment they uere i n -tended to reform. Most sau the inter-marriage of graduates as the best means of protecting those versed in the neu morality and customs. This attempt to save the one group only highlighted their distinctiveness and 7 2 AC, Selkirk Children Reports, Robinson to Dickson, 7 March 1939. 7 3 AC, Carmacks - L i t t l e Salmon f i l e , Report of Missionary Work carried on from May 23 to August 31, 1934 in and about Carmack. See also AC, Carcross f i l e , C.E. Whittaker to Dr. Smith, 2 July 1919; AC, C F . Johnson, Stringer to C F . Johnson, 31 October 1917; DIA, vol. 3962, f i l e 147, 654-1, pt.2, T.G. Bragg to Secretary, DIA, 23 June 1910; DIA, vol. 6479, f i l e 940-1, pt.2, J.E. Gibben to Clarence, 12 January 1942; YG, vol. 11, f i l e 2335, pt.6, Hauksley to Principal, Chouttla School, 27 May 1933; AC, Old Crou f i l e , HcCabe to Coldrich, 11 Decem-ber 1937; AC, McCullum f i l e , E.D. Wood to Stringer, 14 April 1926. 266 compounded the d i f f i c u l t i e s of re-entry. Nonetheless* missionaries and school administrators encouraged suitable marriages* often over the graduates' p r o t e s t s . 7 4 While few supported one theology student's recom-mendation that a separate village be established for the young people* 7 5 most missionaries privately acknowledged that the residential school children could not be l e f t entirely to their own devices. The ambiguities of the residential school concept were apparent from the start and. prodded by the federal government* the Anglican Church attempted to modify i t s curriculum and training program. The clergy* however* refused to compromise their desire to provide a new outlook on l i f e * health and work - a l l in a Christian framework. To do so would deny their central purpose and their aspirations for the Yukon Indi-ans. 7 6 The problems encountered upon re-entry, therefore. reflected the structure and purpose of the institution. Conflict between long-sepa-rated children and parents, between school acquired ideas and those of the village, was as inevitable as i t proved painful. Designed to pro-vide a generation of leaders for the Yukon Indians. the Carcross School 7 4 AC. Whittaker Papers. Stringer to Archdeacon Whittaker. 20 February 1915! AC. Townsend f i l e . Stringer to Townsend. 28 January 1916; AC* Bennett f i l e . Stringer to Miss Bennett. 13 July 1918. 7 5 AC. Carmacks - L i t t l e Salmon f i l e . Report of Missionary Work. 23 Hay to 31 August 1934. 7 6 The government did not abandon the residential school program. As a result of a Joint Parliamentary Committee on Indian Affairs estab-lished in 1946. i t was decided to expand and alter the boarding school program. The CarcrosB School was enlarged in 1953-54 to ac-commodate 125 students. Anglican control was weakened and f i n a l l y eliminated and a more assimilationist program was implemented. See GSA 75-103. Series 3-3. Indian Work Investigation Committee. 1946-1974. Indian Work Investigation Commission Report of the General Synod. Winnipeg 1946; H. Gibbs, \"History of Chouttla School;\" King, The School at Hopass. 267 instead produced children unsure of their place, uneasy in both native and uhite spheres, unclear as to their future place in Yukon s o c i e t y . 7 7 Residential schools in general and the Carcross f a c i l i t y in particu-lar epitomize the colonial school concept. Altbach and Kelly argue that such institutions \"represented a basic denial of the colonized's past and uithheld from them the tools to regain the future.\" 7 3 Although ad-ministrators attempted to make the program relevant to the student's la-ter l i f e , moral and social programming demanded a rejection of parental values. In sum. the institution failed to provide an obvious route into either native or uhite society. Unlike the day schools, uhich adapted to seasonal movements and remained irregular and v i r t u a l l y inconsequen-t i a l , the Carcross School forced major changes on i t s young inhabitants. Other boarding schools operated in the territory. though none achieved the p r o f i l e or importance of the Carcross f a c i l i t y . In 1920. the Anglican Church opened St. Paul's Hostel in Dauson City, providing a dormitory for half-breed children excluded by lau from attending Car-cross. The students attended Dauson public school, a matter of consid-erable concern in the toun. The Hostel differed significantly in that clergy emphasized the children's uhite parentage, the e x p l i c i t goal be-7 7 Marginality i s not an uncommon consequence of colonial education sys-tems. See A. Memmi. The Dominated Man (Boston: Beacon Press. 1968). 7 8 Altbach and Kelly. Education and Colonial ism. 15; On American Indian education, see E. Fuchs and R. Havinghurst. To Live On this Earth: American Indian Education (Garden City: Doubleday. 1973); M. Szasz. Education and the American Indian. For an earlier period, see R. Berkhofer. Salvation and the Savage. See also F.P. Prucha. American- izing the American Indians (Cambridge: Harvard. 1973); F.P. Prucha. The Churches and the Indian Schools. 1888-1912 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska. 1979). On Alaska, see Glenn Smith \"Education for the Natives of Alaska: The Uork of the United States Bureau of Educa-tion, 1884-1931,\" Journal of the West, vol. 6 (1967). 268 ing to allow the student \"to f i t himself to take his place in the community as a uhite man.\"79 The third boarding school opened in Whit-ehorse in 1946 under Baptist evangelist Rev. H.I. Lee. Funded as part of the federal government's post-uar program to provide improved educa-tional services. Lee's school placed considerable emphasis on industrial education and regular academic programs, much as Carcross began to do after 1945. A non-sectarian institution, the Whitehorse school uas available to a l l those unable to enter regular public schools, including status Indians, half-breeds, enfranchised Indians and a feu \"poor uhites.\" Lee attracted more than sixty students his f i r s t year, uith children coming primarily from the Whitehorse and the Champagne areas. 8 0 St. Paul's Hostel and Reverend Lee's f a c i l i t y uere markedly different institutions from the Carcross Residential School, one serving a dis-tinct clientele, the other entering the scene following a reordering of federal educational p r i o r i t i e s . St. Paul's indicates the commitment of both church and government to the sizeable half-breed population, uhile the funding of the Whitehorse school foreshadowed the establishment of non-sectarian (i.e. non-Anglican) industrial and assimilationist educa-7 8 DIA, vol. 6481, f i l e 941-1, p t . l , Geddes to Dr. H.W. McGill, 27 Janu-ary 1943; DIA, vol. 6479, f i l e 940-1, p t . l . Stringer to Secretary, DIA, 5 March 1912; AC, Contributions - St. Paul's Hostel, \"St. Paul's Hostel - Dauson, Y.T.,\" 14 February 1947; AC, Johnson f i l e #1, Stringer to C F . Johnson, 28 December 1926: DIA, vol. 6479, f i l e 940-1, pt.2, Director to J.E. Gibben, 19 February 1943; AC, St. Paul's Hostel, Matron to Mrs. A. Stockton, 14 October 1946. 8 8 DIA, vol. 6477, f i l e 929-1, p t . l , R.J. Meek to R.A. Hoey, 5 September 1946, Meek to IAB, 14 October 1946, Hackett to Moore, 24 January 1947, Meek to Welfare and Training, IAB, 15 January 1947, CAF Clark re: Whitehorse Indian School, May 1947, H.I. Lee to Meek, 18 August 1947, Meek to IAB, 30 October 1947. Lee's school received f u l l r e s i -dential school status in 1949. ibid., Arrangement betueen IAB and Rev. H.I. Lee. 12 January 1949, Meek to IAB, 25 October 1947, Meek to IAB, 23 March 1948. 269 tion in the post-war Yukon. 8 1 More important than these two later operations, particularly as the challenge persisted throughout the Twentieth Century, was the Catholic Church's attempt to enter the t e r r i t o r i a l educational f i e l d . The battle for the natives' affections began in the 1860's, but to the 1930's the Catholic Church made few inroads into the Anglican strong-hold. 8 2 The latter claimed exclusive educational ju r i s d i c t i o n in the territory, c i t -ing i t s long history of uninterrupted missionary work to substantiate i t s claims. Responding to a 1902 rumour that the federal government was \"considering\" Catholic Indian schools, Bishop Bompas angrily wrote: If the Government are laying a neat plot to take the Education out of our hands and give i t to the Romanists i t is a piece of unjust tyranny and heartless religious persecution which ought to be exposed. No other religious denomination than ours has ever made any attempt to...educate any Yukon Indian children or Indian adults except ours, nor would the Indians attend any other school than ours as they a l l belong to our church. 8 3 The Anglicans claimed few areas of exclusive j u r i s d i c t i o n across the country; they jealously guarded the ones they held. 8 1 Re: the new assimilationist programming. DIA, vol. 6478, f i l e 929-11, p t . l , C.A.F. Clark to Superintendent of Education, 11 Novem-ber 1949, Meek to IAB, 24 November 1949; DIA. vol. 6478. f i l e 933-1, p t . l , Clark to Superintendent of Education, 11 November 1949 above); DIA, vol. 8782, f i l e 906/25-1-005, p t . l , Phelan to Meek, 1 December 1950. 8 2 Regarding this controversy, see K. Coates. The Northern Yukon, 38-39; CMS, Kirby to Secretaries, CMS, 29 November 1862; CT. Best. \"Biogra-phy of Robert McDonald,\" (unpublished manuscript), 105, AEPR, #4001, Box J, Proceedings of the Church Missionary Society (London: Seeley, Jackson and Halliday, 1865), 214; Church Missionary Gleaner, vol. 18 (1868), 45-47; CMS, McDonald to Secretaries, CMS, 6 February 1879, Bompas to Wigram, 14 July 1890; G. Breynat, The Flying Bishop (Lon-don: Burns and Oates, 1956), 122-123. 8 3 DIA, vol. 3962, f i l e 147, 654-1, pt.2, Bompas to Secretary, DIA, 18 June 1902. 270 Undeterred* the Catholic Church continued i t s efforts to break into the area, focusing i n i t i a l l y on the Stewart River region as many of the Indians sporadically contacted Catholic missionaries in the Mackenzie River v a l l e y . 8 * In 1939, the OMI moved into Teslin Lake and Buruash, launching a direct challenge at the former s i t e to an existing Anglican mission. The natives viewed the gathering doctrinal debate with amuse-ment. 8 5 Stikine Indian Agent Harper Reed noted after v i s i t i n g Teslin, \"They (the Indians) were found divided, some stated that the Mission that paid the highest 'wages' for any work done, would get their atten-dance. In fact the matter was looked on as a 'joke' in which the Indi-ans would come off best.\" 8 5 The battle for souls became a contest over education as each side sought the right to teach - some would say indoc-trinate - the Indians, especially since the effort would be financed by the federal government. The Oblate mission requested federal funding for a boarding school in 1940, claiming 549 adherents in the Yukon and Northern B r i t i s h Colum-b i a . 5 7 Rebuffed, they proceeded with plans to provide an alternative day school and interceded to keep Catholic students out of Carcross Residen-t i a l School. At Teslin, Father Drean, OMI, allegedly kept children away from the Anglican school by taking the boys fishing or having them tend his nets. The confrontation became even more serious. Anglican mis-8 4 AC, New Series, f i l e 1, Totty to O'Meara, 20 August 1908; AC, Leigh f i l e , G.F. Leigh to Bishop, 24 October 1927. 8 5 DIA, vol. 6482, f i l e 942-1, p t . l , Harper Reed report for February 1939. 8 5 ibid., Reed to Secretary, IAB, 16 August 1939. 8 7 ibid., J.O. Plourde to H.W. McGill, 10 February 1940. 271 sic-nary Robert Ward claimed in 1941 that \"the RCs have worked up some sort of male SS corps uhich goes about to the C of E households and at-tempts to broubeat them.\"88 Responding in kind tuo years later. Anglican Stanley Webb dreu \"up a l i s t of some prominint(sic) R.C. errors and am starting an anti-R.C. campaign.\" 8 8 The battleground soon shifted to ed-ucation. 9 0 To support their demands for a residential school. Catholic clergy began in the mid-1940's to protest more vigorously the enrollment of baptized Catholics at Carcross. a contravention of the Indian A c t . 8 1 Un-happily provoked by the Anglican-Catholic contest, the Department of In-dian Affairs reluctantly agreed in 1949 to open a Catholic boarding school in the region. I n i t i a l l y slated for Teslin. the government moved the f a c i l i t y to Louer Post. located along the neuly opened Alaska High-uay just south of Watson Lake. The Catholics. no less than the Angli-cans, f e l t education and especially residential schools held the key to the ultimate success of their s p i r i t u a l appeal. The confrontation con-tinued. 3 2 8 8 AC, Teslin f i l e . Ward to My Lord, 7 March 1941. 8 8 AC, Teslin f i l e . Ward to Right Reverend W.A. Geddes, 9 July 1941. 8 0 The battle continued through 1950. DIA, vol. 6478, f i l e 933-1, p t . l , Albert Drean to Mon. Rev., 21 December 1949, Drean to Mon. Rev., 4 January 1950, Drean to Meek, 24 February 1950. 3 1 DIA, vol. 6482, f i l e 924-1, p t . l , Father Charles Hamel to J.L. Cou-dert, 29 January 1945; DIA, vol. 6481, f i l e 940-10, pt.5, Coudert to Phelan, 31 December 1945, Coudert to Phelan, 31 December 1945 (dif-ferent le t t e r ) , Coudert to Phelan, 26 January 1946, H.M.S. Grant to Indian Agent, 25 January 1946. 3 2 DIA, vol. 6482, f i l e 942-5, p t . l , G.F. Kingston to C. Gibson. 24 June 1949, W.R. Adams to Gibson. 4 July 1949; DIA. vol. 8762, f i l e 906/25-1-001, Coudert to Bernard Neary, 27 September 1950; DIA, vol. 6482, f i l e 942-10, p t . l , F.A. Clark's Annual Report, 31 December 272 T h e A n g l i c a n s f e a r e d t h a t t h e \" R o m a n C a t h o l i c m i g h t ' t a k e a k n i g h t ' s m o v e ' a n d t r y t o e s t a b l i s h i n t h e c e n t r a l Y u k o n . \" a n d s o u g h t t o m e e t t h e c h a l l e n g e . 9 3 T h e C a t h o l i c s e x p a n d e d e f f o r t s i n t h e r i a y o - R o s s R i v e r d i s -t r i c t s , t h e r e s u l t i n g c o m p e t i t i o n e c h o i n g t h e s i t u a t i o n i n T e s l i n a d e c -a d e e a r l i e r . \" T h e New P r i e s t , \" w r o t e N o r m a n W a r e h a m o f M a y o i n 1 9 5 0 . \" w e n t a l l o u t f o r t h e I n d i a n s a n d i s s t i l l t a k i n g a d v a g t a g e ( s i c ) o f e v e r y p o s s i b l e o p p o r t u n i t y t o b r i b e t h e m i n t o t h e c o m m u n i o n o f t h e R o m a n C h u r c h . T h e I n d i a n s a t t h e v i l l a g e a r e o n e h u n d r e d p e r c e n t b e h i n d t h e C h u r c h o f E n g l a n d . \" 3 * T h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f R e v e r e n d L e e ' s s c h o o l o n l y c o n f u s e d t h e s i t u a t i o n , w i t h C a t h o l i c s . A n g l i c a n s a n d now B a p t i s t s c o m -p e t i n g f o r n a t i v e s t u d e n t s . U n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y . B i s h o p J . L . C o u d e r t . O M I . a p p e a l e d t h a t L e e ' s \" p r o p o g a n d a \" b e s t o p p e d a s i t w a s \" p a r a l y z i n g b o t h t h e C a t h o l i c a n d A n g l i c a n e d u c a t i o n a l w o r k i n t h e Y u k o n . \" 3 5 C e n t r i n g p r i m a r i l y o n e d u c a t i o n . t h e s e d o c t r i n a l d i s p u t e s e m p h a s i z e d b o d y c o u n t s m o r e t h a n i n s t r u c t i o n . T h e c o n f r o n t a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e A n g l i -c a n s a n d C a t h o l i c s i n p a r t i c u l a r r e p r e s e n t e d t h e c u l m i n a t i o n o f a c e n t u -r y - l o n g b a t t l e o v e r s p h e r e s o f i n f l u e n c e i n t h e m i s s i o n f i e l d . T h e b a t -t l e f o r c o n v e r t s . u n r e l e n t i n g a t t e m p t s t o d i s c r e d i t t h e o p p o s i n g f a i t h a n d c o n t r o v e r s i e s o v e r s c h o o l s s e r i o u s l y u n d e r m i n e d t h e e d u c a t i o n a l a n d r e l i g i o u s e f f o r t s o f b o t h d e n o m i n a t i o n s . A n g l i c a n m i s s i o n a r y R o b e r t 1 9 5 0 ; D I A , v o l . 6 4 8 2 . f i l e 9 4 2 - 1 . p t . l . P r i v y C o u n c i l M i n u t e 5 2 1 8 , 12 A u g u s t 1 9 4 7 , L a u c h l a n , C h i e f T r e a s u r y P o s t O f f i c e t o B . C . D o n n e l l y , C e n t r a l A c c o u n t s P a y a b l e . 2 2 M a r c h 1 9 5 0 . 3 3 A C , C a r c r o s s P r o p e r t y f i l e . H e n r y C o o k t o C a n o n L . A . D i x o n , 11 J u l y 1 9 5 0 . 3 4 A C , U a r e h a m f i l e , N o r m a n V a r e h a m t o U . R . A d a m s . 10 F e b r u a r y 1 9 5 0 , U a -r e h a m t o A d a m s . 17 D e c e m b e r 1 9 5 0 . 3 5 D I A , v o l . 8 7 8 2 , f i l e 9 0 5 / 2 5 - 1 - 0 0 6 , p t . l , J . L . C o u d e r t t o P h i l i p P h e -l a n , 15 F e b r u a r y 1 9 5 1 , C o u d e r t t o N e a r y . 2 7 J a n u a r y 1 9 5 1 . 273 Ward and Indian Agent Reed both noted that the Teslin debates led to se-rious community and family dissension* a logical consequence of the v i -t r i o l i c recriminations. 9 6 By the late 1940's. the Yukon Indians had be-come pawns in the confrontation of faiths. The battle over educational jurisdictions stood at the centre of the controversy, as both Catholics and Anglicans recognized the importance of federal subsidies for school-ing in permitting an expansion of missionary work. Not surprisingly, the confrontation served to discredit both education and religion in the eyes of the natives, limiting or reducing the questionable impact of i n -stitutional innovations. The educational offerings of the Anglican church and. latt e r l y . the Catholics and Presbyterians represented an attempted form of cultural imperialism. To the whites, education promised to l i f t the Indians from a heathen. non-industrial past and prepare them for integration into white society. T e r r i t o r i a l r e a l i t i e s , however, muted such bold aspira-tions. Limited settlement and c y c l i c a l development reduced the pros-pects for a deeply entrenched industrial order, just as the natives' af-f i n i t y for the harvesting l i f e reduced the appeal of the modern communities. Acknowledging this, both government and church shied away from a rigid, formal education system, resulting in a scattered, i n e f f i -cient day school network of limited importance. Only in the Carcross Residential School did a reluctant government and enthusiastic clergy attempt a more complete transformation of students' values. Even here, the program reflected an awareness of the need to prepare students for a return to a non-industrial l i f e - s t y l e . Conflicting goals led to disap-9 S AC. Teslin f i l e . Robert Ward to Harper Reed. 7 March 1941. Reed to Secretary. IAB. 16 August 1939. 274 pointing results, the graduates l e f t uncomfortably \"betwixt and between\" two very different worlds. The post-war period witnessed a dramatic change in objectives. Two new boarding schools opened, the government provided funds for a major expansion of the Carcross f a c i l i t y and gradu-al l y imposed compulsory education. native students entered t e r r i t o r i a l public schools and educational programming assumed an industrial-assimi-l a t i o n i s t format. Though by 1950 the changes were minimal, the altera-tions foreshadowed a vastly different educational environment, one which more readily depreciated native society. ignored the natives' essential nomadism and attempted a more inclusive transformation of Indian values and customs. The Anglican Church's total mission, an inextricably linked combina-tion of religion and education, did not achieve i t s lofty ambitions. In some ways. the church - like other denominations - seemed preoccupied with head-hunting. 9 7 attempting to secure adherents and warding off i n -cursions by competing denominations. Theirs was a paternalistic, even imperialistic, mission. but i t stopped well short of being destructive. Drawing both from Henry Venn's appeals to respect native cultural forms and their own assessment of Yukon conditions, the Anglican clergy adopt-ed a surprisingly latitudinarian approach to both religion and educa-tion, stressing practical Christianity and limiting schooling to prelim-inary instruction in literacy, hygiene and moral behaviour. In the end. the impact of external religion and federally-funded education rested upon the willingness of the Yukon Indians to respond to the messages. 9 7 The phrase comes from a woman active in the Teslin-Ross River area in the early 1950's. Jeanne Harbottle and Fern Credeur. Woman in the BuBh (Pelican Publishing. 1966). p. 8. 275 Their own s p i r i t u a l i t y providing a comprehensive world view, the natives adopted the ritual forms of Christianity while holding to many of their religious beliefs. The two were not, as many missionaries asserted, mu-tually exclusive, but rather they mingled effectively. Similarly, the natives' continuing selection of a harvesting mode prevented the day schools from having an appreciable impact. The continuing v i t a l i t y of trapping and hunting to the late 1940's restricted the appeal of Canadi-an education and kept the children away from the mission schools. The simultaneous collapse of the fur trade, termination of market hunting and rapid expansion of government educational and assistance programs after the Second World War altered conditions rapidly. De-secularized schools, enforced education, urbanization of the native population and major restructuring of the instructional component offered different prospects and problems than the comparatively, and even deliberately, ineffectual attempts of the Anglican Church before 1950. 276 CHAPTER ELEVEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE YUKON NATIVES The importance of the federal government is readily apparent through-out the study of native-white relations in the Yukon Territory. From i n i t i a l l y imposing a ju d i c i a l structure and supporting police force to the financing of educational programs, and assisting popular efforts to exclude natives from the towns, federal authorities played a major role in shaping inter-racial contact. Though they lacked the doctrinal com-mitment of the clergy, government agents from the North West Mounted Po-li c e , Department of Indian Affairs and other branches of government served as a buffer between the expanding European population and the na-tives. The assessment of government a c t i v i t i e s with the Natives of Canada i s usually based on studies of the origins and alterations of federal Indi-an legislation. Often laced with c r i t i c a l commentary on the paternalism and colonialism inherent in such legislation as the 1876 Indian Act, 1 these examinations of federal i n i t i a t i v e s say l i t t l e about the actual implementation of policy. The Yukon situation, however, suggests the federal agents often sought to modify national directives to suit t e r r i -t o r i a l r e a l i t i e s and, equally important, that the natives were reluctant to use proffered government services. 1 R. Surtees, Canadian Indian Pol icy: A C r i t i c a l Bibliography (Bloom-ington: Indiana University, 1982) is the best place to start. 277 The central tenets; of federal Indian policy were clearly deliniated, widely accepted and changed only s l i g h t l y from Confederation to 1950.2 Four main goals predominated: promoting native self-sufficency, pro-tecting the natives from the e v i l s of white society, encouraging conver-sion to Christianity and assimilating the Indians. 3 Importantly. these national directives did not translate directly into local i n i t i a t i v e s . In the Yukon, dispersed settlement, limited development, and a continua-tion of nomadic patterns interferred with the administration, and re-duced the applicability, of national programs. The Yukon experience de-viated s i g n i f i c a n t l y from the patterns that might be suggested through a narrow analysis of federal legislation. Although policy guidelines en-trenched in the Indian Act never disappeared, government agents proceed-ed with surprising f l e x i b i l i t y , altering their programs and emphasis to suit regional r e a l i t i e s . The administrative and constitutional structure of the Yukon Territo-ry created special problems and unique p o s s i b i l i t i e s for the Department of Indian Affairs and other federal agencies charged with northern re-spo n s i b i l i t i e s . From 1870 to 1896, the d i s t r i c t was o f f i c i a l l y under the control of the North-West Territories administration, though limited development in the region largely precluded the exercise of that author-ity. The upheaval attending the Klondike Gold Rush, however, forced the 2 L.F.S. Upton. \"The Origins of Canadian Indian Policy.\" Journal of Can- adian Studies, vol. 8. no. 4 (1973). 51-61; Douglas Leighton, \"The De-velopment of Federal Indian Policy in Canada, 1840-1890,\" (PhD, Uni-versity of Western Ontario, 1975); Sally Weaver, Making Canadian Indian Policy: The Hidden Agenda, 1969-70 (Toronto: UTP, 1981). 3 J.R. Ponting and R. Gibbens, Out of Irrelevance: A Socio: P o l i t i c a l Introduction to Indian Affairs in Canada (Toronto: Butterworths, 1980), 3-30. 278 government to adopt more direct measures. The federally-appointed administration established under Commissioner J. N. Walsh in 1898. hou-ever. soon encountered a major jurisdictional dispute uith the govern-ment of the N.U.T. over the control of liquor revenues. To end the con-troversy. Parliament passed the Yukon Territory Act in June 1898, creating a separate p o l i t i c a l and administrative unit. The f i r s t coun-c i l consisted of five federally selected o f f i c i a l s . In response to de-mands for greater local control, the government gradually extended the principle of representative — but not responsible — administration, culminating in the establishment of a ten man, elected council in 1908. Throughout, houever, the Commissioner exercised the greatest authority, frequently over-ruling the elected council and acting as directed by his Ottaua-based superiors. Uith the end of the Klondike Gold Rush and sub-sequent economic decline, the federal government drastically reduced i t s financial commitment to the region, cut the size of the elected council to three members and consolidated administrative responsibility in the hands of the Commissioner (the latter uas accomplished in 1920). The Yukon Territory retained this administrative form until the post Uorld Uar II period, uhen the gradual devolution of p o l i t i c a l pouer led to the establishment of a ful l y elected council and, in the 1970's. cabinet government and a major reduction of the pouer of the office of the Com-missioner. 4 4 M. Zaslou, The Opening of the Canadian North, 108-109, 143-144; for more recent developments, see David U. E l l i o t t . Some Constitutional Aspects of the Government of the Yukon Territory (Uhitehorse: Yukon Te r r i t o r i a l Government, n.d.). 279 As a consequence of this p o l i t i c a l structure, the federal government held considerable power in the territory. The Commissioner, Gold Com-missioner, Indian Agent and the ranking officer of the North Vest Mount-I ed Police (Royal North Vest Mounted Police after 1920) commanded consid-erable authority, much more than federal o f f i c i a l s exercised in other parts of the country. Even more importantly, national o f f i c i a l s and federal p o l i t i c i a n s had a unique opportunity to shape and control re-gional programmes, without interference from regional administrators. Since so much authority rested in federal hands, there were few con-straints interfering with the application of national policies and pro-grammes in the Yukon Territory. In the early period, from 1870 to 1896, the Canadian government dis-played l i t t l e interest in the northern reaches of i t s newly acquired t e r r i t o r i e s . Administrators and poli t i c i a n s focused instead on opening the f e r t i l e but unpopulated lands of the prairie south. 5 Broken f i r s t by the cursory examinations of Geological Survey of Canada personnel in the 1880's, this neglect was forceably interrupted through the intervention of William C. Bompas of the Church Missionary Society. Gravely con-cerned by the incursions of the rapacious mining population, Bompas re-peatedly petitioned the government to dispatch a contingent of the North West Mounted Police. The federal authorities relented in 1894, though only p a r t i a l l y out of concern over the effect of expansion on the Indi-ans. 5 5 On government a c t i v i t i e s in the north, Morris Zaslow, The Opening of the Canadian North, 1870-1914 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1971), 77-100; M. Zaslow, Reading the Rocks: The Story of the Geolog- ical Survey of Canada, 1842-1972 (Ottawa: Macmillan of Canada, 1975). 6 Bompas' petitions include DIA, vol. 3906, f i l e 105, 378, Deputy Super-280 Ottawa gave Inspector Constantine. commander of the f i r s t Yukon con-tingent, precise instructions on how to deal with the Indians. As o f f i -c i a l representative of the Department of Indian Affairs, Constantine re-ceived instructions \"not to give encouragement to the idea that they (the Yukon Indians) will be received into treaty, and taken under the care of the government.\"7 Convinced that the northern d i s t r i c t held few prospects for development or settlement, the government saw no need to alienate Indian lands through treaty. Preliminary r e l i e f measures were contemplated, but the government wanted i t clearly understood that the Indians were to be accorded no better treatment than that offered any Canadian or immigrant.3 The government maintained i t s policy of negoti-ating treaties only where and when lands used by the Indians were re-quired for permanent development. Uhen such pressures were f e l t , as in the Mackenzie River valley in 1899-1900, the government provided ben-e f i t s such as guaranteed access to game, annuity payments and reserva-tions to compensate for anticipated dislocations. 3 Before 1895, the same intendent General to Hon. T. Mayne Daly, 18 September 1893; to Dear Sir, 26 August 1893; Bompas to Minister of the Interior, 5 June 1894, Native Races and Liquor Traffic United Committed to Hon. Sir Charles Tupper, 1894; CMS, Bompas to CMS, 15 May 1894. On the move of the NUMP, see PAC, MG30 E55, Constantine Papers; For a descriptive summa-ry, see A.A. Uright, Prelude to Bonanza, 256-271. Concern for the In-dians was secondary to the government's desire to assert Canadian sov-ereignty in the face of American incursions and to collect customs duties on resources being exported from the d i s t r i c t . V.R. Morrison, \"The Mounted Police on Canada's Northern Frontier, 1895-1940,\" (PhD, Western Ontario, 1971). 7 DIA, vol. 1115, Deputy Superintendent's Letterbook, 27 April 1894 - 16 November 1894, H. Reed to Charles Constantine, 29 May 1894. 8 DIA, vol. 1121, Letterbook 10, Memorandum, 2 December 1897; AC, New Series, f i l e 4, Hayter Reed to Bishop of Selkirk, 19 March 1897; Cana-da, Parliament, House of Commons Debate, vol. 46 (1898), 814. 3 Rene Fumoleau, As Long As This Land Shal1 Last: A History of Treaty 8 281 concerns were simply not operative in the Yukon. The rapid influx of miners after the discovery of gold in the Klondike* the concentration of mining a c t i v i t y in the west-central Yukon* and the government's convic-tion that the territory could not sustain permanent development abrogat-ed the need for an agreement. 1 0 In a contradictory fashion* the possi-b i l i t y that another \"Eldorado\" lay somewhere in the d i s t r i c t similarly dissuaded authorities from alienating any specific land for native use. The unwillingness of the government to consider a treaty did not end discussion on the matter. Jim Boss* self-styled \"hereditary chief of the southern Yukon Indians*\" submitted a request for land ownership ne-gotiations in 1902. Boss demanded financial \"compensation because of the taking possession of their (the Indians') lands and hunting grounds by the white people.\" 1 1 Noting that natives encountering hardship re-ceived government rel i e f * the federal authorities brushed Boss' claims a s i d e . 1 2 Vhile individual Indians did not continue to press the issue* the Anglican Church picked up the treaty question. Reverent A.E. O'Hea-ra* financial secretary for the Diocese of the Yukon* prepared a f a i r l y comprehensive treaty claim on behalf of the natives between 1907 and 1910. Reflecting i t s missionary origins* the claim focused on a request for Anglican-administered day and residential schools in combination and Treaty 11. 1870-1939 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. 1976). 30-39. 1 0 This acknowledged reticence is best discussed in David Hall. CIifford Sifton: The Young Napolean (Vancouver: UBC, 1982). 1 1 DIA. vol. 4037. f i l e 317.050. Jackson to Superintendent General of Indian Affairs. 30 June 1902. 1 2 Ibid.. J.D. McLean to Jackson. 28 January 1902. Congdon to Sifton, 10 September 1904, Assistant Secretary: Memorandum to Mr. Pedley, 19 October 1904. 282 uith game preserves and community improvement projects. The penultimate proposal also called for the appointment of a full-time Indian Agent, better medical care and o f f i c i a l recognition of native marriages. 1 3 Importantly, before the document reached Minister of the Interior Frank Oliver, the request for treaty negotiations had been dropped. 1 4 The clergy had correctly anticipated the government's reticence. Re-sponding to the request, Oliver reiterated well-known government policy: \"The Government seeks to protect the interests of a l l , whether Indian or white'Jbut i s not responsible for sp e c i f i c a l l y protecting those of the Indian's.\" The Minister rejected the paternalism inherent in expanded government assistance, claiming that i t \"had been most harmful to the Indians by accentuating their original communism, that i t i s say, the natural dependance of the Indians upon others.\" To Oliver, the coming of the whites and the Gold Rush brought prosperity; acceding to the In-dians' request would change native ways and, in his judgement, they uould \" i f l e f t as Indians earn a better l i v i n g . \" 1 5 The government made i t clear, f i r s t in 1894 and again in 1910, that Yukon conditions precluded the need for federal-native land negotia-tions. Subsequent to this debate, the signing of Treaty #11 uith the Indians of the upper Mackenzie River basin brought a number of Yukon In-1 3 AC, Neu Series, f i l e 2, Memo for the Minister re: Yukon Indians, c. 1907, AC, Carcross Property f i l e , Pedley to Oliver, 23 January 1908; AC, Neu Series, f i l e 1, Notes made from interview uith Reverend A.M. O'Meara re: Indians in the Yukon, 1908, Proposed requests regarding Indians, 1908, Indian Matters - Recommendations of Messrs. Hauksley and O'Meara, 1908, Memo for Archbishop regarding Yukon Indian uork, 1908. 1 4 AC, Neu Series, f i l e 3, Requests regarding Yukon Indians, 1908. 1 5 AC, Neu Series, f i l e 2, Notes of interview uith Mr. Pedley and Mr. Oliver, 26 February 1909. 283 dians under treaty. The inclusion of the Liard Indians, due solely to the configuration of the Mackenzie drainage basin, hardly constituted a deliberate recognition of aboriginal t i t l e in the t e r r i t o r y . 1 6 The An-glican clergy continued their intervention on behalf of their native charges, but they abandoned the treaty concept. Following the 1908-1910 attempt, no significant effort was made for more than half a century to secure a comprehensive settlement with the government.17 Through these preliminary discussions. the Yukon Indians remained consistently s i l e n t . They were not without advocates, as Anglican c l e r -gy frequently intervened with the authorities on their behalf. 1 6 Vhile native appeals were few. several requests for t i t l e to specific tracts of land on the basis of traditional occupation did emerge. In 1900. Jim Boss asked for a parcel of land on Lake Laberge. arguing that i t \"had been occupied by his people from time immemorial.\"13 In 1933, Joe Squam. 1 6 Fumoleau. As. Long As This Land Shal1 Last. 150-215; For a brief statement of the Yukon treaty issue, see \"Land Entitlement of Indians of the Yukon and North West Territories\" by Col. H.M. Jones. Direc-tor. Indian Affairs Branch. DIAND, f i l e 801/30-0-1. 1 7 On Anglican a c t i v i t i e s , see AC, New Series, f i l e 2, Roberts to Stringer, 7 January 1910. That interest has maintained to the pres-ent. H. McCullum and K. McCullum, This Land is Not For Sale; Cana- da's Original People and Their Land (Toronto: Anglican Book Centre, 1975). Native interest in land entitlement in the Yukon, as i t did in much of Canada, took on new l i f e in the 1960's, culminating in the 1973 release of a comprehensive land claim. Yukon Native Brother-hood, Together Today for Our Children Tomorrow (Whitehorse: YNB, 1973). 1 6 DIA, vol. 4001, f i l e 207, 481, Congden to Pedley, 28 May 1903. 1 3 PAC, RG91, vol. 7, f i l e 1331, Miller to Ogilvie, 10 April 1900, Com-missioner to Deputy Minister of the Interior, 1 May 1900. Boss' re-quest originated in a personal desire for access to the land in ques-tion. By 1917, he was the only native even vaguely connected with the property. Vhen a shipping company cut wood on the land for i t s vessels, Boss demanded - and received - personal compensation. Yukon Government Records (YRG) 1, Series 5, vol. 1, f i l e 1298, Miller to 284 \"chief\" of the Teslin Indians similarly claimed lands in the Wolf Lake d i s t r i c t o.n the basis that he had \"hunted and trapped over this ground since a c h i l d . \" 2 0 In both instances, the individuals' motives were su-spect. Boss' representation, houever, succeeded and the government a l -located a small reserve. Squam's claims met uith a hasty rejection. Wore generally, the Indians did not hesitate to defend their interests, but they seldom based their appeals to government on inherent right of occupation. Instead, protests over game laus or inappropriate regula-tions focused on economic hardship or specific instances of uhite en-croachment. 2 1 That the natives did not systematically defend their right to game does not indicate lack of interest. Rather, i t suggests the In-dians' continued confidence that such unchallenged occupation uould con-tinue. The government's concern, il l u s t r a t e d in Oliver's comments, centred on maintaining the Indians in their nou \"traditional\" role as hunters and trappers. From 1894 to 1950, there uas l i t t l e commitment to assimi-lation, except as a far distant goal unlikely of accomplishment. In-stead, federal authorities attempted to preserve the \"Indian uay.\" To Comptroller, Mines, Lands and Yukon Branch, 14 May 1917, McLean to Rouatt, 10 March 1917, Miller to Comptroller, 6 February 1917. 2 0 DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-21, Squam to Indian Department, 22 August 1922. Like Boss, Squam's claim to \"chief\" status uas highly debata-ble. The request uas given only cursory attention by the Department of Indian Affairs. RG91, vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt.J, Hauksley to Mack-enzie, 1 October 1931; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 6, f i l e 12-133, Jeckell to Hume, 21 November 1932. 2 1 When trapline registration uas introduced in 1950, for example, the main native protest uas over the annual $10 fee. YRGI, series 3, vol. 11, f i l e 12-23B, Meek to Gibson, 27 September 1950; Moses, Tizya and Netro to Meek, 24 July 1950, Petition from Chief William Johnson et a l , 7 July 1950. 285 accomplish this* the government f e l t i t had to keep the Indians from the questionable benefits of the mining industry and soci a l l y segregated from the depredations of an inherently avaricious uhite population. In-stead of highlighting i t s assimilationist goals. the government empha-sized the need to protect the Indians from destruction. In many uays. these central federal goals of assimilation and protection uere inher-ently contradictory. As J. Chamber 1 in asserted: From i t s (the Indian Act of 1876) i n i t i a l promulgation, there have been those uho have questioned the sanity of a piece of legislation uhich actively discouraged. and indeed in some areas positively prohibited. the assimilation of the Indian into the social and economic l i f e of the non-native popula-tion, uhile at the same time being the centrepiece of a broad policy of moving the Indians touards f u l l citizenship and f u l l participation in Canadian l i f e . By existing to regulate and systematize the relationship betueen the Indian and the major-ity society. the (Indian) Act codifies and often exaggerates the distinctions uhich i t is i t s function eventually to elimi-nate. 22 In the Yukon, the government selected protection, the preferred national option. They chose to leave the Indians as harvesters of game. Tuo policies. residential reservations and preservation of access to game, emerged as the practical manifestations of this larger program for the Yukon Indians. The desire for a mechanism for social segregation f i r s t surfaced in 1896 uith the commencement of the Klondike Gold Rush. William Bompas requested a small reserve near Dauson City to keep his native communi-cants from the miners. Despite the contrary judgements of N.W.M.P. In-spector Constantine and T e r r i t o r i a l Commissioner William Ogilvie. the Department of Indian Affairs eventually allocated a small plot of land. Importantly, they offered a 160 acre parcel located three miles down-22 j . Chamberlin. The Harrouing of Eden. 286 stream from Dauson* not as far auay as Constantine and Ogilvie wished, but removed from the centre of uhite population. 2 3 Further debate over this matter also i l l u s t r a t e s the limited priority of Indian matters in the face of potential northern development. The government rejected re-peated requests for an extension of the plot on the basis of Ogilvie's representation that \"discoveries of gold have been made in that v i c i n i -ty, and before I recommend any extension of the 160 acres, I u i l l auait the development of this ground, as gold mining ground.\" 2 4 The federal government enacted this process of residential reserve allocation whenever lands uere subjected to development pressure or na-tives moved too close to a uhite community. Uhen lead and s i l v e r ore uas discovered near Mayo in 1915, several Indians moved into the toun, attracted by perceived opportunities. The government quickly laid out a native residential reserve tuo and half miles downstream from the neu community - and on the opposite side of the river. The Mayo reserve met both of the government's c r i t e r i a , removing the Indians from potentially valuable land and protecting the natives from uhite influence. Over the following years, Indian Agent John Hauksley lauded the positive results of the t r a n s f e r . 2 5 Securing such a reserve did not guarantee permanence. 2 3 IAB, f i l e 801/30-0-1, Constantine to Deputy Minister of the Interior, 19 November 1896, Extract from William Ogilvie's letter, 8 November 1896, Constantine Letterbook, Charles Constantine Papers, MG30, E55, PAC, Constantine to Dear Sir, 13 November 1896; AC, Neu Series, f i l e 4, Smart to Bompas, 12 August 1897; IAB, f i l e 801/30-0-1, McLean Mem-orandum, 26 April 1897; RG91, vol. 7, f i l e 1187. McGee to Minister of the Interior. 27 March 1900. 2 4 RG91, vol 7, f i l e 1187, PAC, Ogilvie to Secretary, Department of the Interior, 11 December 1900, Commissioner to Bompas, 27 September 1900. 2 5 DIA. vol. 4081. f i l e 478,700, Hauksley to McLean, 7 April 1915; Hood-ie to Sir, 1 April 1915, ibid., Brounlee to McLean, 19 October 1915, 287 If uhites demanded access to lands granted the natives, the government arranged a hasty transfer of the Indian reserve. In the Whitehorse area, for example, the reserve s i t e shifted four times betueen 1915 and 1921. 2 6 While the interests of the uhite population determined many re-serve allotments, federal authorities occasionally permitted native needs to govern the location of reserves. In 1898 at Tagish. 2 7 and again at L i t t l e Salmon in 1915, the government preserved native access to community lands against uhite encroachment. As the federal surveyors responsible for laying out the L i t t l e Salmon parcel noted, houever, \"It is a matter of record that the Indians have not made any request for this reserve.\" 2 8 The Yukon situation paralleled experience elseuhere in Canada. Native reserves uere constantly subjected to uhite encroachment and reallocation. The distinctiveness of the Yukon lay in the use of residential reserves, small parcels of land destined to serve as l i t t l e more than seasonal homes. In the southern provinces, uhere hope re-mained that the Indians uould become agriculturalists, the natives re-ceived larger land a l l o c a t i o n s . 2 9 RG91, vol. 45, f i l e 29,967. 2 9 IAB, 801/30-0-1, Hauksley to McLean, 25 November 1915; IAB, 801/30-18-8, Hauksley to McLean, 19 October 1917; IAB, 801/30-18-8, Bethune to Superintendent of Trusts and Reserves, 14 May 1958; IAB, 801/30-18-8, Meek to Indian Affairs Branch, 17 February 1948. The relocations uere a l l due to uhite demands that the land grant be a l -tered. By 1950, those Indians liv i n g near Whitehorse no longer i n -habited the reserve. 2 7 IAB, 801/30-3-5, Strickland to Officer in Command Upper Yukon, 16 Au-gust 1898; ibid., Pereira to White, 14 September 1898. 2 9 RG91, vol. 46, f i l e 29,995, C. Suanson to Commissioner, 1 September 1915; IAB, f i l e 801/30-4-10, Brounlee to Secretary, Department of In-dian Affairs, 19 August 1916; Report of Survey of L i t t l e Salmon Indi-an Reserve, c. 1916, ibid. 2.88 The government applied the residential reserve concept* typically ac-cording to the Mayo plan, throughout the territory. In addition to the Mayo. L i t t l e Salmon and Whitehorse allotments, the Department of Indian Affairs established reserves at Carcross. Teslin. Selkirk. Carmacks and Old Crou. The government's attempt to encourage native settlement on lands removed from centres of uhite population served as an integral part of a larger plan. Founded on the belief that the future of the no-madic hunting Indians lay in the preservation of their \"natural\" state, the plan served to enhance social distance betueen natives and uhites and to keep the Indians on the fringes of the industrial economy.30 2 9 RG91, vol. 29. f i l e 13.013. V. Bompas to Commissioner. 29 November 1904; IAB, f i l e 801/30-0-1, J. J. Wright to Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, 4 February 1902. 3 0 DIA, vol. 6479, f i l e 940-1, pt. 1, Brusar to Deputy Superintendent General, 17 June 1907; DIA, vol. 3962, f i l e 147,654-1, pt. 1, Congdon to F. Pedley, 28 April 1903; DIA, vol. 4062, f i l e 398,746-1, Secre-tary, Dauson Board of Trade to Rt. Hon. Frank Oliver, 19 August 1911. The latter document refers to a suggestion by the Dauson Board of Trade, seconded by Bishop Bompas, that the government import reindeer and hire the Indians to tend the herds. Like the other proposals, this one focused on keeping Indians and uhites separate. 289 TABLE 25 RESIDENTIAL RESERVES YUKON TERRITORY 1896-1958* Location Acreage Year Granted Moosehide Creek #2 158.49 1900 Lake Laberge #1 320.27 1900 HcQueston #3 320.00 1904 Carcross #4 160.03 1905 Whitehorse #8 282.00 1921 Carmacks #11 330.80 1926 Teslin Post #13 65.23 1941 Nisutlin #14 207.40 1941 Buruash Landing 160.00 1953 Old Crou 112.80 1956 Six Mile Creek (Marsh Lake #5) 320.00 1956 Mayo #6 456.00 1956 Selkirk #7 159.98 1956 L i t t l e Salmon River #10 587.00 1956 Teslin Lake I.R. #15 166.49 N.A. Upper Liard Bridge 120.10 N.A. Champagne Landing #12 15.91 N.A. * Reserves active as of 1958. Source: \"Schedule of Lands Reserved for Indians, Yukon Territory.\" Be-thune to Superintendent of Reserves and Trusts, D.I.A., 801/30-0-1. Restricting access to uhite social and economic a c t i v i t i e s served l i t t l e purpose uithout an alternative. The second component of the fed-eral government's strategy, preserving native access to game, provided the desired substitute. Almost a l l missionaries, R.C.M.P. officers, and government agents despaired of the prospects of the Indians accepting \" c i v i l i z a t i o n , \" at least in the foreseeable future. Most observers ac-cepted that the natives had to hunt and fish in order to survive. To achieve this end, native access to game resources had to be assured. Accomplishing this goal proved relatively easy, in practice i f not in 290 principle, for feu uhites competed for game stocks. Nonetheless, grave concern continued about the likelihood of this situation holding firm. Market hunters in the Mayo and Oauson areas competed aggressively uith the Indians and the decline of game in those areas portended the threat of a uide-scale depletion. While most could agree on the need to preserve native access to game, finding practical means to implement those desires proved d i f f i c u l t . As evident uith residential reserves, native rights seldom gained high p r i -ority uithin the larger government establishment, frequently giving uay to pragmatic concerns for future development. The parenthetical atten-tion given the matter aided the natives' interest in the short term. Limited uhite settlement and restricted mining a c t i v i t y l e f t the Indians substantially unchallenged in their harvesting pursuits. Several propo-sals uere brought foruard to entrench this native-land relationship, i n -cluding Acting Commissioner Lithgou's 1907 suggestion that a l l the na-tives in the territory be removed to the Peel-Porcupine d i s t r i c t , an area believed devoid of mineral resources. 3 1 Not until the 1930's. uhen increased hunting pressure tied to an improving fur market threatened game resources. did suggestions for native-only game preserves receive serious consideration. 3 1 YRGI. series 3. vol. 2. f i l e 12-14B. Commissioner of Y.T. to J.B. Harken, 16 March 1922; ibid., f i l e 12-13C, Report by A. W. E l l i n g , 16 January 1923. As part of the establishment of preserves in the North West Territories, part of the Peel River valley uas incorporated into a game reservation. This 1923 action uas not designed to address the needs of the Yukon Indians, but rather uas to preserve the hunting grounds of the Peel River, Kutchin and other Mackenzie River basin native groups. Fumaleau, As Long As This Land Shal1 Last, 245-250: YRGI, series 3, vol. 2, f i l e 12-4C, 0. S. Finnie to Inspector Wood. 6 June 1925. 291 Preserves had been adopted, allegedly uith success, for the Indians in the Mackenzie River valley. Again, houever, the government hesitated to countenance such a proposal for the mineral-rich Yukon. A proposal for large scale game preserves f i r s t emerged in 1935. Harper Reed, In-dian Agent for the Stikine d i s t r i c t in Northern B r i t i s h Columbia, re-quested that the Department of Indian Affairs take action to protect na-tives in the upper Liard d i s t r i c t from the perceived effects of uhite encroachment. 3 2 R.C.M.P. reports failed to substantiate Reed's claims of over-trapping, but his proposal floundered on other grounds. Charles Camsell' noted northern surveyor and the Deputy Minister of the Depart-ment of Mines, made federal p r i o r i t i e s for the Yukon abundantly clear uhen he noted: If ue are not going to reserve our northern regions exclusive-ly for the use of the natives but are looking to encourage the opening up of these regions to the people of Canada generally, then I think ue must limit the extent of the preserves to meet the pressing needs of the natives but no more. 3 3 Development - not native access to game - took precedence in the Yukon. The federal government approached the question of Indian access to game in a contradictory fashion. When several uhite trappers began ex-ploiting the Old Crou f l a t s muskrat harvest in 1929 and uhen uhites be-gan to compete for fish and fur resources in the L i t t l e A t l i n d i s t r i c t in 1932, government agents s u i f t l y protected native i n t e r e s t s . 3 4 There 3 2 YRGI, series 3, vol. 8, f i l e 12-15A, extract from a report by Harper Reed, 8 May 1935. 3 3 YRGI, series 3, vol. 8, f i l e 12-15, Camsell to Gibson, 14 September 1935; ibid.. Reed to Perry, 12 July 1935; DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12, Binning to Jeckell, 18 October 1935; ibid., Jeckell to Direc-tor, Lands, N.W.T. and Yukon Branch, 18 October 1935; ibi d . . Summary: Proposed Yukon Preserve For Sole Use of Indians, 1938; 3 4 IAB, f i l e 801/30-10-10, Hauksley to McLean, 23 August 1929; RG91, 292 uere, houever, clear limits on the level of intervention. The govern-ment maintained a so l i d commitment to protecting native hunting and fishing pursuits but recoiled at any suggestion that those rights be en-trenched through game preserves or special hunting regulations. The government's ambivalence f i n a l l y succumbed to changing conditions and attitudes. Continuing uhite hunting pressure, particularly during the construction of the Alaska Highuay in 1942-43, led to increased con-cern for the future of native hunting. In 1947, Indian Agent R.J. Week requested the implementation of registered traplines, a program used to good effect in northern B r i t i s h Columbia. Under Meek's plan, the na-tives had f i r s t claim to trapping t e r r i t o r i e s , uith half-breeds and \"old-timers\" selecting before the allocation of the remainder of the t r a p l i n e s . 3 5 Implemented by the t e r r i t o r i a l government in 1950, the reg-istration program unfortunately came into effect just as a prolonged dounuard spiral in fur prices hit, draining much of the v i t a l i t y from the trade. Trapline permits uere clearly a second-best option to propo-sals for native-only game preserves, but to 1950 they represented the limits of federal munificence. 3 5 vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt. J, Henderson et al to Mackenzie, 26 May 1932; YRGIk, series 3, vol. 6, f i l e 12-11B, Hauksley to Jeckell, 11 July 1932; YRGI, series 3, vol. 6, f i l e 12-11B, Jeckell to Chairman, Do-minion Lands Board, 15 July 1932. 3 5 DIA, v o l . 6761, f i l e 420-12-2-RT-l, Meek to Indian Affairs Branch, 27 November 1947; ibid., Conn to Meek, 4 December 1947; DIA, vol. 6742, f i l e 420-6-1-1, Gibson to Gibben, 17 December 1947; DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12-2-RT-l, Meek to Indian Affairs Branch, Attention Hugh Conn, 17 January 1950. 3 6 Meek to Indian Affairs Branch, 27 November 1947, DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12-2-RT-l; Conn to Meek, 4 December 1947, ibid., Gibson to Gib-ben, 17 December 1947, DIA, vol. 6742, f i l e 420-6-1-1; Meek to Indian Affairs Branch, Attention Hugh Conn, 17 January 1950, DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12-2-RT-l. 293 Federal authorities, seconded by the t e r r i t o r i a l administration, con-sistently supported the concept of leaving the Indians as hunters and trappers. The imperatives of northern development, however, impinged on the logical application of the preferred program. By definition, the Yukon served as a resource base for the rest of the country. The gov-ernment could not countenance entrenchment of native access to game which, in turn, promised to interfere with northern development. Indian interests were regularly subordinated to the more pressing national con-cern for economic development. In the Yukon, native access to game even lost out to sport hunting, slowly being recognized as a potential growth industry. As R.H. Gibson noted: there has always been a fundamental difference in wild l i f e management in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. In the Yukon hunting for sport has been encouraged. In the Northwest Territories the wild l i f e i s reserved for those who depend on i t for a liv i n g , chiefly our increasing population of Indians and Eskimos. 3 7 As of 1950, most of the Yukon Indians remained as hunters and trap-pers, resorting to towns only as season and need dictated. While the government's program of economic and social segregation appeared suc-cessful, more important forces had actually worked to keep natives and whites apart. Limited mining, restricted demographic pressure, a con-sistently strong fur market, and the natives' a f f i n i t y for harvesting over industrial work ensured that the Indians remained as Indians. Gov-3 7 YRGI, series 3, vol. 10, f i l e 12-20B, Gibson to Hoffmaster, 23 Janu-ary 1943. This program entailed significant costs. Increased hunt-ing during World War II, largely by American servicemen and construc-tion workers, seriously depleted game stocks in the Kluane Lake area. In December 1942, a sizeable tract of land in the d i s t r i c t was set aside as a game preserve (eventually Kluane National Park). Impor-tantly, natives were not permitted to hunt within the preserve. Rob-ert McCandless. \"Yukon Wildlife: A Social History,\" unpublished man-uscript, YTA, Chapter 4. 294 eminent encouragement uas less important. The government had* i t seems, succeeded in spite of i t s e l f . i t s programs of residential reserves and economic segregation functioned more as symbols than effective policies. To a certain extent then. government programming for the Yukon natives seldom extended beyond accepting the status quo. Importantly, and only to the extent possible uithin i t s limited mandate, the Department of In-dian Affairs attempted to s o l i d i f y and entrench the natives' position as harvesters through government i n i t i a t i v e . Federal government programming for the Yukon Indians had strayed s i g -n i f i c a n t l y from the national imperatives delineated in the Indian Act. The encouragement of self-sufficiency and providing protection from uhite society are evident in the policies discussed above. The govern-ment, houever. shied auay from a commitment to assimilation. allegedly the cornerstone of national Indian policy. The ready acceptance of \"best l e f t as Indians\" from 1894 to 1950 stands in marked contrast to the cultural imperialism typically associated uith federal Indian p o l i -cy. This contradiction may have been inherent in the government's pro-gram, as the dedication to protection and self-sufficiency almost by definition interfered uith attempts at assimilation. The guidelines in the Indian Act. houever. also allowed for a certain f l e x i b i l i t y , permit-ting government agents in the f i e l d and Ottaua to adapt national policy directives to local conditions. Given the limited development prospects for the territory and the substantial socio-cultural barriers (both na-tive and uhite) to Indian participation in the industrial economy, the government's acceptance of the natives as hunters and trappers uas no doubt the most logical and cost effective policy. The administration of 295 Indian a f f a i r s in the Yukon did not focus exclusively on these larger issues; indeed, attempts at structuring residential reserves and pre-serving native access to game evolved as ad hoc responses to changing t e r r i t o r i a l conditions. Government agents charged uith supervising the Indians actually spent most of their time and the majority of their budgets on more mundane matters, especially on emergency r e l i e f and medical care for those uho slipped belou the margins of subsistence or health. Federal involve-ment, uhich f e l l outside the government's legal requirements as the na-tives uere not covered by treaty, centred on one simple principle. Frank Oliver's comment that uhite expansion had been of unqualified ben-e f i t to the Indians aside, bureaucrats acknouledged that the arrival of the uhites had been at best a mixed blessing. Through the introduction of neu diseases and over-harvesting of resources, the uhites had i n -f l i c t e d an array of social and economic i l l s . Intervention in the areas of uelfare and medical assistance started in the pre-Gold Rush period uith an unuritten but uidely accepted obligation to offer amelioration to those Indians displaced or injured by uhite advancement. It i s at this level that understanding of the administration of Indian Affairs in Canada is most deficient. In a recent a r t i c l e on the Canadian North, Peter Usher commented, The government had sought to remove any encumbrance to land t i t l e and settlement and the police maintained lau and order. Beyond these measures, houever, the government failed to de-tect any responsibility on i t s part for those people over uhose t e r r i t o r i e s i t had assumed c o n t r o l . 3 8 3 8 Peter Usher, \"The North: Metropolitan Frontier, Native Homeland?\" in L.D. McCann, Heartland and Hinterland: A Geography of Canada, (Scarborough: Prentice-Hall Canada Inc., 1982), 427. 296 Uhile Usher's comment may apply to some northern d i s t r i c t s , i t is most certainly an inadequate representation of Yukon conditions. Government involvement uith such Indian matters commenced uith the arrival of the North Uest Mounted Police in 1894. Though Inspector Con-stantine uas enjoined from encouraging treaty negotiations, as o f f i c i a l representative of the Department of Indian Affairs he carried authoriza-tion to provide necessary medical and re l i e f assistance. Uith the es-tablishment of the Yukon Territory as an administrative unit in 1898, many of the f i s c a l responsibilities passed to the office of the Commis-sioner, although police officers in the f i e l d continued to provide the actual a i d . 3 9 Follouing repeated representations by the Anglican Church, the government f i n a l l y relented in 1914 and appointed a f u l l time Indian agent. Long-time Yukon missionary John Hauksley received the posting. Hauksley treated his neu position as an extension of his former duties, paying particular attention to the Indians' moral and medical condi-t i o n . 4 0 Far from an interventionist, the agent believed his greatest claim to be that \"the Indians feel they have a place to go uhen they are 3 9 M74-3, f i l e l-A-2, Pedley to Oliver, 23 January 1908, General Synod Archives, Anglican Church of Canada (GSA); As late as 1903, Sifton believed there to be only 700 natives in the Yukon. Canada, Parlia-ment, House of Commons DebateB (1901 Session), vol. 11, 5449-5450; ibid., (1903 Session), vol. 3, 7270-7273. 4 0 YRGI, series 2, f i l e 29,299, J. D. McLean to John Hauksley, 4 March 1914; DIA, vol. 1129, Superintendent General to Governor General in Council, 12 January 1914; GSA, M74-3, f i l e 1-A-5-A, Deputy Superin-tendent's Letterbook, 4 February 1911 - 29 May 1914, Stringer to Mar-ti n ; DIA, vol. 7155, f i l e 801/3-10, pt. 1, Hauksley to McLean, 17 April 1929; ibid., Hauksley to McLean, 13 June 1919. see also Hawk-sley's reports in Department of Indian Affairs, Annual Reports espe-c i a l l y 1915-1916, pp. 115-117 and 1917, p. 30. Hauksley's efforts uere directed at improving native liv i n g conditions, especially as regarded sanitation, and controlling native-uhite interaction. The latter uas accomplished through imposing curfeus and restricting na-tive access to the touns. 297 in trouble uhere they can be advised and helped; they appreciate i t very much.\"41 Follotting Hauksley's retirement in 1933. the duties of Indian Agent devolved back to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Each year, the force delegated to one officer responsibility for t e r r i t o r i a l Indian matters. in addition to other assigned duties. Clearly. the limited p r i o r i t y given native a f f a i r s had slipped f u r t h e r . 4 2 From 1914 to 1946. the of f i c e of the Indian Agent served as l i t t l e more than an administra-tive centre, dispensing r e l i e f , organizing medical and educational pro-grams and reporting regularly to the Ottaua office. When R.J. Meek re-ceived an appointment as full-time agent in 1946. the position took on greater importance. largely due to Meek's activism. 4 3 From Constantine to Meek, houever. individuals responsible for the administration of In-dian a f f a i r s found themselves preoccupied uith assisting the Indians in adjusting to the ravages associated uith uhite expansion. The most important of these duties involved the dispersal of re l i e f payments or emergency supplies. A mythology developed in the 1900-1950 period concerning the natives' uillingness to accept r e l i e f . (The image persists to the present.) The standard account i s that the Indians readily surrendered to the convenience of government assistance, aban-doning more rigourous pursuits in favour of graceless supplication at 4 1 Report of John Hauksley. Department of Indian Affairs. Annual Report. 1915-1916, 117. 4 2 YRGI, series 2, f i l e 29,299, Jeckell to Chairman, Dominion Lands Branch, 17 November 1933; RG91, vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt. 7, T.E.L. Ma-clnnes to R. A. Gibson, 23 July 1938. That the R.C.M.P. uould accept such a task i s in keeping uith their tradition of handling a variety of government duties in frontier settings. See Carl Betke, \"Pioneers and Police on the Canadian Prairies, 1885-1914,\" Canadian Historical Association, Historical Papers (1980), 9-33. 4 3 McCandless. \"Yukon Wildlife.\" 298 the Indian Agent's table. Those administering the r e l i e f program in the Yukon almost universally shared this belief and their attitudes played a major role in shaping the program. As the Yukon experience demon-strates, the vision uas a misleading portrayal of native interest in government handouts. Federal authorities i n i t i a l l y refused to accept any obligation for native suffering, doggedly maintaining that the arrival of the uhite man had been of considerable benefit to the Indians.* 4 Functioning uithout an o f f i c i a l commitment, police officers provided only occasional r e l i e f supplies to truly destitute individuals. Faced uith the potential star-vation of a small band of Indians at Moosehide in 1900, houever, the government uas forced into more substantial and precedent-setting ac-tion. N.U.M.P. Inspector Z. Uood of Dauson authorized immediate dis-persements of food to contain the c r i s i s , applying for o f f i c i a l permis-sion l a t e r . * 5 The government insisted that \"whenever possible the Indians should be required to perform labour or supply game, skins or other commodities in return for the provisions issued to them.\" In the short term, houever, police officers uere enjoined to \"provide against anything like destitution.\"* 5 ** Canada, Parliament, House of Commons Debates, vol. 46(1898), 824. 4 5 Bompas to Uood, 6 July 1900, RG18, vol. 247, f i l e 92, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Records; ibid., Uhite to Uood, 20 July 1900; ibid., Uood to Comptroller, 5 July 1900. * 5 DIA, vol. 4001, f i l e 207,418, Smart to McLean. 30 April 1902; ibid., Uhite to SMart, 1 January 1901, ibid., Accountant to Secretary, 1 May 1902. 299 From 1900. the government provided parsimonious r e l i e f assistance to those who could demonstrate need. Few took the offer, limiting the wel-fare r o l l s to a few widowed, aged or infirm natives.* 7 The r e l i e f system occasionally responded to more widespread destitution, as occurred in 1905 near McQuesten and 1912 in the southern Yukon, when game stocks unexpectedly declined. 4 8 While few laid claim to the government's muni-ficence, the police officers in charge of the program before 1914 be-lieved that the a v a i l a b i l i t y of re l i e f rendered the Indians beggars. As the Commanding Officer of the Whitehorse Detachment commented in 1908, \"It i s evident that the government assistance given to sick and desti-tute Indians at Whitehorse is most injurious to the well-being and mo-rale of the Indians.\" He then proceeded to ascribe alcohol abuse, pros-tit u t i o n and general laziness to the \"pernicious effect\" of r e l i e f . 4 3 As a counter-measure, the police imposed controlling mechanisms to protect against anticipated abuse. Inspector Horrigan noted in 1912 that \"young 4 7 P.G18, vol. 147, f i l e 92. Hawksley to Wood. 24 June 1902; DIA. vol. 4001. f i l e 207.418. Snyder to Asst. Commissioner. 19 November 1902; Report to Superintendent Wood. 1 December 1901. North West Mounted Police, Annual Report 1902. pt.lI I. 10; DIA. vol. 3962. f i l e 147.654-1. pt. 2, Wood to Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, 22 March 1903; Report of Asst. Commissioner Wood, 1 December 1904, NWMP, AR 1905, 19; Report of Asst. Commissioner Wood, 1 December 1903, NWMP, AR 1904, 12; RG18, vol. 295, f i l e 173, Cuthbert to Asst. Commissioner, 31 January 1905; RG18, vol. 352, f i l e 128, Superinten-dent \"H\" Division to Asst. Commissioner, 3 March 1908, 1 May 1908; Report of Asst. Commissioner Wood, 1 October 1909, Royal North West Mounted Police, AR. 1910, 217. 4 8 RG18, vol. 195, f i l e 273, Cuthbert to Asst. Commissioner, 30 Septem-ber 1905; RNWMP, AR 1912, 222. 4 8 RG18, vol. 352, f i l e 128, Superintendent \"H\" Division to Asst. Com-missioner, 1 June 1908. See also Report of Inspector Routledge, 1 December 1902, NWMP, AR 1902, 89. Not a l l police officers shared this view. Several argued for greater government assistance. RG18, vol. 272, f i l e 267, Superintendent \"B\" Division to Asst. Commission-er, 31 January 1904. 300 husky Indians asking for provisions uere asked to s p l i t some stove uood. Needless to say in every case they found that after a l l they did not re-quire provisions. This plan has uorked admirably in ueeding out the undeserving cases.\" 5 0 Those in need found government assistance availa-ble but? self-righteously convinced that the Indians uere inveterate malingerers, police officers closely regulated their disbursements. Under Hauksley. the r e l i e f program expanded considerably. The neu Indian Agent relied on his former missionary colleagues to assist him. also allowing police officers and even fur traders to allocate supplies uhen deemed necessary. 5 1 Even uith the expanded netuorks. there is no indication that the natives found the r e l i e f system desirable. Facing the rigourous government strictures on assistance, only those truly des-titute applied for aid. The Indians uere hardly different from those feu uhites uhose sustenance depended upon u i l d game. Vhen resources played out or grubstakes duindled. uhite trappers and prospectors simi-l a r l y f e l l back on meagre government handouts. Sustained by a viable, renumerative hunting and trapping economy and facing l i t t l e pressure to abandon their nomadic pursuits. the Indians found l i t t l e attraction in eking out a marginal existence on the social and physical fringes of uhite communities. The re l i e f system provided an important safety net 5 0 Report of Inspector Horrigan, 30 September 1911. RNWMP. AR 1911, 212. 5 1 Report of Superintendent Hoodie. 30 September 1913. RNWMP, AR 1914. 274; YRGI. series 2. f i l e 29.299. McLean to Hauksley. 4 March 1914; Stringer to Tounsend. 9 February 1915. AC. Carcross F i l e ; GSA. M74-3. f i l e 1-A-5A. Stringer to Martin. 13 November 1916; Report of Corporal Hocking, 6 March 1914, RNWMP, AR 1915, 740; Stringer to Chambers, 17 May 1916, AC, Chambers f i l e ; Stringer to W.D. (Young), 25 April 1917, AC, Young f i l e . Allowing fur traders to disperse r e l i e f supplies lead to occasional cries of conflict of interest. In those areas uithout police or missionary stations, houever, the government per-mitted the resident trader to determine need. 301 for times when other means of support failed. In offering such aid. the government hardly assumed a great responsibility; i t did. nonetheless, recognize i t s obligation to compensate those uho suffered through uhite incursions. This willingness to assist the Indians uas not a de-clared national objective. Instead, as with much government act i v i t y on the natives' behalf. federal authorities responded to local exigencies. In these administrative areas, as uith broader policy concerns, regional r e a l i t i e s conditioned the scope and effectiveness of federal Indian pro-gramming. While feu natives appear to have suffered significant economic dis-tress, many more fe l t the ravages of European diseases (easily a majori-ty of those on re l i e f accepted aid due to i l l n e s s ) . Wanting to compen-sate the Indians for the depredations of uhite society. the government provided a surprisingly comprehensive medical care program. N.W.M.P. surgeons offered assistance to natives whenever medical needs dictated. By 1906, the government replaced the ad hoc reliance on police personnel uith a more permanent system. The Department of Indian Affairs placed four doctors on permanent retainer. The doctors then made their s e r v i -ces available to Indians as required. When authorized by an appropriate government o f f i c i a l , Indians could v i s i t the doctor, receive free medi-cines and other aids and even be hospitalized without charge. 5 2 sz Auditor General of Canada, Annual Report, 1902-1903, J-78; ibid., 1904-1905, J-62. The natives obviously patronized the service. Doc-tors were paid $2 per authorized consultation. In 1901-1902, the two busiest doctors, NWMP assistant surgeon G. Madore and medical doctor L.S. Sugden received $1516 and $1113 respectively from the govern-ment, accounting for close to 1300 v i s i t s betueen them. 302 The federal government's commitment to medical care became particu-larly evident during epidemics, a common occurance among the Indians from the early 19th Century. 5 3 Recognizing these diseases as white im-ports, the government moved swiftly to prevent or limit the devastation typically associated with the attacks. As with most government programs for the Indians, other considerations also conditioned government re-sponse. Diseases carried by the nomadic Indians threatened the more sedentary white population, and i t served everyone's interest to prevent the dispersal of i l l n e s s . Thus, containing the epidemics in the Indian camps functioned as an important form of preventive medicine for the en-t i r e territory. Though motives may have been mixed, the government re-sponded quickly to each appearance of a potential epidemic. Quarantines served to limit the spread of disease and grants of food rations and medical care assisted those under surveillance. This system, imposed regularly throughout the territory, worked in combination with regular medical attendance to provide a surprisingly comprehensive medical care package for the Yukon Indians. S 4 These r e l i e f and medical care measures deviated from the central tenets, of government Indian policy. They served primarily to aleviate damages i n f l i c t e d by white expansion, and did not represent an attempt to improve the Indians. 5 3 Alfred Crosby, \"Virgin Soil Epidemics as a Factor in the Aboriginal Depopulation in America,\" William and Harv Quarterly, 3rd Series, Vol. 33 (April 1976). 5 4 RG18, vol. 247, f i l e 91, Bompas to Wood, 6 July 1900; RG18, vol. 514, f i l e 530, Bell to C. 0., \"B\" Division, 2 September 1916. The major instance of government action in the face of an epidemic involved an outbreak of smallpox near Rampart House in 1911-1912. See Ken Coates, The Northern Yukons A History (Manuscript Report No. 403, Parks Canada, 1979), 80-81; L. Green, The Boundary Hunters (Vancou-ver: University of B r i t i s h Columbia Press, 1982); RG18, vol. 532, f i l e 206-17: Fyfe to CO. \"B\" Division, 7 September 1911; ibid. 3 0 3 In contrast to the haphazard and unenthusiastic application of na-tional Indian policy, the government enforced federal law uith much more certainty of purpose. From 1894, uhen the f i r s t representatives of the North West Mounted Police reached the Yukon River valley, through to 1950, federal authorities insisted that the national police force bring the natives under the protection and scrutiny of the Canadian legal sys-tem. Handling the natives uas usually a small component of the North West Mounted Police's uork in the territory, particularly during the Klondike Gold Rush uhen their efforts focused on policing the mass in-flux of miners and camp followers. Nonetheless, the police had more ex-tensive contact uith the Indians than any other federal agency. 5 5 The police undertook Indian uork in the north uith l i t t l e enthusiasm. In contrast to the \"superior\" Indians of the southern plains, the Yukon natives uere vieued by the North West Mounted Police officers as a \"lazy and s h i f t l e s s l o t , \" an image that did not change much over time. 5 5 Con-sistently prodded by missionaries and government representatives, hou-ever, the police reluctantly accepted a supervisory role over the native population. Over the next half century the force attempted to maintain a vigilant uatch over i t s native charges. 5 5 The best general study of N.W.M.P. a c t i v i t i e s in the north is W.R. Morrison, \"The Mounted Police on Canada's Northern Frontier,\" (unpub-lished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Western Ontario, 1971). For a provocative vieu of the role of the N.W.M.P. in the Gold Rush peri-od, see Thomas Stone, \"The Mounties as Vigilantes: Perceptions of Community and the Transformation of Lau in the Yukon, 1885-1897,\" Law and Society Review, vol. 4, no. 1 (Fall 1979). 5 5 W.R. Morrison, \"The Natives of the Northern Frontier,\" in H. Dempsey, ed., Men in Scarlet (Calgary: McClelland and Stewart, 1975). 304 Restricted by the small number of policemen, vast distances, and scattered native population, the North West Mounted Police could often give no more than a cursory glance to Indian a c t i v i t i e s . Posts were es-tablished primarily with the needs of the white population in mind ( a l -though several were opened with a view to stopping native t r a f f i c in l i -quor). The network of posts was supplemented by an extensive patrolling system, with police officers undertaking extended journeys through poor-ly served areas in order to deliver mail, to provide r e l i e f or medical supplies, to assert Canadian sovereignty, or to investigate reported crimes. The North West Mounted Police therefore provided wide-ranging coverage throughout the territory, though the back country d i s t r i c t s were generally poorly supervised. 5 7 (Map 9) Working under such limitations, the police took care not to push the letter of the law too strongly. When dealing with Dawson City p r o s t i -tutes, for example, the North West Mounted Police gave in to public pressure and allowed the \"ladies\" to ply their trade in specified dis-t r i c t s . S B The police were particularly lenient with natives, an acknowl-edgement of the latters' generally law-abiding nature and a recognition of the impracticality of providing direct supervision over the dispersed Indian population. Every effort was made though not always successful-ly, to convince governments to exclude the natives from the strictures of t e r r i t o r i a l game laws. When individual natives did breach the o f f i -57 Morrison, \"The Mounted Police.\" The approach was the same as that adopted to good effect in the south. R.C. McLeod, The North West Mounted Pol ice and Law Enforcement, 1873-1905 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1975). 5B Hal Guest, \"The History of Dawson City, Yukon Territory.\" 3 0 5 c i a l regulations, the police treated the offenders with d i s c r e t i o n . 5 3 Like other government agencies, the North Vest Mounted Police believed that the Indians should remain as harvesters, an attitude revealed both in their f l e x i b i l i t y concerning game regulations and their willingness to comply with extra legal attempts to keep the Indians out of the towns. The natives generally respected the North West Mounted Police and ac-knowledged that the policemen frequently acted on their behalf. Mis-sionaries and government agents similarly believed the police to be a positive influence. In 1931. John Hawksley requested that the Fort Sel-kirk detachment be reopened. The departure of the police, the Indian Agent argued, had led to a serious increase in drinking and violent be-haviour. 6 0 Inspector Horrigan's intervention in 1909 in a near battle between the Blind Creek and Pelly River Indian bands ill u s t r a t e d a more direct approach. Horrigan's hastily arranged t r i a l and threat of incar-ceration for the band leaders led to an acceptance of a negotiated peace. 6 1 In this and other cases, the natives accepted the police's en-forcement role. 3 3 RG10. vol. 6761. f i l e 410-12, J.A. Smart to Major Z.T.Wood, 17 Octo-ber 1902; RG85, vol. 905, f i l e 10,442, Report re: Tanana Joe, 25 No-vember 1942; RG91, vol. 62, f i l e 35,411, f i l e re: J. Sheldon - Trap-ping Beaver Without Permit, 21 June 1950. There are many such examples of leniency. 6 0 RG91, vol. 9, f i l e 1490, pt.J, John Hawksley to A.F. Mackenzie, 27 August 1931. 6 1 R.N.W.M.P., Annual Report, 1909, pp. 243-244. For a more readable, i f less reliable, account see National Museum of Man, Canadian Eth-nology Service Archives, Poole Field Letters, Field to Dear Jack, c. 1909. 306 Map 9: NWMP Posts, 1903 i • ' i • M i l e s 307 The Indians did not. however. offer unquestioning obedience to a l l the dictates of the North Vest Mounted Police's rule. The continual flaunting of liquor laws is but the most obvious sign that the natives did not always adhere to police direction. Uhen the North West Mounted Police opened an establishment at Dalton Post. the Indians simply i g -nored the authorities, crossed into American territory and consumed their alcohol beyond the control of the p o l i c e . 5 2 Similarly, the force's occasional i n a b i l i t y to punish offenders restricted their effectiveness. Knowing themselves to be far from the Dawson courts, the Old Crow Indi-ans repeatedly and publically ignored proscriptions on gambling and drinking. The natives had correctly perceived a weakness in the Canadi-an legal system. in this case the government's unwillingness to trans-port suspected transgressors long distances for minor offenses. 5 3 The federal government moved to resolve the problem by appointing Anglican clergyman A.C. McCullum as Justice of the Peace (he l e f t the area before the commission a r r i v e d ) . 5 4 The threat of punishment, particularly incar-ceration, was a powerful deterrent to native \"criminal\" behaviour. With that deterrent removed, however. the Indians were willing to ignore the local police, at least as regards minor crimes of social control. 5 2 NWMP. Annual Report. 1901. pt.lI I. p. 54. Report of Assistant Sur-geon FraserS Annual Report. 1902. pt.III. pp. 101-103. Report of In-spector McDonell. 5 3 RG85. vol. 774, f i l e 5589. Thornthwaite to Superintendent of Indian Affairs, c. 1927, Allard to Commissioner, 5 February 1927; vol. 609, f i l e 2657, Extracts from report of Corp. Thornthwaite, 8 November 1927. 5 4 YRGI, Series 2, vol. 34, f i l e 33.989, Minute of Privy Council, 13 February 1928. 308 From the beginning, the police uere prepared to believe the worst of the northern natives. Following the murder of a miner in the southern Yukon in 1891, Superintendent Sam Steele noted, \"The Indians of this country are as treacherous as any in the North-West T e r r i t o r i e s . \" 5 5 The i n i t i a l expectations did not come to pass, as the incidence of serious crime among the Yukon Indians remained noticeably s l i g h t . 5 5 It i s , of course, d i f f i c u l t to assess the actual extent of native crime, especial-ly given the glaring gaps in the police network and incomplete court re-cords. Indian offenses against uhites uere generally recorded; indeed, the tendency uas to inappropriately attribute most unsolved minor thefts to the Indians, therefore overstating such a c t i v i t y . 5 7 Conversely, i n c i -dents involving natives received attention only i f violence threatened. Prospector's reports such as the 1921 rumour that the White River Indi-ans uere planning a raid on the Tanana Indians 5 8 led to the commission-ing of special investigative patrols, most of uhich demonstrated the miners' accounts to be faulty. 5 5 N.W.M.P., Annual Report, 1899, p t . I l l , p. 20, Report of Superinten-dent S.B. Steele. 6 5 The police soon agreed the natives uere lau-abiding and peaceable. RG10, vol. 4081, f i l e 478,700, Report of Mayo Indians, 28 August 1917; N.W.M.P., Annual Report, 1904, p. 12, Report of Superintendent Wood; R.N.W.M.P., Annual Report, 1907-08, p. 21, Report of Superin-tendent Synder; R.N.W.M.P., Annual Report, 1911, p. 225, Report of Inspector Macdonald. 5 7 A good example is the general indictment of the Hootchi near Dalton Post in N.W.M.P., Annual Report, 1900, pt.11» p. 58, Report of In-spector Jarvis. 5 8 RG10, vol. 7475, f i l e 19,166-3, p t . l , Superintendent Tucker to Com-missioner, 11 April 1921, Hauksley to O.C. \"B\" Division, 27 April 1921. See also N.W.M.P., Annual Report, 1896, p. 13, Report of In-spector Constantine. 3Q9 The number of recorded crimes involving natives remained small throughout the period in question. There were, of course, occasional murders, assaults, and thefts. Host often, houever, these acts of vio-lence were directed touard other natives. The murders of Pelly Jim by Jackie Mackintosh in Uhitehorse in 1926 and Paddy Duncan's slaying of Martin Kane at Champagne the next year uere rare events and like most others involved excessive consumption of alcohol. Natives uere seldom implicated in serious crimes against uhites (and the reverse uas also true). A notable exception occurred in 1899 uhen tuo prospectors uere attacked, apparently uithout provocation. One died uhile the other, feigning death, escaped to the Tagish detachment of the North Uest Mounted Police. The five perpetrators uere soon apprehended and uithin five ueeks uere in the Dauson j a i l auaiting the gallows.es This case notwithstanding, the low incidence of inter-racial crime is a further indication of limited contact between natives and whites in the Yukon. It also suggests that the early North Uest Mounted Police expectations were misplaced. Indications from police court records point to a consistently low crime rate (though a caveat must be entered that reported and punished crime represents an unknown portion of actual offenses). The 744 p r i s -oners at the Dawson j a i l during 1900 included only seven Indians and three half-breeds. Three years later, only 2 of 365 were native and in 1904 the comparable figures were 7 out of 292. Even following the de-cline of Dawson City population following after 1904, uhich l e f t the po-l i c e free to devote more attention to the natives, the incidence of na-69 N.U.M.P., Annual Report, 1899, pt.III, pp. 42-43, Report of Inspector Uood. 310 PLEASE NOTE: PAGES 311 AND 312 ARE NONEXISTENT 310A tive crime remained low. In 1909. the number of native convictions rose to 19 out of 171, 32 of 233 in 1912 and only 13 of 197 in 1916.7° The Whitehorse Police Court register for 1900-1949 reveals a similar trend (see Table 26).TI TABLE 26 CRIMES INVOLVING NATIVES WHITEHORSE POLICE COURT, 1900--1949 Whites Indians Possession Supplying Supplying of Liquor Liquor Drunk Liquor Theft Assault Othe: 1900-04 26 3 29 2 3 5 4 1905-09 23 2 30 1 1 4 -1910-14 22 5 27 10 1 3 4 1915-19 6 - 6 - - - -1920-24 4 1 4 3 1 - 7 1925-29 15 6 35 9 - 1 1 1930-34 9 7 24 2 3 1 6 1935-39 8 4 32 2 - 1 3 1940-44 27 5 86 6 3 4 10 1945-49 52 5 265 31 - 1 15 Source: Whitehorse Police Court Register, 1899-1949, P.A.C, RCMP. 7 0 Figures are from N.W.M.P. (and R.N.W.M.P.) Annual Reports 7 * RG18, Whitehorse Police Court Register, 1900-1950. 313 Court records, confirmed by police reports, suggest that the Indians were non-violent (especially toward uhites) and law-abiding. The pre-ponderance of convictions. both in Whitehorse and Dawson. involved na-tive consumption of alcohol, an offense treated by the police more as a nuisance than a serious breach of the law. Due in part to the positive relationship between Indians and the po-l i c e , the courts treated native offenders leniently. Aware that punish-ments for the numerous alcohol-related offenses uere of limited deter-rence and reluctant to blame the natives for depredations allegedly i n f l i c t e d by Euro-Canadians, court o f f i c i a l s vieued penalties for this offense as l i t t l e more than a drinking tax. The natives rarely chal-lenged the charges, uith most entering a guilty plea. paying their fines, and taking their leave. For natives, penalties for alcohol-re-lated offenses usually consisted of a $5 to $10 fine. although repeat offenders faced short-term imprisonment. The courts and police dealt more firmly uith uhites accused of giving alcohol to the Indians. In such instances, the standard sentence included a $100 fine (again a tax given the high profits from bootlegging), six months in j a i l or both. Repeat offenders faced even more serious p e n a l t i e s . 7 2 The North West Mounted Police encountered feu d i f f i c u l t i e s uith the natives, except regarding the consumption of alcohol. Under the Indian Act of 1876. natives in Canada uere barred from consuming alcoholic bev-erages. 7 3 The permanent interdiction uas designed to protect the natives 7 2 RG10. vol. 3906. f i l e 105.378, Extract from monthly report of Super-intendent G.E. Snyder. December 1906. 7 3 J. Leslie and R. Maguire. The Historical Development of the Indian Act (Ottaua: DIAND. 1978). 3 1 4 from the deleterious influences of liquor uhile simultaneously protecting the Euro-Canadian population from the unpredictable actions on inebriated Indians. 7 4 Whites in the Yukon. particularly government agents and Church of England o f f i c i a l s accepted uidely-held truisms that alcohol debauched the Indians and instigated unsociable and violent be-haviour. They therefore insisted that the police take action to control the liquor trade. 7 5 From 1894 to 1950. the bulk of police a c t i v i t i e s re-lating to the natives revolved around the ongoing and largely unsuccess-ful attempt to prevent native consumption of alcohol, an effort directed largely at the uhites supplying the Indians. Although acknouledging the limited impact of their efforts, the po-li c e maintained their vigilance. Reports of native alcohol use uere ex-peditiously investigated, particularly uhen violence or death uas be-lieved attached to the dri n k i n g . 7 6 and a l l police patrols gave special attention to the a v a i l a b i l i t y of liquor in remote d i s t r i c t s . 7 7 Efforts to regulate the trade concentrated on two areas. Dalton Post and Teslin. 7 4 R.C. McLeod, The N.W.M.P. and Law Enforcement, p. 32. 7 5 RG10, vol. 3905, f i l e 105,378, Bompas to Honourable Sirs, 26 August 1893, PAC, MG30, E55. Constantine Papers, Constantine to O.C., Regi-na, 20 November 1896; PAC, CMS, Bompas to C.M.S., 24 May 1895; RG10, vol. 3906, f i l e 105,378, Bompas to Tenn, November 1893, Bompas to Minister of the Interior, 5 June 1896, United Committee on Native Races and the Liquor T r a f f i c to Sir Charles Tupper, January 1894. 7 6 RG18, vol. 539, f i l e 2, Bell to O.C., \"B\" Division, 20 January 1917, Mapley to O.C., Whitehorse Sub-division, 28 February 1917; RG10 vol. 549, Scott to McLean, 30 January 1918, Bell to Commissioner, 18 Feb-ruary 1918. 7 7 Most patrol reports, except for those dealing uith the Porcupine Riv-er area, included comments on local liquor t r a f f i c . For one such ex-ample, see YRGI, Series 7, vol. 33, f i l e 33,937, pt.9. Report of Su-perintendent H.H. Cronkhite re: Patrol from Dauson to Coffee Creek, 7 March 1929. 315 The former uas close to Haines. Alaska, uhere lax American enforcement ensured a steady supply of liquor. The Teslin Indians, similarly, had comparatively easy access through At l i n , British Columbia. Reports of blatant abuse of alcohol in both areas led to Royal North West Mounted Police decisions to open B m a l l detachments in Dalton Post (1918) and Teslin (1925). both designed s p e c i f i c a l l y to halt liquor t r a f f i c . 7 8 Such efforts uere. by police report, successful in limiting the public con-sumption and sale of liquor, but the officers uere not so naive as to believe they had eliminated the \" e v i l . \" Wherever the police moved to rest r i c t the use of alcohol, the Indians apparently responded by moving their drinking to private quarters. 7 9 Police enforcement of laus re-st r i c t i n g native access to alcohol, houever. did l i t t l e more than push drinking out of the public vieu and back into the cabins and tents of the Indians and their uhite drinking partners. Through their legal and an c i l l i a t o r y a c t i v i t i e s . the North West Mounted Police uere actively involved uith Indians throughout the Yukon Territory. Their attitudes and actions mirrored those of the larger bu-7 8 Efforts to establish posts at Dalton Post and Teslin in 1905 uere thuarted by manpouer shortages. RG18. vol. 300. f i l e 443. Wood to Comptroller. 13 August 1905. Comptroller to Wood. 26 August 1905. For Teslin. see RG18. vol. 301. f i l e 583. Wood to Comptroller, 11 No-vember 1905; RG18, vol. 315, f i l e 228, Superintendent \"H\" Division to Asst. Commissioner, 8 October 1906; YRGI, Series 3, vol. 10, f i l e 12-19A, Jeckell to Mayfield, 31 August 1940. For Dalton Post, see RG18, vol. 516, f i l e 607, Knight to Ironside, 19 October 1916; RG18, vol. 539, f i l e 2, Knight to Commissioner, 14 April 1917, Report re: Liquor to Indians in Dalton T r a i l D i s t r i c t , 29 September 1917, Ex-tract from Report of Inspector Bell, 4 February 1918, Extract from Report of Superintendent Knight, January 1918. 7 8 RG18, vol. 352, f i l e 128, Superintendent \"H\" Division to Asst. Com-missioner, RNWMP, 1 April 1900. On the high p r i o r i t y ascribed this problem by the police, see PAC, MG30 E98, Z.T.Wood Papers, Report re: Lau and Order in the Yukon, 14 May 1909. 316 reaucracy and they perceived their role as a buffer between the encroaching Euro-Canadian population and the s t i l l unprepared natives. The Indians accepted their leadership, both due to respect for the force and out of a healthy fear of imprisonment. There were, nonetheless, s t r i c t limitations on the power of the police, imposed by the vast dis-tances, the small number of officers, and the police's many responsibil-i t i e s . This was particularly evident in the attempts to regulate alco-hol use which, despite a half-century of regular vigilance, continued as an important recreational a c t i v i t y among the Indians. In general, how-ever, federal police work in the north, like so many government programs to 1945, served as a p a l l i a t i v e , structured to keep natives and whites apart and to counter the baleful effects of Euro-Canadian expansion. To the end of World War II, the federal government's program for the Yukon Indians departed in several significant aspects from declared na-tional policy. Many of the elements laid out in the Indian Act, includ-ing encouraging self-sufficiency, protecting the natives from white so-ciety and supporting the Christianization of the \"heathens\" found their way into practice, albeit often by default. In contrast, there was no commitment to assimilation. The authorities remained dedicated to keep-ing the Indians as Indians, supporting their continuing desire to hunt, trap and avoid absorption into the industrial economy. The low p r i o r i t y ascribed to Indian matters by the federal government prevented any en-trenchment of this status in the form of game preserves or guaranteed access to animal resources, but the emphasis remained intact. While the government shied away from imposing i t s assimilationist model on the Yu-kon Indians, they offered assistance to overcome the d i f f i c u l t i e s at-317 tending uhite expansion. Somewhat surprisingly, the medical and welfare benefits available to the natives began well in advance of similar gov-ernment programs for other Canadians, a faint but nonetheless clear pre-cursor of the safety net provisions of the post World War II welfare state. After 1945, federal programming took a dramatic s h i f t , ushering in a new era of government-native relations. While the administration of na-tive a f f a i r s before the war evolved from a pessimistic assessment of t e r r i t o r i a l prospects, the striking increase in interventionism after 1945 reflected new national imperatives. The post-war commitment of the Mackenzie King-led Liberal government to a national social welfare sys-tem foreshadowed major new directions in government programs for a l l Canadians. s o While much of the increased intervention stemmed from na-tional policies, including Mother's Allowance introduced in 1945, other specific Yukon programs originated in recognition of changing regional conditions. The construction of the Alaska Highway and the Canol Pipe-line during the war altered social and economic r e a l i t i e s and a precipi-tous decline in fur prices after 1948 undermined the v i a b i l i t y of the natives' harvesting pursuits. Much of the \"new\" policy involved a simple expansion of existing pro-grams. This period, 1945-1950, saw the extension of medical care offer-ings outside the Dawson-Whitehorse corridor, a tuberculosis survey, a special tuberculosis wing addition to the Whitehorse General Hospital, 8° Dennis Guest, The Emergence of Social Security in Canada (Vancouver: University of Br i t i s h Columbia Press, 1980); Ken Coates, \"The Alaska Highway and the Indians of the Southern Yukon, 1942-1950: A Study in Native Adaptation to Northern Development,\" paper presented to the 40th Anniversary Symposium on the Alaska Highway, Fort St.John, B.C., July 1982. 318 the hiring of a Public Health nurse to administer routine medical servi-ces and offer health education, an immunization program and special na-tive dental c l i n i c s . The government also fleshed out r e l i e f measures, particularly in the aftermath of the collapse of the fur trade. 8 1 Indian Agent R.J. Meek tried to divert the natives from the welfare r o l l s , i n -stead \"assisting the Indians to be self-supporting and reliant.\" \"When-ever possible,\" Heek stated, financial aid was \"given to Indians to as-s i s t them in possible worthwhile fields of endeavour, in preference to direct r e l i e f . \" 8 2 The government moved with equal haste to expand educa-tional offerings. Two neu boarding schools opened between 1946 and 1950 and funding for day schools increased significantly. Importantly, the federal emphasis also shifted away from casual li t e r a r y and basic compu-tational s k i l l s , the new educational programs emphasizing industrial and technical training instead. As before, the myriad of medical and wel-fare programs available to Indians far exceeded those provided the white population. (Table 27) 8 1 RG91, vol. 65, f i l e 813, Gibben to Keenleyside, 4 September 1947; DIA, vol. 8762, f i l e 906/25-1-005, pt. 1, Quarterly Report of R. J. Heek, 1 October to 31 December 1949; Public Accounts of the Govern- ment of the Yukon Territory, 1949-1950, 41; Amy Wilson, No Han Stands Alone (Sidney: Gray's Publishing, 1965) is the memoir of a nurse who served along the Alaska Highway in the late 1940's and early 1950's. Though somewhat overstated, the volume provides a good indication of the variety of health care programs available to the Indians. 8 2 Canada. Department of Mines and Resources, Indian Affairs Branch, Annual Report, 1949. 200; DIA, vol. 6761, f i l e 420-12-1-RT-l, Heek to Kjar. 15 Harch 1950. See the IAB, Annual Reports for 1949, 1950 and 1951 for details on the programs offered. Employment prospects in-cluded work on the federal experimental farm at Haines Junction, or several native housing projects. Host of the Indians assisted by Heek found short-term work as dog-team drivers or wood-cutters. 319 TABLE 27 FEDERAL EXPENDITURES ON YUKON INDIANS. 1900-1950 (YEARLY AVERAGE - $) Relief & Day Residen. Adminis. Medical Schools(5) Schools Wei fare Medical Total 1900-04(1) - 4503 2139 6642 1905-09 - 5725 2996 8721 1910-14 1302(2) 18007(3) 2251 15916(4) 37476 1915-19 3946 11698 3072 7833 26550 1920-24 3425 12276 2333 12966 31000 1925-29 3614 13296 3058 15895 35863 1930-34 2785(6) - 2872 20972(7) 8836 9076 44541 1935-39 1011 - 4366 15459 9950 11572 42358 1940-44 665 - 4844 11145 11719 13309 41682 1945-49 7227 23988(9) 17884 18287 (10) 67386 (1) Fours year only. Net expenditures in 1900-1901. (2) Indian Agent hired in 1914. (3) Includes expenses relating to Rampart House small-pox epidemic? 1911-12 - $25,000; 1912-13 - $15,100. (4) Expenditure of more than $40,000 for construction of Carcross Resi-dential School, 1911. (5) Does not include incidential expenses. (6) Indian Agent retired in 1933, not replaced until 1946. (7) Expenditure in excess of $48,000 in 1930-31 on construction. (8) Neu Indian Agent appointed 1946. (9) Expenditures increased by almost three times, 1946-47 to 1947-48. (10) On November 1, 1945, Indian Health Services uere transferred to the neuly created Department of National Health and Welfare. Source: Department of Indian Affairs, Annual Reports, 1900-1950. Of a l l the neu federal i n i t i a t i v e s , the introduction of Mother's A l -lowance had the greatest impact in this period. To qualify for the variable (by age of child) monthly allotment, one only had to be a r e s i -dent of Canada and have children under the age of 16 registered and at-tending school. The latter requirement uas not immediately applied in the Yukon, though as the school system expanded the government enforced the regulations with increasing severity. Unlike most Canadians, i n -cluding Indians in the provinces, the Yukon natives did not receive a regular cash payment. Afraid that the Indians' nomadic l i f e s t y l e would 320 lead to profligate waste of the federal grant. the government insisted upon issuing payments \"in kind.\" Offering food and clothing instead of a cheque allowed the government to dictate native purchases. Seeing l i t t l e value in native eating habits, authorities insisted that canned milk and tomatoes and prepared baby foods be included in individual a l -lotments. 8 3 The program had even larger implications than significant alterations in diet and material culture. The requirement that children attend schools regularly, applied with increasing vigour (especially af-ter 1950). forced d i f f i c u l t choices between seasonal mobility and a more sedentary existence calculated to ensure a continuation of payments. The government expanded the day school and residential school programs in the same period, drawing more children into i t s educational network and more families into permanent residence near the towns. The federal government had embarked on a new direction in social pro-gramming after 1945. for a l l Canadians and not just the Indians. For the natives of the Yukon, this activism had marked consequences. Moth-er's Allowance, pensions for the aged. reserve house projects, educa-tional support, employment programs, expanded welfare and medical care offered greatly enhanced government assistance and led to a general abandonment of the nomadic l i f e s t y l e . Through the 1950's and following decades, government intervention increased as the federal bureaucracy sought new ways to improve the natives' condition. For the Yukon Indi-ans, i t was only after 1945 that the federal government's native policy approached the interventionist-assimilationist program long assumed to 8 3 IAB. AR 1946. 211; Guest. The Emergence of Social Security in Canada, pp. 128-133. 32 1 typify government-native r e l a t i o n s . S 4 The policy guidelines sketched in the Indian Act provided a framework within which government-Indian relations in the Yukon functioned. Im^-portantly. regional and national administrators enjoyed considerable l a -titude in relating national imperatives to local conditions. Of the four main elements of national Indian policy. encouraging s e l f - s u f f i -ciency (though in non-agricultural and non-industrial pursuits) and protecting natives from the white population dominated Yukon program-ming. Residential reserves - not negotiated treaty reserves - and pro-tecting access to resources - but not granting game preserves - were the central tenants of Indian Affairs' administration in the territory. A l -though natives were constantly subordinated to a pressing government concern for development, limited mining act i v i t y precluded any s i g n i f i -cant c o n f l i c t over land or resources. The government avoided assimila-tion, altering i t s educational program and expectations considerably and doggedly asserting as late as 1950 that the hunting and trapping offered the best prospects for the Yukon Indians. For their part, the natives agreed with the government's position. The majority continued to prefer the still-economical pursuit of game over the meagre returns from gov-ernment handouts. B 4 This description of the post-World War II activism of the federal government in Indian matters is widely accepted by commentators and analysts. See Peter Usher, \"The North: Metropolitan Frontier, Na-tive Homeland?\" E. Leacock and N. Lurie, eds.. North American Indi- ans in Historical Perspective (New York: Random House, 1971), Alice Kehoe, North American Indians: A Comprehensive Account (Englewood C l i f f s : Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1981), pp. 487-504; David Riches, Northern Nomadic Hunter-Gatherers: A Humanistic Approach (Toronto: Academic Press, 1982). 32 2 Government Indian policy in the Yukon both reflected and enhanced the natives' continuing marginalization. Residential reserves represented a response to uhite exclusionist pressures and the Indians' expectation of a seasonal home near population centres. Similarly, limited federal i n -i t i a t i v e s to protect native access to game indicated the continuing im-portance of harvesting in the Indians' economic l i f e . Like religion and education, federal government programs did not serve to drau the Indians closer to the centre of the white-dominated regional order. Instead, uhite exclusionism and the natives' a f f i n i t y for the harvesting l i f e s -tyle undermined the prac t i c a l i t y of any program that did not take into account Indian nomadism and the limited social and economic accommoda-tion betueen the races. 323 CONCLUSION Though the image of Indians on the margin, excluded through prejudice from f u l l participation in Canadian society, is deeply embedded in our national consciousness, i t is an incomplete portrait. The present day Yukon and i t s history reflects the superficial reality of that image. In most northern communities, natives and uhites l i v e apart, the former either on government reserves or in informal ghettos in the less desira-ble sections of the touns. The different experiences facing natives and uhites emerge in employment prospects, education, social a c t i v i t i e s , po-l i t i c a l organizations, health, and standard of l i v i n g . The current situation remains one of grave concern, as is amply reflected in recent Indian activism and land claims negotiations. The Yukon example, houever, i l l u s t r a t e s the numerous forces responsi-ble for the emergence of distinct Indian and Euro-Canadian societies throughout the north. As this study has shoun, the natives emerged on the margins of the uhite order through a combination of choice and ex-clusion. A commitment to the hunting-gathering l i f e s t y l e on economic and cultural grounds conditioned native responses. Because their belief and social systems rested on harvesting practices, the natives continu-a l l y opted for a non-industrial rural environment. Any attempted accom-modation reflected the Indians' desire to satisfy s t i l l limited desires for the material products and technology of southern industrial econo-mies. Though these needs pulled them closer to the Euro-Canadian eco-nomic system, the v i a b i l i t y of the fur trade and market hunting to the 1950's ensured that the natives continued their harvesting practises. 3 2 4 Euro-Canadians welcomed the Indians' placement on the outer fringes of their economic and social order. The extractive industries of the territory had feu permanent openings for unskilled workers, especially natives deemed incapable of regular uork routines. The Indians s t i l l served a useful economic purpose. functioning as a casual labour pool, providing needed, lou-cost assistance on a seasonal and temporary basis. Prevailing social attitudes re-enforced economic segregation. The stan-dard image of the North American Indian as drunken, diseased and demor-alized received sufficient confirmation in the Yukon to entrench those attitudes in extensive exclusionist programmes. Because of their per-ceived limited economic u t i l i t y , the natives uere not uanted uithin the stoutly defended Euro-Canadian social uorld. From before the Gold Rush to 1950. the relationship betueen natives and uhites remained substantially unaltered. Put simply. the groups moved in different uorlds. There uas some accommodation. but only at points and times deemed mutually advantageous. The dominant force in maintaining this equilibrium uas the fur trade. The sector changed s i g -n i f i c a n t l y from the comparative formality of the Hudson's Bay Company era to the freelance competition of the 1920's and 1930's, but the na-tives retained their pre-eminent role in the industry. By choice, the Indians continued to enjoy the comparative freedom and acceptable re-turns of the only permanent industry in the Yukon. The v o l a t i l i t y of alternate occupations in mining and transportation made the continued reliance on fur trade the most logical selection for natives permanently resident in the region. The continued importance of the fur trade, a common feature throughout Northern Canada, stabilized native-uhite rela-325 tions. So long as harvesting pursuits remained viable, natives sought l i t t l e accommodation uith the emerging Euro-Canadian society. For their part, uhites saw limited value in drauing such \"primitive\" people — ev-idenced by their allegedly subsistence l i f e s t y l e — into a closer rela-tionship. The strength of the fur trade encouraged the development of tuo dis-tinct economic and social sectors. In the mining camps, Uhitehorse and Dauson, uhites dominated, forcing the natives physically and socially to the fringes. The Indians in this environment served primarily as causal labourers, called upon to counteract temporary aberations in labour sup-ply. The fur trade d i s t r i c t s uere different. Here, natives sustained the economy, far outnumbering the feu uhite traders and trappers. With-in the changing fur economy, the social dynamics remained constant. The back-country sau the vast majority of permanent native-uhite marriages, a marked difference from the casual exploitive sex of the touns. The logic of the fur trade, from the H.B.C. period to 1950, demanded close inter-personal relations, reflected in the continued practise of fur traders taking native wives. Harked by lasting accommodation, the fur trade community stood in stark contrast to the exclusionist and segre-gated urban-industrial society. Despite the striking continuity of native-white relations, the v a r i -ous Indian groups faced numerous changes. The transition from H.B.C. \"monopoly\" trade to the wide-open competition of the 1920's represented a substantial challenge to native marketing practises. The natives re-sponded positively to the many economic changes, profiting from the move to more vigorous competition and accepting on a limited basis employment 326 in non-harvesting ventures. Major technological innovations also af-fected the native way of l i f e . The introduction of repeating r i f l e s , steel traps, and the outboard motor expanded the hunters' range and de-creased the required time away from camp. The Indians gradually ab-sorbed manufactured clothing and processed foods into their outfits, uith obvious affects on material culture, use of native products and harvesting needs. Though largely ineffectual, church and government programmes challenged native customs uhile offering s k i l l s and values designed for the uhite man's world. Though the natives' material c u l -ture, value systems and social patterns underwent notable transition during the period in question, their belief in the v i a b i l i t y of the har-vesting l i f e s t y l e remained largely unchanged. By choice, the Indians of the Yukon sought to remain as hunters and fishermen. Native-uhite relations shifted significantly after 1945. By nou de-pendant on a variety of Euro-Canadian commodities, the natives suffered economically from the serious post-uar slump in fur prices. Such de-clines had occurred before, but never uith such an extensive impact. Before 1945, the natives accepted the loss of barter income as unavoida-ble and temporary and turned back to subsistence hunting or sought i r -regular uork in the touns. After the war, the Canadian government of-fered sizeable transfer payments and direct subsidies and uas only too eager to encourage the natives' transition from bush to toun. The a v a i l a b i l i t y of Mothers' Allowances, pensions and employment programmes at the precise time that the fur trade collapsed proved of considerable attraction to the cash-poor Indians. Faced uith government edicts con-cerning the enrollment of children in schools, the natives found l i t t l e 327 choice but to accept placement on carefully sequestered government re-serves. The restructuring after 1945 altered the substance of native-white contact in the territory. Indians remained on the margins of Euro-Cana-dian society, but several key elements had changed. The government i g -nored the wishes of the white population and sought to bring the natives into the dominant society, an effort that proved largely unsuccessful. The fur trade no longer supported the natives' material needs. Impor-tantly, the Indians were losing their a b i l i t y to determine for them-selves their place within Yukon society. The experience of the Yukon Indians reflects conditions among other northern native groups. Charles Bishop's ethno-historical study of the northern Ojibway1 and Hugh Brody's impressionistic examination of north-eastern B r i t i s h Columbia 2 similarly point to the persistance of native harvesting practises and values. The northern Ojibway faced many of the same acculturative forces as the Yukon Indians and their l i f e s -tyle and settlement patterns reflected that contact. Bishop demonstrat-ed that native society underwent significant changes before 1945 as a consequence of their contact with uhites, alterations in the fur trade, government programmes and the introduction of neu technology. Though the northern Ojibuay faced different pressures than the Yukon Indians because of the extended time frame of contact and the over-harvesting of game, they similarly maintained their reliance on hunting and fishing into the mid-Tuentieth Century. Like the Yukon, the combination of ex-1 C. Bishop, The Northern Oi ibuav and the Fur Trade, esp. chapters 3-5. 2 Hugh Brody, flaps and Dreams. 328 panded government programmes, neu mineral development, more roads and a declining fur trade after World War II forced many residential and l i -festyle changes on the Ojibua. In a different geographic context, Bro-dy' s impassioned defense of native values in northern B r i t i s h Columbia rests on the conviction that those attitudes remain viable to the pres-ent. Throughout the north, harvesting remained profitable, i f variable, and the natives retained their cultural and economic attachment to the land. The natives uere not l i v i n g a r t i f a c t s , non-economic people caught in the bounds of \"traditional\" society. Instead, their material, moral and s p i r i t u a l culture reflected extensive and on-going native adaptation to multi-facted contact uith Euro-Canadians. While the Yukon situation shares a great deal in common uith other northern d i s t r i c t s , i t stands in noticeable contrast to conditions in the south. In the latter areas, agricultural settlement, other resource developments, urbanization and over-hunting undermined the harvesting option. Stripped of the a b i l i t y to continue hunting, southern natives in Canada faced dispossession or ghettoization on government sponsored reserves. Unlike the north, uhere the continuation of seasonal mobility undercut the influence of agents of acculturation, southern natives found themselves cloistered uith missionaries and often dependant on government agents. Under the restrictions of bureaucratic control, the southern natives uere far more vulnerable to the entreaties of Chris-tianity and Canadian education, though not as much as missionaries or government agents uished or believed. 3 Though both missionaries and of-f i c i a l s of the federal government uere active in the north, their impact 3 Jean Usher, William Duncan of Metlakatla, J. Gresko, \"Native 'Rites' and White 'Rites'\". 329 uas diminished by isolation. The northern Ojibway signed a treaty uith the Canadian government in 1905 and as a result experienced comparative-ly regular contact uith government agents. Even in this instance, hou-ever. continued native mobility and the isolation of the Osnaburgh re-serve limited the impact of these o f f i c i a l a c t i v i t i e s . 4 The Yukon Indians did not sign such a treaty s and despite the continuing efforts by Indian agents and missionaries they remained largely outside the i n -fluence of government and religious leadership. While the study of native-uhite relations reveals a great deal about native society, i t is also of importance in understanding the Euro-Cana-dian population and the evolving structure of t e r r i t o r i a l society. From Hudson's Bay Company exploration to 1950. the persistence of exclusion-i s t attitudes is clearly evident. The Euro-Canadian population rejected any close accommodation uith the natives. They urged the government to segregate schools and hospitals, insisted that the church maintain sepa-rate Indian missions and offered the natives no permanent place uithin their communities. Fur traders and a feu \"squaw men\" stood apart from this general pattern. their choice of occupation forcing them into a unique social niche and usually inviting the disdain of the uhite popu-lace. Government agents and church o f f i c i a l s shared the general disapproval of the native l i f e s t y l e and bemoaned their pattern of l i v i n g . Contrary to stated national policy goals, houever. they did l i t t l e to change the 4 Bishop, pp. 84-87. 5 The Indians of the upper Liard technically came under the control of Treaty 11. The Yukon natives did not. houever. sign the treaty and received feu benefits before 1945. Rene Fumoleau. As Long As This Land Shal1 Last (Toronto: McClelland and Steuart). 330 situation. R e a l i s t i c a l l y assessing their own limitations and acknowl-edging the Indians' reluctance to accept their direction, the would-be agents of cultural change became defenders of the status quo. Though for different reasons, government agents and missionaries came to echo the general opinion that the natives were best l e f t as harvesters and that the t e r r i t o r i a l socio-economic equilibrium be l e f t unchallenged. The findings of this study point to the need for continued study, both of the application of national i n i t i a t i v e s for the natives in spe-c i f i c local and regional contexts and of the social and economic history of Canada's northern t e r r i t o r i e s . The continued Euro-Canadian focus of much of the literature obscures the diverse nature of the regional order and in particular ignores the natives' roles as participants in the northern economy and as members of t e r r i t o r i a l society. More broadly, there is compelling evidence of the need for a truly regional historiog-raphy. Following Morris Zaslow's impressive lead, most historians of the Canadian North focuB on federal policy making and the extension of federal influence over Canada's northern t e r r i t o r i e s . This examination needs to be balanced by the perspective from within, by a systematic analysis of the nature and evolution of the regional economy and socie-ty. This discussion of native-white relations in the Yukon Territory i s only a preliminary step toward what will hopefully become a t e r r i t o r i a l perspective on the history of the Canadian North. Further studies are needed to compliment the well-established Ottawa-focused school of northern historiography and provide a more complete understanding of this long-neglected region. 331 The regional approach advocated here has become increasingly popular of late, particularly among Western Canadian and Maritime historians. These studies are of more than parochial interest, more than simply the story of one of Canada's many parts. Together, ~ as part of a broader, systematic effort at regional history, they add sign i f i c a n t l y to contem-porary understanding of the entire country. Canadian regionalism, mul-tic u l t u r a l ism, and class-based diversity — \"limited identities\" to use the phrase popularized by J.M.5. Careless — continue as the dominant themes in Canadian historiography. Some uould argue that such fragmen-tation of historical inquiry i s damaging to any sense of \"national his-tory.\" The opposite seems more to the point. The v i t a l i t y of these \"limited identities,\" both h i s t o r i c a l l y and in the contemporary setting, represents one of the major foundations of Canadian development. The regional outlook, noticeably absent in the historiography of the Cana-dian North, i s clearly an essential element in the continuing appraisal of Canada's history. The current study ends in 1950, in the midst of marked transitions in native and Euro-Canadian economic act i v i t y , t e r r i t o r i a l social structure and government programming. Conditions continued to change thereafter. Economic diversification, particularly in mining and tourism, brought many more uhites to the north. That in turn stimulated an expansion of the road system and placed even greater pressure on limited resources. Government intervention increased, uith particular emphasis on enforcing edicts designed to \"improve\" the native uay of l i f e . The Indians moved onto government reserves and accepted the directives to send their c h i l -dren to integrated schools. Brought into closer contact uith uhite set-332 tlements before the towns were prepared to accept them, the natives were further relegated to the physical and social fringes. They lived, and continue to live, outside Euro-Canadian residential areas, a poignant reminder of the social gap between native and white in the north. The often oppressive hand of government and the erosion of the fur trade reduced the positive force of native adaptation. Placed by decree rather than choice, inhabiting a niche that offers the benefits of nei-ther harvesting nor Euro-Canadian economic practises, the natives have been trying since the 19B0's to counter their ghettoization.- Though the p o l i t i c i z a t i o n of the Yukon Indians owed a great deal to government sponsored awareness programs, Indian activism signalled an attempt to redress the inbalances of the past two decades (though their h i s t o r i c a l -ly inaccurate lamentations include a more all-embracing condemnation of white society). Native claims focus on the desire to regain control of resources, thereby re-establishing the natives' positive relationship with the land. While the Indians seem determined to assert a long-acknowledged right to a harvesting l i f e s t y l e , their demands face significant road blocks. The opposition includes the bulk of the Euro-Canadian popula-tion, a group dominated by an extractive, development mentality that deems the land a commodity, not a way of l i f e . Ably represented by the t e r r i t o r i a l government, the whites wish to resist the alienation of large tracts of land for exclusive native use. Appropriately, the cur-rent c o n f l i c t mirrors decades-old differences concerning the north. The Indian seeks to regain the cultural benefits of a harvesting l i f e s t y l e while the Euro-Canadians continue to search for new means of developing 333 the mineral potential of the northern lands. Though recent indications suggest a settlement of the land claims dispute i s at hand, the history of the Yukon suggests that native-white relations in the territory u i l l not be easily altered through signatures on a government sponsored docu-ment. 334 BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Sources A. Manuscript Sources Anglican Church Records. Yukon Diocese. 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Wilson, J. Donald, ed., \"Schooling on a Distant Frontier: Yukon's Edu-cational Heritage,\" unpublished manuscript, YTA, Acc. 82/526. Wright, A. A., \"The Kluane Area,\" unpublished manuscript, YTA. 364 "@en ; edm:hasType "Thesis/Dissertation"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0096397"@en ; dcterms:language "eng"@en ; ns0:degreeDiscipline "History"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:rights "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en ; ns0:scholarLevel "Graduate"@en ; dcterms:title "Best left as Indians : native-white relations in the Yukon Territories, 1840-1973"@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; ns0:identifierURI "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/25282"@en .