Introducing a revision of a book I published in 1989. A lot has happened since that time in addition I have added a bibliography, end notes and made the presentation easier to read. This book is available from iuniverse.com for a cast of $12.95 US plus shipping and handling.
At the turn of the century, The Department of Indian Affairs worked very hard to get the nomadic Indian bands to settle on the reserves and start farming. In many cases, this was a losing effort. The Thunderchild Band, situated on very good land just East of Battleford defied this trend. They became excellent farmers. They were the envy on the farming community around Battleford.
Starting about 1902 an alliance of bureaucrats, church officials, landowners and influential members of the white society, began to form. Tremendous pressure was exerted on the Thunderchild and Moosomin bands to surrender their lands and move elsewhere. In the end, this alliance succeeded in their mission.
This book is the documented story of how this was accomplished. My sources in telling the story were stories from the elders, archives and museums, DIA (Department of Indian Affairs) records, interviews with retired officials.
It is a sad tale but it is part of Saskatchewan history -- not just aboriginal history but our history.
Six Elevators - http://www.jackfunk.com/article.php?story=20070918145151208