Nov 17, 2016 - Sale 2432

Sale 2432 - Lot 8

Price Realized: $ 4,000
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,500 - $ 3,500
(AMERICAN INDIANS.) Register of annual payments made to the Cree in central Manitoba. [18] manuscript pages on printed forms. Oblong folio, 14 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches, original cloth-backed marbled wrappers with manuscript label on front wrapper, moderate wear; partly disbound, moderate edge wear with slight loss of text, vertical fold throughout causing some partial separations. Canada, August 1883

Additional Details

In 1875, the Canadian government negotiated "Treaty No. 5" with several bands of Crees located northwest of Lake Winnipeg in central Manitoba and Saskatchewan. As part of the treaty, each member was to receive an annual annuity of $5. The present volume, titled "Indian Pay Sheets," lists each household in the Grand Rapids, Chemawawin, Moose Lake, The Pas, and Cumberland bands. The head of each household is named alphabetically, with a count of men, women, girls, and boys, amount paid, and a total count for the preceding year. Chiefs and councilors are noted. A long remarks section explains any change in the household over the past year, sometimes simply "boy born" or "girl dead," but sometimes more complex entries such as "daughter Eliza married to Wm, son of David King of St. Peters." More than a thousand members are enumerated in the volume. The final page is a summarized recapitulation of all the bands under Treaty No. 5, including six bands which had been enumerated in a separate volume (not present).
The end of each section is signed "Certified correct, A. Mackay, Indian Agent," though this volume is apparently a manuscript copy not in his hand. Angus McKay (1836-1910) was an interesting fellow, of partly Cree descent, who in 1871 became the first Canadian of Aboriginal descent to be elected to the House of Commons. As Indian Agent, he often clashed with leadership because of his outspoken advocacy.