The Stoney Nation, also known as the Assiniboine, were originally
members of the Sioux nation. Their name is derived from the
Assiniboine term "Assinipwat" which means "Stone
People". According to their own legends and oral history, the
Stoney peoples came from the region surrounding the Mississippi
river. During the 17th century they split from the Sioux nation
and moved north, where they allied themselves with the Cree who
dwelled along the shores of Lake Winnipeg. Together, they forged a
strong alliance and became one of the first nations to make
contact with the European traders, which meant that they were also
one of the first nations to attain European trade goods such as
blankets, weapons, and horses. During the early 19th century
the Stoney and Cree pushed further westward, along the
Saskatchewan river system where they claimed territory for
themselves between the Blackfoot and Gros Ventre tribes to the
south and Beaver nation to the north - in the area now known as
Alberta.
Despite
their alliances with the Cree peoples, the Stoney managed to
maintain a distinctive language and culture. They continued to
hunt and roam the plains of southern Alberta, at times moving
further eastward as a result of constant warring with the
Blackfoot people who inhabited the same regions. In 1840, the arrival of
Reverand Robert
T. Rundle had a tremendous impact on the lives of the Stoney
peoples. While several other missionaries had attempted to spread
organized religion amongst the First Nations peoples of the
prairies, they had not enjoyed much success. For some reason the
Stoney people immediately took to Reverand Rundle's Methodist teachings
and many prominent Stoney peoples even converted to Methodism
during this period. It was also during this time that the Stoney
Nation began to break into smaller, more manageable bands
including the Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney bands. In 1876, the
federal government engaged the southern bands of Alberta,
including the Stoney in negotiations for Treaty 6. While other
bands within the Stoney Nation participated, the Bearspaw, Chiniki,
and Goodstoney bands refused to negotiate terms. Under pressure
from Methodist Minister John McDougall, the three rogue bands that
had refused to negotiate treaty in 1876 agreed to accept the terms
of Treaty 7 which was negotiated with the Blackfoot and Stoney the
following year. While the Stoney bands that adhered to Treaty 6
were provided with reserve land within their own traditional
hunting areas, the bands that fell under Treaty 7 were given a
collective reserve located on the Chiniki hunting grounds, near
Morleyville.
During the early 1900s, the Stoney Nation experienced the same
struggles felt by many of the Indian bands in Alberta after
accepting treaty. Faced with an unfamiliar, sedentary new
existence and advancing roadways, the Stoney peoples were forced
to accept the encroachments of modern technology onto their lands
without gaining any of the benefits. After World War II, the
Stoney nation began to experience a new self-awareness and strength. They began to
organize themselves in order to fight for their rights to hunt and
in order to raise public awareness of the many socieal and health problems Stoney Indians
faced at the time.
During the 1970s the Stoney Nation also became one of the first to
operate its own cultural program that encouraged the teaching of
the Stoney
language in school, introduced University courses and began a
wilderness program. With the expansion of the oil and gas
industries in the province, the past several decades have also
been financially successful times for the Stoney nation. Oil and gas revenues
reaped from the mineral deposits located on the Stoney
reserve have helped the Wesley band construct a major
cultural facility, the Nakota Lodge. A continuing trend in the
Stoney community is an increased participation and control over
their own community affairs, even though many Stoney people from
smaller reserves have found employment off the reserve.
Throughout their history the Stoney people
have survived attempts at assimilation but to this day they have
proudly retained
their language and many of their cultural practices that continue
to be passed on and celebrated.
|
This digital collection was
produced with financial assistance from Canada's Digital
Collections initiative, Industry Canada.