Calgary & Southern Alberta

Courtesy of the Glenbow Collection

When the Tsuu T’ina signed Treaty Seven in 1877, the government urged them to share a reserve with the Siksika. As soon as the buffalo disappeared two years later, however, they decided against sharing land with their allies. In the winter of 1879-80 the Tsuu T'ina camped near Fort Calgary and worked at the Fish Creek farm – a creation of the Indian Department south of Calgary. Two years later, upon chief Bull Head’s urgings, the government allotted the Tsuu T’ina three townships of land along Fish Creek, southwest of the town. Until the disappearance of the buffalo, the Tsuu T’inna had contributed to Calgary’s economic development by trading buffalo robes with the Hudson’s Bay Company, I. G. Baker Company, and T. C. Power. Once the buffalo disappeared, however, they became impoverished. The government forced them to remain on their reserve if they wished to receive rations. At the time of the 1885 Rebellion – and well into the twentieth century – Aboriginal peoples required permits to leave their reserve in order to sell produce or visit Calgary. The authorities, however, did not stringently enforce the permit system because four main Native camps surrounded the Calgary area. While Cree and Métis camped near the Catholic mission along the Elbow River, the Tsuu T’ina frequently left their reserve and camped along the base of present Mount Royal. While Cree, Stoney, and Métis camped along Shaganappi Point, the Siksika largely camped near the mouth of Nose Creek.

In the 1890s the Canadian government and the Anglican Church constructed the Calgary Indian Industrial School along the Bow River. The four-story sandstone building and complex sat on 300 acres of land and included a carpenter and printing shop, a bakery, a principal's house, a farm instructor's house, barn, and outbuildings. When the school opened in 1896, however, it had no students. The Reverend George Hogbin "borrowed" students from the Tsuu T'ina reserve. Built to "civilise" and Christianise the Aboriginal population, the school catered to boys between the ages of twelve and eighteen. Students were encouraged to socialise with Calgary's population; they worked for local ranchers and farmers, and they participated in local sports leagues.