Exploring a shared history : Indian-White relations between Fishing Lake First Nation and Wadena, 1882-2002

Abstract

A great deal of literature exists that documents the nature and development of relations between Native and Newcomer groups in what is today the Eastern and Maritime regions of Canada. By comparison, however, studies which examine interaction between these two groups in Canada's prairie region are considerably lacking. Although a sufficient amount has been written about prairie Indian peoples and their experiences with government officials and policy, relatively little is known about relations between Indian reserve communities and neighbouring immigrant communities, particularly during the early years of settlement. A survey of existing sources suggests that during this time Indian people were simply settled on reserves and immigrant towns grew up around them, each, it seems, operating in complete isolation from the other.This thesis aims to fill this gap in the historical literature by attempting to draw out the essence of the integrated and intertwined elements of the history shared by two prairie communities. The basic aim of this study is to trace the nature and development of relations between Fishing Lake First Nation and Wadena, located in the east central portion of Saskatchewan, from the 1880s to the present. Exploring a Shared History seeks to provide a more thorough understanding of and broader perspective on an important, yet much-neglected, facet of the region's history.