The Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation received Treaty 6 medals on Friday by the Office of the Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan.
The Treaty medals were originally taken from communities in 1885 by Frederick Middleton, who was Canada’s military commander at the time. Middleton accused the chiefs of violence and threatened to burn those reserves that refused to surrender the medals, so the chiefs did.
“It was so important to be there today to see a Treaty medal returned home. These medals we presented today are opening the door towards reconciliation, and another small step towards seeing full Treaty implementation,” said Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan Mary Culbertson in a statement.
After Cree Nations surrendered the medals, they were still labeled as rebellion bands by the Canadian government and treaty annuity payments stopped for years. In 2001, Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation argued that the Cree participation in the resistance was exaggerated. On May 6, 2015, the Specific Claims Tribunal agreed and the Crown reached its lawful obligations by stopping the payments. The Government of Canada was required to pay $4.5 million to the Cree Nation, but the medals were not returned.
“Today’s ceremony giving back Treaty medals is a step towards righting the historical wrongs. Having a shared understanding Canada’s history, knowing these stories, is a vital part of the journey of reconciliation,” Culbertson said.
The Treaty 6 medals given to Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation are re-orders of the original Treaty medals commissioned by the Crown in 1872. The medals are 72 mm in diameter, weigh about 312 grams, and made of solid silver.
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