William G. Cox was born in Ireland in 1822. He married Sophie E. Webb in November of 1857. Shortly after Cox left his career as a banker and the couple emigrated to New York in the United Sates. In August of 1858 Mrs Cox returned to Ireland and W.G. Cox moved west to what is now British Columbia. Through connections with the Hudson’s Bay Company Cox was employed as a constable and he was posted at Yale. In 1859 Cox was sent to Kamloops as the Deputy Collector of Customs. Soon after he was appointed Gold Commissioner and Justice of the Peace in Rock Creek. While in the position of Gold Commissioner Governor Douglas instructed him to mark out reserves in the Okanagan in 1861. Two years later he marked out reserves with post in the Kamloops area. His instructions from Douglas were to “grant all lands claimed by the Indians”. These reserves were later reduced prior to the Joint Indian Reserve Commissioner by Mr. Nind and Mr. Haines with support from other government officials to support habitation by settlers. These reserves would become somewhat controversial as it would be greatly reduced in the future and involve disputes with settlers over illegal pre-emptions. This line of work sent him up to the Cariboo mines in 1863 and later in 1867 he was found Columbia and Kootenay regions. In 1864 Cox was charged with leading the search party to seek out the Chilcotin warrior Klatsassin and others after the violence that occurred on settlers as a result of Alfred Waddington’s Bute Inlet work party dispute. Although the Chilcotin viewed this as a war the colony saw them as murders and Cox’s success in capturing led to their death by hanging as ordered by Judge Begbie. Cox became a county court judge in 1866 and went on to hold a seat legislative Council of British Columbia in 1867 and 1868. Cox was viewed by others in his field as a generally entertaining man who spoke his mind, told good stories, and wasn’t afraid to use his fists when challenged in his earlier positions. He was popular as a judge among the miners and was known for his unconventional decisions; he once settled a dispute over a mining claim by ordering the disputants to a foot race from their current location to the claim in dispute. Cox’s personal life caused him some controversy and affected his professional standing. Cox, like many others, had made a home with an Aboriginal woman while he was still legally married to his first wife Sophia which brought the anger from family in a high social status back in Ireland. This controversy along with his support of establishing the capital of the new province in Victoria angered Governor Seymour who favoured New Westminster as the capitol. In May of 1868 Cox’s office was terminated. Almost a year later with no government employment Cox left Victoria for California. His later years he had little money as he sent some paintings to his friend Dr. Helmcken in Victoria requesting that he sell them for him as he was in need of income. He sought out gold in California and died in the mining town of Bodie in 1878. References Harris, Cole. Making Native Space. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2002. Dahlo (Eek), Sue. “William Cox: Gold Commissioner” Boundary History No. 13 (1995): pp. 31-37.

This book consists of O'Reilly's work as Indian Reserve Commissioner for the period June 1882 to January 1885. Since the book was once a file, the book commences with the latest date and ends with the earliest date. The cover page for the book which clearly identifies it as: "Department of Indian Affairs, Minutes of Decision and Correspondence, British Columbia Indian Reserves, File No. 298583, Vol

This volume consists of what was formerly designated as book 6 and book 4. Upon examination of the originals it became clear that book 6 represented the first half of book 4. Book 4, as it was then, was missing its first 148 pages. Book 6 went from page 1 through to page 131, however some sketches and minutes of decision were missing. The flimsy, paper cover of book 6 matched with the interior hard cover design exactly. How the two came to be separated is unknown, but it appears to have happened quite some time ago.

agination and organization are a problem in certain sections. How the book came to be numbered as it is not known. There are two, and sometimes three, systems of page numbering occurring in this volume. It would appear that the volume was once numbered back to front, then numbered front to back and some of the correspondence has internal pagination. The page numbers beginning with 1 are in green in the original. The other set is in pencil. The original table of contents found at the front of the volume refers to the pages numbered in green beginning with 1. The system that will be followed will be the system beginning with page 1.

This volume differs from all the others in the federal collection in two respects: first, it consists only of correspondence; second, this was originally a gummed file. The left hand side of each page has a gummed strip affixed to it. These gummed strips were then bound with string. If the original ever had a cover, it has been lost. Also, the gummed strips were longer than the pages which were affixed to them. On the advice, and under the direction of paper conservators, the string binding was removed so that pages could be separated and the unused sections of gummed stripping were trimmed. In some instances the gummed stripping had dried out and could be removed in whole or in part from the page without damaging the original. By and large, however, the gummed strip was firmly affixed to the pages and could not be removed without utilizing other delicate, time-consuming conservation methods. On some letters text has been obliterated. When this has occurred transcriptions have been done from the original as the writing can often be read through the stripping

This book is a compilation of Sproat's Minutes of decision dated from May 21,1878 to October 5,1878. All the Minutes are initialled, some have accompanying sketches glued onto the pages. There are also a few large maps included in the volume. In some instances reserves have been identified, but most sketches are generally noted and "Various" appears in the reserve name column

INTERRUPTED WORK BOOK No. 1 | This volume appears to be complete, no pages are missing. The original book, itself, is in moderate condition. Some pages and maps are loose and the binding is not secure. The paper, however, is high quality and in good condition. Near the end of the book, Sproat inserted some pages dealing with pre-emptions. This paper is quite different from that in the volume, but this will not be evident in the copy. Other pre-emption records are also glued onto pages. The maps in this volume were either glued directly onto the relevant page, or were glued onto other sheets, which were, in turn, glued onto the relevant pages. Similarly, Sproat glued three original letters into the book; 1 from Mohun (6 pages long) and two from Government Agent Hughe

Field Minutes | Volume 4 of the Federal Collection of Minutes of Decision, Correspondence & Sketches consists of thirteen (13) soft-covered books containing the "Field Minutes" of Indian Reserve Commissioner Gilbert Malcolm Sproat, for the period June 1878 to June 1880. The majority of the books cover the summer and fall of 1878, however, notations and remarks in the field minutes indicate that Sproat re-wrote or revised many of the books after his initial work of 1878. In many of the volumes, there are references to the 1879 Land Amendment Act, notations noting work done by surveyor Edward Mohun in 1879 and remarks regarding reports received from Mohun as late as January 1880.

This volume contains correspondence related to Sproat's work as sole Indian Reserve Commissioner. Like Volume 1, this volume contains correspondence upon a variety of issues including surveying, disputes with the provincial government, agreements with Indians, Sproat's perception and interpretation of policy and his perception and interpretation of his interaction with Indians and settlers. Sproat never felt restrained in offering his opinion on a variety of subjects, even if, as he admitted at least once, his opinion was "perhaps a little outside [his] special duties." (p. 301)

This volume deals with some of the work of the Joint Indian Indian Reserve Commission (JIRC), but primarily it contains correspondence related to Sproat's work as sole Indian Reserve Commissioner. Sproat is appointed the sole Indian Reserve Commissioner on March 15,1878 [p. 79]. The correspondence deals with a variety of issues including costs of operation of the Commission, difficulties dealing with the B.C. government, Sproat's perception and interpretation of policies; Sproat's perception and interpretation of his interactions with the Indians [eg. pp. 131,151, 153, 165, 182, 219, 253, 277, 336, 343], and, as Sproat characterizes it, the "settling the Indian Land question."

The PDF document below includes links to photographic images related to the Commission which are held in the BC Archives. Any reproductions or permissions to publish or display these images must be obtained directly from the BC Archives.

Peter O’Reilly was born March 27, 1827 in England to Patrick O’Reilly and Mary Blundell and was raised in Ireland. He was a Lieutenant with tie Irish Revenue Police until 1857. He Left Ireland in 1859 for Victoria. Shortly after his arrival he became the high sheriff of the colony where he was responsible for arranging the hanging of condemned criminals. He held this position until 1866. O’Reilly was named assistant gold commissioner in 1860 for the Similkameen region and the Hope District. He administered the law in the gold fields, issued mining licenses, recorded claims and other duties. In 1862 he was named the chief gold commissioner for the province and was stationed in Richfield. While there he often worked with Judge Matthew Baillie Begbie who would remain his lifelong friend. As a result of the union of Vancouver Island and British Columbia in 1866 O’Reilly’s position was officially changed to become a county court judge. From 1864 to 1870 and then again in 1871 O’Reilly served on the Legislative Council of BC which was soon dissolved as a result of confederation. O’Reilly continued as county court judge for the Yale District for the next ten years until he learned of the opening of the position of Indian Reserve Commission in 1880. He travelled to Ottawa in hopes of securing the position. His family connection to Sir John A. MacDonald through his brother-in-law Joseph Trutch. For the next 18 years he would serve as the reserve commissioner. O’Reilly’s reserve allotments have been criticized by current scholars as being inadequate and disregarding Aboriginal title. He also reduced the size of many reserves alloted by the the Joint Reserve Commission and his predecessor Gilbert M. Sproat. As a result of complaints from the Tsimshian regarding the reserves he laid out at Metlakatla in 1882 his reserve allotments were reviewed by provincial commission in 1884. O’Reilly claimed that when possible he had granted the Tsimshian’s requests in all of his decisions and the commission approved his allotments. and extent of reserves have been criticized by modern scholars. It has been suggested that he made niggardly allocations, and that because he had private investments in ranching operations he was sympathetic to ranchers generally, whose interests might conflict with the land requirements of Indians. Like most influential British Columbians of his time, he refused to accept the concept of aboriginal entitlement as a basis for claims. Later in his role as commissioner he did concede some rights in the areas of traditional hunting and gathering activities such as his promises to assure these rights to Chiefs in the Skeena and Bulkley regions. O’Reilly retired from government service in 1898 to spend time at his home Point Ellice House in Victoria and enjoying his family’s social status. He died of heart failure at home where he lived with his daughter Kit on September 3, 1905. References Brealey, Ken. “Travels from Point Ellice: Peter O’Reilly and the Indian Reserve System in British Columbia” BC Studies No 115/6, (1997): pp. 181-236. Harris, Cole. Making Native Space. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2002. BC Archives, O’Reilly Family Papers. Williams, David Ricardo. “Peter O’Reilly” Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. University of Toronto, Universite Laval. BC, Legislative Assembly, “Metlakatlah inquiry, 1884: report of the commissioners, together with the evidence” Sessional papers, 1885: 131–36. Cail, R. E. Land, Man and the Law: The Disposal of Crown Lands in British Columbia, 1871–1913, Vancouver: UBC Press, 1974.

Gilbert Malcolm Sproat was born to Alexander Sproat and Hectorine Shaw, 19 April 1834 in Scotland. In 1860 travelled to the Alberni Inlet on Vancouver Island as an employee of Anderson and Company. His encounters with Aht people of the Alberni Inlet led him to become an amateur ethnographer with the publication his book, Scenes and studies of savage life, published in 1868. Sproat Lake in the Alberni Valley is named for him. He married Katherine Ann Wigham in Victoria in 1862 and they raisd a daughter and two sons. They later separated from each other and she returned to England. Sproat was offered a seat in the colony’s legislative council but declined and later, on 24 July 1863, he was sworn in as a justice of the peace for Vancouver Island. He returned to England for a time, but he remained interested in BC affairs. In 1869 he allowed he name to be put forward for governor. After visiting BC in 1871, he assumed the role of the province’s first agent general to London. In 1876 he returned to BC where he became the third member, representing both governments, of the Joint Indian Reserve Commission (JIRC). He completed two circuits with the JIRC before the commission was reduced and he was named as the sole commissioner in 1877. During his tenure as commissioner Sproat became increasingly critical of both governments’, especially the province’s, approach to Indigenous land issues. Sproat followed in Douglas’ views that the land should be reserved prior to settlement, that Aboriginal title needed to be acknowledged, and that reserves needed to include access to future commerce opportunities such as fishing, timber, agriculture etc. He voiced his numerous complaints regarding the failure of the province to deal with illegal settler pre-emptions, the resistance to recognize Aboriginal title, and the ramifications of the colonial policy to grant as little land as possible to reserves. He was instrumental preventing a possible war in the interior with the negotiation of reserves and dissolution of a Secwepemc/Okanagan Confederacy in 1877. His involvement and support of a large gathering of Nlha7kápmx, where the people met to plan forge a plan for self-government, and his continued letters of complaint to Ottawa and Victoria led to widespread criticism and eventually led to his resignation early in 1880. In 1883 Sproat, as a government agent, was sent to the Kootenays to report on the region. As a result he became a magistrate in Revelstoke in 1885 and regional gold and land commissioner in 1886. He became known as “the Judge” and “the Father of the Kootenay.” In 1889 he ended his government service, remained in the interior, and became involved in real estate. In his later years, he returned to Victoria and he continued to express his opinions about the history of the province through his publications in newspapers and historical texts. His correspondence during his time as reserve commissioner stand as a voice of opposition to the disregard of Aboriginal rights, the unjust treatment of Indigenous people by the governments, and the “settlement” of BC. Sproat spent his last days in Victoria with Brenda Peers, James Murray Yale’s granddaughter, before his death on June 4, 1913. References Fisher, Robin. “An exercise in futility: the joint commission on Indian land in British Columbia, 1875-1880,” CHA, Hist. Papers, 1975: 79–94. Foster, Hamar. “Gilbert Malcolm Sproat” Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. University of Toronto, Universite Laval. Harris, Cole. Making Native Space. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2002. Sproat, Gilbert. Scenes and Studies of Savage Life Sproat. London : Smith, Elder, 1868. Sproat, Gilbert. “Sir James Douglas, k.c.b.,” in the Victoria Week, 9 Sept.–11 Nov. 1911 (also preserved in clippings at pp.96–103 of the J. T. Walbran scrapbook at BCARS, S/S/W 14). Sproat papers, BCARS, Add. mss 257. Papers Connected with the Indian Land Question 1850-1875. Victoria, B.C. : Queen's Printer, c1987. Rickard, T. A. “Gilbert Malcolm Sproat,” British Columbia Hist. Quarterly, 1 (1937): pp 21–32.

This document contains the comprehensive and individual indexes of the Federal and Provincial collections of Minutes of Decision, Correspondence and Sketches. This index is sorted alphabetically and chronologically by the Band/Tribe name. Reserve names are the current names unless the reserve was not confirmed or was altered. Only reserves allotted between 1875 and 1908 are found in this index. Footnotes in the index will often detail name changes to reserves. The entire index is full text searchable using the search box at the top of the PDF viewer. Once you have located a document by consulting the index, be sure to note the volume number and the page number.

Edward Mohun was born on September 3, 1838 in Chigwell England to Mr. and Mrs John Mohun. He arrived in Victoria in June of 1862. He was married to Emmeline Jane Newton (widow of W.H. Newton) in New Westminster in 1878. From 1863-1871 he worked as a surveyor throughout Vancouver Island, the Okanagan, Fraser Valley and Haida Gwaii. In 1871 and 1872 he was a the Canadia Pacific Railway Divisional Engineer of the “H Party” in charge of surveying the Yellowhead and Eagle Pass. Mohun was appointed as a surveyor to the Joint Indian Reserve Commission in 1876. He surveyed reserve allotments throughout Vancouver Island and the coastal areas. In 1884, with the direction of the Honourable W. Smithe, Chief Commissioner of Lands and works, Mohun created a map of the Province of British Columbia. In 1885 he was involved in the large dyke and drainage projects in the Fraser Valley and from there he went on to designing the sewer systems in Vancouver and Victoria. In 1886 his research on BC wood products for bridge building resulted in the basis for future bridge calculations. In 1890 he was awarded the contract to be the chief engineer for the design of Victoria’s sewage system. In 1897 he received the “Gzowski Silver Medal” for his paper titled “The Sewage System of Victoria” presented before the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers”. The Victoria sewage system that he designed was considered state of the art at the time but is currently under scrutiny as a result of the sewage being deposited into the Strait of Jaun de Fuca. Later in his career he was involved in sanitation and drainage projects in Victoria and the Vancouver - Pitt Meadows areas, a sanitation inspector, provincial railway inspector, and a public works engineer. He also held the position of Justice of the Peace for a period of fifteen years. In 1890 he was involved in the creation of the Professional Association of Land Surveyors in British Columbia along with fellow JIRC surveyor W.S. Jemmet and others, which resulted in Mohun’s unanimous election as its first president. The establishment of the association led to the establishment of the “Act Respecting Land Surveyors” which became law in APril of 1891 and placed authority for land surveying under the Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works. In 1898, he reported on the sanitation conditions in a number of town in the interior of the province and Vancouver Island. Mohun passed away in October 1912 at his home at 618 Blanshard St., Victoria at 74 years of age. His name is remembered in Mohun Lake and Mohun Creek in the Sayward region and the Mohun Shoal on the mid-coast. References Allen, Robert W. “Edward Mohun, CE, LS: Surveyor of Railways, Indian Reserves, and the First President of the Association of Provincial Land Surveyors, British Columbia” The Link Vol. 23 no. 4, (October 2000): pp 14, 16. Gordon, Katherine. Made to Measure: A History of Land Surveying in British Columbia. Vancouver: Sono Nis Press, 2006.

Captain William S. Jemmett was born in London England and is the son of William T. Jemmett. After serving fifteen years as an English army officer he came to British Columbia and joined the government survey service where he worked for twelve years including his service as surveyor with the Indian Reserve Commission. Gilbert Sproat had recommended Jemmett because he was “a quiet, discreet man who [would] not worry settlers, nor alarm the Indians” and because he had some experience in the interior as he was an early pioneer in the Agassiz area. In 1878 Jemmett was one of three surveyors, along with Edward Mohun and A.H. Green surveying reserve allotments throughout the province. Jemmett was assigned to the mainland reserves along with Green. In 1880 he was married to Miss F. Woods, the daughter of Archdeacon Woods of Victoria. References Allen, Robert W. “Edward Mohun, CE, LS: Surveyor of Railways, Indian Reserves, and the First President of the Association of Provincial Land Surveyors, British Columbia” The Link Vol. 23 no. 4, (October 2000): pp 14, 16. Gordon, Katherine. Made to Measure: A History of Land Surveying in British Columbia. Vancouver: Sono Nis Press, 2006. Preuss, Karl “British Columbia, and the Development of Indian Reserve No. 2 at Chuchuwayha”. BC Studies No. 162 (Autumn 2009): p. 87-121. Scholefield, E.O.S., “Captain William S. Jemmett” British Columbia From the Earliest Times to the Present. Vancouver: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1914.

This binder contains the work of A.W. Vowell. Box 6 of the original collection contains only the work of Vowell, During his tenure as Indian Reserve Commissioner, Vowell was also the Indian Superintendent The two positions were given to Vowell upon the retirement of O'Reilly.

This binder continues with the work of O'Reilly as Indian Reserve Commissioner up to his retirement in March 1898. After that date, A.W. Vowell acts as Indian Superintendent and Indian Reserve Commissioner. O'Reilly's last submission of Minutes of decision appears to be those for the Douglas Indians dated October 12,1897 [Corr. No. 6317/98].

This binder continues with the work of O'Reilly as Indian Reserve Commissioner, but it also contains correspondence related to settler incursion upon lands set aside as Indian reserves. Like the other binders/boxes in the collection, the correspondence is one-sided. Although reference is made to correspondence from the Chief Commissioner of Lands & Works (CCLW), this correspondence is not found in the collection.

The correspondence in this binder continues with O'Reilly's work on the west coast of Vancouver Island and into parts of the north. If any one theme becomes evident during these years, it is the ongoing attempts by the provincial government to alienate lands set aside as reserves. At Port Simpson, Kincolith, Vancouver Island, Vancouver at Capilano and in the Similkameen, settlers made claims which encroached either upon lands set aside as reserves, or upon lands used and occupied by the Indians which had not yet been dealt with by the Indian Reserve Commissioner. In each instance, O'Reilly writes to the CCLW advising him of the inappropriate action of the provincial officials in allowing pre-emptions and/or Crown Grants. Because the collection contains only O'Reilly's letters and not the responses from the CCLW, those responses can only be inferred based upon O'Reilly's letters

This binder continues with O'Reilly's work. Interestingly, there are some minor differences between the Minutes of decision found in the provincial and federal collections. Notably, O'Reilly's allotment of Kish-neelt 25 allotted to Metlakatla and Port Simpson [Corr. No. 2332/88] is not included in the federal collection. O'Reilly ultimately rescinded this allotment as he became convinced that the Indians did not have a valid claim to the land. Although the correspondence related to this appears in the provincial collection, there does not appear to be any reference to this land in the federal collection. On the other hand, O'Reilly's allotments of Lower Shawniken 4A and Spatsum 11A for the Cook's Ferry Indians do not appear in the provincial collection with the Cook's Ferry allotments [Corr. No. 3198/89].

This binder commences with correspondence dated February 1884. More than a year elapsed between the work found at the end of Binder 7 and the commencement of this binder. O'Reilly did not work the 1883 season. It is unclear why, perhaps his health, perhaps for personal reasons, or perhaps because certain aspects of the work of the Indian Commissioner were still being vetted by Ottawa and Victoria. Notably after the 1883 absence, O'Reilly no longer allocates the "right to" fish, nor exclusive fisheries. The first Minutes of decision submitted by O'Reilly in 1884 were the amended Minutes for Port Simpson and Metlakatla.

This binder is a continuation of O'Reilly's work in 1882. Virtually every piece of correspondence in this volume is addressed to the Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works. At Correspondence No. 1385/82, the signature on the sketches changes from George A. Walkem to Wm. Smithe

This binder consists of the initial work of Peter O'Reilly as Indian Reserve Commissioner. O'Reilly's covering letters for his Minutes of decision to the federal and provincial governments differed significantly. This is apparent in O'Reilly's first reporting letter dated May 14,1881. In his letter to the CCLW, O'Reilly wrote only about issues affecting provincial interests, in this case the abandonment of a pre-emption [Corr. No. 435/81 ]. In his letter to Superintendent General of Indian Affairs [Federal Collection, vl. 8, pp. 270-75], O'Reilly outlined his planned itinerary, provided a description of the living conditions of the Indians, population figures, traditional and agricultural pursuits and did not even mention the cancellation of the pre-emption record.

This binder consists primarily of two sets of Minutes of decision and sketches. The first set is submitted by Powell to the Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works in April 1880.