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.
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.
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.
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. This set provides the Minutes of decision for Sproat's work with the Nicola, Nicomen, Coldwater, Similkameen and Cook's Ferry Indians. Although "maps" are referred to in these minutes, none are included. Sproat's work in this area was undertaken in the summer of 1878. It is noteworthy that Powell did not receive the Minutes until 1880, approximately 18 months after the work had been done.
This binder primarily contains correspondence between Sproat and the Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works (CCLW). The only Minutes of decision found in this volume are Sproats re-submission of some of the work done by the JIRC [Corr. No. 369/79, 368/79]. Based upon a comparison with the federal collection, it would appear that some of Sproat's work is not included in the provincial collection. For example, Sproat's allotments for the Upper Similkameen, which occurred during this time frame, can be found in the federal collection (see, vl. 6, pp. 115-129), but these Minutes of decision are not found in the provincial collection.
The second binder of material consists almost entirely of Sproat correspondence. The exception to this is the Minutes of decision found at the beginning of the volume which are the work of the Joint Indian Reserve Commission. The JIRC was disbanded at the end of the 1877 season, however, the work they had done to that date was submitted by Sproat to the federal and provincial governments. Curiously, the covering letter for the Minutes of decision for the JIRC found in this volume is not signed; it may be incomplete. It is likely that both Sproat and McKinlay would have signed the covering letter as this appears to have been the practice with respect to the JIRC submitting correspondence to the province [Corr. Nos. 1084/78, 1081/78],
This first volume consists of minutes of decision, correspondence and sketches related to the work of the Joint Indian Reserve Commission, which was formally established in 1876 through federal and provincial Orders-in-Council. Each of the Commissioners was also separately appointed through provincial and federal Orders-in-Council. Interestingly, the first piece of correspondence is a letter from Gilbert Malcolm Sproat offering his services on the Joint Indian Reserve Commission. The inside address says: "Sproat & Co."
This document contains the index to the B.C. Provincial Collection of Minutes of Decision, Correspondence and Sketches. This index is sorted alphabetically and chronologically by the Band/Tribe name. Band names are as found in the collection. The Reserve name is the current name unless the reserve was not confirmed or was altered. Only reserves allotted between 1875 and 1908 are found within 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 binder number, correspondence number (corr. no.) and page number.
