saskatchewan wartime contributions · 223 the many ways in which saskatchewan people worked...

221

Children tending to the war gardens in Broadview, circa 1914. Saskatchewan Archives Board R-A20901

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONSGrade 12 History 30 - Unit three - External Forces and Domestic

Realities

http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/history30/tocu3.html

LESSON OVERVIEWStudents will learn about Saskatchewan’s participation in

the First World War, our contributions, and about life on the

homefront. They will discover the effects of the Great War on

people in Saskatchewan.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALSFast Facts on wartime life in Saskatchewan found at the

end of this resource package.

The Impact of the First World War on Saskatchewan Farm

Families and the Impact of the Spanish Infl uenza Epidemic

on Saskatchewan Farm Families, 1918-1919 at http://wdm.

ca/skteacherguide/.

https://crorders-commandescss.vac-acc.gc.ca/order.

php?m=item_list&c=edkits for Veterans’ Affairs Canada,

Canada and the Great War 1914-1918, or order the learning

kit.

http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/war from the Saskatchewan

Council of Archives and Archivists for Saskatchewan in

Two Wars.

•

•

•

•

S a s k a tc h e wa n Wa r t i m eC o n t r i b u t i o n sGrade Four, Eight, Twelve Social Studies

LESSON PLAN ONE: CLASSROOM INTRODUCTION TO THE THEMELESSON PLAN ONE: CLASSROOM INTRODUCTION TO THE THEME

“Indian Land Was Lost for Non-Indian Soldier Settlement”

in Saskatchewan Indian, June 1988 at http://www.sicc.

sk.ca/saskindian/a88jun07.htm.

•

PROCEDUREPrepare to teach by reviewing the recommended resources

and the Fast Facts at the end of this resource package.

In class, discuss the situation in Saskatchewan in the years

leading up to the First World War. Saskatchewan farmers

were in an economic slump following three years of

drought. Grain prices had dropped and transportation and

tariff problems continued. Many homesteaders, with only

their original 160 acres (65 hectares), faced hard times.

1.

2.

222

Farmers hoped the war would stimulate demand for wheat

and other farm products.

Discuss how the demand for Canadian wheat by the Allies

turned farming around in Saskatchewan. The harvest of

1915 was the largest in Saskatchewan’s short history.

Between 1911 and 1921, over 23,000 new farms began

in Saskatchewan, with the average farm size growing

from 297 acres (120 hectares) to 368 acres (150 hectares).

In Saskatchewan, the First World War intensifi ed the

domination of one crop - wheat. The war also sparked a

dramatic rise in the prices of farm products and that went

hand-in-hand with a rise in production costs.

Farm women in Saskatchewan suffered much in the war

years. They were left to carry on the outside work after their

husbands, fathers and sons went to war, while maintaining

the indoor work as well. Wartime infl ation doubled the cost

of living, so providing for their families was made more

diffi cult.

3.

4.

Discuss how Saskatchewan women assisted the war effort

by raising funds through patriotic organizations like the

Red Cross and the Independent Order of the Daughters

of the Empire (I.O.D.E.). Saskatchewan women knit socks,

made quilts, sent shirts, and rolled bandages.

Introduce the role of the Canadian Standard Effi ciency

Training for Boys Program in placing 1,765 boys to help

work on Saskatchewan farms.

Discuss post-war defl ation which brought a sharp drop in

the farm product prices.

Ask students to research and write a short report on - How

did the enlistment of young Saskatchewan men during the

First World War affect women and children on the farm?

Or ask students to research ways in which young people

in Saskatchewan during the First World War contributed to

the war effort.

5.

6.

7.

8.

ADAPTATION AND EXTENSIONAlthough it is intended for younger readers, have your

students read Megiddo’s Shadow by Saskatchewan writer,

Arthur Slade and prepare a short book review.

In groups, have students prepare a PowerPoint or a poster

board presentation on topics relating the First World War

and its impact in Saskatchewan and abroad.

As a group activity, write a dialogue between two young

men in Saskatchewan - one, a British subject anxious

to serve and the other a member of a pacifi st religious

group who settled in Saskatchewan to avoid taking up

arms - debating the pros and cons of enlisting. Encourage

students to keep an open mind and not be judgmental in

their writing. Perform a short skit (script-in-hand) based on

the dialogue.

1.

2.

3.

Saskatchewan War time ContributionsGrade Fo ur, E ig ht , Twel ve S o c i al S tudies

223

The many ways in which Saskatchewan people worked together on the homefront during the world wars will be explored in the Saskatchewan Wartime Contributions discovery box.

LESSON OVERVIEWStudents will explore the contents of a discovery box and tour

exhibits in the Museum.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALSMaterials and information sent to you in your Museum tour

confi rmation package

PROCEDUREPrepare to teach and to tour the Museum by reviewing

the resources listed. Divide your class into groups before

the visit. Discuss the required number of groups with the

Museum Programmer when you book your visit. Select

other staff members or parents to lead the groups. Advise

the group leaders about what they will have to do.

Students will visit a Western Development Museum in

Moose Jaw, North Battleford, Saskatoon or Yorkton. The

entire class will assemble for a welcome and orientation.

The class will be divided into two, three or more groups

depending on the class size. Students will interact with

artifacts, replicas and photographs located in a discovery

box. A leader’s script included in the discovery box will

spearhead discussion.

The class will tour pertinent exhibits in the Museum using a

tour handout to guide their exploration. This handout may

be a question-and-answer sheet or a scavenger hunt. A tour

script for the group leader will be sent with confi rmation of

your Museum tour booking.

•

1.

2.

3.

4.

LESSON PLAN TWO: AT THE MUSEUMLESSON PLAN TWO: AT THE MUSEUM


224

Interior view of Saskatchewan’s largest munitions plant, Regina Industries Ltd., Regina, circa 1944. Saskatchewn Archives Board R-B9523

LESSON OVERVIEW Students will discover that being an Aboriginal person in

Saskatchewan disqualifi ed war veterans from the privileges

enjoyed by non-Aboriginal veterans. Following the First World

War and the Second World War, First Nations and Métis veterans

did not receive benefi ts provided under the Soldier Settlement

Act to non-Aboriginal veterans.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALSRead Section 8 “Soldier Settlement” of the WDM research

paper The Impact of the First World War on Saskatchewan

Farm Families and read The Impact of the Second

World War on Saskatchewan at http://www.wdm.ca/

skteacherguide/war.

Fast Facts at the end of this resource package.

“Soldier Settlement in the Prairie Provinces” by E.C.

Morgan in Volume 21, Number 2 edition of Saskatchewan

History, 1968.




Teaching Treaties in the Classroom education kit from the

Offi ce of the Treaty Commissioner in your school library.

The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture at http://

www.metismuseum.ca.

Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples:

Veterans at http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/ch/rcap/sg/

cg12_e.pdf.

We Were There: Saskatchewan Indian Veterans edited

by Gordon Ahenakew. Saskatoon: Saskatchewan Indian

Veteran Association, 1989.

Remembrances: Métis Veterans compiled by Dave

Hutchinson, Anne Dorion and Rick Desjarlais. Regina:

Gabriel Dumont Institute, 1997.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Warriors of the King: Prairie Indians in WWI by L. James

Dempsey. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre,

University of Regina, 1999.

Native Soldiers, Foreign Battlefi elds by Janice Summerby.

Ottawa: Government of Canada, Veterans Affairs, 1993.

Forgotten Soldiers by Fred Gaffen. Penticton, British

Columbia: Theytus Books, 1985.

•

•

•

LESSON PLAN THREE: WHEN A MUSEUM VISIT ISN’T POSSIBLELESSON PLAN THREE: WHEN A MUSEUM VISIT ISN’T POSSIBLE


225

PROCEDUREPrepare to teach by reading the recommended materials.

Borrow the Treaties education kit produced by the Offi ce of

the Treaty Commissioner in your school library.

Discuss the Greater Production Campaign which led to

changes in the Indian Act to allow for the temporary use of

First Nations reserve land for wheat and crops essential to

the war effort.

Explain that the Soldier Settlement Act of 1917 established

a Board to assist First World War veterans to begin farming

Dominion land under the homestead regulations. The Act

did not apply to First Nations veterans.

Describe how some of the land for soldier settlement came

from First Nations reserves including Mistawasis near

Shellbrook, the Poorman Reserve near Punnichy, Piapot

Reserve near Zebner and Ochapowace near Broadview.

Other plots of land came from Hudson’s Bay Company

allocations and Doukhobor land near Kamsack. A large

part of the Porcupine Forest Reserve near Prairie River was

also allocated for soldier settlement.

Discuss post-war defl ation in 1920 and its effect on soldier

settlement and on First Nations reserve life. On reserves,

already depressed economic conditions worsened. At

this time, First Nations and Métis people were providing

goods such as horses, seasoned wood and hay to settlers,

and also worked for them during harvest, or clearing

bush and stones. The 1920s are generally characterized

as prosperous times for Saskatchewan people, but this

was not so for most First Nations and Métis people. Many

terms of the Treaties had not been kept by the government.

Conditions on reserves in almost every area - social

services, health, education, housing - had deteriorated.

There was some farming on some reserves, and farm

instructors were stationed on some reserves, but this was

the only assistance Indian Affairs provided at that time. For

the most part, First Nations people lived off rations, or any

money they could make selling horses or wood or working

on settlers’ farms. With the pass and permit systems still

enforced, selling any produce or goods was illegal; although

some selling to settlers occurred. For Métis people as well,

the 1920s were not prosperous times. The scrip system

had failed and effectively dispossessed the Métis people

of their land.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Discuss the situation before and after the Second World

War in Saskatchewan. The 1930s caused a serious

setback to reserve farming. Wild hay and water supplies

for livestock dried up. Cattle died or were slaughtered for

meat. The health of horses deteriorated for want of good

feed and many died. To make matters worse, the Indian

Affairs budget was cut by 50% in 1930. The pass and

permit system continued to infringe on reserve life. After

the spirit-breaking years of the 1930s, better weather and

wartime demands for farm produce revived Saskatchewan

farms. During the war years, life on reserves began to

improve somewhat. With the end of drought, the soil began

to produce again and grain prices rose. However, post-

war years were not prosperous for reserve farmers. Farm

costs rose, so small-scale agricultural returns dwindled.

The gap between non-Aboriginal and First Nations farmers

grew, stemming from the Peasant Farming Policy and the

pass and permit policies. Land surrenders also contributed

to the widening gap between reserve life and the rest of

Saskatchewan society.

Discuss the Soldiers Settlement Act and veterans returning

from the Second World War. Following the Second World

War, non-Aboriginal veterans were offered the choice of

educational opportunities, land benefi ts, or funds paid on

the basis of a certain amount of money per day of service.

These benefi ts were either not extended to First Nations

or Métis veterans or they were entangled in extra layers

of bureaucracy. The complicated process added confusion

and delays for a large number of Aboriginal veterans and

as a result many were denied the full range of benefi ts to

which they were entitled. Aboriginal veterans seldom had

access to Royal Canadian Legion branches and newsletters

and status Indians could not visit Legions because Legions

served liquor and status First Nations people, subject to

the Indian Act, could not attend functions where liquor was

served. Two major obstacles stood in the way of access

to veterans benefi ts for First Nations people living on

reserve: fi rstly, the policy that surrendered control of all

veterans’ benefi ts for status Indians to the Department of

Indian Affairs; and secondly, the policy that virtually made

Indian Agents the advocates as well as the judges of every

veteran’s application.

6.

7.


226

Icing rail cars to transport pork during the “Bacon for Britain” drive during the Second World War, Prince Albert, circa 1944. Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society, Everett Baker Collection 5599

Assign a report project, individually or in groups, to

research and prepare a report card on Canada’s respect of

Treaty land promises following the First World War and the

Second World War. When scoring Canada’s performance,

students should consider the original Treaty provisions as

well as the Indian Act. How were these affected during

wartime and afterwards, especially with respect to the

Soldier Settlement Act and veteran benefi ts?

ADAPTATION AND EXTENSIONHave students research and prepare reports on First

Nations veterans. How were First Nations veterans treated

upon their return from the First World War? From the

Second World War? Has restitution been made? How?

Arrange a class visit to a local senior home to talk with

war veterans and those who supported the war effort from

home.

Ask a local senior to speak to the class about the war years.

Search for First Nations veterans to share their stories.

Check www.saskmuseums.org. Various museums in

Saskatchewan offer artifacts and exhibits dealing with the

war years in the province.

8.

1.

2.

3.

4.

LESSON OVERVIEW Students will learn about Saskatchewan’s participation in the

Second World War and about life on the homefront. They will

discover the effects of the War on people in Saskatchewan.

RESOURCES AND MATERIALShttp://www.wdm.ca/skteacherguide/ for The Impact of the

Second World War on Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan History Centennial Timeline http://olc.spsd.

sk.ca/DE/saskatchewan100timeline.html.

Review Fast Facts for information on Saskatchewan during

two world wars.

Canada Remembers at Veterans Affairs Canada at http://

www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/

•

•

•

•

LESSON PLAN FOUR: CLASSROOM WRAP-UPLESSON PLAN FOUR: CLASSROOM WRAP-UP


227

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/youth/sub.cfm?source=teach_

resources/tguide/students.

http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/war from the Saskatchewan

Council of Archives and Archivists for Saskatchewan in

Two Wars.




PROCEDUREPrepare to teach by reviewing Fast Facts and the research

papers recommended.

Discuss how Saskatchewan young people helped the

war effort in many ways. They collected materials such as

metal, rubber, fat and grease which were in short supply.

“Girl Guides washed, sterilized and packed medicine and

bottles for the Women’s Voluntary Service and Red Cross.

Boy Scouts collected aluminum pots and pans for recycling.

They vied for savings stamps in school contests, made

gift boxes, quilts, socks, sweaters and mitts for troops.”

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/youth/sub.cfm?source=teach_

resources/tguide/students

Discuss Saskatchewan’s contributions during two world

wars. Discuss the number of Saskatchewan men and

women who went to war from Saskatchewan. How many

died? What may have motivated young people to sign

up?

Young people from Saskatchewan farms left the province.

Young men and women joined the armed forces or went

to Eastern Canada to work in war plants and munitions

factories. Nearly 10% of the province’s total population,

an estimated 91,000 Saskatchewan men, joined the armed

forces. More than 3800 never returned. How would this

exodus and loss have affected their friends and families in

Saskatchewan?

•

•

•

1.

2.

3.

4.

Discuss rationing. Rationing in Canada was fi rst imposed

in April 1942. Gasoline was the fi rst commodity to be

rationed. The sale of new automobile parts and tires,

anything made of metal and rubber, was also restricted.

Canadians walked, biked, or went back to the old grey

mare. Horses were used extensively during the war years

by farmers and for delivery of milk, bread and ice. Rations

were also applied to meat, sugar, coffee, tea, butter, beer,

whisky and wine. Shopping now meant cash and stamps

or tokens. Sugar was rationed the longest - until November

1947.

Divide the class into groups to research different crises

that have affected the school, the community, the province

or the country. Ask the groups to research the nature of

the crisis and how people worked together in the crisis

situation.

Have each group present their fi ndings in class.

5.

6.

7.


228

ADAPTATION AND EXTENSION 1. Have students research the number of men and women

who went to war in your local area. How many died? What

may have motivated young people to sign up?

2. Make a wartime wall with pictures and drawings to

illustrate the number of young people from Saskatchewan

who left the province and the effect their departure had on

Saskatchewan.

3. Watch newsreels available from the National Film Board of

Canada encouraging young people to sign up for wartime

service. Why were they so convincing? Create a video

about enlisting for war or create a video suggesting the

world fi nd an alternative to war.

4. Invite a veteran, war bride, or woman who worked in an

Eastern war plant, to speak to the class.

5. Many everyday items were rationed during wartime. Role-

play rationing. Ration pens and pencils in the classroom.

Have each student use the one remaining pencil for 10

or 15 minutes only. Brainstorm ways to overcome the

restrictions of rationing.

6. Assign student groups the task to research Victory Bonds,

War Savings Certifi cates and saving stamps and present

their fi ndings to the class. How do these exemplify co-

operative action?

7. Ask students to research ways in which young people in

Saskatchewan during the Second World War contributed

to the war effort.

8. Organize a visit to a nursing home in your community. Visit

with people from the wartime generation. Have students

research and prepare appropriate questions before the

visit, then make a class presentation or a written report.

9. Find music from the war years and organize a 1940s

dance.

10. Prepare essays of appreciation to Canadians who fought

for Canada. What freedoms do we enjoy today that could

have been denied?

11. Suits were in. The mannish look, epitomized by Lauren

Bacall in the 1944 fi lm To Have And Have Not came about

in reaction to government restrictions on fabric and trim.

No frilly details were allowed - to save precious material

for wartime. Garments had a two pocket limit. The war

look for women mimicked the military look, with braid and

buttons used to trim many outfi ts. Shorter hemlines, more

fi tted skirts and bodices all conserved fabric. With the end

of the war came a drop in hemlines, but “Air Force Grey”

fl annel continued to be a popular choice of fabric. In

Europe, silk stockings were banned because the silk was

needed for parachutes, so women used leg make-up and

drew a line up the back of their legs with eyebrow pencil

to simulate the look of stockings. Stocking manufacturers

scrambled to come up with a viable alternative - and so

we have nylons! Ask students to design clothing that

takes lesser amounts of fabric. Incorporate a military look

into the designs.


229

RESOURCEShttp://www.wdm.ca/skteacherguide

http://www.esask.ca The Saskatchewan Encyclopedia online

http://www.olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/saskatchewan100 http://www.wdm.ca

Celebrating Saskatchewan’s Heritage Website

http://www.cdli.ca/monuments/sk.htm/ Saskatchewan War Memorials

www.cbc.ca/sask100 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - Saskatchewan Centennial Site

http://www.cbc.ca/sask/features/veday Saskatchewan Veterans Stories

http://canadianwarbrides.com/today.asp War Brides

http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/war/ for Saskatchewan in Two Wars from the Saskatchewan

Council of Archives and Archivists

http://www.saskd.ca/history.htm Saskatchewan Dragoons

http://rootsweb.com/~cansk/Saskatchewan/books.html Saskatchewan GenWeb Project

http://www.shfs.ca. Folklore magazine published by the Saskatchewan History and Folklore

Society (SHFS)

www.saskmuseums.org Museums Association provides of Saskatchewan provides information

on museums and heritage sites around Saskatchewan.

www.saskparks.net Saskatchewan Parks for information on historic sites of interest.

www.metismuseum.ca The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture from the Gabriel

Dumont Institute

www.culture.ca Culture.ca - Canada’s Cultural Gateway.

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/ for Canada Remembers, Veterans Affairs Canada

www.collectionscanada.ca/ Collections Canada from Library and Archives Canada.

http://www.saskarchives.com/ The Saskatchewan Archives Board (SAB) publishes the

Saskatchewan History magazine. Find an index to Saskatchewan History articles at http://www.

saskarchvies.com/web/history-tc-feature.html

http://www.saskpublishers.sk.ca/ The Saskatchewan Book Archive Project

Consult these Saskatchewan History magazine articles:

“Soldier Settlement in the Prairie Provinces” by E.C. Morgan in 1968 Volume 21, Number 2,

page 41.

“The Silent Column - Civil Security in Saskatchewan During World War II” by Robert MacDonald

in 1986, Volume 39, Number 2, page 41.

“The Invisible Workforce - Women Workers in Saskatchewan from 1905 to World War II” by

Christine Smillie in 1986, Volume 39, Number 2, page 62.

“Pacifi sm, Dissent and the University of Saskatchewan - 1938-1944” by Stan Hanson and Don

Kerr in 1993, Volume 45, Number 2, page 15.

“Rogues, Heroes, Adventurers and Trailblazers - Gladys Arnold: Second World War Correspondent

and Free French Advocate” by Ruth Miller in 2000, Volume 52, Number 2, page 47.

Barry, Bill, Doug Chisholm and Beth Parsons. Age Shall Not Weary Them. Regina: Centax

Books, 2005.

Chisholm, Doug. Their Names Live On. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre, 2001.

Atlas of Saskatchewan Fung, Ka-iu, editor. Saskatoon: University of Saskatchewan, 1999.

Waiser, Bill. Saskatchewan: A New History. Calgary: Fifth House Publishers, 2005

Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan, Canadian Plains Research Centre, University of Regina, 2005.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•


230

FAST FACTSThe First World War Years

The First World War broke out in Europe in the summer of 1914.

Saskatchewan recruits, particularly those of British ancestry who were British subjects,

went off to war with enthusiastic farewell ceremonies attended by hundreds of their families,

friends and neighbours.

Saskatchewan’s enlisted overseas contingent suffered the highest casualty rate of all the

provinces in Canada at just over 18%.

Full prohibition came into effect in Saskatchewan in 1916.

Income tax was a temporary measure introduced in the summer of 1917 to pay the cost of

the war. Canadians are still paying income tax in the 21st century.

The Soldier Settlement Act of 1917 permitted the Settlement Board to purchase “idle”

Indian Reserve lands for distribution to Euro-Canadian war veterans. As a result, First

Nations people lost considerable land. First Nations veterans were doubly denied Soldier

Settlement: fi rstly, they were not allowed land for soldier’s settlement; secondly, many of

their home reserves were forced to “surrender” land to the Canadian government. In the

following years, ten surrenders took place with many bands losing up to half their land

base - a total of 71,359 acres were lost to First Nations people.

As the First World War raged in Europe, a devastating disease, the “Spanish” Infl uenza,

killed between 50 and 100 million people worldwide.

The fl u epidemic started in the trenches and spread across the Atlantic Ocean as troops

returned to Canada. Although the war was offi cially declared over on November 11, 1918,

the fi rst returning troops reached Saskatchewan on October 1, 1918. From Regina, the fl u

spread rapidly throughout the province.

During the fi rst three months of the epidemic, 3906 Saskatchewan people died. The

number of deaths peaked in November 1918, a result of people coming together for victory

celebrations on Armistice Day.

The epidemic gradually subsided after May 1919, but by April 1919 the total number of

recorded deaths in Saskatchewan was 4821, an average of 688 per month.

Because the Flu was more likely to kill parents than children, there was a sharp rise in the

number of orphans in the province.

By 1920, 5018 Saskatchewan people had died of the Spanish Flu. The 1921 census

reported that Saskatchewan’s population was 757,510.

The Greater Production Campaign

The Greater Production Campaign led to legislative changes to the Indian Act allowing for

the temporary use of First Nations reserve land for production of wheat and other crops

considered essential to the war effort. The Greater Production Campaign was organized

by the Canadian government to increase agricultural production in Western Canada

during the fi nal years of the First World War. Prior to the war, the Indian department had

encouraged band members to take up agriculture as a way to encourage self-suffi ciency

and assimilation. First Nations farmers were prohibited from raising commercial crops for

sale to white communities unless licensed by the Indian department. The Indian department

also discouraged First Nations communities from using the most up-to-date agricultural

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•


231

techniques. In spite of the drawbacks, First Nations people were adapting to farming

successfully by the beginning of the war. Band councils had been effective at preventing

land-hungry white farmers from seizing their land prior to the war. Many white farmers

believed that they could produce more than their First Nations counterparts and were

indifferent to the fact that First Nations farmers were unable to modernize their farming

methods because of government regulations.

The situation improved for white farmers with the beginning of the war. Farm groups

pressured their Members of Parliament to relax restrictions that prevented non-First Nations

people from purchasing reserve land without a formal surrender by the band. Nevertheless,

it was not until the end of the war that the government took steps to address the farmers’

concerns. The Greater Production Campaign made provision for vacant reserve land to

be leased for the duration of the war by white farmers in spite of objections from the band

council. In addition, First Nations farmers were required to volunteer their labour to assist

in the development of these new farms from which they did not profi t. By the end of the

war, agricultural production by on-reserve farmers, especially in terms of wheat and cattle,

collapsed and was almost ten years in recovery.

Soldier Settlement

The wartime plan to lease First Nations reserve lands to boost agricultural production merged

into the post-war plan to obtain outright surrenders of those reserve lands for veterans.

Administration of the new Soldier Settlement Act for status First Nations veterans returning

to the prairies was placed in the hands of Indian Commissioner William Graham. As early as

1917 various schemes had been considered to alienate First Nations reserve lands in order

to re-settle returning non-Aboriginal veterans. The Army and Navy Veterans Association

asked specifi cally that the government purchase reserve lands, among others, for the use

of veterans. Pressure fi rst to lease and then to sell reserve land angered many bands.

Often they refused. Aboriginal resistance was countered by the so-called Oliver Act of

1911, which was a series of amendments to the Indian Act that facilitated the sale and

expropriation of reserve lands. In addition, a 1919 order in council gave the Superintendent

of Indian Affairs authority “to appropriate and to cause to be utilized any portion of any First

Nations reserve which is not under cultivation or otherwise properly used.” In concurrence

with Indian Affairs policy, Commissioner Graham went after First Nations land vigorously

until 1922. The department justifi ed its actions as follows: “...the areas of the reserves set

apart under treaty were generous, but were given as part compensation for the cession of

title, and with the intention that, in the future, the proceeds from the sale of the lands might

form funds from which the Indians could be maintained.” This rationalization violated the

spirit of Treaty agreements. As one historian put it, “The soldier settlement emergency was

an excuse to alienate some valuable lands from Indian use. ...[These lands were] part of the

birthright of those people the Crown had sworn to protect at the time of the treaty.”

Indian Affairs succeeded in obtaining surrenders of 85,000 acres of First Nations reserve

land, mostly in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Although prices were often close to real value,

coercive methods were used in the face of understandable reluctance on most reserves.

Surrenders appeared to have two goals: making First Nations land available to satisfy

veterans and neighbouring farmers and ranchers, and raising funds for the support of First

Nations bands through the sale of their lands.

•

•

•

•


232

While prairie First Nations reserves were being subjected to leases and surrenders, returning

status First Nations veterans were waiting to see what the Soldier Settlement Act would

offer them. The department of Indian Affairs was given the power to grant location tickets

to returning First Nations war veterans, which merely carved out an individual parcel of

reserve land for them, as part of the Soldier Settlement Act; the tickets were in lieu of the

160 acres of land promised to all other veterans by the legislation. However, western First

Nations veterans often found it diffi cult to obtain location tickets on what was left of their

bands’ communal land: band councils feared further break-up of their land and, to protest

Indian Affairs’ manipulations, refused to co-operate. This left many First Nations veterans

empty-handed, as well as alienated from other members of their bands. By 1919, the Deputy

Superintendent General of Indian Affairs was given the power to grant location tickets to

returning First Nations war veterans, without band council consent. Although an intrusion into

band autonomy and local self-government, this was less extreme than the scheme originally

proposed — requiring First Nations veterans to enfranchise if they wished to receive land

under the Soldier Settlement Act. Even if a status First Nations person gained a location

ticket, the right to occupy and use a piece of reserve land was not the equivalent of other

veterans’ outright ownership of a quarter-section of land as a free homestead. The status First

Nations veteran obtained nothing more than the right he already had as a band member.

In practice, almost no free land off-reserve was ever granted to a prairie Indian veteran.

The result was that most First Nations veterans were excluded from the standard benefi ts

supposedly their right as veterans under the Soldier Settlement Act. To all other veterans

the act offered a homestead; a purchase or lease from the Soldier Settlement Board of

land, stock or equipment at reasonable rates; a loan advance or mortgage; and farming

instruction. On the prairies, only one First Nations veteran in 10 who applied for fi nancial

assistance was given a loan by the Soldier Settlement Board. One inspector candidly

reported refusing a Six Nations veteran a loan on the grounds that “The amount of the

loan appeared to me to be too large for an Indian.” In the west, Graham tried to have loans

deducted from band trust funds, rather than from Soldier Settlement funds. Western loans,

few as they were, were not granted until 1920, two years after the war’s end. By 1921,

about 150 loans had been approved for status First Nations veterans — a small fraction

of the total number of returning veterans. Even those who should have received disability

pensions as a result of wounds received in Europe were refused. One First Nations veteran

in Saskatchewan who had lost both arms while serving in the trenches was denied a

disability pension when he returned to Canada and was advised to apply for a farm under

the Soldier Settlement Act because his disability “would not prevent a good man from

earning his own keep.”

The Second World War Years

The Second World War began when Germany invaded Poland. Canada declared war on

September 10, 1939, a week after Britain and France.

Saskatchewan Premier, W.J. Patterson, was the fi rst to telegram the Prime Minister in

Ottawa to pledge Saskatchewan’s support .

Some 75,000 Saskatchewan men and women served in the Armed Forces. Many young

women from the West went East to work in plants and factories converted to make supplies

for the war.

•

•

•

•

•


233

Of all Canadians who served in the war, 3162 were First Nations. The numbers of Métis

are not known.

3684 Saskatchewan people died in the war.

In December 1939 the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was signed. Eighteen

training sites were built in Saskatchewan. Other bases were built across Canada. One-fi fth

of all students trained in Saskatchewan.

Some businesses in Saskatchewan were converted to war work, making things from tanks

to uniforms.

Between October 1939 and December 1944 the Saskatchewan Division of the Women’s

War Work Committee shipped 78,422 quilts overseas for civilian relief. Special efforts, such

as the “Blanket Campaign” in 1940 focused on these badly needed items. The Pontiac,

Saskatchewan Homemakers Club made more than 200 quilts during the war. Many

Homemakers Clubs raised funds for the war through signature quilt raffl es. The names of

people who contributed funds to the project were embroidered onto the quilt, hence the

name signature quilt.

In 1943, the Saskatchewan Division of the Women’s War Work Committee completed and

shipped 12,594 pairs of pyjamas overseas.

Horses were used extensively during the war years by farmers and for delivery of milk,

bread and ice.

Rationing is allocating a fi xed amount of a product, per person, in times of scarcity. Some

foods and supplies were rationed during the war. Rationing was fi rst imposed in April1942.

Gasoline was the fi rst commodity to be rationed. The sale of new automobile parts and

tires, anything made of metal and rubber, was also restricted. Other rationed products

included sugar, tea, coffee, butter, meat and nylon. The meat allowance was three pounds

of meat, including bones, per person, per week. Shopping meant cash and ration stamps

or tokens. Sugar was rationed the longest - until November 1947.

Rubber, glass, old pots and pans and aluminum toothpaste tubes were recycled into

materials for military production.

The Western Development Museum formed in Saskatchewan as a result of the war. When

the drive for scrap metal took unused equipment from farms to be recycled for the war

effort, some people grew concerned that history would be lost. Preserving the steam and

gasoline engines of the pioneer period spurred the passing of the Western Development

Museum Act in 1949.

The Canadian government raised income tax to pay for the war.

Canadians bought Victory Bonds, War Savings Certifi cates and savings stamps to help

raise money for the war. Advertisements everywhere sold patriotism and boosted national

morale. The sale of Victory Bonds was brisk. “Let’s back up our fi ghting men by investing

every dollar we can spare! Victory takes something extra to win. Make it an Extra Victory

Bond today!” “You serve by saving. Buy War Savings Certifi cates.” “A 25¢ War Saving

Stamp buys 12 bullets.” War savings stamps were books of 16 stamps which could be

redeemed for a $5.00 war savings certifi cate. “Every certifi cate you save lengthens our

ammunition belt and your credit for the future,” claimed the ads. Canadians gave war

savings certifi cates and stamps at Christmas.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•


saskatchewan wartime contributions · 223 the many ways in which saskatchewan people worked...

Documents