According to the wording of Treaty 7, that meant; “for every family of five persons, and under, two cows; for every family of more than five persons, and less than ten persons, three cows, for every family of over ten persons, four cows; and every Head and Minor Chief, and every Stony Chief, for the use of their Bands, one bull.”
In her submissions to a national claims commission as part of a separate settlement, elder Rosie Day Rider gave government officials the Blood’s interpretation of Treaty 7.
“At the time, they promised us that they would educate us, that they would take care of our health, and that they would train us and provide the funds to farm, and that they would do this as long as the sun shines, the rivers flow, and as long as the grass grows. And as long as the mountains are there,” she said in 2004.
But Keith Regular, author of, “Neighbours and Networks: The Blood Tribe in the Southern Alberta Economy, 1884-1939”, said those commitments didn’t materialize.
“Because the Department of Indian Affairs stood in the way, being extremely paternalistic,” said Regular. “Not recognizing the rights and abilities for the Blood to decide for themselves.”
Leaders during the years following Treaty 7, such as Red Crow and Shot Both Sides, were not just leading the largest Indigenous band in Alberta but the Bloods made up the one of the biggest communities in the province, said Regular, while at the same time, non-native ranchers and settlers often received preferential treatment by government officials, even at the expense of the Crown’s treaty obligations.
“All of that handicapped the ability of the reserve to achieve its full potential,” said Regular.