||August 26, 2005
Grey Owl Meets John Tootoosis
Paths Crossing in the Shadow of the Parliament Buildings
The August/September, 2005
issue of The Beaver “Canada’s History Magazine” features a story on Alberta &
Saskatchewan’s 100th Anniversary. A part of the article called “Men
Who Made a Difference” includes a profile of the outstanding Cree activist John
B. Tootoosis (1899-1989). Tootoosis’ accidental meeting with Grey Owl in March
1936 in Ottawa in the shadow of the parliament buildings tells a lot about these
two great Canadians.
||Gray Owl holding his and Anahario's daughter Dawn at the
commemoration of Treaty Six August 1936.
John Tootoosis was born on the
Poundmaker Reserve in Saskatchewan in 1899. His grandfather was a brother of
the famous native leader Poundmaker who among other things helped negotiate
Treaty Six in 1876. John went to residential school and learned English and
soon became a leader against the oppressive and patrionising Federal Government
and their Indian Agents. When he became the chief of his band at age 20 the
agent said he had to be 21 and cancelled his election.
In the 1930’s John worked with
the League of Indians of Western Canada and became president in 1934. He later
headed the Union of Saskatchewan Indians. He was a Senator for the Federation
of Saskatchewan Indians for 2 decades. He was determined, courageous and stood
up to external authority without hesitation.
Restrictions on native people
in those days are unbelievable by today’s standards. Natives were not allowed
to leave their reserves or enter other reserves without permission from the
Indian Agent. When John left the reserve without permission to organize against
the restrictions the RCMP sent him back. The Catholic Church tried to control
him and threatened excommunication for his independence and criticism.
When John became a leader an
Aunt brought forward a hidden medal given to Poundmaker in 1876 and gave it to
him to encourage him.
John Tootoosis & Grey Owl
In March 1936 John collected
money from his supporters and took the long train trip to Ottawa to ask the
Department of Indian Affairs why his people were getting no action on many
requests that were sent to Ottawa by the League of Saskatchewan Indians.
Details of the events of the
trip are recorded in John’s biography (John Tootoosis: Biography of a Cree
Leader, 1982) and in Donald Smith’s definitive book From the Land of the
Shadows: The Making of Grey Owl 1990. On the train John met an Anglican priest
who knew of John’s criticism of residential schools. The priest warned him that
the RCMP would be looking for him when they found out he was off the reserve and
challenging the government’s plan of assimilation.
After several days of travel
he arrived in Ottawa one morning and went to a small coffee shop in the shadows
of the parliament buildings for some breakfast. In a remarkable coincidence
another Canadian icon Grey Owl in his prime, who was in Ottawa to visit the
Prime Minister and the Governor General, came into the same lonely restaurant.
Grey Owl approached John and asked if he could join him and they talked at some
length. Grey Owl was living at Prince Albert Park in Saskatchewan but did not
know much about the native struggle there.
Grey Owl was busy all day and
offered John his room where John slept until Grey Owl returned. They spent the
evening together talking further. Grey Owl offered to introduce John to people
at Indian Affairs. John could not get access to senior staff there so left his
papers with the highest ranking officer and left to come back the next day.
When he did the officer threw John’s papers to one side and was quite
dismissive. John got angry and other staff interceded. John got some promises,
which were ignored like those in the many treaties that were solemnly sworn by
Queen Victoria before God.
Grey Owl did not convince John
he was native but John recognized a friend to the native cause. A few months
later Grey Owl with his daughter Dawn attended the commemoration of the signing
of the Treaty Six with hundreds of native people and danced with some of the
Chiefs in a scene repeated in the 1999 Grey Owl movie.
Grey Owl died in 1938 and John
Tootoosis lived to age 90, dying in 1989 leaving 10 sons, 3 daughters, 51
grandchildren and 36 great grandchildren. His son Gordon was one of the stars
of the CBC’s North of 60 and several movies. A daughter Jean was a highly
successful leader who had a long and successful career in Ottawa and wrote 4
books including (with Norma Sluman) her father’s biography. She had an honorary
doctorate from Queen’s University and the Order of Canada. Tyrone Tootoosis
followed in his uncle Gordon’s footsteps when he played the role of Poundmaker
in the 1998 movie Big Bear. He later played Poundmaker a couple of other times
including a mini series on the History Channel.
John Tootoosis is deservedly
recognized on this 100th anniversary of Saskatchewan as one of those
who made a difference in the development of native rights and an improved native
way of life.
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