Lost Harvests: Prairie Indian Reserve Farmers and Government Policy

Sarah A. Carter

Published by McGill-Queen's University Press 1990

Lost Harvests

Prairie Indian Reserve Farmers and Government Policy

Sarah A. Carter

Volume 3 in the series McGill-Queen's Indigenous and Northern Studies

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780773562431

Overview
Contents

About this book

Agriculture on Plains Indian reserves is generally thought to have failed because the Native peoples lacked either an interest in farming or an aptitude for it. In Lost Harvests Sarah Carter reveals that reserve residents were anxious to farm and expended considerable effort on cultivation; government policies, more than anything else, acted to undermine their success.

Reviews

"Lost Harvests is a work of critical history that should withstand the blasts of even the most artful anti-critical criticism and, therefore, serve as an enduring model for anyone seeking a realistic approach to native policy in Canada." D.N. Sprague, Manitoba History.
"This tight, informative work will blow apart many misconceptions about the involvement of natives in agriculture, or rather, the lack of it ... The beauty of Carter's work is that one tends to forget the statistics -- though the numbers are provided -- and focus on the story of a people who tried, against all obstacles, to live off the land that belonged to them." Sarath Peiris, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix.
"Sarah Carter takes a long, hard look at Canada's policies and native responses over the past century as they apply to western agricultural development. Her book succeeds in dispelling the myths of indolence and cultural inferiority that pervade attitudes towards the failures of native farmers." Daniel Ray, Edmonton Journal.
"Fascinating ... superb ... beautifully written ... By 1920, as is well-known, the condition of Indians throughout Canada reached a nadir. Carter's splendid work explains only too clearly how this happened." Boyce Richardson, The Beaver.
"Thoroughly researched, lucidly written ... Lost Harvests provides us with a Canadian perspective on Indian policy that has universal significance. Historians of the American West will find it fascinating not only because it is insightful and well-written, but because it contributes to the understanding of prairie imperialism in the late nineteenth-century." Robert W. Righter, Western Historical Quarterly.

"Lost Harvests is a work of critical history that should withstand the blasts of even the most artful anti-critical criticism and, therefore, serve as an enduring model for anyone seeking a realistic approach to native policy in Canada." D.N. Sprague, Manitoba History. "This tight, informative work will blow apart many misconceptions about the involvement of natives in agriculture, or rather, the lack of it ... The beauty of Carter's work is that one tends to forget the statistics -- though the numbers are provided -- and focus on the story of a people who tried, against all obstacles, to live off the land that belonged to them." Sarath Peiris, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. "Sarah Carter takes a long, hard look at Canada's policies and native responses over the past century as they apply to western agricultural development. Her book succeeds in dispelling the myths of indolence and cultural inferiority that pervade attitudes towards the failures of native farmers." Daniel Ray, Edmonton Journal. "Fascinating ... superb ... beautifully written ... By 1920, as is well-known, the condition of Indians throughout Canada reached a nadir. Carter's splendid work explains only too clearly how this happened." Boyce Richardson, The Beaver. "Thoroughly researched, lucidly written ... Lost Harvests provides us with a Canadian perspective on Indian policy that has universal significance. Historians of the American West will find it fascinating not only because it is insightful and well-written, but because it contributes to the understanding of prairie imperialism in the late nineteenth-century." Robert W. Righter, Western Historical Quarterly.

Topics

Front Matter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	viii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction Publicly Available Download PDF	3
Two Solitudes: Myth and Reality of the Plains Indian and Agriculture Publicly Available Download PDF	15
The “Queen’s Bounty”: Government Response to Indian Agitation for Agricultural Assistance Publicly Available Download PDF	50
The Home Farm Experiment Publicly Available Download PDF	79
Assault upon the “Tribal” System: Government Policy after 1885 Publicly Available Download PDF	130
The Pioneer Experience, Prairie Reserve Agriculture Publicly Available Download PDF	159
Prelude to Surrender, Severally and “Peasant” Farming Publicly Available Download PDF	193
Without a Leg to Stand On: Undermining Reserve Publicly Available Download PDF	237
Appendix One Publicly Available Download PDF	259
Notes Publicly Available Download PDF	265
Bibliography Publicly Available Download PDF	299
Index Publicly Available Download PDF	317

Language: English
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Audience: College/higher education;Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 352

eBook

Published: October 1, 1990
ISBN: 9780773562431