b"RECONCILIATIONReturning to the LandIndigenous people yearn to farm, and while some are making strides, others are still searching.FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE,land has always been a constant in their lives and culture. Before Europeans arrived in what is now North America, many Indigenous people roamed hunting, gathering, and caring for the land that gave them so much. As settlers moved in, Indigenous people worked to pivot and establish themselves as farmers, but obstacles were often in their way. However, many are now looking for ways to return to caring for that land as their ancestors did before them.Britain began acquiring land in the 1600s and European settlers moved onto what would one day become Canada. Agreements between the Crown and the Indigenous people who lived on the land were put in place, both verbal and written. These agreements were called treaties and set out how people in the regions would live together, and provided compensation for Indigenous people including land and supplies. The governmentthe Crownsaid they would help us become farmers. And the leaders back then knew the buffalo were dwindling and they had to act. They had to make some level of partnership, and back then we didn't necessarily have oil and gas. We didn't have casinos, we didn't have hotels, but we needed to adapt the prairies and become partners in its development. And so, agriculture obviously would be the natural thing, Former Enoch Chief Billy Morin said during a presentation at the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Congress on July 1, 2023. Agriculture did work out in some ways for Indigenous people. On Morins own Nation, Enoch located near Edmonton, Alta., his great-great-grandparents farmed. They grew crops such as wheatCarlon Bigsnake, member of Siksika Nationand barley along with potatoes and turnips, working hard to try and make a go of it, Morin explained. to leave reserves. If they did manage to grow any commodities or However, farming didnt last long for the residents of Enochraise livestock, the Indian Agent would take over and sell them, not or many other Indigenous groups across the Prairies. During thethe Indigenous people who had produced or raised the commodity. early 1900s the government took the land they had promised toPromises were half kept in terms of the commodities they received, Indigenous people across Western Canada, giving it to Europeansuch as when Indigenous people were given sick and unhealthy settlers to farm, Morin says. Enoch lost half of its land base becausecattle to raise.of this. Many Nations across the Prairies fared the same with theirTheyre really trying to design us to, I would say starve us out, treaty promised land taken from them. and actually not really help us engage in transitioning to be real Back then, we lost over probably half our land base, probablytreaty partners and really independent people, Morin said.a third of the city of Edmonton is now on our former land base.Dark years continued with practices such as the residential school Generating a GDP which is unimaginable quite frankly in thesystem, where Indigenous children were forcefully taken from their context of a small Indian Nation, he added. That's primehomes to attend boarding schools where their culture and heritage farmland, you took away over half of our reserve farmland, and youwas taken from them. As the second half of 20th century dawned, expect us to be self-sufficient? some things did start looking up for Indigenous people. Nations like Enoch were governed through numerous policiesOn Enoch, the Nation cashed in on the Alberta oil boom over the years, including having Indian Agents sign off for themgenerating money through drilling and oil sales. Through the 100seed.ab.ca"