Two (Or More) Sides to Every Story: The Search for Chief Cheekuk (Part One)
- Julia
- Jul 31
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 25
What do you know about Chief Cheekuk? When Joan Holmes & Associates' research team started this project, all we knew was that the few key points we found in Indian Affairs archival records did not tell the whole story.
Cheekuk, "the Worthy One," was outspoken at the 1874 negotiations that, after six long days of talks, ultimately led to the signing of Treaty 4, also known as the Qu'Appelle Treaty. Though he was not formally identified as a chief in the surviving records from those councils, the main treaty commissioner, Lieutenant-Governor Alexander Morris, preserved Cheekuk's words in the official report on the proceedings. This record was reproduced in both government publications and contemporary media reports, so that Cheekuk's words, spoken on the sixth day of negotiations, spread far beyond those in attendance at Fort Qu'Appelle (kipahikanihk). If you click on and scroll through the images below you can see extracts from the published version most commonly referred to:
Extracts including Cheekuk's words as recorded by government officials during the Sixth Day's Conference, from "Report of the proceedings at the Conference between ... the Commissioners appointed by Order in Council to treat with the Indians inhabiting the country described in the said Order ... at Qu'Appelle," September 13, 1874, pp. 116-117, 119. See original source
Cheekuk's clear concern that so many of the people who would be affected were not present could be why he did not sign the treaty in 1874, but we don't know for sure. We do know that the following year roughly double the number of people showed up to participate in Treaty 4. At Fort Qu'Appelle, on September 8, 1875, Cheekuk adhered to treaty on behalf of 44 families.
"Adhesion to Treaty No. 4, signed by Chee-cuck..." September 8, 1875, image 3 of 3. Click on the arrows to see the other two pages of this document. See original source
In the years following treaty signing government representatives were sent to pay annuities and map out the boundary lines of the reserves that had been promised. The government’s priority was to get treaty people onto reserves and out of the way of settlement, with the idea that if they took up farming, they could feed themselves and not need government assistance when the buffalo became extinct.
Under the treaty terms, the size of the reserve depended on the size of the population. Treaty Four guaranteed a ratio of "one square mile [640 acres] for each family of five," which works out to 128 acres per person.
Government representatives created a paylist to record who received annuities. They did this every year, and in so doing created official population statistics and what would ultimately become the earliest membership records. The 1875 treaty annuity paylist for Cheekuk and his followers is the first such record for Muscowpetung Saulteaux Nation ancestors:
This paylist is unique among all 1874/1875 Treaty 4 paylists as it lists Muscowpetung’s father, Taypah sung (translated as “That flies low”) as the first "ticketholder" rather than the Chief. Chief Cheekuk and his family are 27th on the list. On this document, Muscowpetung's name is spelled "Mascowahpetungk" and translated as "Sets hard". Muscowpetung and his family are 13th on the list. The four Headmen and their families are listed as:
Passang
Kay qua tuk ke me skunk, translated as "that tries the earth"
Nee kee wee sit, translated as "the goose foot"
Keesick
The paylist also shows other ancestors' names that are easily recognizable among Muscowpetung members today, such as Ana quot, translated as "the clouds" (Anaquod) and Me sak kee peness, translated as "Thunder at bottom" and later as "Thunder Striking the Ground" (now shortened to Keepness).
That year government officials recorded that Cheekuk had asked for a reserve "around the Devil's Lake on the Touchwood Hill and Fort Pelly Road, to the south of the Touchwood Hill cart road. He was told he could have his Reserve south and east of the Lake, but not within 20 miles of the Railway:"
The same report noted that "Many of the Bands have no desire to settle and commence farming, and will not turn their attention to agriculture until they are forced to do so on account of the failure of their present means of subsistence by the extermination of the Buffalo." Cheekuk and his people were listed among eight groups who, while "not prepared to settle on their Reserves at present," did know where they wanted them to be. There were another five groups, buffalo hunters, who had not named their preferred reserve location, as well as nine groups, including Pasqua's, who wanted reserves surveyed as soon as possible.
In the spring of 1876, prominent Métis politician Angus McKay was appointed Indian Agent for Treaty 4. McKay's October 1876 report notes that when he arrived at Qu'Appelle in July he found that "Most of the Indians belonging to Qu'Appelle were out hunting buffalo which we were told were very numerous at the Eyebrow Hills and vicinity." He confirmed that some "Cheehk-ahk" followers had made a "very limited" start on farming, but that more "will be ready to go on their reserve next summer in order to make a commencement" and that the location they had chosen was "very desirable"-
Treaty annuity paylists also confirm that many people continued travelling during the early years and did not necessarily stick with one leader or even formally appoint a leader. In September 1876 annuity payments were made in multiple locations, and several groups were paid more than one place. Cheekuk's followers were paid at both Fort Qu'Appelle and at Fort Walsh in the Cypress Hills that year. At Fort Walsh, a group of 131 people were paid under the heading "Checuks Band", and included Headmen PahSunk and We-kee-we-sit "Goose foot". This group also included several families who had been paid under other Chiefs in 1875, as is indicated by the letters in front of their ticket numbers. The total number of people paid under Cheekuk's name in 1876 is 261, including those paid with Cheekuk (130) and those paid with two of his Headmen at Fort Walsh (131). This number represents nearly 100 more people than were paid as followers in 1875.
The following year's treaty annuity paylist recorded four deaths, including that of Headman "Waka wesit," who was replaced by appointment of "Wee sak kee piness" (Me sak kee peness). That year the group's recorded population was reduced to 232 individuals, which became 228 in 1878. During this time the decline of the buffalo began to be most keenly felt. The Great Sioux War of 1876 had resulted in Sitting Bull leading a large party of Lakota into Canada, putting even more pressure on ever-dwindling resources. In 1877 the North West Council passed legislation aimed at buffalo conservation, but this didn't prevent the slaughter.
Despite reports of starvation at Fort Qu'Appelle, by the time of the annuity payments in 1879 the number of people paid under Cheekuk's name had increased to 293. Some seed and agricultural implements had been delivered for him that spring, for use on Pasqua's reserve until Cheekuk decided on a final reserve location. The new Agent reported that "Chuchuck" and his band "have agreed to take it on the north side of the Qu’Appelle Lake, immediately east of Standing Buffalo’s."
The following year, only a few short years after the Qu'Appelle Treaty was concluded, the band's population plummeted to 193. The July 1880 paylist recording payments made to the "Che e cuck Band" shows that the "Chief died of Heart disease March 1880". No successor Chief is shown on this document.
All told, government officials only interacted with Cheekuk for around five years after he signed the treaty. Knowing there was a tradition that Cheekuk was a very prominent chief, possibly even the leader of all the Treaty 4 area chiefs, no one could understand why this did not seem to be supported by these surviving government records, which barely mentioned him. Joan Holmes & Associates was tasked with trying to figure out the mystery of why such an important person was relatively unknown in the history books.
Stay tuned to find out more about how we hunted for information on Cheekuk, Muscowpetung and other ancestors, and on what we found!
Mīkwēc
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