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Foothills Ojibway Society


Likely another band of Albertan Ojibway's who participated in 1885's Northwest Rebellion, Foothills Ojibway Society of Alberta are currently non status, which means they are landless to whites but not to FOS. Below is a google earth map of their territory. Their population is around 250 near Hinton, Alberta yet there are others who live further way. They are related to O'Chiese Ojibway's yet quite unlike them, Foothills Ojibway Society leaders have not gained recognition nor a Reserve in Alberta. Some speculate Foothills Ojibway Society (FOS) are related to Ta-twa-sin or Tat-wa-sin Ojibway's who lived at Buffalo Lake in south central Alberta, which is 100 miles east of O'Chiese-Sunchild Reserve and 16 miles southeast of Montana Reserve which includes Ermineskin, Louis Bull, and Samson Reserves. All four Reserves are really one Reserve. They supposedly left Buffalo Lake in 1887, for land near Rocky Mountain House. However, Ojibway People have always lived in the region of Rocky Mountain House and west and north. They are actually signatories to Treaty 8. They were allowed to keep Treaty 8 land in Alberta's northwest, southwest and west of Rocky Mountain House.



Chief Rocky Boy

He is important to Ojibway's of Alberta and this is why: He fled to Alberta's and Saskatchewan's Cypress Hills in 1876. His father may have been chief Alexis Piche Bobtail. If he was, it means Bobtail (now known as Louis Bull), Ermineskin, Montana (it was originally known as Sharphead) and Samson Reserves have strong ties to chief Rocky Boy, as does Paul First Nation and Alexis First Nation. In Montana, chief Rocky Boy is very well known. He had several brothers including Winne Naco (newspaper reports wrote his name as Winne Naco - his name was Crazy Boy - Winne Naco means Dirty Promise or Dirty Agreement in Ojibway), Ba-gi-na Gi-sik, O-kin-i-geh and Wa-ka-ki-sik. There is another who was named Pen-ne-to. Chief Rocky Boy supposedly had four brothers. However, Penneto proves something's out of place. Winne Naco was possibly chief Rocky Boy. He did have a borther or son named Crazy Boy. As mentioned, Winne Naco means Dirty Promise or Dirty Agreement. He was contacted by chief Day Child from Crow Reservation. They forced Ojibway leaders of Crow Reservation to cede their Reservations northern portion in 1899. It became official in 1904. Chief Rocky Boy led 100's of Ojibway's from Crow Reservations ceded portion (American leaders would not let them move south to what remained of Crow Reservation because they continued to cling to their Ojibway Nationality), to near Anaconda and Butte, sometime around 1901. Below is a news aticle from a Monday June 17, 1901 Butte Inter Mountain Newspaper edition. Read it carefully. First mention in newspapers of chief Rocky Boy that i know of, is from a Monday July 8, 1901 Butte Inter Mountain newspaper edition. However, chief Winne Naco was possibly chief Rocky Boy. At that time (June and July of 1901) chief Rocky Boy was living near Anaconda. FOS leaders know about Nak-co-wi-ne-wak (Promise Dirty or Agreement Dirty) Nation of Alberta. They include a plural or "wak." They shouldn't. It was their way of telling Ojibway People of this era, what happened well over 100 years ago. They dealt with a Dirty Promise or Dirty Agreement they rejected. Both Foothills Ojibway Society and Nakcowinewak, are related to O'Chiese Ojibway's. Only difference is they refused to sign Treaty 6, while O'Chiese leaders did on May 25, 1944 and May 13, 1950.



KODAK FIENDS
NOT LIKED
BY INDIANS
MEMBER OF WINNE NACO’S
BAND OBJECTS TO HAVING
HIS PICTURE TAKEN.
Other Braves of the Aggregation
Are Not So Sensitive, However,
and Show Pleasure When
Told to Look Pleasant
—Encampment at
Anaconda.


(Special to Inter Mountain.)
Anaconda. June 17.—During the past
few weeks many persons bent on seeing
Indian life in its crude state have
visited the tepees of Winnie Naco, the
Chippewa Indian Chief, who has located
his camp at a typical spot about 12
miles north of Anaconda, where the surroundings
are wild, weird and strange.
The habitations of the white man are
nowhere to be seen but the whole expanse
of prairie surrounding the camp
seems left to the Indians as a grazing
ground for their ponies, and Winnie Naco's
band has a large herd of them.

Winnie presides over the destines of
about 100 of his fellow redskins. His is
a roving band which spends several
months in the year across the Canadian
border where they really belong. Being
Canadian Indians they have no reservation
to go to on this side of the
line, consequently are entitled to no rations
of blankets from Uncle Sam. By
force of circumstances they are required
to hustle for their own living.



O'Chiese First Nation - Sunchild First Nation


So you see an obvious connection between Albertan Ojibway's and Montana Ojibway's. Chief Rocky Boy was native to Montana. One account gave his birth location between Anaconda and Butte, while another gave his birth location as north central Montana. He was not born in Wisconsin as white historians have written. After Deportations commenced in 1895, Montana Ojibway's kept in contact with Albertan Ojibway's. That probably stopped before 1910. Of course, Ojibway's are native to Alberta yet we have to deal with those forced Deportations Montana Ojibway's went through. Both FOS and Nakcowinewak are a mixture of Albertan and Montana Ojibway's. They are related to Rocky Boy Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana and must unite with them. We (Rocky Boy Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana) will include them as citizens of Rocky Boy Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana.







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