St. Ann's centennial: 100 years of faith, Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, Belcourt, North Dakota, 1885-1985

• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: North Dakota State Library
• Subjects: Canada; Indian; Janus; Metis
• Online Access: http://cdm16921.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ndsl-books/id/27600

Mountain Agency, has been responsible for the Chippewa Indians of the Turtle Mountain Reservation. The first Superintendent at Belcourt was Mr. Stephan Janus, who served as "Agent" from July 1910 to April 1914. The man in charge at that time was referred to by the Indians as "the agent," a term which many of the older people still use when referring to the more modern title "superintendent." Also in the early days of the Indian agency another important position and probably next in line of authority was the "Boss Farmer" who supervised and assisted in the agricultural endeavors of the Indian people. Indian Day at TM Agency, 1925 O.D. Ross, Chief Clerk - TM Agency (1930-1946). Mr. William Maxwell- (1920-Feb. 1959) Realty Officer. Landman' Another position of importance was the "Chief Clerk" who managed the clerical and office functions and handled many of the problems of the Indian people which did not require the "agent's" action. The "land man" took care of the Indian allotments and matters pertaining to land owned by the Indian people. One day a week, Indians could come to the agency to take care of their business matters. This day was called "Indian Day." Indian Day at TM Agency, 1934 Both Catholic and Protestant missionaries followed the nomadic life of the Indians and had established a lasting relationship with the Indian tribes many years prior to the establishment of the government headquarters. Government officers who came from the eastern states looked to the missionaries to familiarize themselves with the habits and lifestyle of the Indian people. Usually a good working relationship existed between government and religious leaders although some conflicts did transpire. The missionaries were very protective of their Indian charges and would not permit them to be exploited or treated dishonestly or disrespectfully. They worked diligently for the Indian causes and sometimes had conflicting opinions with those of the government officials. The Indian agency at Belcourt and the Catholic and other churches brought with them some of the first white people to live on the reservation among the Indian people. The people residing at Belcourt and surrounding territory were for the most part Metis people and a few full-blood Indians who had come here from Pembina territory and Canada and were familiar with the French, Scotch and English fur traders. Many of the Indian maidens had married white men so the assimilation of the races was not difficult and Indian, Metis and non-Indians lived in harmony with no serious difficulties arising from this, contrasting with earlier times of confrontations and friction between Indians and whites over land disputes. The establishment of a specific reserve greatly improved the morale and removed 99 Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.