“…taken in hand by Indians”: Jewish-Indigenous Relations in the Early Twentieth-Century Qu'Appelle Valley Region

An unsubstantiated claim has defined a particular understanding of historic Jewish-Indigenous relations in Western Canada for over ninety years. Since 1931, at least six scholars have claimed that Indigenous peoples helped destitute Jewish settlers of the Lipton Agricultural Colony in 1901. None of these scholars, however, provide evidence to corroborate their claims. Using the original claim and its subsequent variations as the point of departure, this thesis addresses two interdependent questions: Did a relationship exist between Jewish and Indigenous inhabitants of the File Hills region, and if so, what was the nature and duration of these interactions? Analysis of archival records and oral histories reveals recurring contact between the Lipton colonists and surrounding Indigenous communities throughout the first decade of the twentieth century and thereafter. By focusing on three broad types of relationships (social-neighbourly, economic, and marital-familial), this thesis demonstrates how the region’s Métis, Jewish, and First Nations residents came to interact over the course of the twentieth century and, in the process, build bridges between their communities.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Grantor

University of Saskatchewan

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Benson, Sarah May

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Troupe, Cheryl

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Korinek, Valerie J
• Englebert, Robert
• Horwitz, Simonne
• Neufeld, Matthew

• Jewish-Indigenous relations
• Jewish history
• Indigenous history
• Prairie history
• Saskatchewan
• Early 1900s
• Lipton Jewish Agricultural Colony
• Qu'Appelle Valley Region
• Indigenous-settler relations
• Immigration
• Settler colonialism
• North-West Territories
• Canadian history
• Western Canada
• Rural history
• Agriculture
• Religion
• Judaism
• Ethnicity
• Identity
• Group belonging
• Cultural exchange
• Kinship

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10388/15316

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:harvest.usask.ca:10388/15316