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The Amalgamation of Old Fort and Fort Babine Indian Bands, 1957

Until 1957 Old Fort and Fort Babine were considered separate nations.  As development, like logging, increased and more Babine people were moving to places like Pendelton Bay for work, the Department of Indian Affairs ran into an internal problem with reserve allocation.  The DIA had an internal rule that two bands could not both occupy, or possess on reserve.  Because there were so many members from both Old Fort and Fort Babine living on reserves close to where there was work, the DIA decided to lump the two bands together to make administration easier.   Like many other decisions, this one was made without any significant discussions with the members.

 

Timeline

1812

Daniel Williams Harmon Visits Babine Lake, January 1812

On January 20th, 1812 Daniel Williams Harmon of the North West Company became the first European to record their visit to Babine Lake.

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1822

The Establishment of Fort Kilmaurs, October 1822

In October of 1822 Hudson’s Bay Company Trader William Brown cleared the portage between Stuart and Babine Lakes landed on present day Old Fort as the location for the HBC post in ‘Babine Country’.

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1884

The Balhats are Prohibited, 1884

In 1884 the Indian Act was amended to prevent First Nations people from practicing many elements for their culture.

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1889

The First Indian Agent, 1889

In 1889 the area around the upper Skeena centred on Hazelton was designated the Babine Agency.  Indian Agent R. E. Loring was sent to oversee all of the First Nations people in that area.

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1904

The Barricades are Removed, October 1904

The first round of the several year dispute that led up to the creation of the Lake Babine Barricade treaty happened in October of 1904

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1905

Rotten Nets are Provided, Fall 1905

In the fall of 1905 fisheries officers brought nets for the Babine to use, but they were so rotten they tore rather than holding the fish.

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1906

The Barricades are Protected and the Treaty is Made, 1906

After nearly starving the winter before due to the rotten nets that the fisheries officers had supplied, the Babine people rebuilt the weir in the summer of 1906.

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1957

The Amalgamation of Old Fort and Fort Babine Indian Bands, 1957

Until 1957 Old Fort and Fort Babine were considered separate nations.

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