Nova Scotia Archives

Mi'kmaq Holdings Resource Guide

Letter from James Lang of River John complaining that the government has not lived up to its promises to protect and preserve thousands of acres granted to the Mi'kmaq as reserves in 1859.
view transcript 1

close

note: transcription publicly contributed - please contact us with comments, errors or omisions

144
My Lord

God stired up the [speret?] of Cyrus who gave the [jues?] there own land with gold silver Cattle and goods to settle it that was Gods plan, tho the wicked opposed it. Ezra 1 Chapter 6 [vers?]

Great Britain gave £20.000.000 to free the Negro 3 days in the week for three years, when the Money was paid Danial O.Conel. carred a resolution in Parlement that they be set free Government obeyed and sent an order to free them, it gave him an immortal name in History Great Britain gave the Indians of this Provance thousands of acrs of land to settle on in 1859 the [Assemble] took it all from them. and the Act [distinkly?] states when they pay there [lote?. it is to be left to the Government weather they gett it or not in 1860 Joseph Howe carried a resolution that each Indian was to receive a deed of a Hundred acres to be sold only to Indians only. for ever the Government has failed to give deeds according to that resolution. 1862 I offred the diveden or Intrest of $100 in Pictou [yass?] work yearly to Rev McDonald [preast?] if it was in his Power to gett a lot of land (as I had failed with the M.P. who [held] [illegible - crossed out] for the Law of 1859 who excluded them except at the option of the Government) he got 50 acres [imeadately] two Indians settled on it. He applyed to the Comitee of the assembly of 1865 for Deeds butt failed. I saw the same Comitee reported that two Indians had settled in Cape Britain [but?] did not say they were to get Deeds nor any of the [Int?] of there owen $1000 did they recomend for there encuragement , butt recomended to sell a part of the lands.

$5.000 is granted to help the Foreigner who imagrants to help him to settle butt not a cent to the native Yours Trully James Lang
River John 27 January 1866


Date: 1866

Retrieval no.: Commissioner of Public Records — Mi'kmaq and Government Relations series Nova Scotia Archives RG 1 volume 431 number 144

Nova Scotia Archives — https://archives.novascotia.ca/mikmaq/archives/?ID=381

Crown copyright © 2024, Province of Nova Scotia.