User:JTrentU/sandbox

Lawrence Vankoughnet Draft #1: "Lead" and Outline

Lawrence Vankoughnet was an agent with Canada's Department of Indian Affairs in the late 19th century. Some historians have noted his role in cutting costs in the food supply program to Indigenous peoples.

Throughout the 1800s and early 20th century, the Department of Indian Affairs, along with the Department of the Interior, and the Canadian government completed the process of moving the Indigenous peoples onto reserve land to make room for settlers. The Metis showed their concern through the Metis resistance of 1869, but by the 1870s, several treaties were signed as an attempt to ease the worry. The relationship between settlers, the Canadian government and Indigenous peoples began to sift as the bison populations continued to decrease throughout the mid 19th century. On reserve land, the Metis were unable to farm and make a living for themselves and their families. They became increasingly dependent on the government to supply them with specific positions in the growing workforce. The Department of Indian Affairs was also responsible for delivering rations to the reserves.

When prime minister John A. MacDonald and his conservative government took hold in 1878, expansion of the west took off. Lawrence Vankoughnet and the Department of Indian Affairs cut rations on the reserves to save government funds and attempt to retain power over the starving people. In 1885, the Metis organized a rebellion to end their suffering on reserve land. Big Bear was a significant leader in the build up to the rebellion until his arrest in 1884. Peer Review

- This is a solid start for the article.

- The outline contains a decent amount of contextual information about the world around Vankoughnet, but is lacking in personal information. When was he born? Where was he born? Did he receive an education anywhere? Did he have a family? How and why did he become an agent with the Department of Indian Affairs? How and when did he die? Personal information such as this would help to flush out the article quite a bit.

- Information on the specifics of how rations were cut might be interesting to add. Info on this might help add some more context to the reasons for the 1885 rebellion which you begin to talk about at the end of the outline.