User:MTralla/sandbox

= Assignment #5: Wandering Spirit Article Draft = A draft for the stub article on Wandering Spirit

Group: Bryce S., Samantha H., Dana B.

Biography
The article is currently void of much biographical information on Wandering Spirit himself. Although we have been unable to find any sources pertaining to Wandering Spirit's life specifically, The Plains Cree: Trade, Diplomacy and War, 1790 to 1870 contained valuable information on Plains Cree culture, including how chiefdom was attained (primarily through military conquests and acts of generosity within the band). We will continue to look into this. If it is not possible to construct a detailed biography on Wandering Spirit, we could at least provide an approximation by explaining the social structure of the Plains Cree (in which case the subheading will be changed). We will attempt to find any (verified) photographs or drawings of Wandering Spirit to make the page more visually interesting.

Leadup to the Frog Lake Massacre
Subheading subject to change. This section will provide some context to the conflict. It is briefly mentioned in the following section that one of the primary motivations behind rebelling was starvation; according to The Plains Cree: Trade, Diplomacy and War, 1790 to 1870, buffalo were becoming scarce all across Canada due to overhunting. This created a particular animosity against the Metis, who were seen as "half-breeds" (pg 107) infringing upon the Plains Cree hunting grounds, but also against the Europeans, who some blamed for the food shortage-- it was argued that if the traders had not introduced firearms to the tribes, the buffalo would not have been wiped out (107). Subsequently, the Plains Cree often trespassed on Blackfoot lands in search of buffalo, and blamed any deaths this incurred on the HBC, whose trading conquests they felt had forced their hand (108).

Whenever Big Bear, the Chief of the Plains Cree, left the group, Wandering Spirit and Big Bear's son Curly were left in charge.[9] Both had challenged Big Bear for leadership in 1885, and were unsuccessful in doing so. Wandering Spirit's failed run for leadership left his popularity waning among his supporters.[10]

Frog Lake Massacre
The existing information is a good start. We'll continue to look for ways to add to it.; if possible, it would be ideal to provide a timeline or breakdown of the actual massacre.

We also found a map depicting roughly where the event took place (Treaty 6) as a visual aid for readers.

With the Metis uprising and Big Bear away, Wandering Spirit and Curly looked to seize on the chaos. Indian Agent Thomas Quinn and Farming Instructor Delaney were the targets, having abused Indian men during a visit to Frog Lake in 1884. The two men demanded that Quinn and Delaney open the storehouse for the Cree's use. Their request was denied, and both men were murdered. It led to further violence, and all white men at the camp were murdered except for one.[7] Big Bear returned and ended the violence immediately, and moved the entire group further north in hopes of isolating the group from violence. [8]

Trial
Draft by Samantha H.

''I added in the citations but not using Wikipedia's official citation tool, because it's time-consuming and we're going to be adding/removing/changing a lot of citations before the final article draft. MTralla (talk) 03:24, 8 February 2018 (UTC)''

After the Canadian government sent troops to put down the North-West Rebellion, Wandering Spirit and the others involved in the attack were arrested. Shortly after his arrest, Wandering Spirit attempted to kill himself [1].

Before his trial, Wandering Spirit was not permitted to speak to legal counsel, only missionaries who often encouraged Indigenous men to plead guilty regardless of whether they committed the crime or not. It was also not unheard of for sentences to be determined before the trial [2]. Additionally, the trials were to be held in English which prevented many from defending themselves against the charges being filed. While Wandering Spirit did plead guilty, he insisted that he only played a minor role in the uprising, yet he felt immense guilt for that role, he even said that he “fought against it, Imasees nor the others would let [him] go.” [3]

On September 22, after confessing to killing Thomas Trueman Quinn in the head at point blank range, Wandering Spirit was sentenced to hang by Judge Charles Rouleau. Rouleau described Wandering Spirit as “the greatest killer ever to walk on two legs in America.” [4] Around the same time as the Frog Lake Massacre, Rouleau received a telegram informing him that his home had been burned down by the Cree during the Looting of Battleford, members of the band were on trial at the same time as Wandering Spirit and were also sentenced to hang.

Death
Draft by Samantha H.

The Canadian government hoped to make an example of Wandering Spirit and his men to discourage future uprisings by the Native people. The plan was for the eight men to be hung two at a time, but it was later decided that all eight would be hung together. [5]

On November 27, 1885 Wandering Spirit was executed as part of the famous 1885 Hangings at Battleford which holds the record for Canada’s largest mass execution. [6]

The existing information in the death section is adequate. We will likely conclude by mentioning where Wandering Spirit was buried (if this is known), or at the very least by linking to a picture of a memorial erected for him and the other Indigenous men he was put on trial with (http://creeliteracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/grave_battleford.jpg).

Article Evaluation
Article: Indian Act

'''Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?'''

Everything is relevant.

'''Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?'''

The article remains neutral but does acknowledge both the intended purpose of the act as John A. Macdonald saw it (to enfranchise Indigenous peoples) and the subsequent the discontent the Indian Act has caused within Indigenous communities.

Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?

The article appears balanced between representing the legal purposes of the Indian Act and the legal/social repercussions of it on Indigenous peoples.

'''Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?'''

The citations are usually correct and corroborate the information. However, there are a couple broken DOIs.

'''Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? '''

The sources are either academic or pulled from the Constitution or other legal documents from the 1800s.

'''Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?'''

The information appears to be up-to-date, though there are parts where I think the wording could be improved.

Example: in its first summary of the Indian Act's affects on Aboriginal peoples, the article states the following:

"It says how reserves and bands can operate. The act sets out rules for governing Indian reserves, defines how bands can be created and spells out the powers of "band councils". Bands do not have to have reserve lands to operate under the act."

Something like "The act defines how reserves and bands can operate. It dictates how Indian reserves are governed, how bands are created, and the powers of band councils." would be more succinct while conveying the same information.

'''Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?'''

Except for the occasional "shut up" comment, the Talk page contains some debates about what the Indian Act actually entails and what its purpose was. The discourse appears to be based on individual interpretations of the law and some disagreements with the scholarly sources, which are perhaps outdated. The general consensus is that the article needs updating due to further amendments to the law.

'''How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?'''

The article is part of the Indigenous North Americans WikiProject, where is has been ranked as C-Class (high) on the quality scale.

How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

A little bit of rudeness between members in the Talk section, and the discussion is a bit disorganized, but overall the debates are passably polite and seem to be resulting in improvements to the article.

MTrallaMTralla (talk) 16:39, 16 January 2018 (UTC)

PEER ASSESSMENT
Hi there! Great work so far on the article! I just wanted to start by saying that I really appreciate you trying your best with a topic that doesn't have much information- my article topic doesn't have the most info either. I think the topics you chose to cover which include Wandering Spirit and the things he achieved and took part in were well chosen. As far as changes go, there isn't much. Perhaps avoiding phrases such as "it was argued" or "some blamed" to avoid bias. I also think that more information regarding the disappearance of the buffalo, the importance of the buffalo and the significance of Big Bear should be added. I also the that more information on the actual arrest of Wandering Spirit and the rebellion leading up to the trail may be useful. I really enjoyed reading your draft and I think the the facts and citations are right on. I realize that using citations the wiki way is time consuming- but once you have the citations "named" you can go back to them so you don't have to keep typing them all in overtime, which I found very useful. I look forward to reading your complete article!

Peer Review
In all, it looks like your group has a solid start, and good plan on where you want to take the article.

- The addition of a biography seems like a good idea, it seems you are modelling it on the style of other Wikipedia biographies which is also a good idea.

- The two sources you have so far our good, but you need to beef up your number of references, which I understand can be difficult. Looking at sources references by those two articles may be helpful, as well as searching for articles that reference those two sources. If you are really stuck you can always check the library guide http://guides.lib.trentu.ca/indg. In addition to links for good sources, you can also email the subject guide on the page and enlist their help finding sources (they are very helpful). - As for bias, I disagree with your other reviewer. I don't see an issue with the mentioned phrases, so long as you specify that you are summarizing the opinions - not endorsing them.

Great start and good luck!

PEER REVIEW WOW! Great work so far on your article. It seems as you guys have put a lot of effort into your draft! I love that you have a whole section on leading up to the massacre, this provides the reader with background knowledge and is definitely a huge asset! One thing that you could use more information on is the biography section, I know there is not a lot of information on the topic but don't give up too soon and I'm sure Professor Dummitt has references he could help you with! Once you get more resources it will be easier and you will have so much more to talk about! One thing I think you can talk more about is the rebellion as well as the impact Wandering Spirit had on the people. It may also be useful to create a more in depth lead! Keep up the great work!