1 Restricted incians from leaving thelr reserve without permission from an indian agent without a pass signed by an LD oficial The dangers ‘of eomplcatons wih white men wil this be lessened and by preserving 2 knowledge of individual move> ‘ments any inclination to petty depredations may be checked by the fcty of apprehending those who ‘commit such ofences. AYTER REED, Asie! indlon Commision 885° ‘The Red River Rebellion 28 ‘means of allying the settler? fears and inhibiting the | bility of Indians to congregate. Despite the ack fa egal buss for restricting the movement of Indian, the prime ‘minister readily endorsed the concept ofa pass system ‘when itwas brought this tention. Notices were posted fon Treaty 6 reserves warning all Indians against leaving heir eserves ‘it was never written into the Jndlan Act and the prime minister ackaowledged thatthe legal bility to enforce of Indians “in some cases, rations and other ‘privileges ‘were withheld from those wi refused to comply with ‘ats regulations, but the most elective approach was to have the police ares thote fund ofthe reserve with out passes and, where possible, prosecute them ether for | wespss under the Indian Act o for vagrancy under the 5) criinal code ‘A permit to pass included the time an individual was allowed to be off reserve, the purpose of the time away, and whether or not the individual was allowed to carry 4 gun, Indian agents knew well the attitudes and char "The pass sytem wa initially ‘sed to control thote who had participated in the Red River Rebelion but later expanded to apply toa Indians, although history suggests the permit to-pase system was primarily administered inthe Prairies. In order to obtain a permit to pass, Indians would oceasionally have to travel many daye by fot tothe Indian agen’ house, not knowing if he would be there when ‘they arived. IF the agent was away, they would either bave to camp and wait, or return home, The pass system ‘was iso a means of maintaining a separation between Indians and the European farmers, which sem logical consiering the government’ gol of assimilation its hard to achieve assimilation ifthe target population is Isolated on reserves. The pass sytem restricted Indians? {acc to local towns in order to prevent Indian farmers from wasting thei time when they should be tending heir crops, which they wee restricted fom selling. The pass stem additionally supported the government'srural practices. ‘Beginning in 1889, parents required pases to vist ‘tions offaiies and many communities. Other policies ‘were harh but could be worked around. The goverament banned the potatch, so practitioners went underground to contrue to hold ceremonies; the government pushed pline, which frequently was in the form of beating and ‘whipping, nthe schoals, and discipline was arbitrary and