Hayter Reed
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Hayter Reed (May 26, 1849 – December 21, 1936) was a Canadian politician. He served on the 1st Council of the Northwest Territories.


Early life


Birth

Hayter Reed was born in L'Orignal, Canada West, on 26 May 1849. His father was George Decimus Hayter, an immigrant from
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, England, a registrar for the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, who had married Hayter's mother, Harriet McKay, a Canadian born. Hayter Reed was one of two children; he had a sister named Louisa Reed.


Family

After Harriet McKay left George Decimus Reed, she travelled to the United States to live with her family. Harriet McKay took Louisa with her and left Hayter Reed with George Decimus Reed's sister's family, the Drapers. Thereafter George Decimus Reed died and Harriet McKay firmly eschewed any personal correspondence with Hayter Reed. Little else is known about George Decimus Reed, Harriet McKay, and Louisa Reed.


Education

With the support of his aunt and uncle, Hayter Reed attended
Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...
and the Model Grammar School in Toronto and thereafter attended the School of Military Instruction in Kingston, Canada West.


Career


Military service

Having graduated in 1865, Hayter Reed aligned himself with the military service of Canada. On 15 June 1866, he joined the 14th Battalion Volunteer Militia Rifles, Canada, and immediately thereafter he was appointed drill instructor. In 1868, he was elected adjutant and later captain with that corps and successfully assumed each position until his next commission in 1870 as a brigade major. In 1871, Reed was transferred to
Fort Garry Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in what is now downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1822 on or near the site of the North West Company's ...
where he assumed garrison duties along with the troops stationed there and remained until its disbandment in 1878.


Legal service

During that time, he studied law and was subsequently called to the Manitoba Bar in 1871. In 1879, Hayter Reed served as a notary public in Prince Albert, North-West Territories.


Civil service

In April 1880, Hayter Reed was commissioned by the Department of the Interior as chief land guide in Winnipeg; he was responsible for the distribution of both immigrants and settlers with the aid of several agencies throughout Canada. Immediately thereafter, the Department of the Interior issued a request to fill several vacant positions within their Indian Affairs Branch and in February 1881, Reed was appointed Indian agent in
Battleford Battleford ( 2011 population 4,065) is a small town located across the North Saskatchewan River from the City of North Battleford, in Saskatchewan, Canada. Battleford and North Battleford are collectively referred to as "The Battlefords" b ...
, North-West Territories. In March 1881,
Edgar Dewdney Edgar Dewdney, (November 5, 1835 – August 8, 1916) was a Canadian surveyor, road builder, Indian commissioner and politician born in Devonshire, England. He emigrated to British Columbia in 1859 in order to act as surveyor for the Dewdney T ...
(then Commissioner of Indian Affairs) sought to settle the first inhabitants of Canada (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples) on reserves. Accordingly, in 1882, Dewdney instructed Reed (then appointed to the North-West Territorial Council) minimize the expenditure of funds by (1) restricting the amount of food supplied to the reserves inhabited by Aboriginal peoples (flour, bacon or beef and excluding luxury goods such as tea, sugar and tobacco) and (2) demanding manual labour from the Aboriginal peoples as recompense. The primary aim of the Department of the Interior was to achieve agricultural discipline. Reed was expected to reduce costs and to ensure smooth farming operations by dint of supervision (of instructors and employees) over the First Nations reserves. In 1883, Reed was appointed secretary of the North-West Territorial Council and later appointed acting assistant Indian commissioner. In 1884, in Dewdney's absence, he acted as the administrator of the North-West Council. He was later appointed assistant Indian commissioner and moved to Regina, Assiniboia. In 1888, Reed was appointed commission of Indian affairs and after Dewdney's promotion to minister of the interior in 1893, Reed was appointed deputy superintendent general of Indian affairs (and it was his final commission). He was deputy superintendent general of Indian affairs, until his dismissal by Interior Secretary
Clifford Sifton Sir Clifford Sifton, (March 10, 1861 – April 17, 1929), was a Canadian lawyer and a long-time Liberal politician, best known for being Minister of the Interior under Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He was responsible for encouraging the massive amount o ...
in 1897. Reed is responsible for purposely hindering flourishing Indigenous economic agricultural development in the plains through the Peasant Farming Policy, which aimed to push Indigenous peoples to the socioeconomic positions of peasants. Using his position as deputy superintendent general, Reed implemented a racist policy which restricted indigenous peoples from using modern farming equipment. As head of the Indian Affairs Department Reed was also instrumental in implementing an illegal pass system which restricted Indigenous people from leaving their reserves without a temporary certificate from a government agent. He later overruled the
North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territory ...
, who wanted to abolish the policy, but acknowledged in a letter that year the pass system was not grounded in law. In 1882, Reed was appointed as a member of the North-West Territorial Council; during his time on the council he filled in for the lieutenant governor in his absence. He lived in Regina. He served on the council until 1888, and later worked for the
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
hotels. He died in 1936.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Hayter Politicians in the Northwest Territories 1849 births 1936 deaths People from the United Counties of Prescott and Russell