District of Keewatin in Encyclopedia

The District of Keewatin was a territory of Canada and later an administrative district of the Northwest Territories.

The name "Keewatin" comes from Algonquian roots?either k?w?htin (?????) in Cree or giiwedin (????) in Ojibwe?both of which mean north wind in their respective languages. In Inuktitut, it was called Kivalliq (?????)?a name which persists as the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut.

History as a territory 1876?1905

The District of Keewatin was created by the passage of the Keewatin Act on April 12, 1876 from a portion of Canada's Northwest Territories. The district ceased being an independent territory in 1905 and was returned to the Northwest Territories. At the time of its abolition, it covered 228,160 square miles (590,932 km²)?roughly the size of Saskatchewan. At its establishment in 1876, it encompassed the bulk of what is now Manitoba and north-western Ontario and southern Nunavut. Its territory had been reduced over the years as areas were added to the two provinces.

The federal government created the District of Keewatin on the advice of Lieutenant Governor Alexander Morris.^[1] Morris convinced the government that the new territorial government of the Northwest Territories would be unable to effectively administer land to the north and east of Manitoba.^[1]

Morris was advised of the need for a new territory by James McKay.^[2] Morris approved of the idea and began consulting with McKay to determine a proper Aboriginal name for the territory. McKay decided upon Keewatin, which comes from the Cree and Saulteaux languages and means the land of the north wind.^[1] The government decided to use an Aboriginal name because they wanted to be sensitive towards Natives who formed the largest demographic and respect their cultural identity.^[3]

District of Keewatin government

The District of Keewatin was run by an appointed council. The legislative branch of the government was a unicameral body, known as the Council of Keewatin. The council contained six members, all of whom were appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor. Political parties did not exist in the council.

The executive branch of the territory was run by the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba who also doubled as the Lieutenant-Governor of the District of Keewatin. The seat of government for the district was in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Prohibition

Upon creation of the District of Keewatin, the Government of Canada decreed that intoxicants such as alcohol were forbidden to be imported into the territory.^[4] The government made this decision in regards to active law enforcement to curb the whiskey trade running rampant in the Northwest Territories. Laws were passed two years earlier by the Council of the Northwest Territories to enforce prohibition in that territory.

Law enforcement

The judicial system in the territory consisted of a combined court system of stipendiary magistrates who were appointed to the Council of the Northwest Territories and court proceedings taking place in the courts of Manitoba.^[4]

History 1905?1999

The District of Keewatin became one of four districts in the Northwest Territories, the other three being the District of Ungava, the District of Mackenzie, and the District of Franklin. Keewatin covered the portion of the Northwest Territories north of Manitoba on the mainland, and all islands within Hudson, James, and Ungava Bays. After the boundaries of Ontario and Manitoba were extended northward in 1912, Keewatin largely consisted of treeless lands in the Arctic. Because of the harsh winters and lack of inland roads, settlement of the isolated district by whites was poor, and even the native Inuit population was sparse: in 1950, there were just 2,000 persons in the entire district.

On April 1, 1999, the Keewatin Region was formally dissolved, as the Nunavut was created from eastern parts of the Northwest Territories, including all of Keewatin. Although as an administrative district of the NWT it had ceased to function several years prior to division.