Tepastenam (baptized as Donald William Sinclair Ross; ) was a respected leader (

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

: ) of the

Pimicikamak Pimicikamak is the namethe Anglicized version of its collective name. of one of the Cree-speaking aboriginal peoples of Canada.It is also referred to erroneously as Pimicikamak Cree Nation. Pimicikamak is "a people of rivers and lakes. The tradi ...

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

in the 19th century. From oral history accounts he may have been a

Midewiwin The Midewiwin (in syllabics: , also spelled ''Midewin'' and ''Medewiwin'') or the Grand Medicine Society is a secretive religion of some of the indigenous peoples of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North America. Its prac ...

leader/. The record of his baptism in 1875 describes him as "A noted conjurer for many years, who long resisted the teachings of Christianity."

Life

Tepastenam's family had its wintering grounds at "John Scott's Lake". This has been identified as Setting Lake on the Grass River. He and his family members traded at Nelson House until 1843, and later he began trading at

Norway House Norway House is a population centre of over 5,000 people, some north of Lake Winnipeg, on the bank of the eastern channel of Nelson River, in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The population centre shares the name ''Norway House'' with the north ...

. Beginning in 1861, some of his children and grandchildren were baptized at Rossville. In 1875, Tepastenam was baptized as Donald William Sinclair Ross, reportedly named after two

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

Chief

Factors Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

: Donald Ross and William Sinclair. He was listed in the 1881 register of the

Cross Lake Cross Lake is a lake on the border of Cayuga and Onondaga Counties in New York, United States. The lake lies within the boundaries of the traditional Onondaga Indian Nation, and is reputed in local tradition to be the boyhood home of Hiawatha, t ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

congregation as "chief" and his wife May was listed as "chiefess". Ross first appears on the government of Canada pay list as "chief" in 1876. However, he "was a leader both before and after imicikamakentered treaty."

Treaty 5

Tepastenam was notable as the lead signatory to

Treaty 5 ''Treaty Five'' is a treaty that was first established in September, 1875, between Queen Victoria and Saulteaux and Swampy Cree non-treaty band governments and peoples around Lake Winnipeg in the District of Keewatin. A written text is include ...

on behalf of the

people on September 24, 1875 in

. Neither of the other two signatories matched his stature as a leader of the Pimicikamak people.Lindsay & Brown, ''The History of the Pimicikamak People to the Treaty Five Period''. His mark (an X) granted Treaty rights to the Crown in an area of the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

that was twice the size of the

Province of Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

at the time.

Notes

{{Reflist 1805 births Cree people Indigenous leaders in Manitoba People from Northern Region, Manitoba Year of death missing Canadian animists Canadian Methodists Converts to Methodism