Introduction

This website offers an unfiltered look at the relationships between Aboriginal populations and Settlers, with a specific highlight on Indigenous-settler interactions after the initial signing of Treaty 8 from the perspective of Dr. Oliver Cromwell Edwards, a medical doctor who is a member of the Treaty 8 Commission. During his travels to and from Fort Resolution his descriptions touch on much larger subjects and issues with Aboriginal-Settler relations.

The primary source is a transcribed handwritten journal that was written by Edwards during his very first trip to Fort Resolution. During this travels he encounters many different First Nations in and around the area between Greater and Lesser Slave Lake. Only highlighted journal entries are present in this site, and readers are encouraged to refer to the full journal text to more completely experience his journey. This souce and many others like it can be found via the Frontier Life Database.
​
Born in Clarence, Ontario in 1850, Oliver Cromwell Edwards began studying medicine at McGill University, which he graduated from in 1873. From there he traveled between England and Scotland taking his studies further into the field of homeopathy. By 1876 he had settled down with his wife and children in Montreal, where he operated a small medical practice. By 1882, after relocating to Saskatchewan, he was appointed as a doctor for the British "Department of Indian Affairs" a precursor to today's Crown-Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Although he took a break from this position between 1885 and 1890 during which he became president of the Northwest Territories College of Physicians and Surgeons, by the year 1897 he once again found himself working for the Department, and was appointed as the medical officer during the Treaty 8 Commission to northern Alberta. This is where we join him, as he documented many aspects of this trip in his personal journal which he dubbed On the North Trail.
Keep in mind the journal entries are displayed with the most recent entries at the top of the page.​
​Direct quotes from Edwards's journal appear in ​italicized text.