James F. Macleod
(Commissioner of the North West Mounted Police)
In 1877, when the Blackfoot treaty was being negotiated, Red Crow, great chief of the Bloods, said:
“Three years ago, when the Police first came to the country, I met and shook hands with Stamixotokon (Colonel Macleod) at Belly River, Since that time he made me many promises. He kept them all, not one of them was ever broken. Everything that the police have done has been good. I entirely trust Stamixotokon, and will leave everything to him. I will sign (the treaty) with Crowfoot.”
These were stirring words from a leader of one of the most warlike tribes in the West and a fitting tribute to the wisdom, honesty, and stature of Colonel James Macleod, Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police.
James Farquharson Macleod was born in Scotland on September 25, 1836, and came to Canada as a boy. He received a law degree at the age of Twenty-four and was active in the local militia in Ontario. He was commissioned a Brigade Major in 1870 and came west to help put down the Red River Rebellion. A year later he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and in 1873, when the North West Mounted Police were being formed, he was appointed Inspector, and a year later Assistant Commissioner. He took part on the great march west in 1874, when the Force suffered great hardships in crossing the barren plains. When Commissioner George French turned back, Macleod continued on to southern Alberta where he established Fort Macleod.
In the West, Colonel Macleod soon revealed his abilities in organization and diplomacy. The whiskey trade which had plagued the area was immediately suppressed, and friendly relations were established with the Blackfoot tribes.
He was respected and admired by his men and showed patience and understanding when bringing law and order to southern Alberta. A leading Peigan chief was so impressed with the bearded officer that he gave him his own name, Stamixotokon, or Bull Head.
In the following year, Fort Calgary was built and at Macleod’s suggestion it was named after Calgary House, a castle on the Isle of Mull in Scotland.
In 1876, Macleod left the force to become a stipendiary magistrate, but less than six months later he accepted the position of Commissioner of the Mounted Police and member of the North-West Territories Council. He was one of the commissioners appointed to negotiate Treaty Seven with the Blackfoot tribes, and the chiefs signed primarily because of their trust in him. Over the next few years, Col. Macleod had to deal with Sitting Bull’s refugee Sioux, who had fled to Canada after the defeat of General Custer, the extermination of the buffalo and subsequent starvation among the tribes, as well as frontier problems of horse stealing and cattle rustling. Through his ability he was able to maintain law and order, and the Canadian West suffered none of the Indian wars, lynchings, and lawlessness that plagued the Americans.
In 1880, Macleod resigned from the Force and moved to a ranch near Pincher Creek. He remained a full time magistrate and seven years later he was appointed to the Supreme Court of the North-West Territories. In May 1894, his judicial seat was moved to Calgary but he had just taken up his new duties when he died of Bright’s Disease on September 5 of that year.
As stated by historian Rod Macleod, “James Farquharson Macleod exercised a decisive influence on the early development of western Canada. More than any other single individual, he was responsible for establishing the policies followed by the NWMP in their dealings with the Indians, and for setting the tone of Canadian Indian policy in the NWT. His vision of the region was of a place where newcomers and the native population might live together in peace, and where disputes could be settled by reason.
by Hugh A. Dempsey