ANTHROPOMETRY OF THE CREE AND SAULTEAUX INDIANS 
IN NORTHEASTERN MANITOBA 
INTRODUCTION 
This is the report of a study, made in the summer of 1927, of the 
physical characteristics of the Indians in the neighbourhood of Island 
lake, Gods lake, and Oxford House, all in Manitoba northeast of lake 
Winnipeg {See Figure 1). The investigation was made for the Division 
of Anthropology with the primary object of obtaining a record of the 
physical proportions these bands of Indians possess at the present time. 
It is for several reasons to be regretted that but little active interest 
has, in the past, been taken in the anthropometry of the Indians of the 
north. If, indeed, we would compare the proportions of this series of 
Indians with those of the nearest bands on which extensive observations 
have been made, we must turn to the excellent paper on “Anthropometry 
of the Siouan Tribes’^ by the late Louis R. Sullivan.^ 
Language and Tribe. For convenience the Department of Indian 
Affairs places the Indians of these three regions, together with several 
adjacent bands, collectively under the administration of the Norway House 
agency. The report for 1915 of this agency reads thus: “The Indians of 
this agency are members of the Swampy Cree tribe mainly, there is a 
small proportion of the Ojibway. The language spoken is principally 
Swampy Cree, a number of the people understand and speak English 
quite well.” Ojibway is here synonymous with Saulteaux. Father 
Du Beau of the Roman Catholic mission at Island lake, a very good 
linguist, tells me that the language spoken around the part of Island lake 
at which he is stationed is a mixture of Saulteaux and Cree; some words 
being Saulteaux, others being Cree; compound words being in many cases 
hybrids of the two. The interpreter who accompanied me throughout the 
expedition was a quarter-breed, who, though he spoke both Cree and 
English with equal ease, had distinct difficulty in understanding one de- 
tached group of Indians in the Island Lake region (those at Smooth Rock) 
because, as he said, they talked the pure Saulteaux dialect. These are the 
Indians the Department especially regards as being Ojibway or Saulteaux. 
Mr. Fred Disbrow of Island lake, whom I take to be very well in- 
formed on matters pertaining to these Island Lake Indians, since he is 
acquainted with everyone on the reserve, knows many of their family 
histories and many of their camp-fire tales, in addition to the dialects, 
told me that all the people of Island lake regard themselves as being of 
Saulteaux stock. He told me that there are in the whole neighbourhood 
of Island lake not more than three Crees, and, that though words of Cree 
origin are spoken, these have been acquired partly from the missionaries, 
partly from the Bible, which is written in Cree, and partly through contact 
with Norway House. My interpreter told me that at Gods lake some of 
I Anthropological Papers of the Am. Mus. of Nat. Hist., vol. XXIII, pt. Ill, New York (1920). 
