‘Where's the Beef?‘: Cattle Killing, Rations Policy and First Nations ‘Criminality’ in Southern Alberta, 1892–1895

Abstract This paper analyzes cattle killing by First Nations in Southern Alberta in the 1890s in light of different theoretical approaches to the issue of First Nations crime. This paper suggests that this form of criminal behaviour was not a result of cultural differences or cultural misunderstandings between First Nations and Europeans. Rather, this type of First Nations criminality was rooted in material circumstances characterized by …