Sintaluta

Town, pop 145, located 16 km SE of Indian Head on Hwy 1. Sintaluta had its beginnings in the early 1880s as the first settlers began arriving in advance of the railroad. They were mainly of British origin, from Ontario. The name Sintaluta is derived from a Lakota Sioux term referring to a fox tail, which in turn referred to the nearby headwaters of the Redfox Creek, flowing north to the Qu’Appelle River. Sintaluta developed as a service centre for the surrounding agricultural district. By 1911, the population was approaching 400, seven Grain Elevators lined the tracks, and the town had a large school and a substantial commercial sector. As well, Sintaluta had become well known as a centre of farmer’s agitation for economic and political rights. In 1902, Sintaluta farmers took the CPR to court for failing to provide enough grain cars, as had been stipulated under the Manitoba Grain Act; when the farmers won, Edward Alexander Partridge, who played an important role in the case, emerged as a leader for western grain producers. Sintaluta remained an important trading centre until the 1960s, but by the 1970s both the population of the community and the number of local businesses began to decline. School Children are now bussed to Indian Head, and the town’s two remaining grain elevators are now privately owned. Sintaluta has a number of fine brick and stone structures, many of them over a century old.

David McLennan