I recently posted this photograph of "Dog Child, a North West Mounted Police scout, and his wife, The Only Handsome Woman, members of the Blackfoot Nation, Gleichen, Alberta, ca. 1890" to /r/historyporn. The original source can be seen at the Trueman and Caple / Library and Archives Canada / PA-195224. My question, as above is, How would a North West Mounted Police scout come to be in possession of a katana in 1890's Canada (if it is indeed a katana)?
The first wave of Japanese immigration to Canada began around 1877, which The Canadian Encyclopedia explores here. While I am not an historian of migration, it is not unreasonable to suggest there may have been some point of contact or exchange between the individual in the photograph and Japanese migrants by the late nineteenth century.
I hope someone more learned in this field can help give a more concrete answer.