On May 14 at Eagle Hills a Battleford band captured a wagon train carrying supplies for Colonel Otter's column. Between 1876 and 1883, Battleford was the territorial capital of the … Landforms and Natural Resources Mining and Forestry There are some natural resources we can get from mining in the Battlefords such as, potash, coal, uranium and other types of minerals. Poundmaker and his followers arrived on March 30 to find the town deserted. Later, the militia, led by Colonel Otter, also looted the town on their way to the battle at Cut Knife Hill. This relationship gave Poundmaker a significant degree of notoriety, and offered him tremendous insight into the workings of Blackfoot society, which for many years had been in open conflict with the Cree and Assiniboine. It was decommissioned in 1924. Colonel Otter's attack on the Cree, and some Assiniboine and Métis, at Cut Knife Hill on May 2 1885, left Poundmaker and his followers on the move. : Together with brief historical sketches of Prince Albert, Battleford and the other settlements in the district, 1888 (p. 65)", http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/1740/81.html, "McPhillips' alphabetical and business directory of the district of Saskatchewan, N.W.T. He was found guilty, and on November 16 1885, was hanged. Poundmaker demonstrated from an early age a distinguished ability to speak, negotiate, and make peace. Pemmican was a much sought-after trade item since it was used to provision all the HBC posts in the West. JavaScript is disabled for your browser. He likened the inducements to take treaty like bait for a fox trap. Five days later they received word of the defeat of the Métis at Batoche, and the surrender of Riel. It occurred where the present-day Poundmaker Reserve is. As of the 2011 census, the two communities have a combined population of 17,953 and a total regional population of 19,949.[1]. Culture History; Designation information; History. Fort Battleford now boasted the largest concentration of North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) in the West. See the left side bar to learn more about Battleford's historic sites. The citizens of Battleford later painted a picture of wholesale destruction, but it appears that most of the looting of the town had been done by Canadian soldiers scrounging for supplies and souvenirs after the arrival of Colonel Otter's relief column on April 24. Without General Middleton's approval, on April 24 Otter's column arrived from Swift Current to lift the "siege of Battleford". Circumstances had slipped his camp into a state of war. After Rae refused to meet with him the combined Battleford bands took food and supplies from the abandoned stores and houses. [11], On May 2 Colonel Otter's column attacked Poundmaker's camp at Cut Knife Creek but was forced to retreat to Battleford. It is also the terminus of the historic Swift Current-Battleford Trail. Hostilities between the Plains Cree and their allies and the Blackfoot Confederacy had culminated in the 1870 Battle of Belly River in present-day southwest Alberta. Poundmaker, along with mistahi-maskwa (Big Bear), became convinced that power lay in numbers. 438, Rural Municipality of North Battleford No. The Southbranch settlements was the centre of Louis Riel's Provisional Government during the Rebellion. A destitute Little Pine, one of the holdout non-treaty chiefs, relented. He and his band had taken part in the last great First Nations battles on the Plains. The Métis looked upon the execution as a final betrayal by the government, and Westerners in general remain unconvinced as to the wisdom or propriety of hanging Riel. The Cree, Assiniboine and Métis used the cover of ravines to outflank the soldiers. By the beginning of the twentieth century, Fort Battleford's importance had declined. Poundmaker was born about 1842 at Blackfoot Crossing, Alberta. [1] The Rural Municipality of North Battleford No. He was thus spared some of the humiliation his circumstances dictated. After the battle at Rat Foot Hill (Steele's Narrows), the Cree and military retreated in opposite directions. It is a large industry in the province. History of Battlefords Chamber of Commerce The history of the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce dates back to December 1905, when nineteen North Battleford business and professional men held the organizational meeting to form the North Battleford Board of Trade. His mother's brother, mistawâsis (Big Child), had great influence upon him during his childhood. The carriages of the seven-pound guns collapsed soon after the fighting commenced, so they were useless. The buffalo were decreasing already by the winter of 1878-1879, just as Big Bear was at the height of his influence. Batoche National Historic Site Experience life as a Métis settler in the village community of Batoche and discover the history of the last battle of the Northwest Rebellion/Resistance of 1885, scene of … Update: Battlefords RCMP seek public’s assistance in locating 57-year-old male. Poundmaker grew up with his Plains Cree relatives, as it was customary for a man to live with his wife's people. Big Bear's oratory once again suffered in translation, an interpretive short coming which plagued him in all his dealings with the government. The people gathered at Poundmaker's reserve assumed the police had arrived to shut things down. The NWMP provided protection and assistance during the treaty-making process. Poundmaker went to Fort Battleford to negotiate terms of peace with General Middleton and was arrested. It was the base of operations during the battles at Cut Knife Hill, Fort Pitt, Frenchman Butte, Steele Narrows and the search for Big Bear. When the Cree approached Battleford, the 500 residents[8] fled to the nearby North-West Mounted Police post, Fort Battleford. 438, Rural Municipality of North Battleford No. 437, History of Northwest Territories capital cities, "Historic Forts of the French Regime and of the English Fur Trading Companies", Old Government House / Saint-Charles Scholasticate, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battleford&oldid=984527115, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 20 October 2020, at 15:25. pîhtokahânapiwiýin (Poundmaker) and mistahi-maskwa ( Big Bear) were also tried in Regina, and these trials also received much attention. He further distinguished himself when isapo-muxika (Crowfoot), Chief of the Siksika (Blackfoot), in accordance with a long-standing custom, adopted Poundmaker as his son to replace one of his own sons who had been killed in battle. These were the men who had led the warriors responsible for the civilian deaths at Frog Lake and in the Battleford area. George F.G. Stanley's writing on the subject indicated that the Cree were not murderous but more haphazard and bumbling: they "[did] not appear to have in mind an attack upon the town" but were content with "prowling around the neighbourhood." Plans were made during the winter for all the First Nations of the area to meet with Agent Rae at Battleford in the spring. Battleford is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Battle River No. Every day until the arrival of Colonel Otter's column on April 24 the occupants of the Fort watched as the Old Town about a mile away was plundered. In June, 1884, a thirst dance was held on Poundmaker's reserve, at which discussions were held about the worsening living conditions, and the problems inherent in the reserve system.