Poundmaker
Pitikwahanapiwiyin (c. 1842 – 4 July, 1886), commonly known as Poundmaker, was a Plains Cree chief known as a peacemaker and defender of his people.
Name
According to Cree oral history, Pitikwahanapiwiyin got his name because he had a special ability to attract buffalo into pounds. A buffalo pound resembled a huge corral. Sometimes a herd of buffalo were stampeded into this trap. On other occasions, the buffalo were drawn in quietly by a person like Poundmaker. He would dress in a buffalo pelt and use a bell to capture the herd's attention. One time, it is said that Poundmaker lured 500 buffalo into his pound, therefore giving him the name Poundmaker.
Biography
Poundmaker was born in the Battleford region, the child of Sikakwayan, an Assiniboine medicine man, and a mixed-blood Cree woman, the sister of Chief Mistawasis.[1] Following the death of his parents, Poundmaker, his brother Yellow Mud Blanket, and his younger sister, were all raised by their mother's Cree community, led by Chief Wuttunee, but later known as the Red Pheasant Band. In his adult life, Poundmaker gained prominence during the 1876 negotiations of Treaty 6 and split off to form his own band. In 1881, they band settled on a reserve about 40 km northwest of Fort Battleford.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page). Poundmaker was not opposed of the idea of a treaty, but became critical of the Canadian government's failures to live up to its promises.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page).
In 1873, Crowfoot, chief of the Blackfoot First Nation, had adopted Poundmaker thereby increasing the latter’s influence. This move also cemented the ties between the Blackfoot and the Cree, which successfully stopped the quarreling over the now very scarce buffalo.
North-West resistance
The shortage of buffalo left Poundmaker's people desperately hungry, and in 1885, they traveled south to Battleford. Oral history accounts suggest Poundmaker went to the fort to speak with the Indian agent, Rae, and reaffirm his loyalty to the Queen after a murder at the nearby Mosquito Reserve; however, the people of Battleford and some of the settlers in the surrounding area, hearing reports of large numbers of Cree and Assiniboine leaving reserves and making their way to Battleford, feared for their safety. On the night of March 30, 1885, townspeople began to abandon the town and seek shelter in the North West Mounted Police Fort Battleford. Telegrams sent by those barricaded in the fort indicated they believed it was an attack, but Peter Ballantyne exited the fort and, acting as a spy, checked Poundmaker's plans and found his intentions peaceful[2].
Looting of the abandoned buildings of the camp took place, but the identity of the looters is disputed. Some reports from inside claimed Poundmaker's people were responsible, but one observer alleged that most of the looting had already been done by whites.[3]. Oral history accounts claim that the looting was done by Nakoda people, and that Poundmaker did his best to stop it.[4] Either way, Poundmaker's people left the next day.
On May 2, 1885, a military force of 325 Canadian troops, led by Lieutenant-Colonel William Dillon Otter, attacked Poundmaker's camp near Cut Knife Hill.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page). When the army was forced to retreat, Poundmaker, who had not taken part in the fight, prevented his warriors from pursuing the soldiers. With the news of Louis Riel's actions and defeat at Batoche, Poundmaker went there to surrender. On the basis of a letter written by Louis Riel bearing his name, Poundmaker was convicted of treason in 1885 and sentenced to three years in Stony Mountain Penitentiary[5]. At his trial, he is reported to have said:
- "Everything that is bad has been laid against me this summer, there is nothing of it true.[6] ... Had I wanted war, I would not be here now. I should be on the prairie. You did not catch me. I gave myself up. You have got me because I wanted justice."[7]
Because of the power of his adopted father, Crowfoot, Poundmaker's hair was not cut in prison, and he served only seven months in prison. Nonetheless, his stay there devastated his health and led to his death (from a lung hemorrhage) in 1886, at the age of 44.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page).
References
- ^ Poundmaker, Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
- ^ Stonechild, Readings in Canadian History, Volume 2, 66
- ^ Robert Jefferson, Fifty Years on the Saskatchewan, 127
- ^ Stonechild, Blair. "An Indian View of the 1885 Uprising" in "Sweet Promises: A Reader on Indian-White Relations in Canada", J.R. Miller (ed)
- ^ Stonechild, Readings in Canadian History, Volume 2, 70
- ^ Canada, Sessional Papers, 1886, No. 52, 336
- ^ Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (2000). "Poundmaker". Retrieved January 8.
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Sluman, N., (1967). Poundmaker. Toronto: Ryerson
External links
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