Thursday, May 13, 2010 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan TheStarPhoenix.

com D1

A StarPhoenix Special Section

Northwest Resistance
q Province commemorates 125th anniversary

Louis Riel

Maj-Gen. Middleton

Chief Poundmaker

Chief Big Bear

PHOTO CREDITS:
Glenbow Museum Archives —
Dumont: PA-2218-1

Saskatchewan Archives Board —

Dumont: PA-2218-1
Riel: S-B8573
Poundmaker: R-A2872-1
Militia: R-A446
Camp life for militia in 1885 during the Northwest Resistance

It was history in the making
q Many events in 1885 led to this momentous event
By Jason Warick
Senior Reporter
The StarPhoenix
B ATOCHE — Jackie Gaudet walks
across the field once farmed by her
great-great grandparents, Marguerite
and Jean Caron, as she discusses their central
role in the Northwest Resistance 125 years
ago.
Gaudet, a 42-year-old Metis mother of
three who lives in the Batoche area 70
kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, is hopeful
the events taking place across Saskatchewan
this year will serve as a “turning point” for
relations among First Nations, Metis and the
province’s more recent arrivals.
“What does the 125th anniversary mean to
me?” she said. “It means freedom — freedom
from the negative feelings I’ve had for years.”
In May of 1885, Canadian government
forces, led by Maj.-Gen. Frederick Middle-
ton, arrived in the Batoche area to confront
Louis Riel and his supporters. Middleton
sought an open, elevated section of land to
establish a base.
The Caron homestead, located just outside
the village of Batoche on river lot No. 52,
was commandeered.
The Caron house was leveled and their live-
stock butchered to feed the 900 government
soldiers. Caron, Dumas and their children fled
behind Metis lines.
“Our family lost everything,” said Gaudet.
Caron and his three eldest sons fought in
the Battle of Batoche, a bloody, desperate
and eventually losing attempt to assert Metis
rights in the area.
“It is our region’s Plains of Abraham,” said
Darren Prefontaine of the Saskatoon-based
Gabriel Dumont Institute, referring to the
famous 1759 British victory over the French
near Quebec City.
While the Battle of Batoche remains a key
event of 1885, there’s much more to the story.
It was a year of child starvation, guerilla
warfare and the largest mass execution in
Canadian history — all on the soil of pres-
ent-day Saskatchewan. From Duck Lake to
Battleford to Cut Knife Hill, 1885 shaped the
Canadian prairies.
“It is a painful story to tell,” said Saskatche-
wan Premier Brad Wall. “But it must be told.”
qqq
Until recent years, the 1885 narrative
seemed straightforward.
A rebellion led by Louis Riel and abetted
by chiefs such as Poundmaker was defeated
by the government forces of Maj.-Gen.
Middleton. The story was written by the
victors. Metis and First Nations voices were
largely absent.
Today, for many reasons, a more nuanced
view is possible. New perspectives have been
revealed as aboriginal leaders, academics
and the descendants of the combatants, assert
their versions.
For example, the events of 1885 were
traditionally described as a rebellion. That
term has rapidly been overtaken by the word
“resistance.”
“The change has come from a re-evaluation
of history,” said Prefontaine, the curriculum
development officer for the Gabiel Dumont
Institute.
“Canadian history is maturing.”
The Canadian government webpage of the
Batoche national historic site now includes
both terms — rebellion and resistance.
Premier Brad Wall said last month the
Saskatchewan government uses the words
interchangably, but he prefers “resistance.”
A plaque on the Gabriel Dumont statue in
downtown Saskatoon describes the “resis-
tance.”
“We were not rebels,” said Jackie Gaudet.
Also, the events of 1885 — while momen-
tous — were erroneously depicted as a uni-
fied, mass uprising of Metis and First Nations
people. In reality, the issues raised and battles
fought by First Nations at Cut Knife Hill and
other locations were largely seperate from
those of the Metis.
And the decision to fight was far from
unanimous. Even at Batoche, only 200 Metis
and a few dozen First Nations people with
family ties agreed to fight with Riel. The
majority of First Nations, as well as Metis in
other parts of the region, declined.
qqq
The armed conflicts of 1885 were years in in violence across the region.
the making.
In 1870, Riel successfully pressured the
federal government to recognize Metis claims warriors from the Sakimay band, led by chief men travelled to Montana. They convinced
in the Red River region, leading to the cre-
ation of the province of Manitoba.
However, with the arrival of hundreds of
Canadian government troops and European
settlers, aspirations for a true Metis homeland
would not be realized.
Many of these “Red River” Metis moved
west and in 1872 established a settlement on the promised medicine, agricultural tools and immediate decisions.
the bank of the South Saskatchewan River. It other items.
was named Batoche, after prominent resident
Xavier Letendre dit Batoche.
Riel was forced into exile in the U.S.
During Riel’s time in Red River, he’d over-
seen the execution of a prominent opponent
in Manitoba, Irish-Canadian Thomas Scott.
Riel also had two stays in asylums.
Around this time, tens of millions of buffalo
had been wiped from the prairie landscape,
eliminating the main source of food for First soon arrived and began surveying according
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The largest mass hanging in Canadian history took place in Novem-
ber, 1885 when eight First Nations men were tried for murder during
the Northwest Resistance. They were executed within the wall of the
stockade at Battleford. The bodies were buried in a common grave site
(above) close to the fort.
FSIN Vice-Chief Morley Watson signs an elk skin at the Trails 1885 historical for Dumont. He drew maps of Middleton’s
proclamation occasion signing last month
Nations and many Metis.
First Nations chiefs entered into treaties
with the Crown. But by the early 1880s, the
chiefs saw the federal government had no
intention of honouring the terms.
Federal Indian agents acting under govern- tinental railroad several hundred kilometres
ment orders decreased the promised food
rations to reserves, resulting in mass hunger
and starvation. Discontent threatened to erupt accomplished nothing, a council of Metis
In 1884, in present-day southeast Saskatch- needed Riel’s help.
ewan near the town of Grenfell, 30 armed
Yellow Calf, occupied a federal warehouse
in an attempt to secure food. Violence was
averted after extensive negotiation by Chief
Louis O’Soup.
In the Battleford region, chiefs petitioned
federal officials at the decrease in food rations of John A. Macdonald appointed a commis-
and the failure of the government to provide
qqq
The Batoche Metis were angry.
Upon arriving from Manitoba, they estab-
lished farms along the South Saskatchewan
using the Quebec-style river-lot system.
Long, narrow plots ensured riverbank access.
However, Metis attempts to obtain land
titles proved unsuccessful. Federal workers
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
—SP Photo by Peter Wilson
—SP Photo by Gord Waldner ing as a double agent. Henry secretly spied
to the English-Canadian square township
system. The Metis feared loss of their land.
White farmers in the area were angry at the
lack of assistance from the federal govern-
ment and the decision to build the trans-con- south of Batoche at Tourond’s Coulee, also
south of them.
When peaceful protests and petitions
and disgruntled European farmers decided it ravines.
In 1884, Gabriel Dumont and three other
Riel, now a father of two and a U.S. citizen,
to come to Batoche.
At first, Riel enjoyed broad support as he
petitioned the federal government on behalf
of area residents. The federal government
sion to study the issue, but declined to make
On March 19, the Batoche Metis estab-
lished a provisional government, with Riel as joining his faher, Joseph Vermette. Both
the political leader and Dumont its military
head. Riel lost most of his European allies as Creek battle. While Henry survived, his father
he took several hostages and began preparing died of his injuries several days later, said
for war.
qqq
The first confrontation occurred one week
later — on March 26 — in a field near Duck
Lake. A Dumont and Riel-led party clashed
TheStarPhoenix.com D2
with dozens of North West Mounted Police
and volunteers.
An apparent misunderstanding led to the
first shot fired by “Gentelman” Joe McKay,
a railroad engineer working as an interpreter
for the North West Mounted Police, said ama-
teur historian and area native Dennis Fisher.
The dead included 12 police and volunteers,
five Metis and one First Nations man.
In the Battlefords region, First Nations
people faced rampant starvation and disease.
On March 30, Chief Poundmaker led a
delegation to Battleford to ask for assistance.
To his surprise, the town was deserted.
Hundreds of residents had heard about
the Duck Lake battle, as well as the murder
of another white man, and feared a general
uprising. They sought refuge in nearby Fort
Battleford.
Poundmaker requested a meeting with fed-
eral officials, but none came out for several
days. In the interim, some in the party raided
Battleford homes, stealing food and other
items.
Negotiators eventually emerged and
after discussions Poundmaker and his men
returned to their reserve several kilometres to
the west. Although no one was injured and
no fighting occurred, it earned the historic
designation of the “Siege of Battleford.”
Poundmaker’s intentions and actions have
been widely misrepresented, said his great-
great grand-nephew, Tyrone Tootoosis. There
was no “siege” of the town of Battleford, he
said.
“If there was a ‘seige mentality’ amongst
the 500 frightened occupants of Fort Bat-
tleford, it was due to an irrational distrust and
fear of the Cree,” said Tootoosis, who served
as researcher and played the lead role in the
National FIlm Board documentary, The Trial
of Poundmaker.
“Poundmaker had absolutely no interest
in joining the Metis Rebellion. He went to
Battleford to reaffirm his loyalty to the Queen
and in so doing hoped that his people would
be rewarded with extra rations. Upon arriving
the Cree did not surround Fort Battleford nor
did they cut off supplies.”
Not all First Nations people were content to
negotiate.
On April 2, just across the present day
border of Saskatchewan and Alberta, nine
people, including an Indian agent and two
priests, were murdered in the Frog Lake
massacre. Chief Big Bear apparently tried in
vain to stop his starving and embittered band
members, but was later jailed for treason.
Tensions rose across Canada as word of the
killings spread. But even before the incidents
at Frog Lake and even Duck Lake, Middle-
ton and his troops had begun the trek from
Ontario out west.
qqq
On April 6, Middleton and his 900-strong
force got off the train at Qu’Appelle and
began the 300-kilometre march north to
confront Riel.
There were hundreds of other soldiers as
well, but Middleton was forced to send them
further down the rail line to Swift Current
and Calgary, where they walked north to
quell what they feared to be a full-scale war
with Big Bear, Poundmaker and others.
From Qu’Appelle, Middleton and his men
covered more than 30 kilometres a day, arriv-
ing at Clark’s Crossing 50 kilometres south of
Batoche.
After several days of rest and planning,
Middleton began what he likely believed
would be an uneventful advance on Batoche,
positioning half of his forces on each side of
the river.
One of the scouts for Middleton was
Jerome Henry, recalled Henry’s great-grand-
son Bob McLeod. But Henry, who McLeod
described as a light-skinned Metis, was work-
camp at Clark’s Crossing and Middleton’s
expected marching route and had it smuggled
back behind Metis lines, said McLeod, a
Saskatoon man who serves as a director for
the Metis Nation-Saskatchewan.
On the morning of April 24, Middleton and
his troops marched along a trail 20 kilometres
known as Fish Creek.
As government troops approached, they
were ambushed by Dumont’s men, who
opened fire from the cover of brush and deep
Henry “led Middleton right into Fish
Creek,” McLeod said.
The Metis inflicted heavy damage before
both sides retreated later that day.
The other half of Middleton’s force
remained helpless on the river’s west bank,
getting across on a makeshift ferry only after
fighting ceased.
At least six government soldiers were killed
and dozens wounded, while four Metis died.
Henry fled Middleton’s camp around this
time. He took refuge behind Metis lines,
father and son were wounded in the Fish
McLeod.
The Metis dug rifle pits and trenches
around the town of Batoche, preparing for
Middleton’s inevitable assault.
n CONT’D: Please see History/Page D3

History: All sides of story told
n Continued from Page D2
qqq
Middleton waited more than two weeks
before moving on Batoche. In the interim,
on May 2 just west of Battleford, Lieut.-
Col. William Otter attacked members of
Poundmaker’s band at Cut Knife Hill.
The band’s leader in time of war, Chief
Fine Day, routed Otter, who retreated.
According to various accounts, Pound-
maker stopped the warriors from pursuing
the fleeing troops. Six band members were
killed, compared with eight of Otter’s men.
“Poundmaker did everything in his
power as a Peace Chief to prevent blood-
shed and in so doing, saved many lives,”
Tootoosis said.
qqq
On May 9, Middleton’s forces arrived
at the homestead of skilled carpenter and
farmer Jean Caron Sr. and his wife, Mar-
guerite, the local midwife. Fearing the
Metis would use the now-abandoned Caron
home for cover, federal troops burned it
down.
Middleton established his camp on their
land, constructing a “zareba.” The 12-acre
enclosure, a combination of trenches and
fortification of North African origin, shel-
tered the soldiers, 600 horses, 50 cattle and
all the supplies.
“It must have been one crowded little
camp,” Batoche-area resident Ron Jobin
said recently as he stood on a viewing
platform.
Jobin’s great-great grandfather,
Joseph, and brother Ambroise fought
for the Metis side.
Middleton planned to attack on two
fronts during the first day of fighting.
One group would make a direct attack.
Another would attempt to travel on
the fortified steamship Northcote and
attack the Metis from the side and
rear.
However, when the Metis saw the
Northcote coming, they raced down
to the river and lowered a ferry cable,
decapitating the ship’s smoke stacks. The
boat floated helplessly downshore and out
of the battle zone.
Middleton’s ground force was slow to
co-ordinate its assault. The Metis had time
to regroup before engaging Middleton.
The day ended in a stalemate, but Metis
fighters harassed the government forces
inside the Zareba, firing guns every 10
minutes until the following morning.
The next two days also saw heavy fight-
ing, with neither side gaining significant
advantage.
According to accounts, some of the Metis
fighters were in their 70s and older, while
a number of Middleton’s troops were as
young as 15.
qqq
Many of Dumont’s fighters were skilled
marksmen with extensive hunting back-
grounds. Many of Middleton’s men were
volunteers or part-time militia members
with limited training.
However, Middleton had an overwhelm-
ing advantage of numbers.
His force outnumbered the Metis by a
ratio of more than three to one. He also had
superior firepower and loads of ammuni-
tion.
Middleton also had A.L. (Gat) Howard on
his side. Howard was an American soldier-
of-fortune and arms dealer.
Howard’s ancestry in North America can
be traced to 1620, when his relatives arrived
with other English separatists by sea on the
Mayflower, according to Howard’s great-
great grandaughter Gina Sammis.
Sammis, who lives in California, said
—SP File Photo by Greg Pender
The exhumed remains of Chief One
Arrow were re-buried (above) on the
reserve named after him in August,
2007. One Arrow fought with Louis Riel
and died at age 76 after being convicted
of treason and serving a three-year
sentence. He was originally buried next
to Riel in St. Boniface, Man.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Howard got his first taste of battle as an
underage recruit in the U.S. Civil War.
He then spent five years in the U.S.
Cavalry’s “Indian wars.”
A machinist by trade, Howard manufac-
tured shells and other munitions, owning
several businesses.
In 1885, he offered his services to the
Canadian government in the hopes of mar-
keting the now-famous Gatling gun.
Howard was part-owner of the company
manufacturing the guns — the world’s first
automatic weapon capable of firing many
bullets a second.
He travelled with Middleton to Batoche
and fired on the Metis forces throughout the
Battle of Batoche.
“He was a pretty tough
guy,” Sammis said.
“He was fighting
wars all over the
world, mar-
keting the
Gatling
gun.
LOUIS
He RIEL
prob-
ably
enjoyed
being a sol-
dier.”
Howard survived
Batoche unharmed. He
was killed after enlisting to
fight for Canada in South Africa’s Boer
War in 1901. “He was fearless,” she said.
qqq
By the fourth day of fighting, the Metis
had nearly exhausted their ammunition.
Howard was to play a key role.
Middleton and some of his men were sup-
posed to flush the Metis from their rifle pits
and into an open area where the Gatling
gun was positioned to open fire.
When the rest of the federal government
forces heard the shots, they were supposed
to attack from another side.
However, the wind was strong and the
second group couldn’t hear the shots. Their
attack did not come at the time Middleton
had ordered. Middleton, apparently furious,
went back to the Zareba for lunch.
However, the Metis had indeed been
—SP Photo by Jason Warick
Jean Caron and Marguerite (Dumais)
Caron, whose land and animals were com-
mandeered during the Battle of Batoche in
1885, are buried in the Batoche cemetery
(right). It’s unclear why the headstone
spells their surname as “Carron,” said
great-great granddaughter Jackie Gaudet
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
drawn out into another area, and the second
group easily charged them.
By this time, Abroise Jobin and the other
remaining Metis fighters were shooting
nails, stones, forks — anything they could
desperately find.
“You’ve got to be proud of them,” said
Ron Jobin. “They had something to do and
they did it.”
Joseph Jobin, Riel, Dumont and others
and others escaped. Ambroise Jobin was
wounded on the battlefield and could not
flee.
Ron Jobin said some of the Metis were
bayonetted by government troops in the
final moments of battle.
He
thinks
his
great-great
uncle may
have been spared
because he spoke
English.
Ambroise Jobin was taken
to the Marr residence in Saskatoon, where
he was one of only two Metis patients in
the a makeshift field hospital filled with
government troops. He died of an infection
before the end of the month.
He was one of eight resistance fighters
killed.
About 22 were injured. More than double
that number of government fighters died or
were wounded.
The Metis resistance had been crushed.
Minor incidents took place in the follow-
ing weeks involving First Nations people at
places such as Frenchman’s Butte and Loon
Lake, but were of little consequence.
Dumont fled to the United States, work-
ing in a travelling carnival before returning
to Batoche under a general amnesty.
Riel surrendered three days after the
Battle of Batoche and was taken to Regina
TheStarPhoenix.com D3
for trial. He was found guilty of treason.
Macdonald rejected appeals for mercy
and Riel was executed Nov. 16, just days
after Prime Minister John A. Macdonald’s
national dream — the transcontinental
railroad — was completed.
On Nov. 27, the six Cree convicted in the
Frog Lake Massacre, as well as two First
Nations men convicted of an earlier murder,
were hanged at Fort Battleford.
It is the largest mass execution in Cana-
dian history.
Poundmaker and Big Bear also turned
themselves in and were jailed.
For 90 per cent of the Metis who had
property destroyed or confiscated during
the battle, such as the Caron family, no
compensation was awarded, said Gaudet.
Many left the Batoche area, attempting to
make yet a fresh start in Alberta and other
locations.
For other Metis who did not participate,
such as those in other regions, the merchant
class, or those with ties to the federal Con-
servative party — life went on as before,
Prefontaine said.
As for First Nations people, they faced
continued deprivations and harsh rule, such
as the pass system which forced them to
obtain permission from the Indian agent to
leave the reserve.
“If you were aboriginal, you had to be
put in your place — that’s what 1885 was
all about,” said Darren Prefontaine of the
Gabriel Dumont Institute.
With the west pacified and the railroad
complete, European settlers streamed
into the region which became the prov-
ince of Saskatchewan in 1905.
qqq
For years, the Batoche battlefield
and surrounding areas were treated as
any other farmland.
Dennis Fisher, who lives in Saska-
toon, has spent hours combing through
the dirt and dust and brush.
He has amassed more than 1,000
artifacts from the area, including
Gatling gun shells, a nine-pound can-
non projectile, jacket buttons, wrappers
from some of the government’s 267
pounds of tobacco and even pieces of
doorknobs from both Gabriel Dumont’s
and Xavier Letendre dit Batoche.
Fisher’s basement is a museum, an hom-
age to the last war fought on Canadian soil.
The retired draftsman has documented the
date and precise location of every find.
“The kids don’t like it so much,” Fisher
said with a laugh.
Today, the battlefield is part of a national
historic site.
The house which was rebuilt by the Caron
family in 1890 and occupied by descen-
dants until 1970, has been restored through
a partnership between the Gabiel Dumont
Institute and the federal government.
The bodies of Ambroise Jobin and
another fighter, Joseph Ouelette, were
recently discovered to have been in the
Batoche cemetery.
Following a successful fundraising cam-
paign, a formal ceremony takes place this
weekend to mark the installation of new
headstones for the men.
This summer, events are planned for
Batoche, the Poundmaker Cree Nation and
other location to commemorate the 125th
anniversary of the resistance.
Most agree it’s time to tell the story from
all sides and to use the knowledge to form
bonds among groups once pitted against
each other.
“It was a tragic period. All sides lost
somebody or something,” said Metis
Nation-Saskatchewan president Robert
Doucette.
“We can’t undo the past, but we can chart
a better future where we all benefit.”
D4 TheStarPhoenix.com Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Thursday, May 13, 2010 Thursday, May 13, 2010 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan TheStarPhoenix.com D5

Big Bear takes over Fort Pitt Battle of Battle of Loon Lake Battle of Cut Knife Hill Battle of Duck Lake Battle of Batoche 6 Battle of Fish Creek 5
– April 13, 1885 4 Frenchman’s Butte
8 – June 3, 1885
9 – May 2, 1885
6 – March 26, 1885
1 – May 9-15, 1885 – April 24, 1885
- Big Bear and 250 mounted First Nations – May 28, 1885 - Last battle on Canadian soil; - Located on - Site of the first - May 9, Middleton attacks - Major Métis victory over
surround Fort Pitt; - Major-General Strange brings - Small detachment of NWMP led by Major Poundmaker reserve; confrontation of 1885 Batoche; government forces attempting to
- Demand surrender of fort and inhabitants and ask for NWMP detachment from Calgary; Sam Steele caught up to Big Bear’s band - Site of surprise dawn attack by Lieutenant Resistance; - Riel’s forces greatly outnumbered stop rebellion;
tea, tobacco, blankets; - Decides to pursue Big Bear’s band and open fire in a surprise attack; Colonel Otter’s forces; - Dumont defeated 90 Prince and run out of ammunition after - 5,000 volunteers, militia and 1,000
- Civilians go to First Nations camp as hostages, later after finding bodies left at Frog Lake; - Cree almost out of ammunition and - Cree war-chief, Fine-Day, leads First Nations; Albert volunteers and Northwest three days; police fought against Louis Riel’s
released unharmed; - Skirmish at Frenchman’s Butte led forced to flee; - 300 Canadian militia and army regulars had Mounted Police (NWMP) led by - Métis resort to firing small rocks forces of 500 irregulars;
- Francis Dickens (son of novelist Charles Dickens) in by Wandering Spirit; - Big Bear escapes; greater firearm power than Cree and used Inspector Crozier; from their guns until forced to retreat - 177 dead, wounded or captured on
command of Fort Pitt, had reputation of incompetence, - First Nations withdraw; - Steele out of ammunition and withdraws; Gatling guns (early form of rapid-fire gun and - Federal government sends by Middleton’s soldiers; government side;
did not play a major role during the attack; - Strange broke off pursuit until - Otter, Strange and Irvine spend month of forerunner of modern machine gun); Major General Middleton and - May 13, Riel and his forces are - 80 dead or wounded on Riel’s side;
- That night, NWMP abandon Fort Pitt and make their reinforcements, supplies arrived. June chasing Big Bear; - After seven hours of fighting, First Nations 3,000 troops; defeated; - Reversal not enough to alter
way to Fort Battleford on the North Saskatchewan - Big Bear and his followers successfully forced Otter to withdraw; - Middleton adds 2,000 English- - May 15, Riel surrenders and is outcome of war;
River; elude capture. - Poundmaker then stepped in and stopped Canadian volunteers and later transported to Regina for trial; - Halts Major General Middleton’s
- Fort Pitt later looted, burned to ground, rebuilt 1886. the First Nations from attacking the retreating NWMP into his forces. - Dumont and others escape across advance on Batoche.
troops. border to Montana region.

Siege of Battleford
2
– March 30, 1885
- Band of Cree people are starving because of
declining bison populations;
- Approach town of Battleford;
- 500 white inhabitants flee to nearby Fort
Frog Lake Massacre 3 Battleford NWMP post, remain there for one
month;
– April 2, 1885 - Chief Poundmaker (influential, young Cree
- Cree uprising led by Wandering Spirit chief) attempts negotiations for food with
(warrior chief of Big Bear’s band) attacks Indian Agent Rae but fails;
small town;
- Big Bear (main leader of Plains Cree
- Cree take food and supplies from abandoned 10
in the North Saskatchewan River area)
stores and houses despite Poundmaker’s Aftermath
attempts to stop them; – July 2 to Aug. 17, 1885
and his Cree, angry with unfair treaties - Most of town had already been looted by - Poundmaker and Métis surrender in May,
by Canadian government and dwindling Canadian soldiers. Poundmaker imprisoned;
buffalo population;
- July 2, Big Bear runs out of food and
- Decide to rebel after successful Métis
surrenders after a chase by the NWMP;
victory at Duck Lake;
- July 18, Big Bear taken to jail in Battleford;
- Gathered white settlers into a local
- July 24, Jackson found not guilty by reason
church;
of insanity, sent to asylum in MB. escapes in
- Argument leads to murder of Thomas
November. flees to U.S.;
Quinn, town’s stubborn and unpopular
- Aug. 1, Riel tried in Regina, found guilty of
Indian Agent;
treason, sentenced to hang;
- Wandering Spirit fires first shot;
- Aug. 5, Sir John A. Macdonald requests
- Cree kill nine settlers and take three
murder charges be laid against First Nations
captives;
involved at Frog Lake massacre;
- William Cameron only white, male
- Aug. 14, Métis Riel followers tried, get prison
survivor writes book, Blood Red Sun,
sentences ranging from one to seven years;
describing his experience.
- Aug. 17, Poundmaker found guilty, sentenced
to three years in jail, states he would rather
hang than be imprisoned.
Introduction
- 1884: Métis ask Louis
REBELLION
Riel to return to the
area that would laer
become Saskaatchewan
from the U.S. where
he had fled after the
Red River Rebellion) 11
and appeal to federal Riel hanged at Regina
government on their behalf; – Nov. 16, 1885
- Executed at police barracks;
- Métis alarmed by new process for land - Nov. 17, rumour started that NWMP police
allotment by Ontario settlers and over- kicked Riel’s body before placing him in coffin;
hunting of their chief food source, the
Mass Execution
12 - Catholic Church outraged and coffin is
opened;
bison; - Dr. Augustus Jukes examines body, finds no
- Riel, Gabriel Dumont and Honoré at Fort Battleford evidence of abuse;
– Nov. 27, 1885
Jackson (Riel’s press secretary) - Nov. 20, body laid to rest in cemetery of the
- In largest mass execution in Canadian
Cathedral of St. Boniface in Winnipeg.
form Provisional Government of history, Wandering Spirit and seven other First
Nations men hanged for Frog Lake massacre;
Saskatchewan; - Buried in common grave outside fort gates.
- Hope to influence federal government
and preserve rights and culture of
Métis.
– Compiled by Jenn Sharp

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SUMMER
EVENTS
June 5
The Gathering Festival — Prince
Albert (www.princealberttourism.com)
Prince Albert has been historically
known as “the gathering place” and
Prince Albert Tourism has planned
a day for families to tell their stories
in a place of neutrality and peace.
Organizers say it will be a chance
for “resolution and reconciliation,”
and the site will be dedicated to all
nations who now share this place.
A site on Warriors Hill will also be
dedicated to all who fought in the
Resistance of 1885.
June 18
Commemoration of original
Humboldt land and the 1885 North-
west Resistance (Humboldt-www.
humboldtmuseum.ca). The free
commemorative event will explore
the stories of the original Humboldt
land and the events of 1885 through
an exciting multi-media presenta-
tion. Following the program, every-
one is invited to the new tourist area
at the original Humboldt townsite,
where visitors can discover fascinat-
ing stories of courage, heartache and
adversity. The Humboldt telegraph
station, built in 1878 on the Carl-
ton Trail, was instrumental in the
development of Western Canada.
The station also played a pivotal
military role during the Northwest
Resistance of 1885.
Canadian Red Cross re-dedica-
tion of Red Cross flag — Bathoche
National Historic Site of Canada
(www.parkscanada.gc.ca/batoche)
The event will be held in conjunc-
tion with Saskatoon’s Marr Resi-
dence (the house served as a field
hospital during the 1885 Resistance)
and will include both the Saskatoon
Red Cross and Canadian Red Cross.
June 21, 22
Aboriginal Day Celebrations
(Batoche — www.parkscanada.
gc.ca/batoche). The two-day celebra-
tion is hosted by the Gabriel Dumont
Institute, Friends of Batoche, Parks
Canada and Indian and Northern Affairs
Canada in honour of National Aborigi-
nal Day. The festival will feature book
launches from aboriginal artists, Métis
jiggers, and First Nations drummers and
fiddle players.
June 25
Commemorative days Battle of
Duck Lake (www.dlric.org). A com-
memoration ceremony will be held
for the Battle of Duck Lake, which
took place on March 26, 1885. The
ceremony is open to the public and
will include Willow Cree drum-
mers and dancers and prayers and
speeches. The ceremony will be at
the Duck Lake Regional Interpretive
Centre and will be followed by a fid-
dling and dance cabaret at the sports
grounds. Cabaret tickets are $10.
June 26
Commemoration music festival
— Duck Lake (www.dlric.org). A
pancake breakfast kicks off the day
at 9 a.m., followed by an educa-
tional workshop from Métis fiddler
John Arcand about the history of
the Red River Jig. Enjoy the best of
Saskatchewan’s aboriginal musical
talent with performances by Andrea
Menard, Ovide Pilon, Liverpool,
Terri-Anne Strongarm and Donny
Parenteau. Children’s activities will
be provided throughout the day by
Fort Carlton. The cost is $25 per
person, $10 for students, children
five and under free.
June 27
Trial of Louis Riel play — Duck
Lake (www.reilcoproductions.com).
The second-longest running play in
Canada is based on the transcripts
from Riel’s trial. John Coulter wrote
the play in 1967.
June 28 - July 2
125th Commemoration of the
1885 Battle of Poundmaker Hill
— Poundmaker Cree Nation (info
at 306- 398-4971 Ext. 239). The
commemoration event will kick off
with a Treaty Annuities Day and
a grand re-opening of the Pound-
maker historical centre. The week
will include treaty forums and a
medicine chest task force group
meeting. There will also be a
reconciliation gathering for Indian
residential school survivors. On
July 2, a re-enactment of the Battle
of Poundmaker Hill will be held.
July 1
Fort Carlton 200th birthday and
Canada Day celebrations — Fort
Carlton Provincial Park (www.
tpcs.gov.sk.ca/FortCarlton). A day
full of activities, including tea at
the teepee, beading, setting up a
mini teepee, retro-toy making,
a children’s archaeological dig,
‘tracking’ animals, scavenger hunt,
guessing games and Gabriel the Ox
& His Red River Cart. Don’t miss
the Canada Day and Fort Carlton’s
birthday cake.
n Continued on Page D7
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Prince Albert’s connection
to the Northwest Resistance
By Jenn Sharp
for The StarPhoenix
P rince Albert has a long and rich history and
has been known as “the gathering place” for
thousands of years by First Nations.
It was also home to a group of citizens who asked
Louis Riel to return from Montana in 1884 and plead
their case to the federal government, an act that would
eventually lead to the Northwest Resistance in 1885.
Many of the First Nations and Métis people, along
with white settlers in the area were united in 1884 by
their grievances against the government.
The Métis people’s discontent spread, and included
those in settlements from St. Louis to Batoche and St.
Catherine. They were worried about an assault on their
traditional lifestyle, brought upon by the Hudson’s Bay
Company and new settlers from eastern Canada, who
were hunting the buffalo to near-extinction.
A detailed account was written by Gary Abrams in
1966, titled Prince Albert: The First Century, 1866-
1966, and provides considerable background into these
events.
White settlers had a long history of discontent with
the government, regarding things like imposed tariffs
on crown lumber used by settlers or the privatization
of the flour industry, which prevented many farm-
ers from selling to the First Nations people or to the
Northwest Mounted Police.
On April 11, 1884, The Prince Albert Times
reported a quote from a disgruntled resident, who
said, “Some of the government officials here are fast
becoming obnoxious to the people. . . . (The) wonder
is that they have been tolerated so long.”
The agitation shared by both sides made the town
of Prince Albert (which then numbered about 700
people) the centre of a protest movement which would
soon embrace the entire northwest region.
Shortly after, on May 10, The Times published a
scathing editorial, labelling the Dominion government,
“a greedy, grasping, overbearing bully” and concluded
by saying, “Where they get the information which
induces them to believe the people are likely to submit
much longer, we do not know; but we can answer
them that they need not look for their friends among
the Canadians, half breeds or Indians, as they are likely
soon to be made aware of in a manner at once startling
and unpleasant.”
The editorial was translated into French and circu-
lated to the Métis people.
A settlers ‘union meeting’ was held in May and
attended by many in Prince Albert, including the
town’s founder, James Isbister.
It was decided to ask Riel for help in presenting their
grievances to the Canadian government.
Four delegates from that meeting brought Riel to
Prince Albert later that summer.
On July 19, the now-famous meeting with Louis
Riel was held in Preston Hall on River Street.
Abrams writes, “Riel assured all that ‘their object
would be gained faster if they acted orderly and peace-
ably.’”
The first stage of a movement that would unite the
northwest was beginning in Prince Albert.
However, by September the movement to unite the
white settlers and Métis had lost momentum largely
because of aggressive Tory assaults, led by The Times
and directed at landowners and merchants. One such
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
—SP Photo by Peter Wilson
Jamie Benson, manager
of Prince Albert’s
museum, stands outside
the historical log build-
ing used as a blockade
during the 1885
Resistance
assault on Riel was printed July 25: “To talk of rebel-
lion now, is simply bosh. The government could bring
us to our knees simply by removing the machinery of
civilized government.”
Riel had been careful, thus far, not to incite violence
or any type of revolt, but that did not stop the citizens
of Prince Albert from becoming very fearful of a First
Nations and Métis uprising.
Later that summer, settlers even planned to move
east to escape the danger and alarm quickly spread to
the townsmen who had supported Riel in the spring.
By the spring of 1885, Prince Albert settlers aban-
doned the Métis cause.
While the battles of the Northwest Resistance never
reached the town of Prince Albert, settlers there were
prepared.
A log building still stands today in Kinsmen Park
and, according to Jamie Benson, the manager of Prince
Albert’s Historical Museum,it was used as a block-
house in 1885.
The building was located at the corner of the town
and the rifle slots are still visible today.
“They stored weapons and ammunition there as well
as using it for an outpost and a look-out tower. There
were a lot of fears at the time the battles would reach
the town,” he says.
Besides Prince Albert’s involvement in the North-
west Resistance, a hill and area by the river has been
known for centuries by First Nations as a place for
vision quests and healing.
Known as Wounded Warriors Hill and The Gather-
ing Place, these areas are sacred, indigenous places for
the Dakota Oyate people.
Leo Omani, a Dakota elder, says his ancestors were
historically known as the buffalo people.
They inhabited an area known as the Great Bison
Belt, which encompassed Western Canada and the
Prince Albert region. Cree and Dené people came to
join the Dakotas and all nations expanded, along with
the Métis, after the establishment of fur trading posts
near Prince Albert in 1751.
Major small pox epidemics would later eradicate
much of the population.
Prince Albert Tourism, along with the Dakota and
Cree people, is dedicating Warriors Hill and The
Gathering Place as ‘new’ cultural and historical sites
for Prince Albert.
A Cree story tells of a warrior wounded during
the battle of Batoche in 1885, who came to the hill
because he knew it to be a place of healing.
A site will be dedicated there to honour all of those
who during the 1885 Resistance.
Below Wounded Warriors Hill, at the mouth of the
Shell River, is an area known as The Gathering Place.
This special place was a protected site where stories
and news could be shared, ceremonies held, and hunt-
ing parties coordinated.
It will be dedicated to honour the ancient memory
of the bison hunters of the Prince Albert Region who
gathered here to share stories, have ceremonies, trade
medicines, make peace and inter-marry.
Omani says these places are now for all nations,
“past, present and future,” especially those who are
going through times of conflict.
“(The Dakota) have always shared their healing
ceremonies with others,” he explains and invites all
to come and share their story as “part of the healing
process.”
Louis Riel’s councillors were
held as prisoners in 1885
—Saskatchewan Archives Board R-B714-1
TheStarPhoenix.com D6
Frog Lake
Massacre
a day
of infamy
By Jenn Sharp
for The StarPhoenix
I n 1885, many Cree (and other)
tribes were starving, a situa-
tion that led to an uprising and
eventual massacre of Frog Lake
settlers on April 2.
That day would become known as
the Frog Lake Massacre and would
lead to the largest mass execution in
Canadian history.
Wandering Spirit was the warrior
chief of Big Bear’s band of Plains
Cree people in 1885.
In traditional First Nations
culture, the leadership of the band
was assumed in times of conflict
by the warrior chief and Wandering
Spirit’s decisions superseded those
of Big Bear, who pleaded the Cree
to negotiate with words, rather than
war.
An editorial published on March
13, 1885, in the Saskatchewan
Herald newspaper stated that Big
Bear had not complied with the
Canadian government’s request for
all First Nations people to stay on
the reserves.
According to the editorial, the
government told him that if he and
his followers had not settled down
by the beginning of 1885, their food
rations would be cut off.
The threat was apparently carried
out because Big Bear’s band did not
comply with this order.
Wandering Spirit was angered
at what he felt were unfair treaties
and mistreatment by the Canadian
government and also by the ever
dwindling buffalo population, his
band’s main source of food.
Metis victory
The Métis victory over 90 Prince
Albert volunteers and Northwest
Mounted Police at Duck Lake on
March 26 encouraged Wandering
Spirit to rebel.
He and his followers attacked a
small town near Frog Lake (now in
Alberta.) They gathered all of the
white settlers from the area into a
local church and, after arguing with
Thomas Quinn, the settlement’s
often stubborn and unpopular
Indian Agent, Wandering Spirit
fired the first shot, leaving Quinn
dead.
The Cree then attacked the set-
tlers, killing nine men and taking
three captive.
Theresa Gowanlock and Theresa
Delaney were the only women
to survive. William Cameron (a
Hudson’s Bay Company employee)
was the only male survivor and
would go on to write a book about
his experiences, titled Blood Red
Sun.
The massacre prompted the
Canadian government to realize the
severity of the growing unrest in the
Northwest Territories and, on Nov.
27, 1885, hanged Wandering Spirit
and seven other Crees at Fort Bat-
tleford for their role in the massacre.
The bodies were buried in a com-
mon grave outside the fort gates.
The day before he died, Wander-
ing Spirit received a visit from
Cameron, and tells him his reasons
for killing the settlers: “Four years
ago we were camped on the Mis-
souri River in the Long Knives
Land (U.S.A.). Riel was there,
trading whiskey to the Indians.
He gave us liquor and said he
would make war on this country.
He asked us to join him in wiping
out all Canadians. . . . Last fall,
Riel sent word to us that when the
leaves came out the half-breeds
would rise and kill all whites.
The Long Knives would come.
They would buy the land, pay the
Indians plenty of money for it, and
afterwards, trade with them. All
the tribes who wished to benefit
must rise too, and help rid the
country of Canadians.”
—Frog Lake is now a small, Cree
community and has been declared a
National Historic Site of Canada.

A catch basin of memories
q Fort Pitt rich in history as many explorers passed through its walls
By Peter Wilson
of The StarPhoenix
W
terrain.
hen Wayne Brown scans the land-
scape ahead, he’s adding a gener-
ous overlay of history to a famliar
We are touring the area where Fort Pitt once
stood. An early Hudson’s Bay Post and base for
a NWMP detachment, Fort Pitt is now a catch
basin of memories from the momentous events
that fired up the country 125 years ago.
“This portion of the province, adjacent to the
North Saskatchewan River, is so rich in history
it absolutely reeks,’’ says Brown.
In his mind’s eye, the amateur historian and
writer is back in 1885, musing on the part the
region played in the Northwest Resistance.
Not far from here, nine people, including two
Roman Catholic priests, were murdered at Frog
Lake in April of that year, and all hell broke
loose in this part of west-central Saskatchewan.
Soon afterwards, Cree warriors laid siege
to Fort Pitt, forcing the defending North West
Mounted Police to escape down the ice-filled
river to Fort Battleford.
“They only had a short time to make their
escape, which they did towards dark. They
pulled a scow down to the river, got it afloat and
piled in and made the harrowing journey all the
way to Battleford,’’ Brown says.
Rising from the river valley, the flat land
where the fort stood blends in with the broad
expanse of Prairie that climbs away to the
horizon. While there’s interpretive panels are
original buildings once stood, you’ll also need
some imagination to help stir the visions of the
past if you visit here.
Fort Pitt is rich in heritage. The first fort was to be erie about, he says, strolling through the
built in 1829, and hosted many of the early
explorers who happened to be passing through,
says Brown.
A second fort was built after the original
one burned down. Even before the Northwest
Resistance, the remote enclave had witnessed
violence.
“There was even a real ‘Wild West’ gunfight
between two American gold seekers in March
1859. One guy died of his wounds, the other
was slightly wounded,” Brown says.
The second fort was really a conglomeration
of buildings. The fact it was a fort in name only,
possessing no palisades and a zero inventory of
big guns, says Brown.
NWMP headquarters
Nevertheless, it was headquarters for a detach- most of the sites of the Rebellion. That was long
ment of NWMP under the command Insp.
Francis Dickens, son of Charles Dickens.
“Dickens had less than a sterling reputation
as a leader, and it wasn’t long after he escaped
with his men to Battleford that he would quit the to increasing his research of the 1885 Resis-
force he’d served in for a dozen years. But the
fort was totally non-defendable, and you can’t
blame Dickens for abandoning it during the
Rebellion,” Brown says.
While there is little evidence of the actual
fort’s presence, it’s still a fascinating place to
visit, Brown adds.
“Go there on a calm autumn evening and the
whole place is alive with ghosts. I’m not kid-
ding, you can feel the presence of them in the
dusty fall air.’’
It is a truly eerie feeling, but then there’s lots knowledgeable companion on Brown’s tours of
Telegraph station played a pivotal role
W hile military action of the
1885 Northwest Resistance
was unfolding across the
region, a lonely prairie communications
post was playing a crucial background role
in the turmoil.
Close to present-day city, the Humboldt
Telegraph Station, received and trans-
mitted information in support of Gen.
Middleton’s advances on Louis Riel’s
forces throughout the conflict.
Fortified with trenches and defended by
a strong force of militia, the remote station
kept its solitary telegraph line open despite
other lines being severed by Riel’s forces.
“The station here was the end of the line
because the line was cut to limit commu-
nications,” says Jennifer Hoesgen, curator
of the Humboldt and District Museum and
Gallery.
On March 23, 1885, the Winnipeg Daily
News reported that “the reported uprising
of Riel at Carlton, announced by dis-
patches from Humboldt, N.W.T., beyond
which the lines have been cut, is causing
great excitement . . . the telegraph wires
have been cut northwest of Humboldt,
thereby cutting off communication and
necessitating the carrying of messages on
horseback.”
Inside the museum, Hoesgen is recon-
necting with those events that shaped
Saskatchewan’s history.
We’re up on the top floor of the popular
facility, and Hoesgen is providing a human
touch to the historical exhibition that
surrounds her in a recreated version of the
original telegraph station’s interior.
Here, visitors can step inside a log cabin and
travel back more than 130 years to discover what Station was located, a tiny communications post
communications were like before telephones and that played an important role in the drama that
long before the birth of the Internet.
She says young visitors are particularly awed by
the display. After checking out the early telegra-
phy equipment on display, young students can
tap out the dots and dashes of Morse code on a
interactive telegraph computer station.
From a chronological perspective, the 19th cen- provided a welcome break for travellers mak-
tury technology that Hoesgen’s demonstrating is a ing the difficult 60-day journey between the two
long way from the museum’s touch screen interac- settlements.
tive monitors. But the rapid tapping of her finger
on the small key provide echoes of Humboldt’s
connections with the tumultuous events of 1885.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Wayne Brown looks around the historical site of Fort Pitt
old fort graveyard recently rejuvinated by Sas-
katchewan Parks.
The tranquil cemetery isn’t the only legacy
that shows the tenuous nature of life during that
era.
“Somewhere, not far from the fort, there’s
a mass grave of probably hundreds of First
Nations people who died in the small pox epi-
demics and who knows who else.’’
Today, the Fort Pitt site contains the archaeo-
logical remains of the two different posts.
Interpretive panels explain the post’s history
and a National Historic Sites and Monuments
plaque commemorates Big Bear and the signing
of Treaty Six.
Brown began exploring the history of the
uprising back around 1972 when his family took
a camping holiday that included an itinerary of
before there was much serious development of
the sites.
When he took an early retirement from his
career as a conservation officer in Alberta, he set
tance.
Four years later, his extensive efforts led to the
publishing of “Steele’s Scouts,” a book that tied
his work together.
The Scouts were formed by Inspector Samuel
B. Steele and were a cavalry unit of the Alberta
Field Force under the command of Maj.-Gen.l
Thomas Bland Strange.
Brown has praise for the late Edgar Mapletoft,
another local history buff who was an immense
help to him in proofing the book. He was also a
—SP Photo by Peter Wilson telegraph station stood were purchased
Jennifer Hoesgen taps out Morse code
at the telegraph station display in Humboldt
It was just eight kilometres southwest of the
museum where the original Humboldt Telegraph tee for the Humboldt and District Museum and
played out across the prairies in May 1885.
Strategically placed alongside the busy Carlton such as where the earth works constructed by the
Trail, the Dominion Telegraph Station and stage
depot was the centre point between Fort Edmon-
ton in the west and Fort Garry to the east.
Since the station’s construction in 1878, it had
When Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont gathered
their forces at Batoche in the spring of 1885,
Gen. Middleton and his army camped near the
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
—SP Photo by Peter Wilson
the historical sites of the area.
They journeyed not only to not designated
historic sites, but included militia camps, Cree
camps, long forgotten trails and sites of small
“fire-fights” such as Pipestone Creek between
Steele and Memmnook, a Saddle Lake Alberta
Cree warrior.
In a year marking a long list of 1885 celebra-
tions, Brown is particularly looking forward to
reconnecting with Steele’s Scouts, a Calgary
group of riders and historic re-enactors who will
be visiting the area this fall.
From Sept. 1-8, Steele’s Scouts will make a
re-enactment trail ride on horseback from Frog
Lake southeast to Fort Pitt.
By Sept. 4, they will be in Frenchman Butte
and afterwards will travel cross-country to ter-
mination ceremonies at Steele Narrows on Loon
Lake Sept. 7.
They’ll be 50 Scouts and numerous other
riders says Brown, who adds that there should
be a large public presence as the riders are very
colourful individuals and are real characters.
The whole scene will offer a glimpse of the
drama of 125 years ago, he says, an added
dimension of excitement sparkling in his eyes.
The anniversary opens the door to opportuni-
ties for more research, he says.
Much of our local history is still lying in wait
of discovery, only recently has either federal or
provincial governments developed any interest
in the historic sites of Frenchman Butte, Fort Pitt
and Steele Narrows, Brown says.
“It’s a bad business to develop an interest in
our heritage as it festers inside of you. As one
question is answered, that produces 10 more to
search out.’’
telegraph station on their way to crush the
rebellion.
Middleton even left a detachment behind
to guard the station from the possibility of
sabotage. Lt. Col. George T. Denison was
in command at Humboldt and his column
consisted of about 450 men and an exten-
sive amount of supplies.
“During those days, my time was princi-
pally spent in the telegraph station,” Deni-
son said in his book, Soldiering in Canada.
“Dispatches came pouring in from all
points, from General Strange, from Win-
nipeg, from Battleford, from Qu’Appelle,
Swift Current, etc., all demanding attention
from the General. It took about two days to
get dispatches to the General at Batoche,
and a reply back. On May 9th, the first
day of the fighting at Batoche, I had sent
Trooper Scholfield with dispatches to the
General. He got into General Middleton’s
entrenchment safely, and some hours after
he was sent back with a parcel of telegrams
to bring to me, and on his return he reported
that he had been fired at four times in get-
ting away. A bullet was afterwards found
imbedded in his horse’s neck.”
Archeologists still find the occasional
bully beef tin, pottery pieces and numer-
ous cartridge casings from the time of the
Resistance.
Last year, the 80 acres of land where the
using private donations and has been
handed over to the City of Humboldt.
The stewardship of this project will be
overseen by the original Humboldt commit-
Gallery board of directors, says Hoesgen.
“In the ongoing archeological investigations at
the site, we’re making some exciting discoveries,
soldiers are located,” she says.
On June 18, an official commemoration of the
land and the unveiling of information signage at
the site will take place.
That same day, the community will present
“Trail of Louis Riel” at Humboldt’s historic
Court House.
—WILSON
—You can view the museum’s website at www.
humboldtmuseum.ca for more information.
TheStarPhoenix.com D7
SUMMER
EVENTS
July 2-4
International Competition Pow
Wow — Poundmaker Cree Nation
(306-398-4971 Ext. 239). Everyone
is welcome to attend the drug and
alcohol-free powwow, which is
part of the North American circuit.
Dancers, drummers and singers from
across Canada and U.S. will compete.
July 2-4
Fransaskois festival — Back to
Batoche grounds (www.parkscanada.
gc.ca/batoche). Saskatchewan’s
French cultural festival will be held in
a weekend full of music, theatre and
celebration of the province’s French
heritage.
July 3
The story of the Saskatoon field
hospital — Marr Residence, Saska-
toon (www.meewasin.com/educa-
tion/marr). The Marr Residence is
the oldest building in Saskatoon and
stands on its original site. The house
was built in 1884 by Sandy Marr
and in 1885, the house served as a
field hospital during the Northwest
Resistance.
July 4
Field hospital re-enactment —
Marr Residence, Saskatoon (www.
meewasin.com/education/marr)
July 10
Re-dedication of Fort Pitt- Fort Pitt
Provincial Park (www.tpcs.gov.sk.ca/
FortPitt). A ceremony will be held
to recognize the importance of Fort
Pitt, established in 1829, and its role
in the fur trade, the signing of Treaty
Six and in the Northwest Resistance
of 1885.
July 14-16; 21-23; 28-30
The Trial of Louis Riel — MacK-
enzie Art Gallery, Regina (www.riel-
coproductions.com). The second-lon-
gest running play in Canada is based
on the transcripts from Riel’s trial,
in November of 1885. John Coulter
wrote the play in 1967 and the issues
surrounding the trial, such as justice,
land, language, race and religion are
still valid discussion points today.
July 17-25
‘Back to Batoche Days’ — Back to
Batoche Grounds (www.backtobato-
che.ca). To celebrate and remember
the 125th anniversary of the North-
west Resistance, this eight-day family
festival will feature square dancing,
jigging and fiddling competitions,
rodeo, chariot and chuckwagon races,
Metis musical performances and
programs for children and youth. Day
passes are $10 to $20, and festival
passes are $35 or $50. Children 12
and under free.
July 17
Parks Day — Batoche National
Historic Site of Canada (www.
parkscanada.gc.ca/batoche). A day
of bird watching and nature walking
will be held at Batoche for Canada
Parks Day. Parks Day began 20 years
ago as a nationwide partnership to
celebrate the importance of our parks
and the contribution they make to
healthy and diverse ecosystems.
July 18
Celebrating Fur Trading Days
— Fort Carlton Provincial Park
(www.tpcs.gov.sk.ca/FortCarlton)
Fort Carlton is the original site of a
Hudson’s Bay Company fur trad-
ing post that operated between 1810
and 1885. The site houses a recon-
structed palisade, fur and provisions
store, trade store, clerk’s quarters, and
teepee encampment. Artifacts such
as buffalo hides and beaver pelts on
display.
Aug. 8
Fiddles, Pipes and Drums — Fort
Carlton Provincial Park (www.tpcs.
gov.sk.ca/FortCarlton). To further
celebrate the 200th anniversary of
Fort Carlton and the heritage of the
area’s earliest settlers, a music festival
featuring bagpipes and Scottish drum-
mers will be held at the historical site.
Aug. 14
The Siege of Battleford — Fort
Battleford National Historic Site of
Canada Organizers for the event aim
to give visitors a glimpse into what
life was like for the 500 civilians
who took shelter at the fort in the
spring of 1885. Interpretive vignettes
depict the atmosphere of tension and
uncertainty, while allowing visitors to
‘meet’ the people involved.
Sept. 1-7
Sam Steele Scout’s re-enactment
ride — Frog Lake, Alta., to Steele
Narrows, Sask. During the Northwest
Resistance, Gen. Strange formed his
militia and relied on NWMP Superin-
tendent Sam Steele for a scouting
force. Steele’s Scouts were to act as
the leading position for Strange’s
militia, and served with aggressive
distinction throughout the campaign.
Members of today’s Sam Steele
Scout’s stage an annual re-enactment
ride of the path taken by the Scouts
in 1885.
 Thursday, May 13, 2010 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan TheStarPhoenix.com D8

Codd Flag’s storied history

—SP Photo by Peter Wilson
Amanda Ulrich of the Canadian Red Cross looks
at the Codd Flag on display at the Regina branch
W hile the Red Cross flag had flown during
European conflicts since the mid-1860s,
its use to identify refuges for wounded first
began in Canada in the 1885 Northwest Resistance.
Such a banner, now known as the “Codd Flag,”
belonged to Surgeon Lieut.-Col. Alfred Codd of the
Winnipeg Field Battery who tended wounded soldiers
in the battles of Fish Creek and Batoche.
A designated Heritage property, it now hangs in the
offices of the Red Cross in Regina.
Another surviving flag is located in the national
office of the Canadian Red Cross in Ottawa.
The Codd Flag, is was one of possibly three Red
Cross flags flown during the 1885 Northwest Resis-
tance, a campaign that marked the first time the Red
Cross flag ever flew in Canada.
Parks Canada says a variety of reports of the North-
west Resistance mention the three Red Cross flags,
each handmade and each associated with a different
group or individuals.
Parks Canada says that one such flag story is from
the memoirs of Colour Sgt. C.F. Winters who fought
with Lieut.-Col. W.D. Otter at Cut Knife Hill.
Winters provided medical care to wounded soldiers at
the end of this engagement and talks of gathering cot-
ton sheets and red flannel to make up a Red Cross flag.
The flying of another flag is recorded in the memoir
of George S. Ryerson, a physician and member of the
Royal Grenadiers of Toronto who also travelled west
with his regiment in March of 1885.
Parks Canada says Ryerson explained in his
memoirs that he tended the wounded of both sides at
Batoche and constructed his flag . . . “of factory cot-
ton and sewed on it a Geneva Red Cross made from
pieces of Turkey red which I got from the ammunition
column.”
As for the Codd Flag, memories told through Codd’s
daughter “recalls her father going out with the Win-
nipeg Field Battery to the Rebellion and his returning
with the flag which flew over his medical cart.”

Gatling gun arrives in Sask.

By Peter Wilson
of The StarPhoenix

W hen Scott Whiting, site man-

ager of Fort Battleford National
Historic Site tours the facility’s
Interpretive Centre, he’s particularly enam-
oured with the vintage Gatling gun that is on
display.
The Gatling gun was one of the first effec-
tive machine guns used in battle and two of
them were part of the militia’s ordinance
as they advanced on the First Nation and
Metis forces. In 1885 two Gatling guns were
loaned on a trial basis by the Colt Firearms
Company to the Canadian Militia.
One of the Gatlings, manned by Captain
A.L. Howard of the Connecticut National
Guard, was part of Middleton’s forces at
Batoche. The second Gatling came to Fort
Battleford with Colonel Otter’s column.
While it was a “state of the art’’ weapon,
it wasn’t destined to play a major role in the
1885 conflict. Manned by men from ‘B’ Bat-
tery, the Gatling achieved relatively little at
Cut Knife Hill, although it did provide effec-
tive covering fire while the troops retired
from the battlefield, says Whiting.
“While its firepower wasn’t fully utilized
during the campaign, the gun not surpris-
ingly had a tremendous psychological effect
on the battlefield,’’ Whiting says.
The Gatling gun is not the actual gun that
came to Battleford in 1885, but it is an origi-
nal piece from that period.
The gun’s firepower consists of a number
of rifle-calibre, breech-loading barrels fitted
—SP Photo by Peter Wilson
Scott Whiting, site manager at Fort
Battleford National Historic Site,
with the vintage Gatling gun
around a central shaft. Mounted directly
behind the barrels is the crank-operated load-
ing, ejecting and firing mechanism.
Ammunition was fed into the gun by
gravity from a magazine mounted above the
weapon. The Gatling gun was operated by
turning a side-mounted crank which revolved
the barrels around the central shaft, each bar-
rel being loaded, fired and re-loaded during
every revolution. The gunner could control
the rate of fire by turning the crank handle.
The Gatling gun at Fort Battleford is a
1876 model and used .45/70 ‘Government’
calibre. The standard U.S. military rifle car-
tridge from 1873-92, ammunition, it became
famous for its use in the “trapdoor” Spring-
field carbines carried by Custer’s 7th Cavalry
at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

A photo of the plaque which provides a direct link to 1885

Grandpa and Riel

q Long-time journalist’s personal connection
to a major player in this province’s history
By Ned Powers
for The StarPhoenix
the North-West Campaign 1885.
The battalion came west by train. There
were gaps in the new railway system and

F ordyce Allan Powers was an 18-

year-old from Port Hope, Ont., when
he volunteered to join the Midland
Battalion and head west to suppress what is
commonly known as the Riel Rebellion.
He was a member of Company E, which
was led by Lieut-Col. A.T.H Williams, a
distinguished soldier from Ontario and wit-
ness to the surrender of Louis Riel on May
15, 1885.
The success against Riel was somewhat
tempered by the death of Williams, who
suffered from inflammation of the brain and
died aboard the steamer, North West, on
July 5.
Fordyce Powers was my grandfather.
I only remember meeting him once. When
I was 11 years old and living on a home-
stead in the Peace River country, he came
to visit.
I remember him as a kind, gentle, funny
man, who came with all the tricks of being a
practical joker.
Less than a year later, on April 22, 1942,
he died in Saskatoon at the age of 77.
My fond souvenir of grandpa’s life is the
last letter he wrote.
Significant among its contents was the
joy he received from hearing the Toronto
Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings in
the Stanley Cup final, important because it
was the first time a team had ever bounced
back from a three-game deficit to win four
straight and the cup.
Given the career choice I eventually
made, there’s regret that grandpa might have
one day become a newspaperman’s dream
interview.
He was part of perhaps Saskatchewan’s
most historical event.
My cousin, Gerry, possesses the North-
west 1885 Canada medal, with Queen
Victoria’s portrait adorning the front and
a wreath of maple leaves surrounding the
inscription on the back.
There is also a copy of the E Division
photo. There are some newspaper clippings.
The most valuable resource in charting
grandpa’s trip west came from Saskatoon
historian Dennis Fisher, who found invalu-
able information from a book, Telegrams of
the young soldiers walked at times in snow,
several feet deep, and in temperatures of 20
below.
On May 4, the battalion arrived by
steamer at Clark’s Crossing. On May 5, they
travelled on the Northcote to Fish Creek,
practising on the Gatling gun while en
route.
On May 7, the Northcote steamed towards
Batoche. During the period from May 9-12,
the Battle of Batoche took place, with heavy
fighting, and with Williams leading the
Midlanders in a break-through against the
Metis lines.
A telegram recounts the events of May 15:
“Riel has just been brought in at half-past
three this afternoon.
“There was no demonstration. He walked
quietly into the general’s tent, appearing to
take the event in a nonchalant manner. The
result was generally expected as it had been
rumoured that he wanted to surrender.”
In grandpa’s obituary, which appeared in
The StarPhoenix, there was mention that he
saw action in the chase for Big Bear, took
part in the capture of Chief Poundmaker
and was in contact with Riel after the Metis
leader had been arrested.
Grandpa’s division turned up at Bat-
tleford, Fort Pitt and Frog Lake, mostly on
missions to insure peace.
The Midland Battalion returned July 19
to Toronto’s Union Station, where they
were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the
reception.
Grandpa wanted to enlist in South
Africa’s Boer War but his parents strongly
objected and wouldn’t let him go.
Two of his sons fought in the First World
War, my uncle Clarence, who died from
injuries sustained in battle, and my father,
Allan, who in spite of being gassed at Vimy
Ridge, lived until he was 94.
Another of his sons, Walter, served in the
Second World War.
Although true easterners in their early
lives, my grandfather and grandmother set-
tled in the west at Tugaske, near Moose Jaw,
in 1917, and lived there for seven years.
Then they lived in both Regina, where he
was employed by the CNR, and Saskatoon.