Pitikwahanapiwiyin
Encyclopedia
Pitikwahanapiwiyin commonly known as Poundmaker, was a Plains Cree
chief known as a peacemaker and defender of his people.
, Pitikwahanapiwiyin, known to English speakers as Chief Poundmaker, inherited his name from his grandfather who had a special ability to attract buffalo
into pounds. A buffalo pound
resembled a huge corral with walls covered by the leaves of thick bushes. Usually herds of buffalo were stampeded into this trap, or on other occasions, the buffalo were drawn in by a person like Pitikwahanapiwiyin, who was gifted by spirit helpers to use a special song to lure in the buffalo. As he sang, he used a drum. The song enticed the lead Buffalo Cow to bring her herd in. One time, it is said that he lured 500 buffalo into a pound using this very method grasping the name Pihtokahanapiwiyin, 'The One Who Sits at the Pound'. So this name was carried onto Chief Poundmaker.
woman, the sister of Chief Mistawasis
. 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, the band settled on a reserve about 40 km northwest of Fort Battleford
. 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.
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 struggling over the now very scarce buffalo.
. When Poundmaker and his party reached the town, the Indian agent refused to come out of the fort to meet with them. He kept them waiting for two days. 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.
Looting of the abandoned buildings of the town took place, but the identity of the looters is disputed. Some reports claimed Poundmaker's people were responsible, but one observer alleged that most of the looting had already been done by whites. Oral history accounts claim that the looting was done by Nakoda people
, and that Poundmaker did his best to stop it. Either way, Poundmaker's people left the next day.
On May 2, 1885, a military force of 332 Canadian troops, led by Lieutenant-Colonel William Dillon Otter
, attacked Poundmaker's camp near Cut Knife Hill
. Lieutenant R.S. Cassels attached command of the "C" School, a military division of the troops under Otter, stated, "About 4 P.M. the column starts. Our force is eight scouts; sixty Mounted Police under Captain Neale; “B” Battery, eighty men under Major Short; “C” School, forty-five men under Lieutenant Wadmore, No. 1Company, Queen’s Own Rifles, under Captain Brown, fifty-five men; Battleford Rifles, under Captain Nash, forty men; twenty men of the Guards under Lieutenant Gray and Queen’s Own Rifles Ambulance Corps; Surgeon Lesslie; Sergeant Fere and eight men; Colonel Otter in command; and Colonel Herchmer,Surgeon Strange, Captain Mutton and Lieutenant Sears on the Staff. Hume Cronyn, E.C. Acheson, and Blakely of “K,” McLennan and Prior of “T,” Farin Wallace and Grierson of “H,” Fraser and A.J. Boyd of “F” are attached to No. 1 When the army was forced to retreat, Poundmaker, who had not taken part in the fight, prevented his warriors from pursuing the soldiers. It is thought that this action prevented the losses of many lives on both sides since a serious amount of counter-measures would have had to be placed to cover the retreat—and the Indians fought best while their enemy was retreating.
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. At his trial, he is reported to have said:
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. He was buried at Blackfoot Crossing
near Gleichen, Alberta
, but his remains were exhumed in 1967, and reburied on Cut Knife Hill.
Pictures from the exhumation and reburial were donated to the Allen Sapp museum in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.
continues to this day, near Cutknife, Saskatchewan. His grandnephew John Tootoosis
, Cree leader, and great-grandnephew Gordon Tootoosis, actor, both lived on this reserve.
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
chief known as a peacemaker and defender of his people.
Name
According to Cree oral historyOral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
, Pitikwahanapiwiyin, known to English speakers as Chief Poundmaker, inherited his name from his grandfather who had a special ability to attract buffalo
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
into pounds. A buffalo pound
Buffalo pound
The buffalo pound was a hunting device constructed by native peoples of the North American plains for the purpose of entrapping and slaughtering American Bison, also known as buffalo. It consisted of a circular corral at the terminus of a flared chute through which buffalo were herded and thereby...
resembled a huge corral with walls covered by the leaves of thick bushes. Usually herds of buffalo were stampeded into this trap, or on other occasions, the buffalo were drawn in by a person like Pitikwahanapiwiyin, who was gifted by spirit helpers to use a special song to lure in the buffalo. As he sang, he used a drum. The song enticed the lead Buffalo Cow to bring her herd in. One time, it is said that he lured 500 buffalo into a pound using this very method grasping the name Pihtokahanapiwiyin, 'The One Who Sits at the Pound'. So this name was carried onto Chief Poundmaker.
Biography
Poundmaker was born in the Battleford region, the child of Sikakwayan, an Assiniboine medicine man, and a mixed-blood CreeCree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
woman, the sister of Chief Mistawasis
Mistawasis First Nation
The Mistawasis First Nation is a Cree First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada. Their territory is located roughly 68 kilometres west of the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The Nation has one reserve with an area of approximately 125.44 square kilometres....
. 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
Treaty 6
Treaty 6 is an agreement between the Canadian monarch and the Plain and Wood Cree Indians and other tribes of Indians at Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt and Battle River. The area agreed upon by the Plain and Wood Cree represents most of the central area of the current provinces of Saskatchewan and...
and split off to form his own band. In 1881, the band settled on a reserve about 40 km northwest of Fort Battleford
Fort Battleford
Fort Battleford was the sixth North-West Mounted Police fort to be established in the North-West Territories of Canada, and played a central role in the events of the North-West Rebellion / Resistance of 1885...
. 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.
In 1873, Crowfoot
Crowfoot
Crowfoot or Isapo-Muxika was a chief of the Siksika First Nation. His parents, Istowun-eh'pata and Axkahp-say-pi , were Kainai. His brother Iron Shield became Chief Bull...
, chief of the Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
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 struggling over the now very scarce buffalo.
North-West Resistance/Rebellion
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 BattlefordFort Battleford
Fort Battleford was the sixth North-West Mounted Police fort to be established in the North-West Territories of Canada, and played a central role in the events of the North-West Rebellion / Resistance of 1885...
. When Poundmaker and his party reached the town, the Indian agent refused to come out of the fort to meet with them. He kept them waiting for two days. 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.
Looting of the abandoned buildings of the town took place, but the identity of the looters is disputed. Some reports claimed Poundmaker's people were responsible, but one observer alleged that most of the looting had already been done by whites. Oral history accounts claim that the looting was done by Nakoda people
Nakoda (people)
The Nakoda are a First Nation group, indigenous to both Canada and, originally, the United States....
, and that Poundmaker did his best to stop it. Either way, Poundmaker's people left the next day.
On May 2, 1885, a military force of 332 Canadian troops, led by Lieutenant-Colonel William Dillon Otter
William Dillon Otter
General Sir William Dillon Otter KCB, CVO, VD was a professional Canadian soldier who became the first Canadian-born Chief of the General Staff, the head of the Canadian Army.-Military career:...
, attacked Poundmaker's camp near Cut Knife Hill
Battle of Cut Knife
The Battle of Cut Knife, fought on May 2, 1885, occurred when a small force of Cree and Assiniboine warriors were attacked by a flying column of mounted police, militia, and Canadian army regulars...
. Lieutenant R.S. Cassels attached command of the "C" School, a military division of the troops under Otter, stated, "About 4 P.M. the column starts. Our force is eight scouts; sixty Mounted Police under Captain Neale; “B” Battery, eighty men under Major Short; “C” School, forty-five men under Lieutenant Wadmore, No. 1Company, Queen’s Own Rifles, under Captain Brown, fifty-five men; Battleford Rifles, under Captain Nash, forty men; twenty men of the Guards under Lieutenant Gray and Queen’s Own Rifles Ambulance Corps; Surgeon Lesslie; Sergeant Fere and eight men; Colonel Otter in command; and Colonel Herchmer,Surgeon Strange, Captain Mutton and Lieutenant Sears on the Staff. Hume Cronyn, E.C. Acheson, and Blakely of “K,” McLennan and Prior of “T,” Farin Wallace and Grierson of “H,” Fraser and A.J. Boyd of “F” are attached to No. 1 When the army was forced to retreat, Poundmaker, who had not taken part in the fight, prevented his warriors from pursuing the soldiers. It is thought that this action prevented the losses of many lives on both sides since a serious amount of counter-measures would have had to be placed to cover the retreat—and the Indians fought best while their enemy was retreating.
Aftermath
Louis Riel
Louis David Riel was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A....
's actions and defeat at Batoche
Battle of Batoche
The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion. Fought from 9 May to 12 May 1885 at the ad hoc Provisional Government of Saskatchewan capital of Batoche, the greater numbers and superior firepower of Middleton's force could not be successfully countered by the Métis ,...
, Poundmaker went there to surrender. On the basis of a letter written by Louis Riel bearing his name, Poundmaker was convicted of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
in 1885 and sentenced to three years in Stony Mountain Penitentiary. 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. ... 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."
Because of the power of his adopted father, Crowfoot
Crowfoot
Crowfoot or Isapo-Muxika was a chief of the Siksika First Nation. His parents, Istowun-eh'pata and Axkahp-say-pi , were Kainai. His brother Iron Shield became Chief Bull...
, 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. He was buried at Blackfoot Crossing
Blackfoot Crossing
Blackfoot Crossing Historical Park is a complex of historic sites on the Siksika 146 Indian reserve in Alberta, Canada. This crossing of the Bow River was traditionally a bison-hunting and gathering place for the Siksika people and their allies in the Blackfoot Confederacy...
near Gleichen, Alberta
Gleichen, Alberta
Gleichen is a hamlet in southeast Alberta, Canada within Wheatland County. It is located adjacent to the Siksika Nation at the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 547, approximately southeast of Strathmore.- History :...
, but his remains were exhumed in 1967, and reburied on Cut Knife Hill.
Pictures from the exhumation and reburial were donated to the Allen Sapp museum in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.
Legacy
The Poundmaker Cree NationPoundmaker Cree Nation
The Poundmaker Cree Nation is a Cree First Nation, located near Cut Knife, Saskatchewan. It is a Treaty 6 nation, started by the famous Cree Chief Pitikwahanapiwiyin. The band has 1281 members with 505 living on the reserve. Its location is Northwest of North Battleford and Saskatoon. Veteran actor...
continues to this day, near Cutknife, Saskatchewan. His grandnephew John Tootoosis
John Tootoosis
John Tootoosis was a prominent Cree First Nations leader in Canada. He is the grandson of Yellow Mud Blanket, and grandnephew of legendary Cree leader Pitikwahanapiwiyin....
, Cree leader, and great-grandnephew Gordon Tootoosis, actor, both lived on this reserve.