The Battle of
Fort Pitt (in Saskatchewan) was part of a
Cree
The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
uprising coinciding with the
Métis
The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...
North-West Rebellion
The North-West Rebellion (), was an armed rebellion of Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising of Cree and Assiniboine mostly in the District of Saskatchewan, against the Government of Canada, Canadian government. Important events i ...
in 1885. Cree fighters began a series of attacks on
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
settlements on April 2. On April 15, they captured
Fort Pitt from a detachment of
North-West Mounted Police
The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to ...
.
Background
In the Canadian
North-West
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...
, a period of escalating unrest immediately preceded the rebellion as
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
refused to negotiate with its disaffected citizens. While the Métis under
Louis Riel
Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis in Canada, Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of ...
declared a
provisional government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
and mobilized their forces, Cree chief
Big Bear
Big Bear, also known as (; – 17 January 1888), was a powerful and popular Cree chief who played many pivotal roles in Canadian history. He was appointed to chief of his band at the age of 40 upon the death of his father, Black Powder, u ...
was not planning any militarization or violence toward the Canadian settlers or government. Rather, he had tried to unify the Cree into a political confederacy powerful enough to oppose the marginalization of native people in Canadian society and renegotiate unjust land treaties imposed on
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
natives in the 1860s.
This nominally peaceful disposition was shattered in late March by news of the Métis victory over government forces at
Duck Lake. Support for Riel was strong among First Nations people. On April 2, Big Bear's warriors attacked the small settlement of
Frog Lake, killing nine officials and civilians. Big Bear, against his wishes, was drawn into the rebellion.
Other attacks then took place, with Cree fighters pillaging the towns of
Lac La Biche,
Saddle Lake, Beaverhill Lake, Bear Hills, Lac St. Anne and
Green Lake. These events prompted the mobilization of the Alberta field force under
Thomas Bland Strange
Thomas Bland Strange (15 September 1831 – 9 July 1925), known as 'Gunner Jingo', was a British officer noted for his service with the Canadian Militia during the North-West Rebellion of 1885. As a Royal Artillery officer posted to Canada, Stra ...
and two other columns of government milita units. Cree fighters defeated units of the Alberta Field Force at the
Battle of Frenchman's Butte
The Battle of Frenchman's Butte, fought on May 28, 1885, occurred when the Alberta Field Force attacked a force of Cree, dug in on a hillside near Frenchman's Butte. The battlefield is located in what was then the District of Saskatchewan of the ...
.
Battle
On April 15, 1885 Cree fighters descended on Fort Pitt. They intercepted a small police scouting party, killing a constable, wounding another, and captured a third. Surrounded and outnumbered, garrison commander
Francis Dickens (son of famed novelist
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...
) capitulated and agreed to negotiate with the attackers. Big Bear released the police officers under Dickens's control but kept the townspeople as hostages and destroyed the fort.
Inspector Dickens and his men eventually reached safety at
Battleford
Battleford ( 2021 population 4,400) is a town located across the North Saskatchewan River from the city of North Battleford, in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Battleford and North Battleford are collectively referred to as "The Battlefords". Although ...
, having walked six days.
Dickens's decision not to fight to defend the townspeople was later criticized.
Legacy
In the spring of 2008, Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Christine Tell proclaimed in Duck lake, that "the 125th commemoration, in 2010, of the 1885 Northwest Resistance is an excellent opportunity to tell the story of the prairie Métis and First Nations peoples' struggle with Government forces and how it has shaped Canada today."
Fort Pitt, the scene of the Battle of Fort Pitt, is a Provincial Park and National Historic site where a National Historic Sites and Monuments plaque designates where Treaty six was signed.
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See also
*
List of battles won by Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The following is a list of battles won by Indigenous peoples of the Americas:
North America
* Battle of Birch Coulee
* Battle of Bloody Run
* Battle of the Caloosahatchee
* Battle of Cieneguilla
* Battle of Devil's Hole
* Battle of Duck Lake
...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Pitt
Conflicts in Canada
Battles of the North-West Rebellion
Battles involving Canada
Frenchman Butte No. 501, Saskatchewan
April 1885