Resistance: 1869 & 1885

A colour photograph of a wooden sign made by National Parks Branch, Government of Canada that marks the Batoche rectory as a last holdout of the Metis during their resistance in 1885.

Image of Batoche's house, with a group of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people are standing or are seated on the porch; summer scene. Written on front of image: "Batoche's house / x window through which Cpt. French shot." An x in ink shows the window. On back of image: “Batoche my home for three years / for my neice (sic) Stella Dorien / Duck Lake April 6th 1909 / A Picnic from Rosthern N.W.T. Sask.”

Sketch of a battery of men travelling to the front lines; men on horses, horses pulling a cannon [Gatling gun?].

Image of the battlefield at Duck Lake, Saskatchewan during the Northwest Resistance.

A large coloured illustration depicting the Battle of Batoche reproduced from the Canadian Illustrated War News. Published in the series The Opening of the West by Encyclopedia Britannica.

Examines the Métis strategy during the Battle of Batoche, and the significance of the Northcote incident and the Gatling gun on the outcome of the battle.

Book review of: The Battle of Batoche: British Small Warfare and the Entrenched Métis by Walter Hildebrandt.

Revised edition.

Brief description and chronology of the 1885 Resistance. Article found by scrolling to page 13.

Comments on the program presented at the commemoration of the Battle of Batoche held at the Batoche National Historic Site. Article found by scrolling to page 16.

Negative of an artists representation of the Battle of Cut Knife Creek.

A brief article that contains some notes on the 1869-70 Red River Resistance and the 1885 North-West Resistance, two paintings of different battles, and a photograph of Yellowmud describing the battle to historians. Entire Issue on one .pdf, scroll to page 6.

Close-up photograph of the plaque commemorating Battle of Duck Lake (20 March 1885) taken ca. 1981.

Negative of an artists representation of the Battle of Fish Creek.

Image of Indian rifle pit line in trees at crest of hill, ambush ravine at right.

Note: The description of this document uses wording that was common to mainstream society of that time period in history. As such, it contains language that is no longer in common use and may offend some readers. This wording should not be construed to represent the views of the Indigenous Studies Portal or the University of Saskatchewan Library. A short article on the ongoing Northwest Resistance, including four sketches: 1. The fort at Battleford; 2. The South Saskatchewan; 3. Steamers loading at Medicine Hat; 4. The Revolt of the Half-Breeds.

File contains a copy of Battleford Beleaguered: 1885. The Story of the Riel Uprising from the columns of the Saskatchewan Herald, edited and published by William L. Clink, 1984. This publication was republished as a project of the North West Centennial Advisory Committee, with a new introduction by F. Laurie Barron in 1985. Several copies of the new introduction and Barron's notes on its development and editing are all part of this file.

Transcribed from columns published between 1878 and 1893.

Excerpts from the journal kept in the Sergeant Major’s office at the Battleford NWMP detachment in 1885. Entries selected from May 10 to May 24 and edited for publication. Entire issue on one .pdf, scroll to page 108.

Describes the hanging of eight First Nation men on November 27th, 1885; residential school children were taken to view the execution.

Photograph. Caption: "Battleford Indians [including three former warriors] at a special ceremony commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the battle." Participants in group photo; outdoor scene. From the book Loyal till Death: Indians and the North-West Rebellion by Blair Stonechild and Bill Waiser.

Battleford on the flats south of Battle River prior to its removal in 1886 to high ground across the Battle River. The two small buildings to the left on the low ground belonged to the telegraph office, the long peaked-roof structure to the right was Alexander Macdonald's store, and the square cottage-shaped building was the Saskatchewan Herald Office. P.G. Laurie's home can be seen to the right of the trail winding up the hill, and the government buildings along the horizon.

Pamphlet outlining the history of Fort Battleford, Saskatchewan. Five original buildings remain as the nucleus of this national historic site.

Historical note:

Fort Battleford, built in 1876 and in use until 1924, was the sixth Northwest Mounted Police fort to be established in the Northwest Territories of Canada, and played a central role in the events of the Northwest Resistance of 1885.

Articles in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix relating to the 50th anniversary of the Northwest Resistance, with articles on Charles Parker, NWMP member,; Ben Prince, Chief Fine Day, and sketches of the Battleford Stockade.

This folder contains articles written about the Battleford area by Mrs. Wetton and Mrs. Storer. Clippings from other sources are also included. There is a good section of articles that reveal popular non-Aboriginal views of the 1885 resistance.

Historical note:

Image of six Aboriginal men sitting on the ground, with a possibly non-Aboriginal man standing at far left; summer scene.

Historical overview of Willow Cree Chief Kamiscowesit's (or Beardy's) role in the North West Resistance and the negotiations of Treaty 6. Alternate spellings include: Kamayistowesit, Kamdyistowesit.

This file contains excerpts from Reginald Beatty's diary, correspondence about his encounters with Cree people, and letters home to his parents detailing his experience in the 1885 Riel Rebellion. Mr. Beatty was a farmer and fur trader in what is now known as the Melfort area of Saskatchewan.

Most references published in English.

Bibliography from Louis Riel c. Canada: les années rebelles.

In addition to biographical information on the Cree leader (also known as Misto-Ha-A-Musqua) , article provides historical information on the fur and whiskey trade in the Cypress Hills and Southwestern Alberta. Discusses Cypress Hills Massacre, the arrival of the North West Mounted Police, the flight of the Sioux into Canada and the North-West Resistance. Entire issue on one pdf file, scroll to page 1.

Image of Big Bear seated with four non-Aboriginal men standing behind him; outdoor scene. Caption: "When Big Bear surrendered at Carlton on 4 July 1885, he had been reduced to a shell of his former self, and his strategy for dealing with the Canadian government lay in total ruin." From the book Loyal till Death: Indians and the North-West Rebellion by Blair Stonechild and Bill Waiser.

Image of a gathering of Blackfoot members and associates at Earnscliffe, residence of John A. MacDonald, located in Ottawa, Ontario. On back of photograph: "Front row, left to right: North Axe; Peigan Chief; One Spot; Blood sub-chief. Middle row: Three Bulls, half brother of Crowfoot; Crowfoot; Blackfoot Chief, died 2nd April, 1890; Red Cloud; Blood Chief. Back row: Father Lacombe; John L'Heureux, interpreter. From the book Loyal till Death: Indians and the North-West Rebellion by Blair Stonechild and Bill Waiser.

Book review of: Louis 'David' Riel: 'Prophet of the New World.' by Thomas Flanagan.

Book review of: Loyal Till Death: Indians and the NorthWest Rebellion by Blair Stonechild and Bill Waiser.

Book reviews of 3 publications: American Indian Culture and Research Journal Vol. 10, No. 2: Special Issue: American Indian Governments in the Reagan Era 1885 Métis Rebellion or Government Conspiracy? by Don McLean. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes by Carl Waldman; with illustrations by Molly Braun.

A boy standing with a memorial commemorating the Battle of Cut Knife Hill near Cut Knife, SK.

Describes some effects of the events of 1885 on the Manitoba city.

A brief history of Lieutenant Wadmore's military career, including a copy of one of his paintings. Wadmore's original watercolours are in the custody of the Peter Winkworth Collection in Gatineau, Quebec. Images are available on the website of the Library and Archives Canada, http://www.collectionscanada.ca

Historical note:

Robinson Lyndhurst Wadmore, who was born in England in 1855, entered the Canadian forces as a lieutenant in 1883 and served with the Royal Canadian Regiment during the Northwest Resistance of 1885. Wadmore became a colonel in 1910. He died in Victoria, BC, in 1955.

Portrait of Brigadier General W.D. Otter (appears to be cut from pamphlet or magazine), leader of the Canadian forces in the Battle of Cut Knife during the 1885 Northwest Resistance.

Plaque on the "North West Rebellion" Monument at Memorial Park in Battleford, SK. For a picture of the entire monument see S-B275. The Plaque reads: "North West Rebellion Battleford, Sacked by the Rebel Cree Indians Under Poundmaker Here on 26th May 1885 After The Battle of Batoche and the Capture of Riel Poundmaker and his Band Surrendered to General Middleton" and was produced by the Historical Monuments Board of Canada, presumably sometime in the early twentieth century.

Image of the camp at Fish Creek during the Northwest Resistance. Tents, soldiers, horses and wagons visible in background.

Image of members of Camp ‘B’ Battery, Prince Albert; posts and pegs in foreground, men and tents in background.

Letters written by Canadian Militia Colour Sergeant William Thomas Wrighton in April and May of 1885 describe his experience at the Battle of Batoche during the Northwest Resistance. Includes archival photos of the soldiers and battlegrounds taken by Captain J. Peters. Entire issue on one pdf file, scroll to page 100.

A write up on the experiences of James Austin, a member of the Ontarian Midland Battalion involved in the suppression of the 1885 uprising. Austin relates the story of his trek west from Ontario, but missed all major actions. Austin later became a Presbyterian minister.

Campsite at Cussed Creek near where "battle took place Yorkton Home Guard and Indians."

Historical note:

Writers were unable to find any information on a "Battle of Cussed Creek" between First Nations and the Yorkton Home Guard in 1885. The Yorkton Home Guard was a locally organized militia company which was compensated for services in 1885 by the Federal Government.

Book review of, Canada and the Métis, 1869-1885 by D.N. Sprague.