Episode 382: On April 2, 1885, the tranquil settlement of Frog Lake in what is now Alberta became the scene of a devastating tragedy. Known as the Frog Lake Massacre, this violent episode unfolded during the North-West Rebellion. Nine settlers, among them government officials, two Roman Catholic priests, traders, and a clerk, lost their lives at the hands of a group of Cree warriors led by Wandering Spirit. The attack stemmed from mounting desperation within the Plains Cree community, who faced starvation triggered by the near extinction of buffalo and the inflexible, often cruel administration of Indian Agent Thomas Quinn. While Cree Chief Big Bear advocated for peace and negotiation, tensions within his band and widespread hardship created a perfect storm. The violence not only shocked the young Dominion of Canada but also shaped the outcome of the North-West Resistance and left a legacy of sorrow and contested memory that resonates to this day.

Sources:

Parks Canada - Frog Lake National Historic Site of Canada
Canada A Country by Consent: Native Treaties 1871-1897: Big Bear
Chief Big Bear Mistahamaskwa
MISTAHIMASKWA (Big Bear, Gros Ours) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Browse by Subject: Mistahimaskwa (Big Bear) Plains Cree Chief
Big Bear — North-West Mounted Police
The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan | Details
Big Bear | Wikipedia
Frog Lake Massacre 1885 | Elk Point Historical Society
A World We Have Lost: Saskatchewan Before 1905
Two Months in the Camp of Big Bear., by Theresa Gowanlock and Theresa Delaney
Blood Red the Sun [The War Trail of Big Bear]
KAPAPAMAHCHAKWEW (Papamahchakwayo) (Wandering Spirit, Esprit Errant) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Battleford Hangings, 1885 Riel Rebellion
Kā-pēpāmahchakwēw = Wandering Spirit : Plains Cree war chief by Garry Radison.
Narratives and Drama in 1885 | Our Legacy
North-West Resistance - Indigenous Saskatchewan Encyclopedia
Northwest Rebellion - Frog Lake - Military History
Canada's Subjugation of the Plains Cree, 1879-1885 by John L. Tobias
John McDougall publications
A Redman's Viewpoint | Heinsburg History
Edgar Dewdney National Historic Person (1835–1916)
Lac La Biche - History - Aboriginal Descendants - Big Bear
Lost Harvests: Prairie Indian Reserve Farmers and Government Policy, 2nd Ed.
PDF — Rethinking Treaty 6
Big Bear | Creator - Land - People
A Tale of Two Massacres | Literary Review of Canada
Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Hosts Wandering Spirit Commemoration
The Life Of Big Bear | Canadian History Ehx
An infamous anniversary: 130 years since Canada’s Largest Mass Hanging 27 November 1885
Battleford Hangings | SASKATCHEWAN INDIAN | JULY 1972

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