Creation of Moose Mountain Reserve

A temporary reserve was created at Wood Mountain for the Lakota who had fled to Canada from the United States following the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. As agricultural settlement began to encroach on unsettled lands, the band saw their freedom to wander and hunt greatly restricted. The obvious solution was a reserve. However, the Lakota did not originate from within the geographical confines of the Canadian settler state (and therefore could not claim land). The government, citing good will and humanitarian concerns, set up a temporary reserve for the band at Wood Mountain. While the reserve (IR 160) was not officially confirmed until 1930, after 1912 it was the permanent home of the only Hunkpapa (Lakota) band in Canada.