Summary
Agitated by the treatment of Indian Agents and facing starvation within the community. Wandering Spirit and other young warriors took various white hostages and raided their supplies. When Indian Agent Thomas Quinn refused to obey his captors and follow the others to an Aboriginal camp near Frog Lake, Wandering spirit shot and killed Quinn. This set off a murderous rampage. Many of the Aboriginal participants were intoxicated, resulting in the burning and mutilation of many bodies. Nine were killed in total.
Implications
The efforts of Big Bear to illustrate the cooperative and peaceful intentions of his community were thwarted, incidentally he was blamed for the massacre by the press. All Indigenous participants in the resistance were also implicated in the Frog Lake Massacre. At the end of the war various individuals were sentenced to death due to the incident at Frog Lake. "Massacre" exacerbated the already tense relations between Plains and Wood Cree in the area.
Sources
OA, Dunning Diary, 29 April 1885.
Sub Event
Frog Lake Massacre
Resources
Date
1885-04-02
Theme(s)