Pihtikwahanapiwiyin (Poundmaker) was brought to Regina for the trial in July 1885. He declared himself innocent, claiming he had done everything to stop the violence. However, the court sentenced him to three years in prison.
Mistahimaskwa and fourteen of his companions were prosecuted in Regina for treason-felony. He did not participate in the conflict and tried to stop hostilities. However, according to the judge, Mistahimaskwa should have left his band at the beginning of the violence. The judge Hugh Richardson sentenced him to three years.
Tyman chronicles his life beginning with his removal from abusive family at age of four in Isle la Crosse and his relocation and subsequent adoption by a white family in Fort Qu'Appelle. He spent his life in and out of the correctional system. Tyman died on the streets in 2001.
The freezing deaths of Indigenous men in Saskatchewan resulted from an unethical and illegal practice by the Saskatoon Police Service in which Indigenous men were picked up at night and dropped off outside of the city limits. This was often done in winter, and the men were left with inadequate clothing for the sub-zero temperatures. This practice came to light after one man, Darryl Night, survived being dropped off and filed a complaint. It was only after Darryl Night came forward that the deaths of Neil Stonechild, Rodney Naistus, and Lawrence Wegner were deemed suspicious.
The North-West Mounted Police was established in 1873 by the government of John A. MacDonald. The Cypress Hills massacre as well as the increasing number of conflicts on the U.S border due to alcohol smuggling are often cited as the main reasons the MacDonald government passed the bill creating the new military-style police force. However, most historians agree that the primary reason for establishing the force was to control First Nations and Métis populations, as the government sought to populate the West with settlers.
Not all Indigenous children were required to attend the Indian Residential School in Lebret - in "Relevant Resources" (listed below), James Tyman serves as an example of a visibly Indigenous Metis boy who was subjected to continual racism from his peers at the public elementary school in Lebret.
In 1952, the ritual consumption of peyote related to the activities of the Native American Church was reported among members of the Cree band led by Louis Sunchild. Sunchild, an Alberta First Nation leader, was stopped at the Montana-Alberta border carrying peyote. RCMP took him into custody, and although he was released, the peyote was retained and the report and images of his peyote stash were circulated to Indian Agents across Western Canada.
Tapassing, a member of the Fishing Lake band, was arrested in January of 1904 for dancing. However, once the NWMP discovered that he was over ninety years old and nearly blind, he was released.
The fur trade during the 18th century was characterized by competition and conflicts for resources and trade routes. With an increasing number of traders from both the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the Montreal-based Northwest Company, as well as Indigenous groups partaking in the fur trade, the market quickly became saturated. The number of posts outweighed the local production of fur. In these circumstances, alcohol was used as an inducement to participate, as an item of exchange, and as an incentive towards competitive access.
