Kapapamahchakwew biography books

In appearance he was tall and lithe with an arresting countenance distinguished by large piercing eyes, a long straight nose, and thick curly hair. His voice had a smooth, velvet quality and though usually soft could rise to ringing tones. A member of the band that followed Big Bear [ Mistahimaskwa ], he attained the prestigious position of war chief, an office separate from the social chieftainship held by Big Bear, as a result of his daring battle exploits.

He was reputed to have killed between 11 and 13 warriors of the Blackfeet, hereditary enemies of the Crees — more than any other member of the band. His unique war bonnet was made of a whole lynx skin looped double with the head fixed to the tail, open at the top, and decorated with five eagle plumes. As war chief, Wandering Spirit was also head of the warrior society, especially important during the summer hunts and festivities.

Among its functions were policing the tribal camps, keeping guard against enemies, and carrying out special duties in connection with the buffalo hunt. For warriors such as Wandering Spirit the collapse of the Plains Cree way of life in the s, resulting from the disappearance of the buffalo and the signing of the treaties, engendered particular bitterness and despair.

The band of dissidents who gathered around Big Bear tried to resist the new order but eventually starvation forced them to adhere to Treaty no. The band had, in fact, been exposed to the ideas of Louis Riel , whom they had met in Montana in the early s when they had been following the remaining buffalo herds. Nine men died. Wandering Spirit played a prominent role in subsequent events.

His hatred of the Canadian government and its agents, the police, was manifest in his speeches prior to the fall of Fort Pitt Sask. As the Indians withdrew to the north after this inconclusive engagement, a dramatic change seems to have come over Wandering Spirit. The war chief sought refuge with the Wood Crees, who had seized an opportunity to desert Big Bear shortly after the battle.

According to one account Wandering Spirit had experienced such traumas that within a few months his hair had turned almost white. In any case, burdened with remorse at the havoc he had wreaked, he attempted to atone for his actions by trying to commit suicide as the Wood Crees came in to surrender at Fort Pitt. Perhaps, I thought, if I sacrificed myself the government would not be so hard on the rest.

Radison said in the process, his personal view of Ka-pepamahchakwew changed. However research didn't support that view. Radison said he chose to look at the possibility if Ka-pepamahchakwew was a responsible leader within his culture leading up to Frog Lake, then what happened at Frog Lake was not out of character. I had to put value on what he put value on," he said.

Radison said the treaties had been signed a decade earlier, and that meant no need for war chiefs like Ka-pepamahchakwew. Radison said while the Cree were living on Reserves their culture and beliefs were still those of the Cree before the white man arrived, so when they were threatened they did what they had always done, turned to a war chief for leadership.

To understand the cultural significance of the warrior society of the Cree was paramount to understanding Ka-pepamahchakwew and Frog Lake, said Radison. For example one thing which enraged white people at the time was that the nine men killed at Frog Lake were all unarmed, said Radison. But, researching back to the Blackfoot Wars of the s, Radison said he learned it didn't matter if an enemy was armed.

The viciousness of the Frog Lake attack was created by the white man's vision of it, said Radison. Radison was asked what the reaction of Cree readers have been?

Kapapamahchakwew biography books

Radison said it is a story which might have to have been told through white eyes. And, now that the book is done, Radison said he believes Ka-pepamahchakwew needs a better fate from history than he has gotten. He is likely more Cree hero than murdering villain, he added. Radison said he wasn't a political leader of his people. He was named war chief to deal with a given threat and situation.

Most of what is known begins shortly before the Frog Lake Massacre and ends with the Canadian justice system 's convicting him of murder and hanging him. However, there is some information regarding his role within the Plains Cree people. Wandering Spirit was a young war chief among the Plains Cree and frequently came into conflict with the band's titular leader, Chief Big Bear.

Wandering Spirit's failed run for leadership left his popularity waning among his supporters, as Big Bear's experience was valued over Wandering Spirit's enthusiasm to punish their oppressors. During his lifetime he participated in many attacks on the Blackfoot warriors and was successful in killing many of them. The Frog Lake Massacre occurred within a wider context of starvation, ecological change, and political and cultural conflict.

During the s, the Plains Cree were suffering from the decline of the buffalo population , which they had traditionally depended on for sustenance. Buffalo were becoming scarce throughout Canada due to overhunting. Another reason for the decline in the buffalo was the introduction of firearms, which combined with the European settlers' demand for buffalo fur robes and pemmican allowed for unsustainable hunting practices.

The Plains Cree often trespassed on Blackfoot lands in search of buffalo and blamed any deaths this incurred on the Hudson's Bay Company HBC , whose trading conquests they felt had forced their hand. In the absence of buffalo Indigenous groups came to rely on government rations, which were administered by local Indian agents. This was a source of contention.

There were instances of insufficient or spoiled rations. Indigenous groups felt that the treaties they had negotiated with the government were not being respected; meanwhile, as the Conservative and Liberal parties grappled for power, they pressured one another to cut expenditures on welfare programs like those out west. Starvation and politics strained the already tense relationships between natives and European traders.

After extensive fighting with the Blackfoot, the Plains Cree were ordered by the Canadian government to relocate to Frog Lake , where they shared the territory with their cousins the Woods Cree. Frog Lake was not a reserve, and Big Bear's band subsisted there with minimal provisions or government assistance. Indian agents attempted to shepherd them onto a reserve through the denial of rations.

After a disagreement, Wandering Spirit had once threatened Quinn by telling him that he "used to enjoy killing a person" and missed the feeling. Quinn refused and remained at Frog Lake. This discontent was instrumental in the massacre. Contrary to Big Bear's attempts at diplomacy, Wandering Spirit favoured a more aggressive resistance strategy that resonated with the warlike members of the band and won him popular support.

Even though Big Bear was against the attacks, he later served time in jail for not preventing it. It was the war chief, Wandering Spirit, that held the ruling power in the tribe at the time of the attack and he used his position to lead the men into the Frog Lake settlement while Big Bear was away. After allowing the townspeople to attend mass at the church, the Cree men would not let them leave and took them as their hostages inside.

When the Cree attempted to move their hostages from the town to the war camp they had set up, Quinn refused to cooperate with them anymore, leading Wandering Spirit to shoot him in the head with his rifle. This resulted in panic among the hostages. Spurred by Wandering Spirit's actions, his warriors massacred eight more unarmed people.

The Cree took their hostages to the war camp that they had set up outside of the settlement before the battle began. The hostages were warned that they would be safe so long as they remained inside the camp, but that everyone found outside would be considered an enemy. Big Bear had been eating breakfast with the wife of the manager of the HBC when he heard the news, [ 13 ] but immediately returned to his band to put an end to the violence.

He moved the tribe further north in hopes of isolating the group from further violence. The fort contained provisions and ammunition, which appealed to the starving Cree.