THE BATTLEFORDS — In 1878, a 45-year-old Scotland-born man arrived in the capital of the North West Territories under the heat of the August sun beside his oxen-led cart. Two weeks later, Patrick Gammie Laurie launched the Saskatchewan Herald, the first newspaper in Battleford, the territory and what would soon be the site of a bloody rebellion.
And although the idea of the media as an unbiased source of information on which stands the basis of our democracy, that hasn't always been the case. In the 1800s, papers across Canada were often cut strictly along ideological lines, frequently owned by powerful men or editors with specific viewpoints they wanted to broadcast to the general Canadian public.
Walter Hildebrandt, writing in the University of Toronto’s 2003 Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol.13, noted that Laurie was one such editor of the time, writing his personal opinion into Saskatchewan's first paper several decades before the province of Saskatchewan would be founded in 1905.
“Laurie’s ideas as expressed in his journalism over the years bear a striking resemblance to those of the Canada First Movement ... A nationalist motivated by the zeal to see a strong and independent society north of the 49th parallel," Hildebrandt wrote.
"He wanted these aboriginal peoples to co-operate, not to challenge his vision of an Anglo-Canadian west ... It often appeared that Laurie felt threatened by the presence of such a large, distinctive group of people; he viewed them as an obstacle to white settlement and wanted them removed by whatever means possible."
The 1885 Rebellion, Resistance or Event?
James Clinkskill and his family, farmers living in old Battleford south of the Battle River, leave their home and their belongings behind to ford the late March river at its most dangerous, a strong current on either side of an island of ice threatening their lives. They are followed by Battlefords Indian Agent, owners of a Hudson Bay outfit, the principal of Battleford Residential School, and others as they hear news of Poundmaker and his band moving towards the town.
Laurie wrote in an April 27 edition of his paper about the day-by-day events during the rebellion from his position nestled in Fort Battleford. His article is titled,
“Battleford Beleaguered … the petted redskins steeped in crime, marking their course by fire and pillage, the avengers on their track.”
He says in a long-form rant that the government was expecting to either have to feed or support the Indigenous people following the death of the buffalo and that despite all the costs, the rebellion was proof that they should do the latter, saying, "... the Indians have proved themselves to be fully as savage and unreasonable as they were before the attempt to civilize them was made.”
Describing the scene upon the arrival of the Canadian Militia, he wrote, "One short month ago, the fairest field in Canada was the Saskatchewan country; today it is the most desolate … blood stains the soil, and the air is thick with the smoke of desolation.
"In the town itself, or that part of it lying south of the Battle River, there is only enough left to remind the sufferers of their once comfortable homes and to recall the fact that many things of peculiar value are irretrievably lost and can never be replaced.
"Their crime was that they were white; the penalty imposed was death.
"Marauding Crees ...Thieves ... The poultry that could not be carried off by the over-burdened squaws had their throats unceremoniously cut and fill every backyard ... Poundmaker and his dusky allies ... the gates of the fort closed upon the terrified fugitives ... flour extends in one white sheet as far as the eye can reach."
These are scenes written by a Battleford correspondent of the Montreal Star arriving in Battleford with members of the Canadian Militia a month after the Siege of Battleford.
“Every few acres, the scanty wardrobe of some Indians or squaw is discovered, showing that in the flush of victory, they had dropped the habiliments to don the suits and silken attire of their white brethren,” he added, going so far as to note, “At the Industrial Indian School where the children are educated free, traces of violence were apparent on every side."
The correspondent, whose name is not identified at this time, describes losses upwards of $300,000, equivalent in today’s money to roughly $10 million, with damage to seven dwellings, two stores, two buildings, two tents and the residential school.
This is the story that has been repeated in Battleford for over a century.
What is the truth about the "Sack of Battleford"
But Poundmaker's Museum, one of few historical museums situated on Indigenous land in Canada, paints a different picture. They note that instead of being stirred by the smell of rebellion in other parts of Saskatchewan, the starving band, denied their treaty rights under the Battleford Indian Agent Mr. Rae, walked peacefully to Fort Battleford in search of food and to restate his allegiance to the crown.
When he denied them entry, a few young warriors took some food from the abandoned buildings and left. General Otter later drove a column of the militia after Poundmaker, firing on women, children, and the rest of the camp in the early hours of the morning. After Poundmaker and his warriors drove them back, desiring peace, he still went to Battleford, where he was arrested and found guilty of treason.
Michelle Good, during her reading of her novel Five Little Indians at the North Battleford Public Library in March, spoke to the events of 1885.
"The real heart of colonialism gets lost," Good had said, going back to the very basics, which include her definition of colonialism, which is, "The policy or practice of acquiring full, or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically."
Good noted that the colonial Canadian government was attempting to overtake Indigenous people and unravel their society through practices that included the decimation of the buffalo, the introduction of tuberculosis and forcing Indigenous people to accept treaties that allowed the government to take control of the land of North America.
Even in Frog Lake, a key band that "rebelled" against the government, a different story is told when Indigenous stories are added to the mix of history.
"The Indian agents were not distributing rations that were promised in treaty, and they were instructed not to force the purpose of this submission to starvation," Good said, describing the events of the Frog Lake Massacre, which she calls the Frog Lake Incident.
"The Indian agent was basically torturing Big Bear's family," Good said, describing the agent refusing to distribute food and laughing at them. "These were people who were boiling twigs to survive."
A Re-examination of History or a Rewriting?
History is described as the study of past events, particularly in human affairs or the whole series of past events connected with someone or something. But how do we know that the recorders of that history weren't suffering a bias such as the Canadian Government's desire to "tame and settle" the land during an armed conflict, noted by Prime Minister John A. Macdonald's comments following the end of the rebellion which saw eight Indigenous men killed for treason.
“The executions of the Indians ought to convince the Red Man that the White Man governs."
Even further, oral history is often discounted in the narrative when it comes to recording history. But if history is just the study of people, something that ebbs and flows as we learn more about ourselves and each other, should Canadians discount the history of Indigenous people that was purposefully ignored or silenced as reporters of the past pushed their own politics or agendas?
It's essential to remember that the history presented at Fort Battleford over 100 years is only an eye-written account of what settlers say transpired, worked into a terror by those in power at the time. In other cases, we don't fear the spoken word. The stories of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust are recorded and saved for future generations, eyewitness testimony from the sinking of the Titanic was used for years as proof of the events until the physical evidence was found, and even the court system validates the memories of people who witness crimes.
And as Parks Canada pushes for reconciliation, trying to tell the story of Fort Battleford from both sides of history, Fort Battleford has been shuttered with gopher holes, and the lone wagging of Indigenous flags all that's available as visitors take self-guided tours of the empty grounds and locked buildings. One of Saskatchewan's oldest National Historic Sites, designated over 100 years ago in May, is silent.
"Through collaborative efforts, Indigenous communities and groups in the Battleford area will have direct involvement in the way their stories are presented at Fort Battleford National Historic Site alongside current stories connected to the North-West Mounted Police and the historic community of Battleford," Parks Canada said in a statement issued over email to the News-Optimist/SASKTODAY,
"As a leader in protecting cultural heritage and fostering public understanding in Canada, one of Parks Canada’s roles is to provide a space where Canadians can learn from a variety of perspectives on history and share their own stories. Following engagement with Indigenous communities, we look forward to providing a renewed visitor experience at Fort Battleford National Historic Site."
Parks Canada noted that though the site is open and visitors and recruiting and retaining staff has proved challenging, special events, such as Canada Day celebrations, are not planned for the 2023 season.
"In years past, Fort Battleford was the venue for Canada Day celebrations hosted by the volunteers and staff of the Friends of Fort Battleford (later known as the Battle River Settlement Foundation). This organization has not been in operation since 2016."
But this isn't the first time Fort Battleford has questioned the story it represented. In 2010, while the fort was still doing its "Siege of Fort Battleford" reenactments, one local historian with concerns raised them with Parks Canada, as reported by Christine Fiddler of the Indigenous media outlet Saskatchewan Sage.
"There was no siege," Tyrone Tootoosis, Poundmaker band member and historian, said in a Sage interview.
"They didn’t attack it, they didn’t attack the fort. And the leaders at the time went there to reassure them they weren’t going to join the rebellion and, second of all, to ask for rations. Because they had just come through a really tough winter, the buffalo were gone," Tootoosis added.
Mark Calette, then manager of Historic Sites for Parks Canada, told Sage that Fort Battleford had been delivering the program since 2007, and they had just recently started hearing complaints from local First Nations about the re-enactment.
Now, after recent shifts outlined in Fort Battleford's most recent management plan, Parks Canada said in their statement that they're focused on maintaining Fort Battleford while a new path forward together is defined.
They said, "... efforts are focused on maintaining historic buildings, site grounds, further developing relationships within the community, and working to define a renewed visitor experience strategy that provides opportunity to learn about the full scope of our shared history at this site.
"Parks Canada is committed to a system of national heritage places where Indigenous peoples are partners in conserving natural and cultural heritage and sharing the stories of these treasured places."
