Treaty Six was an agreement between the Canadian government and the Plains and Woods Cree and other tribe leaders in 1876. Terms included a medicine chest, protection from famine and pestilence, more agricultural implements, and on-reserve education. But it also meant losing the free nomadic lifestyle that these nations were accustomed to. Mistahi-maskwa, commonly known as Big Bear, was a powerful and greatly respected Cree chief who was one of the few leaders who objected to the treaty. Big Bear saw how it forced dependence on the government. In the years which followed, some tribes were suffered from insufficient nutrition. For some, Big Bear’s mistrust was proven right. He played a role in the North-West Rebellion of 1885, in which Sam Steele was ordered to hunt down Big Bear’s force. |
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