Battle of Cut Knife
Cut Knife, Battle of
On 2 May 1885, during the NORTH-WEST REBELLION, Cree and Assiniboine natives defeated 300 soldiers commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel William OTTER in the Battle of Cut Knife. Using a limited number of men, war chief Fine Day virtually surrounded and pinned down Otter's force on an exposed plain. After 6 hours of fighting, Otter retreated as Cree Chief POUNDMAKER held the warriors back. Eight of Otter's force died; 5 or 6 natives were killed.
The battlefield is on the Poundmaker Reserve, about 40 km west of Battleford, Saskatchewan, just north of Cut Knife Hill, a feature named for a Sarcee warrior who died near there. A cairn sits near the middle of the battlefield, near Chief Poundmaker's grave. His body was moved to the site in 1967 from Blackfoot Crossing, Alberta, where he died in 1886.
Poundmaker
Despite his restraint during the North-West Rebellion, Poundmaker was convicted of treason (courtesy Glenbow Archives).
Author BOB BEAL
Links to Other Sites
Historica-Dominion Institute
The website for the Historica-Dominion Institute, parent organization of The Canadian Encyclopedia and the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Check out their extensive online feature about the War of 1812, the "Heritage Minutes" video collection, and many other interactive resources concerning Canadian history, culture, and heritage.
Fort Battleford National Historic Site
This Parks Canada site commemorates the 1876 North West Mounted Police headquarters in Battleford, Saskatchewan. Includes detailed notes about Big Bear, Poundmaker, the Cree, Sir Frederick Dobson Middleton, North-West Rebellion, the Battle of Cut Knife, and related topics.
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