The Red Pheasant Cree Nation ( cr, ᒥᑭᓯᐘᒌᕽ, mikisiwacîhk) is a Plains Cree
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
band government
In Canada, an Indian band or band (french: bande indienne, link=no), sometimes referred to as a First Nation band (french: bande de la Première Nation, link=no) or simply a First Nation, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subjec ...
in the Canadian province of
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
. The band's sole
reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
North Battleford
North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the Town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The Batt ...
.
History
Chief Wuttunee's people were living along the
Battle River
Battle River is a river in central Alberta and western Saskatchewan. It is a major tributary of the North Saskatchewan River.
The Battle River flows for and has a total drainage area of . The mean discharge is 10 m³/s at its mouth.
His ...
when the
Numbered Treaties
The Numbered Treaties (or Post-Confederation Treaties) are a series of eleven treaties signed between the First Nations, one of three groups of Indigenous peoples in Canada, and the reigning monarch of Canada (Victoria, Edward VII or George V) ...
were being negotiated. Wuttunee did not want to sign
Treaty 6
Treaty 6 is the sixth of the numbered treaties that were signed by the Canadian Crown and various First Nations between 1871 and 1877. It is one of a total of 11 numbered treaties signed between the Canadian Crown and First Nations. Specifica ...
but appointed his brother Red Pheasant to sign in his place, and the
Department of Indian Affairs
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
henceforth referred to them as the Red Pheasant Band.
In 1878, they settled on a reserve in the Eagle Hills. A day school and an Anglican church were opened there within a decade.
In 2019, Chief Wuttunee secured the return of the original treaty medal which had been stolen in 1890 off the body of a deceased Chief.
Demographics
The band has 2,536 registered members, 821 of whom live on the reserve or other band lands and 1,715 live off reserve.
Notable people
*
Alex Decoteau
Alexander Wuttunee Decoteau (November 19, 1887 – October 30, 1917), was a Cree Canadian track and field athlete, police officer and soldier. A member of the Red Pheasant First Nation, he joined the Edmonton Police in 1911 becoming the first ...
, Olympian; first Aboriginal police officer in Canada
*
Don Francks
Don Harvey Francks (February 28, 1932 – April 3, 2016), also known by his stage name Iron Buffalo, was a Canadian actor, musician and singer.
Career
Don Harvey Francks was born on February 28, 1932, and was adopted shortly after his birth. H ...
(Iron Buffalo), actor, vocalist and jazz musician
*
Gerald McMaster
Gerald Raymond McMaster (born 9 March 1953, in North Battleford) is a curator, artist, and author and a Plains Cree member of the Siksika Nation.Abbot, LarryGerald McMaster: Plains Cree.''A Time of Visions.'' (retrieved 20 Nov 2009) McMaster is a ...
, artist, author, and curator
*
Robert-Falcon Ouellette
Robert-Falcon Ouellette (born November 22, 1979) is a Canadian politician who represented the electoral district (Canada), riding of Winnipeg Centre in the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2019. He has also been a two-time candidate for ...
, federal politician and first Chair of the All Party Indigenous Parliamentarian Caucus in Ottawa.
*
Poundmaker
Pîhtokahanapiwiyin ( – 4 July 1886), also known as Poundmaker, was a Plains Cree chief known as a peacemaker and defender of his people, the Poundmaker Cree Nation. His name denotes his special craft at leading buffalo into buffalo poun ...
(Pîhtokahanapiwiyin), Plains Cree chief known for his role in the
North-West Rebellion
The North-West Rebellion (french: Rébellion du Nord-Ouest), also known as the North-West Resistance, was a resistance by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of S ...
*
Cree Summer
Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is a American-Canadian actress and singer. She has worked extensively in animation, voicing long-running characters such as Susie Carmichael in ''Rugrats'' and Elmyra Duff in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and r ...
, American actress raised on the Red Pheasant reserve
*
Michelle Good
Michelle Good is a Cree writer, poet, and lawyer from Canada, most noted for her debut novel '' Five Little Indians''.Angelica Haggert"'The story I was intended to write': Michelle Good on forthcoming novel 'Five Little Indians'" '' Canadian Geog ...
Allen Sapp
Allen Sapp (January 2, 1928 – December 29, 2015) was a Canadian Cree painter, who resided in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. His art and his story have become known throughout Canada. His paintings tell a personal story, and many feature image ...
, Plains Cree Artist, OC, SOM, Grand Nephew of Chief Poundmaker, Grandson of Flying Eagle
*
Colten Boushie
Colten Boushie (October 31, 1993 – August 9, 2016) was a 22-year-old Indigenous man of the Cree Red Pheasant First Nation who was fatally shot on a rural Saskatchewan farm by its owner, Gerald Stanley. Stanley stood trial for second-degree ...
, Youth killed by local farmer, Gerald Stanley. Not guilty verdict sparked outrage and changes to justice system.