Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lays tobacco on the grave of Chief Poundmaker after fully exonerating him of any wrongdoing during the NorthWest Rebellion of 1885. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Tyler Marr

FULL EXONERATION

Chief Poundmaker fully exonerated by Prime Minster

May 23, 2019 | 1:18 PM

Growing up on reserve, Floyd Favel said his history was something to be ashamed of as his people were looked upon as rebels.

But now, with the exoneration of Chief Poundmaker in his own lifetime, he and other dedicated individuals have been able to set the record straight.

“I think that is a major feat,” the curator of the Chief Poundmaker museum said. “What seemed like an impossible task, which is to correct history, is now an actuality.”

Following the Battle of Cut Knife Hill with members of the North West Mounted Police on May 2, 1885, Poundmaker turned himself in and was charged with felony-treason.

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He was tried in Regina and sentenced to three years in a Manitoba penitentiary, despite advising his warriors during the fight to stop going after retreating officers who had attacked their camp.

Due to poor health, he was released from prison in 1886 and died a short time later.

Thursday, after years of collective efforts from individuals on the First Nation that bears the chief’s name, Prime Minster Justin Trudeau fully exonerated Poundmaker, a man who is regarded far differently by people of the region than the tale history tells.

“I am here today on behalf of the government of Canada To confirm without reservation that Chief Poundmaker is fully exonerated of any crime or wrong doing,” he said.

Trudeau said people of the Poundmaker Cree Nation have always known their chief deserved to be respected and celebrated and “now, all Canadians will have the opportunity to learn and understand the true legacy of Chief Poundmaker.”

Former chief of the Poundmaker Cree Nation Blaine Favel and Justin Trudeau shake hands as they exchange a hand drum with a portrait of Chief Poundmaker. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Trudeau said the chief was a diplomat and peacekeeper who stood up for his people in the face of persecution. During his lifetime, the prime minister said Poundmaker was not treated justly nor shown the respect he deserved as a leader.

The colonial perspective that dominated relations between Indigenous people’s and the Crown did not allow for open and collaborative dialogue, he said.

“We acknowledge that if we are to move forward on the path to reconciliation the government of Canada must acknowledge the wrongs of the past,” Trudeau told the eager crowd gathered at the battle site.

Chief Poundmaker, he said, never stopped fighting for peace and was a leader, who time and time again, sought to prevent further loss of life in the growing conflict on the Prairies.

“Poundmaker was not a criminal but someone who worked tirelessly to ensure the survival of his people and hold the crown accountable to its obligations as laid out in Treaty 6,” Trudeau said. “We recognize the unjust conviction and imprisonment of Chief Poundmaker had and continues to have a profound impact.”

Trudeau said Poundmaker often spoke of the need to continue moving forward. He told the story of the man who sat by the trail for too long, saying how the trail can grow over and the man can never find his way again.

“The Government of Canada has been sitting beside the trail for for too long and if we are to join the Poundmaker Cree Nation on the path to reconciliation, we need to acknowledge the past and build the foundation for healing and renewed understanding,” Trudeau said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and hundreds of others gathered at the battle site and beside Chief Poundmaker’s grave as he was exonerated. (Tyler Marr/battlefordsNOW Staff)

For Poundmaker Cree Nation Headman Milton Tootoosis, the day was about telling the truth.

“Poundmaker was not a traitor, he was a peacemaker, a diplomat. He was an honourable individual,” Tootoosis said.

Tootoosis was heavily involved in the plans that lead to what he called a landmark day, symbolic of the injustices served not only to Poundmaker but Chief Big Bear, One Arrow and other First Nation and Métis leaders who were imprisoned during and following the Northwest Rebellion.

He said the price those leaders paid as a result of defining their rights were astronomical and it is finally time to correct history and tell the Indigenous perspective.

Tootoosis said the wounds from this time are still prevalent today but believes exoneration is one of many steps along the road to reconciliation.

“I often wonder what would have happened and what the social and economic state of First Nations people would be had those Treaties been honoured,” he said. “Had the rations been provided and had the state … on behalf of the Crown, had they delivered on the promises they had made, I would think, many of us would think, the health and economic state would be much better throughout Canada.”

— with files from Angela Brown

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr