Cree and Assiniboine victory at Cut Knife during the North-West Rebellion

Background. In the spring of 1885, Louis Riel, supported by many Métis living in the District of Saskatchewan, declared a provisional government, taking control of the area around Batoche. The rebellion began in March 1885 after Riel returned from political exile in the United States. On the night of March 30, 1885, townspeople abandoned Battleford and gathered for safety at the North-West Mounted Police Fort Battleford. The District of Saskatchewan, part of the North-West Territories in 1885, had a population of 10,595 — a figure describing the district as a whole, not the battle itself.

The Engagement. Elements of the North-West Mounted Police, Canadian militia, and Canadian regulars attacked a Cree and Assiniboine teepee settlement near Battleford. This occurred in the North-West Territories' District of Saskatchewan. Some Cree took violent action in the spring of 1885, though researchers suggest their actions were almost certainly unrelated to the Métis rebellion.

Historical Context. The conflict is referred to by several names, including the North-West Rebellion, the North-West Resistance, the 1885 Resistance, the Northwest Uprising, the Saskatchewan Rebellion, and the Second Riel Rebellion. In 1884, the Métis in the Southbranch settlements sent a delegation to ask Louis Riel to return from the United States, where he had fled after the Red River Rebellion, to appeal to the government on their behalf. In 2008, a minister proclaimed that the 125th commemoration of the 1885 Northwest Resistance offered an opportunity to tell the story of the prairie Métis and First Nations peoples' struggle with government forces.