Battle of Sugar Point: Ojibwe defeat U.S. troops at Cass Lake

Background. In early 1898, Bugonaygeshig was among those Pillagers protesting the business practices of logging companies on the Leech Lake Reservation. The apprehension attempt that led to battle resulted from a dispute with Indian Service officials. Pillager chiefs and headmen petitioned for an honest commission to investigate existing troubles, describing a heavy burden on their people, and Commissioner Jones later criticized the frequent arrests of Indians on trivial causes, often for no cause at all.

Engagement. U.S. forces boarded steamships Flora and Chief of Duluth, sailing from Walker, Minnesota, to Sugar Point. The battle began either due to an accidental rifle discharge or soldiers firing at an Indian canoe carrying women. Pillagers, hiding in the woods, attacked the troops, allowing Bugonaygeshig and Sha-Boon-Day-Shkong to escape custody and return to their homes.

Legacy. The engagement is often referred to as the last Indian uprising in the United States. It was the first battle fought in the Old Northwest since the Black Hawk War in 1832. The event is the subject of Gerald Vizenor's long poem Bear Island: The War at Sugar Point, published in 2006.