Statecraft & Independence
Landmark
Poundmaker
c. 1842 – 1886
Cree chief convicted of treason, exonerated 133 years later
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Canada Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
He negotiated for his people at Treaty 6 and was convicted of treason anyway. Canada exonerated him in 2019 — an admission, a century and a third late, that he had done nothing wrong.
Pîhtokahanapiwiyin, known as Poundmaker, was a Cree leader who worked to protect his people's rights during the negotiation of Treaty 6.
Convicted of treason-felony after the 1885 North-West Resistance, he was formally exonerated by the federal government in 2019. He died of a lung haemorrhage while visiting his adoptive father Crowfoot on the Siksika reserve.
Convicted of treason-felony after the 1885 North-West Resistance, he was formally exonerated by the federal government in 2019. He died of a lung haemorrhage while visiting his adoptive father Crowfoot on the Siksika reserve.
- CedarVia — Chief Poundmaker: Treaty 6, resistance and reconciliation
- The Canadian Encyclopedia — 30 Indigenous leaders
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