Members of the First Nation describe Poundmaker as an important political leader who spoke out against Treaty 6 and stood up for his people at the time of the 1885 Northwest Rebellion.
Pauline Favel looked on as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau exonerated her ancestor Chief Poundmaker, more than 130 years after the peace chief died.
Trudeau offered an apology Thursday afternoon, acknowledging Cree peace chief Pihtokahanapiwiyin was not treated justly or shown respect as a leader of his people. Chief Poundmaker died in 1886, months after his release from Stony Mountain Institution.
Trudeau spoke atop battle site hill to the crowd — many of them residents, but also people who had travelled from other provinces, veterans and descendants of Chief Poundmaker.
“The Government of Canada recognizes that Chief 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 that the unjust conviction and imprisonment of Chief Poundmaker had, and continues to have, a profound impact on the Poundmaker Cree Nation.”
Favel, speaking with a reporter before the ceremony, welcomed the apology.
“Any apology, some people, it takes a while sometimes,” she said. “It’s happening today, and we go forward. We honour today, it’s special.”
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