Little Bear (Cree)

Chief Little Bear was an Ojibwa leader who lived in the Alberta, Idaho, Montana and Saskatchewan regions of Canada and the United States, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. He is known for his participation in the 1885 Northwest Rebellion, which was fought in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Early life

Very little is known about the early life of chief Little Bear. His father was chief Big Bear, and his grandfather was chief Black Powder. Chief Black Powder was an Ojibwa leader whose origins are not known. He was an influential Ojibwa leader whose position within Ojibwa society must have been important. His Nation or clan is not known. The Ojibwas had as many as 20 or more Nations or clans. Each member of every totem or clan, lived in every Ojibwa village. It was customary for Ojibwas from one totem, to refer to another Ojibwa's totem as "Nation".

Wisconsin

Chief Black Powder was an Ojibwa leader who may have been originally from the Wisconsin region. Chief Little Bear told Frank B. Linderman that he was born to a Chippewa mother in Wisconsin. That represents that his father, chief Big Bear, was native to Wisconsin and Big Bear's father, Black Powder, was as well. White historians have stuck to a story which claims Little Bear's family was native to Saskatchewan, in the area where the Ojibwa Saulteaux First Nation is located.

Exodus

An exodus of Wisconsin Ojibwas occurred in the 1840s and 1850s, to the west as told to do in the Seven Fires Prophecy. The Sandy Lake Tragedy is one event which could be evidence of an Ojibwa exodus to the west. The Ojibwas from Michigan and Wisconsin were supposed to have journeyed to the Sandy Lake region of Minnesota for annuity payments and rations. According to historians, the Ojibwas from Michigan and Wisconsin, were to be forcefully relocated west of the Mississippi River. President Taylor supposedly ordered the Ojibwas from Michigan and Wisconsin, to relocate to Minnesota around 1850.

Over 3,000 Ojibwa men, primarily from Wisconsin but also some from Michigan, gathered together their women and children and commenced the exodus to the west. They may have numbered in all, near 20,000. The whites did not want the Ojibwas migrating to the west because they knew it would mean trouble in the future. The United States possibly sent large numbers of their soldiers to the Sandy Lake, Minnesota region of Minnesota to halt the exodus. They were only partially capable of stopping it. Most of the Ojibwas may have continued the exodus to the Montana region and even to British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

Historical records tell of chief Little Bear's age. Around the 1915 time period they recorded that chief Little Bear was already in his 70s. He may have been born in the early or mid 1840s. He was probably living in the Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming region in the 1850s. Chief Little Bear told a crowd of people in Butte, Montana in either 1912 or 1913, that his father lived along the Snake River in Idaho but relocated to the Butte, Montana region to hunt for buffalo and other wildgame. What is strange about chief Little Bear's statement is what is said about buffalo.

Butte, Montana is surrounded by mountains and in general southwest Montana was not an ideal location for buffalo to congregate. Chief Little Bear may have been mentioning the Great Falls, Montana region, which he was very fond of. Lewis and Clark said that they saw the largest buffalo herds during their famous expedition in the Great Falls, Montana region.

Rise to power

Chief Little Bear's father was already a well respected Ojibwa leader in Idaho in the 1860s. Chief Big Bear may have seen action in the Snake River War. That is possibly why he relocated up to the Montana region. Chief Little Bear was of military age at the time (the mid 1860s) and he himself may have seen military action during the Snake River War which ended around 1868.

In the early 1860s, the whites launched an invasion into southwest Montana. They invaded the Montana region from the Idaho region. The invasion into Montana was not a peaceful one. Some of the Snake River War was fought in southwest Montana as well as California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. Chief Little Bear participated in the conflict and moved with his family to Montana.

Americans invade Montana

Though the United States was actively intruding in the Montana region by building the Mullan Road and had trading posts in the region and a couple of white settlements in what is now the Montana region before 1860, they were yet not a major concern to the Indians of Montana. The United States did form alliances with non Algonquian Indians (the Dakota, Sahaptin, Salish, and Uto) before 1860, which the present day Dakota, Sahaptin, Salish, and Uto now regret. In 1862, the whites discovered gold, silver and other metals in southwest Montana and the white invasion commenced.

After the whites established fortified settlements in southwest Montana, the Ojibwas continued to live in that region of Montana but their largest population center was located in north central Montana. To be specific, the plains of Montana where vast herds of buffalo roamed. Though the whites established fortified settlements in southwest Montana, Ojibwa soldiers were sent out to wage war on the white invaders who had superior weapons. Chief Little Bear saw combat during the time period between 1862 and the mid 1870s. Up to the mid 1870s, the plains of Montana was still Indian. A large Indian population lived on the plains of Montana and that prevented the United States from sending white settlers there.

White leaders knew they had to defeat the Ojibwas of the Montana region in order to colonize the Montana plains. Montana was the last location in the United States to be brought under white control. From the west, the United States had already brought the Idaho, Oregon, and Washington region under their control by the mid 1870s. From the east, the United States had brought all of South Dakota and most of North Dakota under their control by the mid 1870s as well. Much of northern Wyoming was still under Indian control in the mid 1870s.

The Black Hills War

Nearly all of Montana was still under Indian control in the mid 1870s. Western Montana had a small white population as did southwest Montana. The whites may have numbered near 20,000 in Montana in 1870. The United States commenced to plan a war to bring all of Montana under their control in the early 1870s. The war that resulted is known historically as the Black Hills War. However, nearly all the battles of that war were fought in Montana and northeastern Wyoming. One battle was fought in South Dakota. Chief Little Bear participated in the conflict. The Black Hills of South Dakota had nothing to do with the 1876-1877 Black Hills War. A huge reservation had already been set aside which covered all of western South Dakota.

Exodus

After the 1876-1877 War, 10,000s of Ojibwas fled to the north up to Canada and even to the west into British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Chief Little Bear and his family fled up to Alberta and Saskatchewan. However, they still continued to live in extreme northern Montana and the 1876-1877 War, actually lasted until 1882.

The December 8, 1882 Treaty

On December 8, 1882 Chief Big Bear was pressured by the people he led to make treaty with the whites. His people were starving as a result of the whites killing off the buffalo and other wild game the Indians relied on for food. At the time the Blackfeet Reservation covered nearly all of northern Montana (it covered over 21.5 million acres) and chief Little Bear and the Ojibwas continued to roam the northern plains of Montana for food. By 1882 the buffalo had virtually been exterminated.

The Turtle Mountain Reservation

Nearly two weeks after chief Big Bear made treaty with the whites, the Turtle Mountain Reservation was established. That occurred on December 21, 1882. The Turtle Mountain Reservation was originally much larger. In fact, the United States thought they set aside too much land for the Ojibwas and years later reduced the size of the Turtle Mountain Reservation.

The 1885 Northwest Rebellion

In early 1885, the Ojibwas living in central Alberta and central Saskatchewan, were forced to fight a losing war against Canada. What brought on the 1885 Northwest Rebellion were probably fraudulent promises made by the whites, and ever increasing numbers of whites invading the land of the Ojibwa of the Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories regions. Chief Little Bear was one of the principle Ojibwa leaders during the short conflict.

Frog Lake Massacre

During the 1885 Northwest Rebellion, chief Little Bear and chief Wandering Spirit led a group of Ojibwa soldiers and attacked the tiny settlement of Frog Lake, Alberta. They killed nine whites in what became known as the Frog Lake Massacre. Around the time the 1885 Northwest Rebellion ended, chief Little Bear who knew the Canadian whites were after him, fled.

Return to Montana

After learning that the Canadian whites were after him and chief Lucky Man as well, the two leaders gathered many of the people they led and proceeded to journey back to their original Montana homeland. They slipped through the Babb, Montana region in 1885 and hid out in that region, and then roamed about their original Montana homeland. They frequented their land on and around the Flathead Reservation which the Flathead Indians' agent did not like. However, they bravely stayed. Chief Little Bear was very fond of southwest Montana as well as the Great Falls, Montana region. He was considered the leader of the Ojibwas of the Basin, Montana region (southwest Montana) but his stature among the Montana whites was extremely low.

Montana whites did not like chief Little Bear. They always claimed chief Little Bear was not native to the United States but they were wrong. They often demanded that chief Little Bear and the Ojibwas he led, be deported back to Canada. For the first couple of years after returning to their original Montana homeland, many of chief Little Bear's people roamed throughout the vast Blackfeet Reservation. In 1888, the United States supposedly reduced the size of the Blackfeet Reservation. They left the Blackfeet Reservation with three much smaller reservations. They are the Blackfeet Reservation, Fort Belknap Reservation, and the Fort Peck Reservation. Life got harder for chief Little Bear and his people, and they often went hungry.

Deportation

In 1895, the United States rounded up hundreds of landless Ojibwas of Montana and forced them to move to Canada. Chief Little Bear and Chief Lucky Man had to go as well. They feared the death penalty would be sentenced to them for the role in the Frog Lake Massacre.

Acquittal

After chiefs Little Bear and Lucky Man reached Canada, they were apprehended and forced to stand trial for their roles in the 1885 Frog Lake Massacre. The whites had already executed six Ojibwas after the Frog Lake Massacre about ten years earlier. The ten years probably helped to soften the attitude of the whites towards the two Ojibwa leaders. They were acqitted of the charges. Chief Little Bear returned to Montana soon after but the Montana whites protested.

Sub-Chief of Chief Rocky Boy

During some time in the 1890s, chief Little Bear had no choice but to follow chief Rocky Boy. Chief Little Bear was not liked by the whites and he knew it. He knew he had to follow chief Rocky Boy if the Ojibwas of Montana were to eventually gain a reservation and retain their Ojibwa identity.

Efforts to gain a reservation

Working with chief Rocky Boy, chief Little Bear helped him in the effort to gain a reservation for the Ojibwas of Montana. In 1902, they attempted to gain either a reservation or tribal recognition (status) on the Flathead Reservation. The bill to make the Flathead Reservation a home for the Ojibwas of western and southwestern Montana, was not ratified in 1904. However, the Ojibwas are still clinging to their Ojibwa identity on the Flathead Reservation now. As many as 100 Ojibwas call the Flathead Reservation home. The United States allowed the Kootenai and Salish to retain their tribal identities (status) but forced the Nez Perce and Ojibwas to lose their tribal status on the Flathead Reservation.

Chief Little Bear's pleas to Canada

In 1905, 1906, 1908, and around 1911 chief Little Bear contacted Canadian leaders to request land for some of the landless Chippewas of Montana. At least five First Nations were set aside for the Ojibwas of Montana led by chief Little Bear. They are the Onion Lake First Nation and the Samson First Nation which includes the Ermineskin, Louis Bull, and Montana First Nations.

Swan Valley Massacre

In October 1908, a white game warden and several deputized citizens went searching for some Indians who were hunting in the Swan Valley, Idaho. A farmer on the Flathead Reservation warned the Indian agent of the Flathead Reservation in 1908, about the Chippewa predicament. Prophecy weary Ojibwa leaders on the Flathead Reservation, most likely commenced to plan for an exodus for they knew the land acts to open up the Flathead Reservation would soon be enforced. Groups of Ojibwas commenced to leave the Flathead Reservation for the adjoining Swan Valley. One group was caught hunting in the Swan Valley and either through force or by accident, five people were killed after the white game warden stormed the Chippewa camp. The white game warden was killed along with four Ojibwas, in an event which would become known as the Swan Valley Massacre.

Negotiations for a new Ojibwa Reservation

Both chief Rocky Boy and his sub-chief Little Bear, began work with white leaders to stop a possible war or further Ojibwa diasporas. Indian Inspector Frank Churchill was sent to Montana in 1908. Both the Flathead Reservation and Fort Peck Reservation were going to be opened up to white settlement. Both reservations had large amounts of excellent farm land and the whites wanted it.

Churchill requested from the government of the United States that all of Valley County, Montana be wothdrawn from white settlement and that a new Chippewa Reservation covering 2,160 sq. mi., be set aside. Both requests were granted by the United States. However, historians claim the Ojibwas from western Montana and Idaho, could not be gathered together to make the trip to the new reservation and railroad owners charged too high rates to transfer them to the new Reservation.

The Babb Chippewa Reservation

In 1909, the United States set aside a new Chippewa Reservation within the Blackfeet Reservation, between St. Mary Lake, Babb, and the Canadian border. The land was not suitable for agriculture and was, thus, not attractive to the whites. Chief Rocky Boy was first to settle there then chief Little Bear and the people he led, settled there. In all around 200 Ojibwas settled there. For some reason chief Rocky Boy's brother, chief Pennahto, led an exodus off the new Chippewa Reservation. He led near 150 Chippewas to the Helena region. The other fifty or so Ojibwas remained.

Rocky Boy Reservation

Since 100s of Chippewas continued to remain landless, chiefs Rocky Boy and Little Bear stepped up their efforts to get another Chippewa Reservation set aside in Montana. It was chief Pennahto who told chief Little Bear to request that the old Fort Assiniboine Reservation be set aside as a new Chippewa Reservation. Both chiefs Pennahto and Rocky Boy did not live to see the establishment of Rocky Boy Reservation but chief Little Bear did.

First Chairman of the Rocky Boy Reservation

After Rocky Boy Reservation was officially established in 1916, chief Little Bear became the first chairman of the Rocky Boy Reservation. He was already an old man at the time, but would live on for a few more years.

Death

Chief Little Bear died in 1921. He may have been near eighty years of age when he passed away. His life was one of a continous struggle. He told white reporters in 1913, that it was nearly forty years since the Chippewas of Montana became wanderers. This may imply the mid 1870s.

External links

• Chief Little Bear Information
• History of Rocky Boy Reservation