Cypress Hills Massacre

Cypress Hills Massacre is a National Historic Site of Canada in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan · Maple Creek, Saskatchewan · location approximate

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CYPRESS HILLS MASSACRE Here, on June 1, 1873, American wolf hunters attacked a camp of the Nakoda First Nation, resulting in the massacre of Elders, warriors, women, and children. This hastened the dispatch of the North-West Mounted Police and led to one of the first major tests of Canada’s law enforcement policies in the West. Although the Mounties’ efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice were unsuccessful, they convinced First Nations of the impartiality of the Force and the government it represented. The memory of the massacre and of their fallen ancestors reinforces the connection between the Nakoda people and these lands they hold to be sacred.

Français

LE MASSACRE DE CYPRESS HILLS Ici, le 1er juin 1873, des chasseurs de loups américains attaquèrent un camp de la Première Nation nakoda, entraînant le massacre d’aînés, de guerriers, de femmes et d’enfants. La Police à cheval du Nord-Ouest y fut dépêchée, ce qui constitua l’une des premières occasions de tester les politiques du Canada visant l’application de la loi dans l’Ouest. Même si les efforts déployés pour traduire tous les coupables en justice échouèrent, ils persuadèrent les Premières Nations de l’impartialité de la police et du gouvernement. Le souvenir du massacre et des ancêtres disparus renforce le lien du peuple nakoda avec ces terres qu’il juge sacrées.

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This plaque text is recorded in the Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, published by Parks Canada for the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Plaque texts come from the Directory’s open dataset in the languages the Directory publishes them in; the pin on this page is ours, worked out from the Directory’s street address or local area and marked approximate. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
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Cypress Hills Massacre

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