Origins of the RCMP

The American Sioux

In 1877, thousands of American Sioux refugees arrived in Canada threatening the order which the Mounted Police had helped bring to the prairies. For years the Sioux had been fighting a losing battle to protect their traditional hunting lands from the encroachment of white civilization.

In 1875, the American authorities informed the Sioux that unless they settled on the reserves allocated to them, they would be considered enemies of the United States. The Sioux refused, and in the spring of 1876 the United States Army began a campaign to force them onto the reserves. The climax of the Sioux resistance came at Little Big Horn in June, 1876, with the annihilation of five 7th United States Cavalry troops under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer. Custer's defeat, however, was the beginning of the end. The Sioux could not hope to defeat the large military forces now closing on them from all sides. Tired and hungry, they gradually retreated northward to seek refuge in Canadian Territory.

The Sioux's arrival disturbed the peaceful relations which Canada was in the process of establishing with its own tribes. The Sioux were traditional enemies of many Canadian First Nations. Their presence would strain the already dwindling buffalo herds.

The North-West Mounted Police task was a difficult one. The Sioux would have to be closely watched. There must be no revival of intertribal warfare. The Sioux must obey Canadian laws and, above all, they must not be allowed to attack the United States using Canadian territory as a base. Fort Walsh in the Cypress Hills now became the Force's main centre of operations. The post, established there in 1875, was reinforced and enclosed by a fortified stockade. In 1878, NWMP headquarters was moved from Fort Macleod to Fort Walsh, in recognition of its new importance.

Scouts brought the first news of the Sioux migrating to Fort Walsh in November 1876. A large party of Sioux, they reported, were moving north towards the trading post at Wood Mountain. Within a few days, Supt. Walsh and a party of twelve Mounted Police were on their way east to meet with the refugees.

Arriving at Wood Mountain, Walsh found about 2000 Sioux under Black Moon, the tribe's hereditary chief, camped close to the trading post. A council was called. They informed Walsh that they were tired of being hunted; they had come to the land of the Great White Mother to find refuge. Walsh warned them firmly that they must obey Canada's law and above all, they must not raid the United States.

Early in 1877, two more Sioux groups followed Black Moon's band: the first under Chief Four Horns, and finally a large band under Sitting Bull, now recognized as the leader of the Sioux resistance.

By summer, 1878, it began to look as if the Sioux would remain in Canada for good. In spite of negotiations between the Canadian and American Governments, they still refused to return to the United States. Dwindling buffalo herds soon accomplished what diplomacy failed to do. As their traditional source of food diminished, the Sioux began to realize they must accept a sedentary way of life. There was no point in defending a land now empty of buffalo. The Canadian government continued to insist on the Sioux's refugee status, with no intention of granting them reserves north of the border. They must return south.

By 1879, Sitting Bull's influence was on the decline and small bands of Sioux began returning to the United States. The Sioux leader and a small group of intransigents still refused to trust the Americans. The Macdonald government decided to take a firmer stand. In 1880, the Mounted Police were instructed to visit the remaining Sioux camps and warn them that the government would no longer supply them with food. They would starve unless they returned to the United States. A year later the last band, led by Sitting Bull, surrendered to the American authorities at Fort Buford, North Dakota.

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