Its location near the confluence of the North Saskatchewan and the Battle rivers offered access to fresh water, as it was many years before an on-site well was made available; and offered an alternative means of transportation to the Red River cart. As the site was on a plateau, the fort was easily defensible, and offered clear lines of sight for the surrounding area and to Government Ridge – thus providing warning against possible attacks. The fort sheltered around 500 people, and they helped to fortify Battleford.
Battleford being designated capital of the North-West Territories played a substantial role in the decision to locate the fort there. The government's belief was that the presence of the NWMP would act as a civilizing influence on the First Nations in the area and help them to transition from their nomadic lifestyle to a more stationary one, modelled on European societies. They also hoped that the NWMP would assist settlers in their homesteading efforts and their presence in the area would encourage the people to respect the law.
The difficulties that had plagued Native American–government relations in the United States, along with the high Aboriginal population in the Battleford area, further prompted the federal government to establish a strong NWMP presence. Both the Canadian government and the First Nations were quite aware of what had transpired south of the "Medicine Line" and sought to follow a different path.
The original Canadian Pacific Railway route was also to pass through Battleford, along the Qu'Appelle route, but it was eventually built on a more southerly route, which resulted in the moving of the capital of the North-West Territories from Battleford to Regina, then known as Pile o' Bones.
Legacy
A newspaper clipping from December 1885 which closely followed the hangings suggests that Judge Charles Rouleau, who heard the case, was biased
In the spring of 2008, Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Christine Tell proclaimed in Duck Lake that "the 125th commemoration, in 2010, of the 1885 Northwest Resistance is an excellent opportunity to tell the story of the prairie Métis and First Nations peoples' struggle with Government forces and how it has shaped Canada today."[2]
The fort was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1923, known as Fort Battleford National Historic Site, to commemorate its role as military base of operations for Cut Knife Hill, Fort Pitt, as a refuge for 500 area settlers and its role in the Siege of Battleford.[3][4][5][6][7]
References
^Wright, Barry; Binnie, Susan, eds. (2009). Canadian State Trials: Political Trials and Security Measures, 1840-1914. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 480. ISBN9781442640153.
^"Saskatchewan settlement experience". 1880-1890 - North-west Rebellion The 'siege of Battleford' as reported in the Saskatchewan Herald. Saskatchewan Archives Board. 2005. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
