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Dictionary of Canadian Biography
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      d. 17 May 1815 at Quebec
      PANET, JEAN-ANTOINE
      d. 17 May 1815 at Quebec
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Buffalo hunting

Prior to the westward expansion of the country, buffalo hunting was central to the way of life for many Métis and Plains First Nations. The animal’s meat, which was used to make pemmican, a Plains diet staple, and its fur were bargaining chips at many trading posts. This way of life largely collapsed in the 1870s with the disappearance of the buffalo. The depletion of the northern buffalo herd was hastened by American hunters in the Montana Territory who slaughtered tens of thousands of animals for their hides. Proposals for the protection of the buffalo were adopted, but it was too little too late. Determined to follow the tradition of the buffalo hunt and to preserve the culture on which it was based, groups of Indigenous people took refuge in the Cypress Hills, one of the last major buffalo ranges in British North America. Some moved as far away as Montana, where they hunted the last of the buffalo; after the herd was destroyed, they returned to Canada in 1881. The federal government believed that it could take advantage of the people’s starvation to force acceptance of treaties as written and prevent the creation of an Indigenous territory. Starvation thus compelled the people to adhere to these treaties, which meant giving up their nomadic way of life and settling on reservations. Between 1907 and 1909 the minister of the interior imported the last significant herd of plains bison from Montana to Elk (Elk Island) Park in Alberta.

Related Biographies

ANDRÉ, ALEXIS
BELLECOURT (Bellecours, Belcourt), GEORGE-ANTOINE
BRELAND (Berland), PASCAL
BROWN, JOHN GEORGE, known as Kootenai Brown
DECORBY, JULES (baptized Marie-Jules-Louis)
DUMONT, GABRIEL
DUMOULIN, SÉVÈRE (baptized Sévère-Joseph-Nicolas) (1793-1853)
FAFARD, LÉON-ADÉLARD (baptized Léon-Dollard)
FALCON, PIERRE (Pierriche)
FIDLER, PETER
GLODE, JAMES
GRANT, CUTHBERT (d. 1854)
HENDAY (Hendey, Hendry), ANTHONY
HUNKAJUKA (Little Soldier, Little Chief)
HWISTESMETXĒ´QEN (Shiwelean, Nicola, N’Kuala, Nicholas)
ISADORE
ISAPO-MUXIKA (Crowfoot, Pied de Corbeau)
ISHAM, JAMES
KANE (Kean), PAUL
KAPAPAMAHCHAKWEW (Papamahchakwayo) (Wandering Spirit, Esprit Errant)
KĀ-KĪWISTĀHĀW (Kahkewistahaw)
LAGIMONIÈRE (Lagimodière, Lajimonière, Lavimaudier, Lavimodière), JEAN-BAPTISTE
LIETTE (di Lietto, Deliette, Desliettes), PIERRE-CHARLES DE
MACLEOD, JAMES FARQUHARSON (James Alexander Farquharson)
MINAHIKOSIS (Little Pine, Petit Pin)
MISTAHIMASKWA (Big Bear, Gros Ours)
McDOUGALL, GEORGE MILLWARD
McKAY, JAMES
McLEAN, AMELIA ANNE (Paget)
MÉKAISTO (Red Crow, Captured the Gun Inside, Lately Gone, Sitting White Buffalo, John Mikahestow)
MŌSŌMIN (Moosomin)
NAULT, ANDRÉ
NE-CAN-NETE (Ne-kah-nea, Ne-kah-new) (Foremost Man, Front Man)
O’SOUP (Osoop, Ousupe, Ochoup), LOUIS
PASKWĀW (Pasquah, Pisqua) (The Plain, Les Prairies)
PAYIPWAT (Piapot, Kisikawasan) (Hole in the Sioux, Flash in the Sky)
PEGUIS (Be-gou-ais, Be-gwa-is, Pegeois, Pegouisse, Pegowis, Pegqas, Pigewis, Pigwys), baptized William King (Destroyer, Little Chip, The Cut-Nosed Chief)
PEYASIW-AWASIS (Thunderchild, Kapitikow)
PRATT, CHARLES
PROVENCHER, JOSEPH-NORBERT (baptized Joseph)
RIEL, LOUIS (1844-85)
RINDISBACHER, PETER
ROWAND, JOHN
SANDERSON, JAMES FRANCIS
SAYER, PIERRE-GUILLAUME
SCHULTZ, Sir JOHN CHRISTIAN
SMITH, JOSEPH
TACHÉ, ALEXANDRE-ANTONIN
TATANKA-NAJIN (Standing Buffalo)

Other Resources

Bison hunting - Wikipedia
Buffalo Hunt. Content archived on 30 Mar. 2023
Buffalo Hunt - The Canadian Encyclopedia. Content archived on 12 Nov. 2024
Glenbow Museum - Buffalo Hunters and the Pisskan
Métis - The Buffalo Hunt
Manitoba History: Rooted in Mobility: Metis Buffalo Hunting Brigades

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We acknowledge the financial support of the Canadian Museum of History through the Online Works of Reference Program funded by the Government of Canada.
Nous reconnaissons l'aide financière du Musée canadien de l'histoire à travers les œuvres du programme de référence en ligne financés par le gouvernement du Canada.

We acknowledge the support of the Government of Canada.


Nous reconnaissons l’appui du gouvernement du Canada.

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