TRANSCRIPT

Carter Yellowbird, descendent of Big Bear, narrates the story of Chief Big Bear, as told by Edward Ahenakew, a Cree ordained Anglican priest born of the Sandy Lake Reserve, before Chief Thunderchild's death in 1927

'Though he was stubborn in his demands for better terms, Big Bear did everything in his power to restrain the Crees in any encounters with government authority, as at Battleford in the summer of 1884. He did not want an Indian rising. He knew the power of the whites, and recognized that the Indians had all to lose and nothing to gain by fighting. His efforts were directed to bringing about an Indian union that could force concessions by a potential threat rather than by actual hostilities. Small and scattered reserves weakened that power.'

Narrated by Carter Yellowbird