Page "Big Bear" Paragraph 9

When the Métis initiated the North-West Rebellion of 1885 under Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont, Big Bear and his supporters played a minimal role in the overall uprising, but warriors from among Big Bear's people under the command of Wandering Spirit killed nine white men at Frog Lake in an incident that became known as the Frog Lake Massacre.

Although Big Bear himself personally attempted to prevent the killings and subsequently expressed regret for the actions of the younger Cree warriors, the events at Frog Lake alarmed the Dominion Government.

When 6, 000 troops were sent to Batoche, Saskatchewan to smash the Métis resistance, the Canadian government used the Frog Lake Massacre as a reason to put down the Cree as well.

Despite evidence of Big Bear's efforts to actually prevent the killings at Frog Lake, he was convicted for participation in the rebellion with a request from the jury for mercy.

In 1885 the sixty year old chief was sentenced to three years in Stony Mountain Penitentiary, but was released from prison before serving his complete sentence as a result of failing health, and died shortly afterward.