What is the story behind the "battle" in the Battle River which flows in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan?
Question #148269. Asked by unclerick.
Last updated Jan 27 2021.
Originally posted Jan 26 2021 8:09 PM.
pehinhota
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pehinhota 11 year member
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British trader and Explorer Peter Fidler mentioned arriving at the "Battle or Fighting River"in 1793, likely so named because of the beginning of a period of rivalry between the Iron Confederacy (Cree and Assiniboine) and the Blackfoot Confederacy.
Reputedly there were several battles between the Cree and the Blackfoot in this vicinity, but eventually peace between them was achieved, at an elevated site about 18 miles (29 km) north of the Battle River in what is now central Alberta. The site is known today as the Peace Hills, and the nearby city Wetaskiwin's name is based on the Cree version of the name. As noted at https://www.pipestoneflyer.ca/news/the-legend-of-wetaskiwin-and-the-hills-of-peace/, the stories vary, but the basics of repeated battles and eventual peace are common to them, with one version provided at length by that local newspaper.