Battleford

Battleford (2006 Population 3,685) is a town located across the North Saskatchewan River from North Battleford, in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Battleford and North Battleford are collectively referred to as The Battlefords by Saskatchewan residents, as well as on highway signage. Although there has been occasional talk of the two communities merging, as of 2010 they remain separate entities.

The local economy is fueled mainly by agriculture.

Battleford is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Battle River No. 438, as well as by the city of North Battleford and a small section of the Rural Municipality of North Battleford No. 437.

The 1973 western Alien Thunder was partially filmed there.

History

The town was founded in 1875 as a fur trading post and NWMP (North-West Mounted Police, now Royal Canadian Mounted Police) fort. Its post office opened 1877. Between 1876 and 1883, Battleford was the territorial capital of the Northwest Territories (now Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nunavut, northern Quebec, northern Ontario and the Northwest Territories) and the NWMP fort [1] (Fort Battleford) located there played an important role in the 1885 Northwest Rebellion. The Fred Light Museum is a Municipal Heritage Property (c. 1911) on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.^[1]

Government House, the seat of government of the NWT from 1876–1883, burned down on July 7, 2003.

Looting of Battleford

On March 30, 1885, during the North-West Rebellion, the town of Battleford was looted by a party of native Cree people, who were short on food due to declining bison populations. When the Cree approached Battleford, the white inhabitants fled to the nearby North-West Mounted Police post, Fort Battleford. The Crees then took food and supplies from the abandoned stores and houses.

The nature of the Cree advance on Battleford, like the entire 1885 Rebellion, is a source of historiographical controversy. Historian Douglas Hill characterized the Cree group as a "war party... ready to take revenge for a winter of incalculable suffering" who "swooped on Battleford, killing six whites". George F. Stanley's writing on the subject indicated that the Cree were not murderous but more haphazard and bumbling: they "[did] not appear to have in mind an attack upon the town" but were content with "prowling around the neighbourhood." While John L. Tobias says that the Crees tried to demonstrate their "peaceful intent" by including women and children in their group, simply took food to sustain themselves after finding the town abandoned, and then withdrew to avoid conflict with the police.

Demographics

Local Media

Newspaper

The local newspaper is The Battlefords News Optimist, from North Battleford. It is published weekly on Wednesdays and has circulation in the surrounding areas.

Radio

Three North Battleford radio stations serve the area; CJNB, CJCQ-FM, and CJHD-FM. Some Saskatoon radio stations can also be received.

Television

Two television stations (CFQC-TV and CBKST) from Saskatoon, are also available over the air, via repeaters.

See also

• Battleford Court House
• List of communities in Saskatchewan
• List of towns in Saskatchewan

References

1. ^ http://www.historicplaces.ca/visit-visite/affichage-display.aspx?id=6818 Canadian Register of Historic Places
2. ^ "2006 Community Profiles". Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. 2009-02-24. http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-591/index.cfm?Lang=E. Retrieved 2009-02-24. 

• Hill, Douglas, The Opening of the Canadian West. Don Mills, ON: Academic Press 1967.
• Stanley, George F., Louis Riel: Patriot or Rebel. CHA Booklet #2, 1964.
• Tobias, John L., "Canada's Subjugation of the Plains Cree," Canadian Historical Review, LXIV (December 1983): 519-548.

External links

• Map of Battleford at Statcan
• [2] Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan