Sweet Grass (also Sweetgrass or wîhkasko-kisêyin) ( – on or shortly before January 11, 1877) was a chief of the Cree in the 1860s and 1870s in western Canada. He worked with other chiefs and bands to participate in raids with enemy tribes. While a chief, Sweet Grass noticed the starvation and economic hardship the Cree were facing. This propelled him to work with the Canadian authorities and eventually sign Treaty 6. Sweet Grass believed that working alongside the government was one of the only solutions to the daily hardship the Cree were faced with. The Sweet Grass Reserve west of Battleford, Saskatchewan was named in his honor and is still functioning today.
Life
Early life
Sweet Grass or wîhkasko-kisêyin was born in a Cree Camp in the area near Fort Pitt, Saskatchewan. The exact date and place of his birth is unrecorded. His mother was kidnapped during a war with the Cree from a tribe, which was located around Missouri. Due to this, Sweet Grass was not Cree and was Crow. There is no record of his father. Sweet Grass was born with the name Okimasis (okimâsis), which has been translated as He-who-has-no-name, but more accurately as Little Chief, which was related to his small size. Warriors consistently taunted him due to his stature within the village. His name, “Sweet Grass” was inspired by an audacious feat that he attempted as a youth. He ventured into the Blackfoot territory, completely alone with the goal of capturing a herd of horses. Approaching the pasture, he hid in a bush and as a man advanced towards him, he took out his bow, killed and scalped him; proceeding to raid the pasture to return forty horses to his tribe. His tribe was presented with a collection of grass dipped in the blood of the man he had killed. This was met with chants of “Sweet Grass”, which would eventually become his name as a Chief in 1870. Later that year, Sweet Grass was converted to Roman Catholicism by Father Albert Lacombe and was baptized with the Christian name Abraham.
Cree Childhood
Due to the fact that Sweet Grass' Mother was captured by a Cree tribe, it is unknown if she partook in the established birthing and naming traditions. However, the Cree had a process to which they named their children. The father of the child would ask Cree Shamans with spiritual powers to help with the naming process. The Shaman's decision would be based on a character or incident that they saw in their vision. Once a name was decided, the child was passed around the group where each individual blessed the child. This ceremony generally took place when the child reached the age of one. From this moment on, a special bond was formed between the child and whoever named them. There is no record of whether Sweet Grass and his mother took part in this ceremony. However, this likely happened because he was born in a Cree Camp. Children typically lived a carefree and adventurous childhood. Children did not wear much clothing and boys wore nothing until the age of five. Children did not spend much time with their parents growing up, rather with their grandparents. Sweet Grass’ childhood most likely went against this Cree norm because of his Mother's capture. Young men would attach themselves to a hunter or warrior that they admired and followed or shadowed them in performing tasks. Sweet Grass most likely did not partake in this tradition or many other childhood ones. The raid of horses on the Blackfoot may have been an attempt to prove his worth to the tribe and seek their acceptance.
The Cree
The Cree were located in the plains of Canada. The Cree are divided into several different tribes in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The name Cree represents a general ethnic group, however, there are several different tribes based on region and dialect. When Sweet Grass was chief, the different bands of the Cree were loose in a wide-ranging areas and usually named for the territory in which they operated It was not uncommon for different bands to hunt and perform rituals together as seen with Sweet Grass’ relationship with Big Bear. Families had the ability to break away from their current band and join another elsewhere. Cree societies were split into different roles, such as the Chief, which was the title Sweet Grass held. There were also village elders and warriors. There typically was a large number of warriors within a band and these men held extremely high prestige.
Cree religion believed in a single powerful creator which they based their ideology and ceremonies on. This figure held no real identity and did not appear to anyone in visions or contact. However, this almighty creator appeared to individuals through various sprits such as the bear and horse. Sweet Grass’ spiritual helper was the mosquito, which he would often seek for guidance. He believed that the insect had taken pity on him which guided him to become a chief. The Cree believe that the creator spirit was in every living thing around them. An individual acquired a spiritual helper after they appeared to them in a vision. This spirit did not provide aid or direct help in any way but instead provided guidance. The Cree believe that every individual has a soul which is located at the back of their neck. The soul was able to leave the body during visions where it would accompany their spiritual helper. After death, the soul would wonder the earth for four days, and then would travel to the land of the dead, which was believed to be in the Milky Way.
Position as Chief
The position of chief within the Cree varied from tribe to tribe and each had varying levels of authority over the band. Chiefs within Cree society were chosen by the consent of the band. While it sometimes would go to the eldest son of the previous chief, an incompetent man would not be given the position. A chief needed to be an active leader both in peace and war. It was required to distinguish themselves during a war, as a provider, and as a generous giver to gain this position. The most vital contributions of a chief was to keep the peace during the day to day living by settling arguments between the other members of the band. Sweet Grass understood the sacrifices that needed to be made for the bettering of the band. During one hunt Sweetgrass's horse was unable to remain calm, which was affecting the hunting of buffalo. Despite it being a highly valuable horse Sweetgrass traded it for an inferior one, understanding the importance of the group over the individual. It was not uncommon for there to be more than one chief who would have various levels of prestige. The amount of power wielded by Cree chiefs varied from person to person. Sweet Grass during the signing of the treaty was one of the most well-regarded plains Cree chiefs and was given a position of importance during negotiations.
Relationship with Big Bear
Sweet Grass often worked closely with the fellow Cree chief Big Bear. They hunted in the same territory and would often hunt and camp together. Sweet Grass was ten years older, so Big Bear recognized him as the superior chief. They bonded over sharing the characteristic of being small, but mighty warriors. Moreover, Big Bear was part Ojibwa which meant both chiefs were not completely Cree. Big Bear admired Sweet Grass for his bravery and guidance that he would often receive from his spiritual helper. Both Chiefs would work together in multiple raids on the Blackfoot. An example of this would be when Sweet Grass and Big Bear assembled 18 Cree warriors that attempted to raid Blackfoot hunting territory. After being forced to set up camp along a river due to a snow storm, a member of their war party left to collect food and spotted a lone member of the Blackfoot on foot rounding up horses. Upon reporting his sighting back to the others, they decide to kill the man and steal his horses. The attempted raid went wrong as Sweet Grass and Big Bear nearly stumbled upon Blackfoot main camp. Days of fighting ensued however, both chiefs managed to survive.
Buffalo Hunting and Fur Trade
Buffalo hunting and fur trading were a vital part of Cree survival. Cree Tribes would move according to their migration habits. At the beginning of 1870, buffalo were plentiful within the plains. In 1870, there were hundreds of thousands, which provided an immense amount of resources for the Cree to a point where they were able to only take the choice parts of the Buffalo. However, as European settlers came to the plains, that number dwindled significantly. In 1881, there was only a couple hundred Buffalo left within the plains. The Cree relied on the buffalo so heavily that they were pushed to a point of starvation. Additionally, as the Hudson's Bay Company moved into the prairies, the fur trade offered an extremely important source of income and goods for the Cree. However, over-trapping forced tribes to move west to find suitable forest areas. The lack of trapping territory, along with the decline of the buffalo left the Cree helpless. Both of these issues became an extremely important topic discussed in treaty negotiations which Sweet Grass was heavily involved in.
Cree Religious Conversion
Different tribes of the Cree held their own stories and traditions passed down orally through the generations. As Europeans began to set up colonies in North America, missionaries went among the indigenous people to spread their religion. While traditions within tribes remained significant, the Cree became more receptive to different denominations of Christianity. In 1852 the priest Father Lacombe moved to the Red River Colony with plans to live with the Metis and Cree. His goal was to spread the Roman Catholic faith to the Western parts of Canada. During this time Lacombe would become familiar with the Cree language and the culture, even writing a Cree dictionary in 1874. During the 1860s he moved farther west and would come into contact with Sweet Grass and his band. With diseases and famine rampant in the Cree community, they were more receptive to new religious ideas. It was due to both Lacombe's understanding of Cree culture and the growing desperation of the Cree, he would be able to convert many of the Cree to the Roman Catholic faith. Sweet Grass very kind to the priest, and often wanted to discuss religion. In 1870 Sweetgrass allowed himself to be baptized and was given the name Abraham.
Relationship with Canadian Government Throughout the 19th century, it appeared as though the federal government of Canada, situated in Ottawa, worked very hard to increase the dependency that aboriginal people had on it. The government wanted tribes to become more democratic in its governing of the reserves and rely less on the chiefs who traditionally were the leaders of the community. Naturally, this angered many indigenous communities who were more inclined to fight back than work with the government. Sweet Grass was one of the Chiefs who was more willing to work with them. One of the requests that Sweet Grass made to the government was to teach the Cree better farming techniques. Another was that the government should stop supplying weapons to the Blackfeet who were his tribe's enemy. These were just a few of the aspects that Sweet Grass worked with the government on. The overall goal that Sweet Grass wanted to achieve was an end to factionalism that had been plaguing the Plains Cree for years. Sweet Grass’ hope to work with the federal government was challenged by other prominent Cree leaders.