Cree Peace Chief. Born near Battleford, Saskatchewan, the son of Sikakwayan, was an Assiniboine shaman, and his half Cree wife. Orphaned as an adolescent, he was raised by his mother's family. In 1873 he was adopted by Crowfoot, a Blackfoot chieftain. He was a headman in his band when he became involved in 1876 in Treaty Six negotiations with the Canadian government. In an effort to win his people a favorable treaty, he lobbied for a provision that guaranteed them food supplies in times of famine. He remained dissatisfied with the treaty but agreed to sign it because the majority of his band favored it. In the autumn of 1879 his people settled on a reservation along the Battle River. The majority of reservation farms failed and when the Cree invoked their Treaty Six rights to rations, they were denied assistance. During the Métis rebellion, Poundmaker tried to play on the unrest to negotiate for supplies. Efforts to open negotiations with the Indian Agent failed and the Cree looted the abandoned town of Battleford. Canadian retribution for the raid led to the Battle of Cutknife Hill on May 2, 1885. The Cree under the war chief moved to aid the Métis but the rebellion failed before they could join forces. Poundmaker took responsibility for his tribe, although by Cree custom he had not been in command of the war parties. Poundmaker surrendered his people at Fort Battleford on May 26, and was arrested on a charge of treason. He was sentenced to three years in the Stony Mountain Penitentiary in Manitoba. He served less than one year before being released due to poor health. Poundmaker returned home before visiting his adoptive father, Crowfoot. While participating in a Blackfoot ceremony, Poundmaker died after suffering a hemorrhage. Originally buried at Blackfoot Crossing, Alberta, his remains were exhumed and reinterred at the Poundmaker Indian Reserve in 1967.