Prior to signing treaty Chief Wuttunee (Porcupine) and his Cree band hunted and fished along the Battle River, and as settlers moved into the Battleford region where they conducted trade. Though Wuttunee was chief at the signing of Treaty 6 on September 9, 1876, he was not in favour of the treaty and appointed his brother Red Pheasant to sign for him. The department recognized Red Pheasant as the band's chief from that point. In 1878 the band settled on their reserve in the Eagle Hills, where the land was good and there was enough forest to enable them to hunt. Red Pheasant day school opened in 1880, and St. Paul's Anglican Church was built in 1885 on land set aside for that purpose when the reserve was surveyed. The reserve is located 33 km south of North Battleford, with an infrastructure that includes a band office, band hall, school and teacherage, public works building, fire hall, and a treatment centre. The main economic base is agriculture, but the reserve hosts a band-owned grocery store, and in 1997 the band signed an oil and gas agreement with Wascana Energy Inc. The band's successful completion of a Treaty Land Entitlement Agreement has enabled them to increase their reserve's size to 29,345.7 ha, and invest in furthering economic development. The band has 1,893 registered members, 608 of whom live on the reserve.
Christian Thompson