Talk:1885 hangings at Battleford

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Shouldn't the introduction give the basic facts, such as how many men were hanged and why? 76.64.66.76 (talk) 01:16, 25 May 2018 (UTC)

This article is extremely one sided. Quotations, background, and eye witness accounts are available from multiple sources including the detailed biography of Theresa Gowanlock and Theresa Delaney which directly contradicts some of the accounts of the circumstances as described here. Specifically the statement "no work, no rations" is presented as if it applied to all Cree in the area. Gowanlock and Delaney describe how there were several bands of what they called Woodland Cree who were doing well, learning to farm European style and greatly benefitting assistance from the Canadian government. The "no work, no rations" was directed solely at a band of what they called Plains Cree who were outsiders who arrived and began raiding in the area, stealing from the Woodland Cree and refusing to do any work including gathering wood for fires as being beneath their dignity as warriors, while leaving their starving women and children to beg from the Europeans and the Woodland Cree. This other information should be included to provide balance and context. The description of the shooting as if it were some kind accident triggered by Quinn's behaviour is also completely contradicted by the womens' account. Gowanlock and Delaney describe an unprovoked cold blooded execution style killing of group of unarmed men after the community was taken by force, Whites were separated out, and killed while their homes were being looted and their wives watched. Nor is there any mention of the attempts by the Woodlands Cree to protect the women, the bodies of the settlers, nor how the Woodland Cree too were brutalized and robbed and taken prisoner. Further, the school described in this account as a"residential school" is also incorrect according to Gowanlock and Delaney. At the time it was a school attended by the children of the local Woodland Cree who also freely came and went in the community and many children attended on a day school basis returning to their families after school. The fact that children were reported to be attending the hanging should also include the perspective that public executions attended by everyone in the community including children were normative for the era and were not some sort of special horror imposed only on these children. This context and alternative account should be added to this article for balance. See: Gowanlock, T., Delaney, T, [ Two months in the camp of Big Bear: the life and adventures of Theresa Gowanlock and Theresa Delaney] (Parkdale, Ont., 1885).Bjorklund21 (talk) 15:10, 1 September 2018 (UTC)


 * Assimilation supporter, L. Sorhli (talk) 06:44, 30 June 2023 (UTC)
 * I am not necessarily refuting or agreeing but thought it worthwhile to mention that Myrna Kostash examined the accounts published by the two Theresa's, plus the acounts of others, in her book The Frog Lake Incident (NeWest Press). What they wrote or were quoted as saying later did not always coincide with their reports when first "liberated" from Native captivity. 68.150.205.46 (talk) 02:24, 22 March 2024 (UTC)