Bloody Falls Massacre

Bloody Falls Massacre
Aboriginal peoples
in Canada
A life-sized bronze statue of an Aboriginal and eagle above him; there is a bear to his right and a wolf to his left, they are all looking upwards towards a blue and white sky

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The Massacre at Bloody Falls was an incident that took place during Samuel Hearne's exploration of the Coppermine River on 17 July 1771. Chipewyan and "Copper Indian"[1] Dene men led by Hearne's guide and companion Matonabbee attacked a group of Copper Inuit[2] camped by rapids approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) upstream from the mouth of the Coppermine River. Just after midnight on 17 July, the Dene set upon the Inuit camp and killed approximately 20 men, women, and children. Hearne was traumatized by the massacre, saying "...and I am confident that my features must have feelingly expressed how sincerely I was affected at the barbarous scene I then witnessed; even at this hour I cannot reflect on the transactions of that horrid day without shedding tears.",[3] and named the waterfall Bloody Falls.[4]

The site of the massacre is now located in Kugluk/Bloody Falls Territorial Park near Kugluktuk, Nunavut. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1978.

In 1996, Dene and Inuit representatives participated in a healing ceremony to reconcile the centuries-old grievance.[5]

The incident is referenced in the John Newlove poem "Samuel Hearne in Wintertime".

See also

  • List of massacres in Canada

References

  1. ^ Hearne, Samuel. (1745-1792) A Journey to the Northern Ocean: The Adventures of Samuel Hearne. Surrey, BC:TouchWood Editions.
  2. ^ Condon, R.G. (1987). Inuit youth : growth and change in the Canadian Arctic. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. pp. p.25. ISBN 0813512123. http://books.google.com/books?id=0OFkK9JSWYMC&pg=PA25&lpg=PA25&dq=%22Copper+Inuit%22&source=web&ots=d04TYWAlbc&sig=sH0iYVjbeKBQTJkOW6uGDkFoCew&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result. 
  3. ^ From: Samuel Hearne, A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772 (London, Eng: Strahan and Cadell, 1795) at the University of Western Ontario
  4. ^ Samuel Hearne's overland expedition, 1770–72 at the National Maritime Museum
  5. ^ "CBC's David McLauchlin dies at 56". CBC News. May 26, 2003. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2003/05/26/mclauchlin_obit030526.html. 

External links

Coordinates: 67°44′39.20″N 115°22′00.09″W / 67.744222°N 115.3666917°W / 67.744222; -115.3666917 (Bloody Falls Massacre)

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