The September 30, 1877 Battle of Bear Paw

This battle was fought at or, near, the present day Rocky Boy Reservation of Montana. The Anishinabek chose this location to keep a permanent settlement, in order for them to keep a watchful eye on the nearby American fort at Fort Benton, which is located just to the southwest. By September 30, 1877, the American fort at Fort Benton had been reinforced, as had many of the ther white forts in Montana. The white invaders had more than only a few hundred of the soldiers stationed in Montana, between North Dakota and Idaho, at this time. They had 1,000s of white soldiers stationed in Montana, with most stationed at Fort Benton, Fort Keough, and Fort Shaw. We can only imagine just how devastated ogima Little Shell was at this time, but the courageous Anishinabe ogima was going out fighting, instead of ceding his beloved kingdom to the evil white race.

American soldiers numbered well over 500, and their Indian allies probably numbered in the hundreds. Ogima Little Shell’s brave soldiers may have numbered close to 1,000, but they were poorly armed, and in fact, many of them were still resorting to using bows and arrows, spears, and war clubs. By September of 1877, the whites had large numbers of their soldiers and their Indian allies soldiers, blocking the roads which led from the plains of Montana to western Montana, which the Anishinabek had been using to flee westwards. This time the Anishinabek had no choice but to flee to Canada (Alberta and Saskatchewan). The Americans commenced the "1877 Battle of Bear Paw" during the early morning hours, and the Anishinabe soldiers were not going to attempt to flee from the Americans and their Indian allies, but they were to only fortify their positions. That is what their military commanders instructed to them. They knew they needed enough time to allow the 1,000s (most likely 10,000s) of Anishinabek and other Indians, to flee to Canada.

With the first charge of the Americans that day, they were driven back by the brave Anishinabe soldiers. Since the Anishinabe soldiers had dug trenches into the surrounding coulee after the American charge, it led to the "Bear Paw Battle" continuing into the next day, because the Americans were incapable of dislodging the brave Anishinabe soldiers from their positions, who were being attacked by American machine guns and howitzers. While the battle was being fought, the whites and their Indian allies, probably attempted to stop the Anishinabe exodus up to Canada but failed.

This battle would go on until October 5, when ogima Little Shell probably instructed some of his closest companions, to go out and surrender to the evil Americans. However, ogima Little Shell didn’t stay in the vicinity but probably fled to nearby Canada. Ogima Little Shell was devastated. His kingdom was crushed by an evil race of humans who refused to follow the law. Indian casualties during the long battle was 71, with 25 killed. American casualties were 78, with 31 killed. After the evil Americans had subdued the Anishinabek of Montana, they would prove to the world that they were filthy inside with corruption. As for the remaining Anishinabek in Montana, they continued to live at the many Anishinabe settlements scattered across Montana. Many of those Anishinabe settlements became white settlements including Anaconda, Augusta, Cascade, Choteau, Garrison, Great Falls, Lewistown, and many others. Many continued to live at the white settlements established in the 1860s. They be Bozemon, Butte, Deer Lodge, Helena, and others. This was not the last Anishinabe exodus.