He was probably born around 1825, to an affluent Anishinabe military family. Ogima (chief) Big Bear (his Anishinabe name is Mis-sta-hi Mus-squa which means Big Bear) was either born and raised in what is now the Great Falls, Montana region, or possibly in southern Idaho. White historians claim ogima Big Bear was born in Saskatchewan and never lived in what is now the United States. However, ogima Mis-sta-hi Mus-squa's son Little Bear (he may have been the famous Crazy Horse), said in an interview from Butte, Montana some 100 or so years ago, that his father lived along the Snake River in southern Idaho. Ogima Mis-sta-hi Mus-squa was either a native to southern Idaho, or he was stationed in southern Idaho, by Anishinabe military ogimak from what is now the Great Falls, Montana region. Ogima Mis-sta-hi Mus-squa, may have actually been stationed as far away as southern California while a young man around 20 years of age. Anishinabe soldiers from the Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Utah region, were waging a war against the whites in southern California in the mid 1840s (the Mexican-American War), then in northern California after the United States brought California under their control.
In the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles, is a valley located high in those mountains which is named Big Bear Valley. After a dam was built in the Big Bear Valley in the 1880s, the resevoir created by the dam, was named Big Bear Lake. Anyway, ogima Mis-sta-hi Mus-squa became a powerful military ogima during the 1860s. Just before that time, ogima Ma-ski-pi-toon (chief Broken Arm) was probably either the Git-chi O-gi-ma of the Anishinabe military (the Chippewa's), or possibly the Git-chi O-gi-ma of the Anishinabe Nation. After ogima Ma-ski-pi-toon converted to Christianity in 1865, the event created havoc within the government of the Anishinabe Nation, especially within the military totem. By 1869, ogima Ma-ski-pi-toon was dead, and ogima Mis-sta-hi Mus-squa possibly arranged his early death in order to take control of the Anishinabe Nation. A year earlier, Anishinabe ogimak including possibly ogima Ma-ski-pi-toon, signed the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty which officially ended the Red Clouds War and Snake River War. Ogima Mis-sta-hi Mus-squa was possibly the principle Anishinabe military ogima in the Snake River War.
Once ogima Mis-sta-hi Mus-squa took control of the Anishinabe Nation, he returned to live again in what is now the Great Falls, Montana region. He continued to station many Anishinabe soldiers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. He knew the war with the United States was not over. He also was aware of the Seven Fires Prophecy. More war erupted in far northern California in 1872-1873, in which Anishinabe (Modoc according to white historians) soldiers fought the whites. Being with inferior weapons they lost. More war erupted in the Oklahoma-Texas region in the mid 1870s, but that war was more a war to lead an Anishinabe exodus to the north of Mexico. Then in 1874 or 1876, the Americans launched an invasion into Montana which resulted in the war known as the Black Hills War and Nez Perce War. Both wars were the same however. Early on, Anishinabe soldiers did fairly well using their inferior weapons. Ogima Crazy Horse led Anishinabe soldiers to a victory over the Americans at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, on June 25, 1874 or 1876.
In response to the strong Anishinabe will to defend their land, the evil Americans launched a winter campaign in 1876-1877. The climax of the Americans 1876-1877 winter campaign, was an American assault on the capital of the Anishinabe Nation which was located at what is now the Great Falls, Montana region. On January 23, 1877, a force of American soldiers with howitzers, machine guns, repeating fifles, and revolvers attacked the capital of the Anishinabe Nation, while most of the men were away hunting for the few remaining buffalo left in that region. They killed and wounded 1,000s of Anishinabe people. Most were woman and children. It is known as the Marias River Massacre. This massacre did not occur in 1870 along the Marias River. It occurred in 1877, along the Missouri River. After the massacre, ogima Mis-sta-hi Mus-squa led many of the surviving Anishinabek from what is now the Great Falls, Montana region, up towards the Bear Paw Mountains, then up to Canada, after losing the 1874-1875 War or 1876-1877 War. Most of the Montana Anishinabek fled towards the west however, as told to do by the Seven Fires Prophecy.
In 1882, ogima Big Bear signed the 1871 treaty 2 and 1874 treaty 4. White historians claim that it was treaty six but that is a lie. As the Gitchi Ogima of the Anishinabe Nation, ogima Big Bear and his council were responsible for ceding Anishinabe land. In 1871-1874, he refused to cede Anishinabe land in North Dakota and Saskatchewan, as well as parts of western Manitoba. By 1882, he was feeling intense pressure from the hungry Anishinabek who were reacting to the horrible effects of fighting a losing war against the white invaders who were cheating their way to victory and killing off the wildgame that roamed the land. He reluctantly signed treaty 1 and 4, in 1882. A large area of Anishinabe land in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Manitoba and Saskatchewan, was ceded to the whites.
Many Anishinabe Reserves and Reservations were set aside including the Turtle Mountain Reservation of North Dakota which originally covered the entire Turtle Mountain Plateau. After he signed the treaty, his popularity among those Anishinabe ogimak who adhered to a strong defiance against the white invaders, began to slip but he continued to rule. And his rule was one which focused on holding on to the remaining Anishinabe land in western North America. The white invaders would not honor treaty agreements and they continued to harass the Anishinabek still refusing to surrender to the white invaders in the Alberta, Montana, and Saskatchewan region.
Ogimak Big Bear and Sitting Bull, led their people to Alberta and Saskatchewan and possibly what is now the Northwest Territories including Nunavut, after losing the 1874 or 1876 war, while still living in extreme northern Montana. In 1885, the whites once again stole Anishinabe land. The war was the 1885 Northwest Rebellion, which was led by ogima Mis-sta-hi Mus-squa. After losing the war, ogima Mis-sta-hi Mus-squa was imprisoned for a short while then released. He died soon after his release. His death occurred in 1888. Before his death, he requested from his two sons including ogima Little Bear, that they return to their original homeland (Montana). He favored his one son who was of a peaceful nature, to lead those Anishinabe people who fled up to Canada, who wanted to return to Montana, back to Montana. He may have been ogima Rocky Boy. Ogima Little Bear (he may have been the famous Crazy Horse) was ill tempered.
His two sons led around 2,000 Anishinabe people back to their original Montana homeland in 1885. Immediately the whites invaders of Montana protested loudly against ogima Little Bear being in Montana. They claimed he was not a native of the United States and his people had never lived in the United States. It was ogima Rocky Boy who eventually took over as ogima of those Anishinabek who returned to their original Montana land, from Canada. Eventually ogima Little Bear had to follow the peaceful nature of ogima Rocky Boy. That occurred after 1892. In 1916, the United States set aside the Rocky Boy Reservation for the landless Chippewa's of Montana. Ogima Little Bear possibly had his possible brother ogima Rocky Boy assassinated, or non Anishinabe Indians did, after learning of the creation of the new closed Reservation. He was not going to share power with ogima Rocky Boy who, for all we know, just may have been his brother.
Ogima Big Bear continued to return to Montana after fleeing to Canada in 1877, to hunt for buffalo and other wild game. He had no choice, the whites had killed nearly all the buffalo and it forced him to send his hunters and even soldiers, out over greater distances to find food for their families. Below is a photograph of ogima Mis-sta-hi Mus-squa. By the late 1870s and early 1880s, ogima Big Bear was an extremely enraged man who sought to kill any whites who was caught killing the innocent buffalo and other wild game. The whites in Montana stationed their soldiers in northern Montana after 1877, but it did not stop ogima Big Bear from sending his hunters and soldiers throughout the north of Montana, between 1877 and 1885. Ogima Big Bear still continued to control the Alberta and Saskatchewan region, up to 1885. He knew from prophecy that the whites would steal the rest of his nations land. That occurred in 1885.
