calf mountain, mepewaquomoshin (little dance hill) and mount nebo

7/28/2019 Calf Mountain, Mepewaquomoshin (Little Dance Hill) and Mount Nebo

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Calf Mountain, Little Dance Hill, Manitoba

Calf Mountain, called Tete de Bouef, Buffalo Head, and Pilot Mound, is just south of

Darlingford, Manitoba. It has an elevation of 155 feet.

Pilot Mound !as in the heart of Indian countr" in the da"s of the Hudson#s Ba"

Co$%an". The Plains Indians called the Mound &'ittle Dance Hill( Me%a!a)uo$oshin*.

The" ca$e great distances to hold their cere$onial dances on its su$$it.

During the first half of the 1+th centur" the area !as !ell no!n to the buffalo hunters of

the old -ed -iver ettle$ent. /arious clashes resulted bet!een the buffalo hunters andthe iou0 !ith a fierce battle being fought on the northern slo%es of the ld Mound in the

$id 125s.

3 local legend, recorded b" settlers about 1242, states that in the 125s the iou0 !ere

defeated b" -ed -iver buffalo hunters in a sir$ish near the hill.

The buffalo hunters !ere ca$%ed at Barbour#s 'ae %re%aring to hunt a large herd ofBuffalo, !hich !as located in the area and had driven the$ north!ard to the edge of the

bush. inding t!o of their $e$bers $issing and their horses and rifles gone, it !as later

learned the iou0 had illed the$. 3s night !as falling the hunters returned to ca$%.

The ne0t da", the hunters advanced in strength to!ard the Mound. The iou0 !ere

asse$bled a little over a half6$ile north of the Mound. Here the battle too %lace, a

running fight, on horsebac in Indian st"le, !hich resulted in the co$%lete defeat of theiou0.

'egend has it that five hundred and ninet"6seven !ere illed and buried on the !estern

slo%e of the ld Mound. T!o survivors !ere allo!ed to carr" the stor" of the $assacre

bac to their %eo%le. 7hen the fight !as over there !ere 15 buffalo hunters on theMound.

3 %art" of iou0 ca$e u% fro$ the south during the earl" da"s of !hite settle$ent and

carefull" e0a$ined the burial %lace of their %eo%le on the slo%e of the hill. In recent"ears, descendents of the slain !arriors drive fro$ Belcourt, 8orth Daota, to hold a

$e$orial cere$on" on the Mound each fall. The" !elco$e local %eo%le to co$e !ith

the$ as the" !al over the Mound, hold a s$udging cere$on", scatter tobacco and offerfood for their ancestors.

In 1++, Henr" Montgo$er", an 3nthro%ologist fro$ the 9niversit" of Toronto dug intothe $ound and to the consternation of 3boriginal %eo%le re$oved $an" artefacts. His

article %ublished in 1+1 in theAmerican Anthropologistis a%%ended.

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3nother note!orth" hill in southern Manitoba is Mount 8ebo located five $iles south

and one $ile !est of the to!n of Mia$i, Manitoba.

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Co$%iled b" 'a!rence Bar!ell

Coordinator of Metis Heritage and Histor" -esearch

'ouis -iel Institute

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calf mountain, mepewaquomoshin (little dance hill) and mount nebo

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