Thunder honours great grandfather

A tribute to Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife

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This article is a tribute to my grand-grandfather.

In the 1800s, he was a Plains Cree warrior on the Saskatchewan prairies. His Cree name was Moo-koo-man-ka-chim-ma-tat. 'He Who Sticks The Knife Into The Ground.' As the years went by he became known as O-che-ma-tah, which was a shortened version of his name.

Ochematah (Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife) was a well known warrior and many stories were told about him. Cree Elders of today such as Lawrence Lone Singer of North Battleford, Philip Favel of Sweet Grass, and Bertha Bear of Little Pine remember hearing stories told of him but could not provide any further information.

However, there were others who did remember. Ned Gladue, an oldtimer who lives at Lesser Slave Lake, is the grandson of Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife. Further information was provided by another Cree Elder whose father had been a follower of Chief Big Bear. His name is Jim Kahneeptaytayo and he lives at the Onion Lake Reserve.

The following two stories were told by Ned Gladue and are translated from the Cree language.

One night, a Blackfoot war party attacked the camp and ran off with most of the Cree horse herd. Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife and other Cree warriors chased after the Blackfoot while the women and children stayed in the camp.

One of the children who stayed in the camp was Wan-Tips-Kow. She was the daughter of Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife. Many years later, in the 1950s, when she was in her 90s, she often told stories of her father.

She said that during the battle the Cree recaptured their horses and also some of the Blackfoot horses. When they returned, the victorious Cree galloped in their horses around the camp with scalps tied to their rifle barrels.

At another time, the scouts reported that a Blackfoot war party was headed towards the Cree camp. The men did not want a battle to be fought in the camp because it would endanger the lives of the women and children so they immediately rode out to fight against the enemy.

Several miles from camp, they met the Blackfoot and the fighting began. During the battle, the Cree got the worst of it and they began to retreat, except for three warriors who refused to run away. While the other Cree men rode back to camp, Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife and two others stood their ground and fought against the enemy.

Many years later, Wan-tips-kow, who was a little girl at the time, remembered when the other Cree men came riding back to camp. She heard one of the men say, "The Blackfoot are many! I think we are going to get wiped out! The three men who stayed behind will be killed. The best we can do is wait and try to defend ourselves."

The Cree men immediately pulled down all the lodges and quickly built a kind of stockade with the teepee poles, lodge-covers, and whatever articles were at hand. Then the women and children were kept in the middle of the circle while the men waited for the expected attack.

They waited for a long time. Finally, in the distant hills, they heard the sound of galloping hoofs coming closer and closer. To their amazement, it was Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife and the other two men.

The three Cree warriors raced their horses around the encampment shouting wild yells and waving Blackfoot scalps in their hands. They jerked their ponies to a sudden stop and threw the scalps down at the feet of the men who were standing with the women and children. Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife pointed his finger at the men and in a loud voice he said, "You men ran away! Only three of us fought against the enemy. We killed many Blackfoot until they began to retreat. I say let us chase after them! Next time, they will think twice before they attack our camp again!"

The Cree men quickly mounted their horses and rode away. That night, they returned with more scalps and some Blackfoot horses.

Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife was a personal friend of Chief Big Bear. Jim Kahneeptaytayo said, "My father was adopted and raised by Big Bear himself. He used

to tell me many stories of long ago. He often said that whenever Big Bear went on a raid into enemy territory that he used to send a messenger to take tobacco to certain men, inviting them to join with him in the raid. This selected group of warriors were the very best fighters. One of them was Koominahoos and the other man was Ochematah (Man Who Uses The Knife). There were others, but I have forgotten many of their names. "My father talked many times about Man-Who-Uses The Knife. This man carried a big knife with the blade sharpened on both sides. Before a battle, he would take that knife and stick it into the ground. This meant that he would never retreat from the enemy even if he died fighting alone. He was a brave man. He must have had strong medicine because he was never wounded....

In 1885, when the Indian and Metis people rose up on war against the Canadian government, Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife joined up with Chief Big Bear. He fought alongside Big Bear's warriors at Fort Pitt, Frenchman's Butte and Loon Lake. Finally, the warriors ran out of food and ammunition and they decided to surrender.

Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife did not want to surrender. He and another warrior named Thunder Spirit headed north through the bush. At Lac La Biche they turned west, journeyed through Calling Lake, and finally arrived at Lesser Slave Lake where they settled down with their families.

In his late years, before his death, Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife was known as O-che-ma-cha, which was a slang version of his original name. His daughter (Wan-tips-kow) became known in the Lesser Slave Lake area as Margarrette Grey Eyes. She died in the 1950s.

Today, the descendants of Man-Who-Uses-The-Knife are: Ned Gladue (grandson) and Jim Thunder (great-grandson.)