Project aims to tell the full story of Belly River battle

By Alexandra Noad - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on January 14, 2025.

One of Lethbridge’s nature sites is home to a significant piece of Indigenous history and there are plans to help preserve the story to foster reconciliation in the city.
Indian Battle Park was where the Battle of the Belly River took place between the Blackfoot, Cree and Assiniboine people in the fall of 1870. At the time the Blackfoot tribes were camped together, so the Cree and Assiniboine people were under the impression they were coming across only 20-30 people. They were taken aback when they came across thousands of Blackfoot. Not surprisingly, it was a one-sided victory for the Blackfoot people.
Camina Weasel Moccasin is the lead on a research project to help Indigenize the story as well as explore the motives of the Cree and Assiniboine people to make the attack on the Blackfoot, something she finds isn’t considered in the story.
“There was a lot of stuff happening between Indigenous groups and the Canadian Government during that time and those are things that I don’t think are considered when people talk about this event.”
Weasel Moccasin also finds that the archeological and anthropological interpretations are very much an outsider interpretation and are lacking some of the personal details of elders whose ancestors fought in the battle.
An example of this is the Alex Johnston text which credits the firearms and European tools the Blackfoot people have. But when Elders speak of the event, they credit the spiritual connection.
“(The Elders) always highlight or emphasize spiritual connection and ceremonial connection being the reason the Blackfoot had won in the battle,” says Weasel Moccasin. “There’s a good example of that outsider perspective which affects the interpretation of those events.”
Weasel Moccasin says she has been fortunate to have a very strong connection to her culture as a Blackfoot person but hopes her research will help build a bridge for reconciliation with the Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
“I’m hoping, with this project, there’s a better understanding of the battle and why the battle even happened, and some of the outcomes of the battle.”
The City of Lethbridge’s Heritage Management Plan is also working to create a historic site for the Battle of the Belly River. While the research project and historic site are separate entities they are working alongside each other to create the project.
Weasel Moccasin says even the Elders are getting excited about the possibilities of the outcomes of the projects, including guided tours and even using modern technologies to tell the story.
“It’s a very exciting project, because it very much feels like the tip of the iceberg and there’s so much more that this project is going to open up for us.”
The City of Lethbridge Heritage Management Plan has a survey open to better understand how residents value existing heritage sites to create a framework for heritage sites in the future.
The survey is open until Jan. 20 and can be found under Battle of Belly River Heritage Site Management Plan at getinvolvedlethbridge.ca

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