page_title: Cypress Hills Massacre
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Cypress Hills Massacre / Aftermath
context_page_description: The Cypress Hills Massacre was a mass murder that occurred on June 1, 1873, near Battle Creek in the Cypress Hills region of Canada's North-West Territories. It involved a group of American bison hunters, American wolf hunters or "wolfers", American and Canadian whisky traders, Métis cargo haulers or "freighters", and a camp of Assiniboine people. An estimated twenty or more Natives and one wolfer died. The Cypress Hills Massacre prompted the Canadian government to accelerate the recruitment and deployment of the newly formed North-West Mounted Police to prevent further conflict.
context_section_description: News of the Cypress Hills Massacre did not reach Ottawa until late August 1873, therefore the event itself was not very well known in Canada. The Canadian government soon took steps to have those involved extradited from the United States and tried for the murders, causing confrontation between Canada and the United States. The case for the murders languished for some time and then was taken up by the newly created North-West Mounted Police (NWMP). The NWMP at this time was still establishing itself, and the Cypress Hills Massacre acted as a catalyst for the speedy transition to react appropriately to the consequences.
caption: North-West Mounted Police, 1900
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