Kapeyakwaskonam (One Arrow)

Born in 1815 in the valley of the Saskatchewan River, Kapeyakwaskonam (One Arrow) was the chief of a band of Willow Crees. One Arrow's band hunted buffalo in an area surrounding the South Saskatchewan River from Duck Lake to Little Manitou Lake to Goose Lake.

One Arrow and the other Willow Cree chiefs, including Beardy, did not attend the Treaty 6 negotiations at Fort Carlton in 1876. Instead, Alexander Morris, at the request of the Willow Cree, came to see them at a site halfway between Duck Lake and Fort Carlton after the original negotiations had wrapped up. The Willow Cree attempted to gain more agricultural concessions than had been promised at Fort Carlton during their meeting with Morris, but he refused. One Arrow, along with Beardy and Cutnose, agreed to Treaty 6 on August 28, 1876. In 1881, One Arrow's band had their reserve surveyed near the Metis settlement of Batoche, 4 miles east of the South Saskatchewan River.

One Arrow attended a Cree Council on Beardy's Reserve in 1884, along with Lucky Man, Big Bear and Ahtakahkoop. At this council, the Cree compiled a list of grievances against the government, including the fact that One Arrow's band had not received the majority of the livestock or agricultural implements promised to them under Treaty.

One Arrow's band was involved in the 1885 North-West Resistance, most likely because of its close proximity to the Metis community at Batoche. There is much debate over the extent of One Arrow's involvement in the conflict and whether or not his people were forced into battle with the Metis. One Arrow was arrested by the government and tried for treason at Regina on August 13, 1885. One Arrow was sentenced to serve 3 years in Stony Mountain Penitentiary, but he was released after 7 months due to his deteriorating health. One Arrow died on April 25, 1886, with the dying wish that his people no longer be mistreated.

Sources - Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Volume XI, pp. 461-462.