The Battle of Loon Lake concluded the North-West Rebellion

North-West Rebellion

The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...

 on June 3, 1885 and was the last battle fought on Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 soil. Led by Major Sam Steele

Sam Steele

Major General Sir Samuel Benfield Steele, CB, KCMG, MVO was a distinguished Canadian soldier and police official...

, a force of North-West Mounted Police, Alberta Mounted Rifles and Steele's Scouts (a body of mounted militia raised by Steele himself) caught up with and dispersed a band of Plains Cree

Cree

The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...

 warriors and their white and Métis

Métis people (Canada)

The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...

 hostages.

Cree scouts made a determined stand with what was left of their ammunition, but the body of the Cree column

Column (formation)

A military column is a formation of soldiers marching together in one or more files in which the file is significantly longer than the width of ranks in the formation...

, realizing the hopelessness of their situation, released their prisoners and fled.

Wandering Spirit

Wandering Spirit (Aboriginal)

Wandering Spirit was a Cree war chief of a band of Plains Cree.-Frog Lake Massacre:The Frog Lake Massacre was a Cree uprising during the North-West Rebellion...

, the war chief leading the Cree military campaign, surrendered to authorities at Fort Pitt. Big Bear

Big Bear

Big Bear or Mistahi-maskwa was a Cree leader notable for his involvement in the North-West Rebellion and his subsequent imprisonment.-Early life and leadership:...

, the aging peacetime chief of this band of Cree, eluded capture until July 2.

Legacy

In the spring of 2008, Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Christine Tell proclaimed in Duck Lake

Duck Lake

-United States:* Duck Lake , a lake in John Muir Wilderness, California* Duck Lake , a lake in Illinois* Duck Lake , a lake in Blue Earth County, Minnesota* Duck Lake , a lake in Allamakee County, Iowa...

, that "the 125th commemoration, in 2010, of the 1885 Northwest Resistance is an excellent opportunity to tell the story of the prairie Métis and First Nations peoples' struggle with Government forces and how it has shaped Canada today."
The Battle of Loon Lake is commemorated today by interpretive signs placed by the Government of Saskatchewan and a plaque placed by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. The place is today known as 'Steele Narrows'.
The Narrows between Makwa Lake and
Sanderson Bay, in the Makwa Lake Provincial Park

Provincial park

A provincial park is a park under the management of a provincial or territorial government in Canada.While provincial parks are not the same as national parks, their workings are very similar...

, was the site of the last engagement of the rebellion. Steele Narrows Provincial Historic Park conserves the lookout point of a Cree burial ground.