Fort Pitt, Saskatchewan
Encyclopedia
Fort Pitt is a fort built in 1830 by the Hudson's Bay Company
and was a trading post
on the North Saskatchewan River
in Canada
. It was built by Chief Factor John Rowand
, previously of Fort Edmonton
, in order to trade for bison hides, meat and pemmican
. Pemmican, dried buffalo meat, was required as provisions for HBC's northern trading posts.
, Assiniboine and Blackfoot
converged. It was located on a large bend in the river just east of the present day Alberta
-Saskatchewan
border and was the major post between Fort Edmonton and Fort Carlton
. In 1876, it was one of the locations for signing Treaty 6
. It was the scene of the Battle of Fort Pitt
during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885.
It is now a tourist park .
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
and was a trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
on the North Saskatchewan River
North Saskatchewan River
The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows east from the Canadian Rockies to central Saskatchewan. It is one of two major rivers that join to make up the Saskatchewan River....
in Canada
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...
. It was built by Chief Factor John Rowand
John Rowand
John Rowand was a fur trader for the North West Company and later, the Hudson's Bay Company. At the peak of his career, he was Chief Factor at Fort Edmonton, and in charge of the HBC's vast Saskatchewan District.-Montreal:...
, previously of Fort Edmonton
Fort Edmonton
Fort Edmonton was the name of a series of trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company from 1795 to 1891, all of which were located in central Alberta, Canada...
, in order to trade for bison hides, meat and pemmican
Pemmican
Pemmican is a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as a nutritious food. The word comes from the Cree word pimîhkân, which itself is derived from the word pimî, "fat, grease". It was invented by the native peoples of North America...
. Pemmican, dried buffalo meat, was required as provisions for HBC's northern trading posts.
History
Fort Pitt was built where the territories of the CreeCree
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...
, Assiniboine and Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
converged. It was located on a large bend in the river just east of the present day Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
-Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
border and was the major post between Fort Edmonton and Fort Carlton
Fort Carlton
Fort Carlton was a Hudson's Bay Company fur trade post from 1810 until 1885. It was rebuilt by the Saskatchewan government as a provincial historic park and can be visited today...
. In 1876, it was one of the locations for signing Treaty 6
Treaty 6
Treaty 6 is an agreement between the Canadian monarch and the Plain and Wood Cree Indians and other tribes of Indians at Fort Carlton, Fort Pitt and Battle River. The area agreed upon by the Plain and Wood Cree represents most of the central area of the current provinces of Saskatchewan and...
. It was the scene of the Battle of Fort Pitt
Battle of Fort Pitt
The Battle of Fort Pitt was part of a Cree uprising coinciding with the Métis revolt that started the North-West Rebellion in 1885. Cree warriors began attacking Canadian settlements on April 2...
during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885.
It is now a tourist park .