THE WESTERN CREE (Pakisimotan Wi Iniwak) Louis Joseph Piche (Chief Pesew) The Founding of a Dynasty

Book excerpt: While most Canadians have heard of the Indian Chiefs Poundmaker, Big Bear and perhaps even Broken Arm (MASKI PITON), Chief PESEW has remained virutally unkown. He is not mentioned in the popular or academic history of the Canadian west or in the Indian history of the west. In fact, western development owes a large debt to Chief PESEW - Louis Joseph Piche. Coming west as a young Voyageur with Peter Pond, Piche eventually rose to become the Head Chief of the Cree/Nakoda alliance in the west, and their allied tribes. His sway reached from Winnipeg to the Pacific, and from Lesser Slave Lake to Wyoming. It is Piche and his followers who "settled" the west, and it is thanks to him that the west was settled peacefully for those who followed. Piche had a large family, and most of the Western Cree chiefs today can trace descent to him. 468 pages.