Sweet Grass (Cree chief)

Sweet Grass
Cree chief
Wikaskokiséyin
Bornc. 1815
Diedon or shortly before January 11, 1877
near Brosseau, Alberta, Canada

Sweet Grass (also Sweetgrass or wîhkasko-kisêyin) (c.1815 on or shortly before January 11, 1877) was a chief of the Cree in the 1860s and 1870s in western Canada. He worked with other chiefs and bands to participate in raids with enemy tribes. While a chief, Sweet Grass noticed the starvation and economic hardship the Cree were facing. This propelled him to work with the Canadian and eventually sign Treaty Six. Sweet Grass believed that working alongside the government was one of the only solutions to the daily hardship the Cree were faced with. The Sweet Grass Reserve west of Battleford, Saskatchewan was named in his honor and is still functioning today.