Abishabis
Cree First Nation religious prophet
Intro | Cree First Nation religious prophet | |
Gender |
| |
Death | 30 August 1843 |
Abishabis or Small Eyes (died 30 August 1843) was a religious leader of the Cree First Nation who became the prophet of a millenarian religious movement that swept through the Cree communities of northern Manitoba and Ontario during the 1840s. The religious philosophy of this movement was an admixture of Christianity and Cree beliefs. However, after losing much of his influence, Abishabis murdered a First Nations family living near York Factory. Following his arrest and imprisonment at Fort Severn, a group of three irate Cree forcibly removed him from his jail cell and took their revenge by smashing out his brains with an axe and burning his body.