Between May 1846 and October 1848, Paul Kane travelled from Toronto, Ontario, to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, following the Hudson’s Bay Company’s fur-trade routes during which time he sketched the landscapes and the peoples he encountered. Later, in his Toronto studio referring to his sketches for inspiration and details he developed formal oil-on-canvas and oil-on-board paintings. Kane met the Plains Cree chief on September 15, 1846 in the Fort Pitt region of the North Saskatchewan River when the chief was travelling among the Cree to induce fellow warriors to join him in war against the Blackfoot.