Willow Bunch is the Rural Municipality #42 in southern Saskatchewan. In 2006, the total Aboriginal population for the RM #42 was 407. The Métis in Willow Bunch "played a key role in maintaining the peace during the time that the Sioux and the other American tribes were forced from the United States into the area of Wood Mountain. " The Métis had a strong relationship with the Sioux, especially with Chief Sitting Bull. "The fires of 1880 on Wood Mountain resulted in the movement of our people to other communities. It was at this time that the Métis pioneers moved to Willow Bunch at the suggestion of Andre Gaudry." The Métis were already settled in Willow Bunch when the North West Resistance, led by Louis Riel, battled the Canadian government over land rights. It was in 1885, "the Resistance had an impact on the Métis of Willow Bunch...marked the end of the influence of the Métis on the development of Western Canada. "