The Red River Rebellion

The Red River Rebellion By Adero Helgason The Red River Settlement The Red River Settlement was founded on the confluence of The Red River and The Assiniboine River in Rupert’s Land which was controlled by The HBC. The Settlement was founded in 1812 by Thomas Douglas, on the land of the Cree and Ojibwe tribes and the hunting lands of some Metis communities. This lead to tensions between the European settlers and the Native and Metis peoples. Thomas Douglas In the 1850s, The HBC was pressured to give up their rule of Rupert’s Land. In the negotiations between The HBC and the Canadian Government, the Metis people’s concerns were not considered and they treated the land as if no one lived there. During the negotiations, white Protestants began moving out west to the areas occupied by Metis people. Their intrusion led to even stronger calls for cultural and land rights by the Metis people of the newly established territory. In 1869, the Government wanted to re-survey the farmland in the west from the long and narrow strips of land along rivers to square plots that limited access to water. The Government also intended to respect the land rights of the Metis, but didn’t guarantee that they would. William McDougall was also appointed the territory’s first Lieutenant Governor with the task of re-surveying the land. This fueled fears of English Canadian dominance in the west among Metis communities. William McDougall In November of 1869, Louis Riel became a prominent figure in the movement for the rights of Metis people in Canada. He had the support of many Francophone and Anglophone Metis communities across the territory. In December of 1869, Louis Riel lead a group of Metis rebels to Upper Fort Garry, (an HBC trading post on the forks of the Red and Assiniboine rivers) and took it over. They planned to occupy the fort until the Government agreed to negotiate. Louis Riel On December 8, 1869, rebel delegates gathered to an Elected Assembly and formed a Provisional Government headed by Louis Riel. The objective of the government was to negotiate terms of confederation with the Canadian Government as well as secure land and cultural rights for the Metis people. A mistake that the Provisional Government made was that they allowed execution. Thomas Scott was a Protestant English speaking man from Ontario. He was captured at Upper Fort Garry and was executed. His execution angered Protestants though the Canadian Government was still willing to negotiate. By March 1870, the Canadian Government found the rebellion too costly to deal with. In the spring of 1870, negotiations were held between the rebels and the Canadian Government in Ottawa. The Rebels demanded a new province and land rights for the Metis. On May 12, 1870, the province of Manitoba was founded. The province was tiny compared to the ones in the east. It was only a small portion of land in the vast Northwest Territory which was now in the Government’s control. Within the new province, public lands were also controlled directly by the Federal Government. Louis Riel and Seal of Manitoba the Metis were very disappointed with the new province. Land rights for the Metis were also given, with 607 000 Hectares of land given to Metis families and their children in the province. These agreements were mismanaged by the Federal Government and future Governments. Louis Riel and other rebels were given amnesty , but had to flee upon the arrival of British troops to the province. Many felt that they had not been given what they wanted and that the Government had broken their agreements. Sadly, Louis Riel attempted another rebellion in what is now Northern Saskatchewan that resulted in him and many others being executed for treason. References Canadian encyclopedia: Article Red River Rebellion Wikipedia: Wikipedia – Red River Rebellion Indiginous Peoples Atlas: Red River Resistance Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Ruperts-Land.

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