Red River Resistance and Movement to the Northwest SS 10 Mr. Sharp

Key Understandings Part 1: Red River Resistance and the Manitoba Act Part 2: The Northwest (Alberta/Sask) and the 1875 Incident

Part 1: Red River Resistance and the Manitoba Act

What do we already know about the Red River Settlement? How was the Red River Settlement created? Why was it a difficult start? Describe the Pemmican Proclamation. Describe the Battle of 7 Oaks. Who was Louis Riel and what did he set up in Red River? Lots of change = rising tensions

What do you anticipate might be some of the reasons many Metis and First Nations are forced to leave the Red River area leading up to and after the creation of Manitoba? Here are some of the reasons why many Metis and First Nations are forced to leave Red River for the Northwest…

The Orange Order Many of the new Canadian settlers were Protestants and members of the Orange Order: A violently anti- French, anti- Catholic movement They were prejudiced against the Metis (surprise!) because they were French, Catholic, and of mixed heritage…

The Orange Order Dr. John Schultz One of the first immigrants was Dr. John Schultz, he opened a general store, took over the newspaper “The NorWester” By the end of the 1860’s he had organized a small group called the Canadian Party which hoped to gain control of the settlement.

Economic problems… Economic problems in the Red River contributed to rising tensions… Crop failures Decrease in bison Less investment by the HBC Land ownership issues

Bison Population American government encouraged people to hunt bison Trade of hides and pemmican for HBC Railway divided bison herds and made them weaker Railway brought more hunters FN, Metis AND Europeans)

What do we know about Louis Riel? Born in 1844, he was the son of a Metis leader He was a literate, well- educated lawyer He was fluent in both English and French He was an excellent speaker He was only 24 years old when he returned to the Red River

The Provisional Government Riel set up a Provisional gov’t They wanted the Red River Settlement to join Canada as it’s own province- Manitoba Riel’s Provisional Government

Civil War? Riel feared that a civil war would begin because the Canadian Party was armed and ready to attack the Metis To stop this from happening… Riel led a party of armed Metis to Schultz’s home (headquarters of Canadian Party) They took 48 of Schultz’s followers to Fort Garry

Riel and Macdonald After this, Riel declared that he was ready to negotiate with the Canadian government Macdonald refused

Thomas Scott One of the prisoners was Thomas Scott Scott was a member of the Canadian Party and Orange Order He was strongly anti- Metis and was verbally and physically abusive to the guards in jail Louis Riel executes Thomas Scott Read “Canada’s Story” Newspaper article – Discuss: Is this a biased account?

OUTRAGE! Schultz and the Orange Order made Thomas Scott into a Protestant martyr who had been cruelly murdered by the Metis Cries for justice and retaliation soon reached the government officials in Ottawa Complete the section of your notes about the Execution of Thomas Scott (A Single Act of Severity) with the CPH video clip and discuss.

A Compromise… In April, Macdonald finally offered a compromise to the Metis: He did not allow provincial control of public lands BUT He did give the Metis 200 000 hectares of land to recognize their aboriginal title

Manitoba becomes a province… On May 2nd,1870 legislation confirmed that Manitoba would be included into Canada = MANITOBA ACT

Riel flees into exile When government troops arrived in the Red River in August, RIEL WAS GONE… He (wisely) had fled to the USA… All of the member of the provisional government were granted Amnesty- except Riel- HE WAS BANISHED FROM CANADA FOR 5 YEARS

Riel in Exile Riel would spend the next 15 years in exile in the United States… HOWEVER, He would later return to take up a new cause…

Part 2: Transition to the Northwest

Transition from settlement to province was not smooth… Manitoba was now controlled by Ottawa, which meant no more provisional government Macdonald ordered troops to keep the peace there but instead, they brutalized the Metis Most of the troops were Protestants of the Orange Order and more intent on avenging the death of Thomas Scott than keeping the peace

The Issue of Land The issue of land ownership was not straight forward: Settlers were required to have a “scrip”- a document similar to money The Metis did not understand how the scrips worked (they had never dealt with money or deeds) and so sold them to land speculators for almost nothing.

A Metis “Scrip”

This is your “scrip” THANK YOU By reading this, you have agreed to give up your bathroom privileges in this class for the rest of the year.

Feel cheated?? This is exactly how the Metis felt when they sold their scrips… They did not realize that the scrips were the legal title to their land- they sold them for next to nothing… The Metis did not have a system of money and understood land ownership differently than Europeans…

The Metis move North and West Just some of the reasons many Metis left Manitoba: Land speculation became a serious problem Militia caused life to be uncomfortable Bison numbers decreased Slow land distribution (many did not receive their scrip until 1875!!!)

In the early 1870’s, many Metis moved North and West where they tried to recreate the culture they had in the Red River settlement. Most Metis moved to present day Alberta, Saskatchewan, and to the US.

The Northwest Settlement The Metis used the seigneurial system to plot out their land The Catholic church was the center of the community Their income came from 3 main sources: Farming Hunting bison Hauling freight for the HBC

Viewpoints in History: 1875 Incident Lawrence Clark, Gabrielle Dumont and the Laws of St. Laurent

The Northwest Settlement For a while, life was good. However, by the early 1870s, the bison were beginning to disappear… This greatly alarmed the Metis In December 1873, the Metis adopted the “Laws of St. Laurent” (read text pg 169 and discuss) Governed life in the community, but also made the laws about hunting Bison very strict because the Metis knew that they had to conserve bison for as long as possible

1875 Incident Please read pages 170-171 in your textbook and complete the table on the back of your sheet about the 1875 Incident. Who was involved? What happened? When and where did it happen? Why is it important?

The Metis Gabrielle Dumont – Metis hunt captain. He is enforcing the Laws of St. Laurent. The Metis – specifically the group that are hunting.

Lawrence Clark HBC Factor in Saskatchewan Believed Metis to be inferior and tried to make their lives difficult Appointed Magistrate (to enforce Canadian Law) and used his power to help the HBC For example, Metis who objected to low wages were imprisoned

1875 Incident – What happened? After a difficult winter, a group of Metis went out to hunt Bison before the official season began Metis hunt captain Gabrielle Dumont arrested them The Metis hunters were in violation of the Laws of St. Laurent, but appealed to Magistrate Clark for help Clark was eager to support them because in doing so, he made the Laws of St. Laurent invalid

When? Where? Why? When? Spring, 1875 Where? Northwest Settlement Why important? Social: divides metis community because some follow the Laws of St. Laurent and some ignore them. Environmental: Bison herds are put in danger of extinction