Quick Review of Chapter 4 What are the key points from chapter 4 that we should remember?

Chapter 5 – The Prairies, 1870-1896 Métis flee Westward!

Manitoba Act, 1870 Protected the rights of the Métis . Made French and English the official languages of the province. Provided Protestant and Roman Catholic Education systems. 1.4 million acres of land was reserved for the Métis to farm on.

Transition from Settlement to Province Macdonald had ordered troops into the area to keep the peace. Métis were brutalized by the troops and many died as a result from the beatings. The soldiers engaged in the violence were not punished.

Scrip Canadian Government issued “scrip” to the Métis for the land that they were promised in the Manitoba Act The use of scrip became very confusing to the Métis. Métis ended up selling their scrip to land speculators not knowing it meant they were giving up their land. If the Métis did not give up their scrip to the land speculators, they were threatened with imprisonment by the Manitoba Gov. Métis were forced out of Manitoba and headed Northwest to settle and start over.

Metis in the Northwest Laid out their farms in the traditional manner. Catholic church was at the center of the community. Income came from three sources: farming, hunting buffalo, and hauling freight for the HBC. The Métis way of life was returning back to normal But not for long.....

More Changes Bison began to disappear. Métis created the ‘Laws of St. Laurent’ which were laws that governed all aspects of life in the settlement including strict hunting laws to try to conserve the bison. Métis council determined when hunts would occur and how they would operate.

Lawrence Clark Most important non-Métis in the region. Chief factor (boss) at the HBC post, Fort Carlton. Canadian Gov made Clark the magistrate (judge), giving him complete power over the region. Saw Métis as inferior beings. Hired Métis to do jobs at low rates to keep them at a low standard of living.

Bad Winter 1874 - 75 Very little to eat, bison were all but eliminated. (p.174) Impossible to make pemmican, which meant loss of food and income for the Métis. Non Métis members of the St. Laurent community set out to hunt buffalo breaking the ‘Laws of St. Laurent’ Gabriel Dumont, Métis President of the St. Laurent, arrested and fined them.

Gabriel Dumont Acting as the magistrate for the Canadian government, Clark arrested Dumont and his men and fined them. This incident basically meant that the Métis ‘Laws of St. Laurent’ were useless.

In the end, the St. Laurent Métis.... Found themselves in a terrible situation. Were struggling to survive. They were now deprived of the right to make their own laws and conserve their livelihood. They were powerless to deal with the changes sweeping the Northwest.