Red River

Red River Settlement British aristocrat Thomas Selkirk wished to create a new colony He purchased land from HBC The area was in modern-day Manitoba The area was settled in 1812 However there were already Metis living there

Who are the Metis? People of mixed Native and European origin At this place & time most worked for NWC Very common along the St, Lawrence River and further west.

Thomas Douglas- 5 th Earl of Selkirk Was a 7 th son in his family (Didn’t expect to inherit) All his brothers died He created settlements for poor Scottish farmers in PEI (1803) and Upper Canada (1804) Established the Red River settlement for HBC in 1811

Competition At the time there was a lot of competition between the HBC and the NWC Red River was located strategically where the Assiniboine and Red River met Metis working for NWC actively disrupted the settlement

1816 In the Spring of 1816, HBC soldiers destroyed NWC’s Fort Gibraltar This stopped much needed pemmican shipments The Metis needed to respond

Pemmican 50% dried pounded meat mixed with 50% Fat Sometimes had dried berries pounded into the meat power High in energy and necessary for surviving harsh winters at the time

Pemmican

Cuthbert Grant

Metis (Scottish father/ Metis mother) Educated in Scotland Entered service with the NWC in 1812 and quickly became a Metis leader In 1816, when Fort Gibraltar was destroyed, Grant led a Metis assault to seize the pemmican This led to the Battle of Seven Oaks

Seven Oaks After reclaiming their pemmican, Metis led by Cuthbert Grant were travelling to trade it Along the way they ran into the Governor of the Red River colony- Robert Semple After some arguments a battle ensued The Red River colonists didn’t stand a chance

Seven Oaks Cont… Red River Colonists were outnumbered 3:1 21 Red River Colonists were killed including Semple Only one Metis died The Metis were known to be skilled shooters

Treaty of 1818 Between Britain and the United States Created the border between our countries in the west at the 49 th parallel All lands south (including part of the Red River settlement) were ceded to the USA

After Seven Oaks Selkirk Dies HBC and NWC merge- fighting halts Metis settle in Red River By 1860 Metis in Red River outnumber the Scots This leads to further rebellion, but that’s another story