Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
1
The Northwest Resistance
The Return of Riel
2
After the Red River Resistance
The Metis land grants in Red River were delayed if ever given out Metis residents in Red River were unwelcome among the new Protestant immigrants As a result any Metis people decided to leave Manitoba More than 4000 left Manitoba between 1870 and 1885
3
Dispersion of the Metis
The largest groups settled along the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers at St. Laurent, Batoche, Duck Lake, and Prince Albert By 1883, there were 1300 Metis living on a 50 km stretch along the South Saskatchewan River between Batoche and St. Laurent By 1885, the village of Batoche numbered about 500 people
6
Challenges in the Northwest
Things were not much better for the Metis in the North- West Territories Steamboats were cutting traditional Metis jobs carrying freight The bison were close to extinction causing hunger and hard times for the Metis and for First Nations on the prairies More Metis people turned to farming As early as 1873, the Metis began sending petitions to the Canadian government to ask that their land titles along the South Saskatchewan River be secured No one wanted to be forced to move again However, their petitions went unanswered
7
Surveyors… Again Land surveyors sent by the federal government arrived in these new Metis communities and began staking grid lots, ignoring the Metis river lot system already in place The Canadian government had begun building the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), which would run across the entire country The original plans had the railway running from Winnipeg along the North Saskatchewan River Valley through several Metis communities Land speculators began acquiring land, and lobbied the government for ownership of lands already settled by Metis people
12
Was History Repeating Itself?
Emotions ran high in the community as the Metis people feared their claims would be ignored by the government The Metis petitions to the feds continued through the late 1870s increasing in urgency as non-Aboriginal immigrants began arriving and staking claims to land Some Metis people again decided to leave, moving farther west Others asked when they could finally stop moving and decided that they needed help By 1884 the North-West was ripe for rebellion “Only one man can help us now”
13
Consider the Following:
If you were a Metis farmer living along the Saskatchewan River in 1884, who would you turn to for leadership?
14
The Return of Riel In June 1884, a delegation of Metis people travelled to Montana to seek out Louis Riel Gabriel Dumont, legendary hunter and master sharpshooter led the effort The Metis delegation asked Riel to lead them in their struggle for fair treatment by the federal government Riel agreed to help
17
Riel After Red River Riel was not the same person as he had been in 1870 He had suffered a series of emotional breakdowns and had spent several years in asylums He was convinced that he was a prophet of God Despite his declining mental health, he knew better than anyone the blueprint for success
19
Riel and Macdonald Once in the Northwest Riel met with various groups to gain a consensus on priorities Riel then sent Macdonald a petition on behalf of the residents of the region asking for: provincial status an elected government control of natural resources Macdonald delayed in responding while Riel and the Metis grew impatient
22
It Begins On March 5th, 1885 Riel and a group of prominent Metis sign the Revolutionary Bill of Rights, to "save our country from a wicked government by taking up arms if necessary“ On March 18, 1885, a group of Metis occupied a church at Batoche and cut the telegraph lines between Regina (the capital of the North-West Territories) and Prince Albert Metis leaders declared a provisional government on March 19 with Dumont as its military leader The Metis community armed itself in support of the provisional government On March 19, 1885 the North-West Rebellion had begun
24
Read through the Metis Bill of Rights (1885)
Read through the Metis Bill of Rights (1885). What differences do you notice between this document and the 1870 document?
25
Consider the Following:
2. What differences do you see thus far between he Red River Resistance, and the Northwest Resistance? 3. Why would Riel not have an official position in the provisional government?
26
First Nations on the Prairies
Some First Nations leaders, most notably Poundmaker and Big Bear, were sympathetic to the Metis cause First Nations people were also going through hard times A smallpox epidemic The decline of the bison herds Being confined to reserves Intentional food shortages and periods of starvation by the federal government “Starve them on day, feed them the next” However, the 2 First Nations leaders stopped short of a formal military alliance with the Metis
27
Poundermaker Big Bear
28
Irony The reaction to the rebellion was quick
In 1870, it had taken the army 4 hard months to get to Manitoba By 1885, the CPR had reached the plains Within 10 days the first troops had arrived, and within the month more than 5000 soldiers were in place under the command of General Frederick Middleton Before the rebellion the railway had been next to bankruptcy However, with the outbreak of the rebellion parliament allocated additional funds to the CPR to move troops westward and quell the threat It can be argued that Riel’s Resistances saved MacDonald’s dream of the CPR connecting Canada from coast to coast And with the railway came more Protestant Settlers
29
Battle at Duck Lake On March 21, 1885 the provisional government demanded the commander of Fort Carlton, Superintendent Crozier to surrender Four days later, a group of Metis took over several stores in Duck Lake in search of food and other provisions On March 26, a group of North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) and volunteers under the command of Superintendent Crozier was met by a group of Metis led by Dumont at Duck Lake Fighting broke out In minutes, twelve of Crozier's men and five Metis were dead the police were forced to retreat
32
The Conflict Escalates
Some natives fought alongside Metis soldiers, however, most First Nations actions in the conflict were independent Many First Nations had been asking, without success, for increased rations for their people Facing starvation, at the end of March a group from the Poundmaker and Little Pine reserves raided stores at Battleford and raided nearby farms for food, supplies, and livestock Most non-Aboriginal settlers abandoned their farms and crowded into Battleford On April 2, a group led by Wandering Spirit (a Cree War Chief from Big Bear’s First Nation) raided HBC stores at Frog Lake in search of food, arms, and ammunition Big Bear was against the use of violence, but with his people were suffering he bent to Wandering Spirit 8 settlers and a Canadian government official were killed
33
Ottawa Mobilizes Even before news of Crozier's defeat at Duck Lake reached Ottawa the Winnipeg militia units were ordered to prepare for mobilization On March 30, 1885, 600 troops were dispatched from Toronto Unlike the 1870 Resistance, Ottawa had the CPR Though the railway was not totally complete the troops reached Qu'Appelle in 6 days (It took 4months in 1870) A group of soldiers and militia under General Middleton then marched toward Batoche Other troops kept travelling, reaching Swift Current and then heading north with orders to protect the settlers at Battleford
34
The First Skirmishes On April 24, Middleton and his men encountered Metis forces led by Gabriel Dumont at Fish Creek Although vastly outnumbered, the Metis sharpshooters were well positioned, and with limited ammunition forced Middleton’s troops to retreat The Metis then withdrew to Batoche to prepare for Middleton's next advance On May 2, a force of army, militia, and police under command of William Otter left Battleford to ambush a group of Cree and Assiniboine people camped nearby at Cut Knife Hill The troops were anxious to punish Poundmaker and his people for the looting at Battleford However, the First Nations, under the leadership of Ininew war chief Fine Day and Metis leader Norbert Delorme, were able to fend off the troops, forcing them to retreat
36
The Battle of Batoche On May 9, Middleton's force of about 850 laid siege to about 300 Metis and First Nations fighters at Batoche Although Metis forces were far better trained and positioned than the Canadian militia, the Canadian forces were better supplied with arms and ammunition The Canadians even had a couple Gatling guns, an early form of machine gun Metis shotguns and rifles could not hold out long against Canadian firepower and a lengthy siege After 3 days, the Metis and First Nations had run out of ammunition and were forced to surrender
41
The Aftermath of the Resistance
Riel surrendered to government troops on May 15, 1885 11 days later Poundermaker also surrendered Big Bear held out for another month and a half before he too surrendered Gabriel Dumont escaped to the United States, where he joined “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show The Resistance was officially over The federal government tried seventy-one Metis and First Nations people for felony treason, twelve for murder, and one, Riel, for high treason Both Big Bear and Poundmaker were sentenced to 3 year prison terms Each died within months of his release from prison On November 27, 1885, 8 First Nations fighters, including Wandering Spirit, were hanged in Battleford
42
in the back row, from left to right, Constable Black, Louis Cochin, Inspector R.B. Deane, Alexis Andre, and Beverly Robertson, and in the front row, Horse Child, Chief Big Bear, Alexander Stewart, and Chief Poundmaker.
43
Big Bear and Poundmaker at Stony Mountain Penitentiary, 1885
45
The Trial On July 6, 1885, in Regina, Riel was charged with high treason Riel's lawyers argued for the trial to be moved to Manitoba with a 12 person jury (6 English-speaking members and 6 French-speaking members) They felt this would ensure a fairer trial Their requests were not upheld The judge in the case, Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Richardson, set the trial in Regina and chose the 6 person jury to hand down Riel's verdict, all of whom were English-speaking, white, and Protestant Riel's lawyers wanted him to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, however, Riel refused to plead insanity because he believed such a plea might undermine the legitimacy of the Metis Resistance
46
vs
48
The Verdict The jury found Riel guilty of high treason, which carried an automatic death penalty The jury did recommend that the judge show mercy, however Magistrate Richardson handed down the death sentence on August 1, 1885 2 Appeals postponed the execution In the end, all appeals were denied, and a Riel was hanged in Regina on November 16, 1885
51
Consider the Following:
Why could the Canadian Federal Government and the Metis not find a peaceful resolution? What was the Macdonald’s national vision and how did the CPR fit in? Was the Riel verdict inevitable? What do you think was the larger consequence of Riel’s hanging on the new Dominion of Canada? What is Riel’s legacy? Hero, traitor, villain, madman, other? Explain
56
Fast forward 143 years In March of 2013, following 32 years of lengthy court deliberations, the Supreme Court found that Section 31 of the Manitoba Act was never properly implemented. The provision of a land grant of 1.4 million acres, inside of which the entire city of Winnipeg sits, was to be set aside for the children of the Metis (in other words, for Metis families The current federal government has yet to resolve this and compensation has yet to be paid
Similar presentations
© 2025 SlidePlayer.com. Inc.
All rights reserved.