Unit 2 Chapter 8

1
Unit 2Chapter 8

• The Métis

2
An Emerging Identity

• The first Métis were children of First Nations
  women and European men who came to North America
  to explore and trade for furs
• Demographics of Red River
• Country Born Metis
• Cree and Anishinabe First Nations
• Roman Catholic missionaries
• Canadiens
• British employees of the Hudsons Bay Company

3
Culture of the Red River Métis

• Language
• Opportunities to learn several different lanuages
  including French, English, and one or more First
  Nations language
• Spoke their own language called Michif which is a
  mixture of French, English, Cree, and Anishinabe
  words
• Economy
• Took jobs in the fur trade and hunted buffalo
• Grew crops on narrow river lots similar to the
  seigneurial system used in Quebec

4
Conflict at Red River

• Settlement
• Lord Selkirk brought settlers from Scotland to
  farm the land when the Red River and Assiniboine
  Rivers meet
• The Métis did not have legal papers to say they
  owned the land they had been farming for over 100
  years
• North West Company believed the HBC had sent the
  settlers to disrupt their trade
• Resources
• Colonists relied on buffalo as food so the
  governor banned the Métis from exporting any
  meat, fish, or vegetables from Red River
• Upset the Métis and NorWesters who relied upon
  the buffalo meat trade
• Fought back by stealing farm equipment and
  horses, shot off their guns to frighten settlers

5
Conflict at Red River Cont.

• June 1816 - Battle of Seven Oaks
• The first time that Country Born (First Nations
  women and HBC employees) and Francophone Métis
  joined together to defend their common interests
• Migration Further West
• 1821 the Hudsons Bay Company took over the North
  West Company
• The Red River and all the land surrounding
  belonged to the British
• As Buffalo became more popular for trade it began
  to die out the Métis migrated west to follow the
  buffalo

6
The Red River Resistance

• April 1869
• British colonist feared that if Red River did not
  become part of Canada it would be claimed by the
  United States
• Canada paid the Hudsons Bay Company 300,000
  (1.5 million) for Ruperts Land and British
  claimed territories in the northwest
• July 1869
• Canadian surveyors began to measure the land into
  sections for settlement
• Surveyors sometimes went right through Métis
  farms as if they did not exist

7
The Red River Resistance

• October 1869
• Métis leader Louis Riel stopped the surveyors
  from crossing into his cousins farm
• November 1869
• William McDougall lieutenant governor tried to
  enter the territory but Métis set up a blockade
  and stopped him
• Métis took control of Fort Garry, a major
  Hudsons Bay Company trading post
• December 1869
• Métis declared a provisional government and drew
  up the Bill of Rights
• Louis Riel became president of the new government

8
Louis Riel

• Stood out in his community as someone with higher
  education who could speak English, French and
  Cree
• Saw Confederation as an opportunity to establish
  the Red River settlement as a province
• Could have a provincial government that
  controlled local affairs
• Could also set conditions for joining i.e.
  establishing rights for Francophone, Catholic and
  Métis people

9
The Manitoba Act 1870

• Negative
• Did not specify any particular tracts of land for
  the Métis
• Did not suggest a process of principles for
  negotiating with First Nations
• Did not give Manitoba control over public lands
• Made Manitoba small
• The rest of Ruperts land came under direct
  federal control
• Qualified voters were permanent residents
• Many Métis could not meet this requirement
  because of the time they spent out of province on
  the annual buffalo hunt

• Positive
• Acknowledged First Nations peoples rights to
  land
• Committed public funding for both Protestant and
  Catholic schools
• Made French and English official languages of
  Manitoba legislature
• Recognized Métis rights to land
• Established Manitoba as a province, which gave
  the people of Manitoba the right to elect a
  provincial government and representatives in
  Canadas federal government

10
Canada, 1870
11
The Second Métis Uprising

• South Branch, Saskatchewan
• Where the Métis started over from Red River
• Established farms and worked the fur trade
• Continued annual buffalo hunts
• 1870s
• The Métis sent petitions to the federal
  government asking recognition for their farms and
  settlements
• Government surveyors began arriving as well as
  land speculators for the railroad
• Métis petitions were falling on deaf ears of a
  government so focused on completing the railroad
• Gabriel Dumont, leader of the South Branch
  communities asked for Louis Riels help

12
The Northwest Resistance of 1885

• the Métis of South Branch declared a provisional
  government at Batoche
• The Canadian government sent in 600 troops via
  the new railroad
• The Battle of Batoche
• Lasted 3 days
• 100 Métis fighters and Canadian soldiers had died
• Riel, Pitikwahanapiwieyin and Mistahimaskwa gave
  themselves up to Canadian troops
• Pitikwahanapiwieyin and Mistahimaskwa were
  imprisoned while Riel was executed
• Canadian government took steps to suppress and
  control First Nations and Métis people
• Restricted movement of First Nations people by
  requiring them to obtain a pass before they could
  leave their reserves

13
RespondUse your notes and the textbook to answer
the following questions

• Shared Economy pg 174 - 176
• 1. Describe the Métis way of life for
• Men
• Women
• 2. What were the advantages and disadvantages of
  a York Boat?
• 3. What made the Red River Cart special from
  other forms of transportation?
• 4. Why were rules so important to the buffalo
  hunt?

14
RespondUse your notes and the textbook to answer
the following questions

• Métis Reaction to the Colonist/Conflict over
  Resources/Battle of Seven Oaks pg 177 - 179
• 1. Why were the Métis concerned about losing
  their farms?
• 2. Why was the North West Company worried about
  its trading partnership with the Métis?
• 3. How would the Pemmican Proclamation affect
  the Red River Métis?
• 4. How did the Selkirk colonists and the
  Hudsons Bay Company show a lack of respect for
  the Métis identity and way of life?
• 5. How did the Métis respond to this threat to
  their identity?

15
RespondUse your notes and the textbook to answer
the following questions

• Resistance vs. Rebellion pg 180 - 184
• A rebellion is an attempt to overthrow a
  government, often involving the use of arms. A
  resistance in an attempt to stop a governments
  course of action.
• 1. Why did the Metis feel the needed the
  provisional government?
• 2. Were the Metis trying to overthrow the
  government of Canada?
• 3. Were the Metis trying to set up an
  independent nation of their own?

16
RespondUse your notes and the textbook to answer
the following questions

• The Creation of Manitoba pg 185 - 186
• 1. The Manitoba Act was a compromise between the
  different parties involved in the dispute at the
  Red River. Explain what each of the following
  groups achieved from the compromise
• a) First Nations
• b) Métis
• c) English - speaking and French -
  speaking residents
• 2. Compare the Manitoba Act and the Métis Bill
  of Rights.

17
RespondUse your notes and the textbook to answer
the following questions

• Shared Economy pg 174 - 176
• 1. Describe the Métis way of life for
• Men
• Métis men often worked for themselves
  as hunters, trappers, York boat operators, and
  Red River cart operators. They also worked as
  employees of trading ports as clerks, labourers,
  and interpreters.
• Women
• Women skinned buffalo and made
  pemmican, an important food source for hunters,
  trappers and fur traders.
• 2. What were the advantages and disadvantages of
  a York Boat?
• Advantages - large, sturdy, and
  stable
• - could carry
  many supplies
• - powered by
  wind and sails
• Disadvantages - heave to carry and
  not easy to manoeuver
• -
  difficult to portage and had to be rolled, not
  carried
• -
  inefficient in shallow waters
• 3. What made the Red River Cart special from
  other forms of transportation?
• It became the more dependable
  transportation in the West because it was able to
  transport goods on land and water, unlike most
  other forms of transportation.
• 4. Why were rules so important to the buffalo
  hunt?
• Rules kept the hunt organized, kept
  hunters from getting injured, and kept hunters
  from accidentally dispersing the herd which would
  make the buffalo harder to hunt. Not hunting on
  Sunday was an observance of the Catholic faith.

18
RespondUse your notes and the textbook to answer
the following questions

• Métis Reaction to the Colonist/Conflict over
  Resources/Battle of Seven Oaks pg 177 179
• 1. Why were the Métis concerned about losing
  their farms?
• In the past, interactions between
  Europeans and First Nations had led to the loss
  of First Nations land.
• 2. Why was the North West Company worried about
  its trading partnership with the Métis?
• The North West Company relied on the
  Métis and the transportation routes established
  in the Red River area. The Selkirk settlement in
  Assiniboia would disrupt these fur trade routes.
• 3. How would the Pemmican Proclamation affect
  the Red River Métis?
• It would harm the Métis economy and
  way of life because the Métis would not be able
  to sell their pemmican and fresh meat to fur
  trading posts.
• 4. How did the Selkirk colonists and the
  Hudsons Bay Company show a lack of respect for
  the Métis identity and way of life?
• The Hudsons Bay Company and Selkirk
  colonists showed a lack of respect by not
  acknowledging or consulting the Métis when they
  set up the Selkirk Colony. Lord Selkirk and the
  colonists did not consider the Métis homesteads,
  livelihoods, or way of life when they settled in
  the area and made the Pemmican Proclamation.
• 5. How did the Métis respond to this threat to
  their identity?
• The Métis along with the
  NorWesters, tried to drive out the colonists by
  stealing their horses and farm equipment and by
  frightening them with gunshots.

19
RespondUse your notes and the textbook to answer
the following questions

• Resistance vs. Rebellion pg 180 - 184
• A rebellion is an attempt to overthrow a
  government, often involving the use of arms. A
  resistance in an attempt to stop a governments
  course of action.
• 1. Why did the Métis feel the needed the
  provisional government?
• The Métis formed a provisional
  government because they needed leaders to
  represent their interests in Ottawa they wanted
  Macdonald to view the provisional government as
  legal and they wanted to become part of
  Confederation.
• 2. Were the Métis trying to overthrow the
  government of Canada?
• The Métis were not trying to
  overthrow the government of Canada they wanted
  to government to listen to their concerns and
  respect their rights.
• 3. Were the Métis trying to set up an
  independent nation of their own?
• The Métis were not attempting to set
  up an independent nation they wanted to become
  part of Confederation, with their rights
  protected and respected like those of Canadians
  in other provinces.

20
RespondUse your notes and the textbook to answer
the following questions

• The Creation of Manitoba pg 185 - 186
• 1. The Manitoba Act was a compromise between the
  different parties involved in the dispute at the
  Red River. Explain what each of the following
  groups achieved from the compromise
• a) First Nations
• The interests of the
  First Nations were not considered in the creation
  of Manitoba.
• b) Métis
• Were allowed to keep
  their culture, customs, and identity, and that
  land was set aside for
• them.
• c) English - speaking and French -
  speaking residents
• Both had their
  language and education rights protected (the
  latter through dual publicly
• funded school system)
• 2. Compare the Manitoba Act and the Métis Bill
  of Rights.
• Manitoba Act - French and English
  language rights elected representatives in the
  House of Commons the right to join Confederation
  as a province land set aside for the Métis
  government control of resources and unclaimed
  land
• Métis Bill of Rights - French and
  English language rights in the legislature and
  documents elected representatives the right to
  join Confederation as a province the power of
  the legislature to make laws for the province
  treaties for First Nations Métis land rights

21
Rebellion on the Red

• Watch the CBC archives clip Rebellion on the
  Red and answer
• the following questions
• http//archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-1482-9957/politics
  _economy/louis_riel/clip1
• Who was Louis Riel?
• What were the Red River and Northwest Rebellions?
• Why was Riel tried, convicted, and hanged for
  treason in 1885?
• Why do the Métis people regard Riel as one of
  their great heroes?
• Why does Riels memory continue to arouse
  controversy to this day, over a century after he
  was hanged?