Red River Merger HBC NWC Society and class

Red River Merger HBC /NWC Society and class conflict Settlement Orange Order Shultz Canada buys Rupert’s Land Louis Riel National Métis Committee

Métis: Children of the Fur Trade • Around 1810 children of French Canadians and First Nations began to refer to themselves as Métis - Métis French word for Mixed - Spoke a distinct language called Michif - Roman Catholic Religion

Settlement in the Red River Valley • Métis settled near the Red and Assiniboine Rivers in modern day Southern Manitoba • Part of Rupert’s Land • HBC encouraged Métis to settle - Some of the best farm land on the Prairies - Farms laid out in long narrow lots starting at the river - Grew hay behind river lots

Red River

Bison and the Hunt was a central part of Métis life Why Important: -Provided meat and hides -Main source of food -Provided a strong sense of community pride and discipline

Pemmican important to the Métis Economy and Life style • Portable and packed with energy - Modern day energy bars • Could be stored for years in leather bags • Important source of income for the Métis - Sold to NWC traders on long journey’s

The 5 th Earl of Selkirk: Thomas Douglas • A Liberal Democratfought for the rights of the poor and underprivileged • Wanted to help poor farmers in Scotland by helping them settle as farmers in Canada

Choosing Red River Valley • The Earl of Selkirk chose Red River Valley to create his Selkirk settlement WHY? - Red River has especially fertile soil - Farm colony would provide a food source for HBC workers

HBC Gave Selkirk a Land Grant to Start His Colony 30000 square kilometers of modern day Manitoba WHY? • HBC felt it had a legal right to give away land as it was a part of Rupert’s Land • No care for the Métis who already lived there

The Pemmican Proclamation • 1814 British officials banned the export of Pemmican from the Red River Valley for one year - Done out of fear that crops would fail and colonists would need all the pemmican to survive • Yet Métis made a living by selling pemmican and NWC needed to supply fur traders- took away their economic rights and independence!

The Métis and NWC Strike Back! • Métis were inspired to recognize and fight for their rights - Right to the land - Right to control their own affairs - Cuthbert Grant appointed Captain of the Metis

NWC instructed employees to drive out the British “The new nation under their leaders are coming forward to clear their native soil of intruders and assassins” Andrew Macdonell NWC employee • Led to armed confrontation against the colonists of Selkirk - Metis harrassed colonist, burned buildings, destroyed crps and fired rifles into the night - More than 100 colonists fled the area - Métis Win!

HBC- New Organization • By 1820 HBC and NWC almost bankrupt, so in 1821 the British government forced them to merge - The government wanted to make sure Rupert’s land stayed under British control • Kept trade monopoly and control over Rupert’s Land • Reduced employees by relying more on First Nations and Métis

George Simpson • 1821 named Governor and Chief of the HBC • Simpson saw it as a fashion to marry Métis women • Wanted to improve society in Red River by introducing more Europeans and minimizing Metis culture • Simpson planned to turn off his Métis wife and children and marry an English woman

Prejudice in Red River • Simpson’s new wife was his 18 year old cousin Frances • Frances refused to associate with the Métis • The Simpsons soon found themselves isolated in small town - Left in 1832

The Orange Order: Racial Tensions in Red River • New arrivals in Red River were Protestant members of the Orange Order - Promoted an Anti Catholic and Anti French movement Increased racial tensions - Métis were French Catholic - English speaking Protestant Métis were harassed due to heritage

John Schultz • A doctor who arrived in the colony in 1861 • Thought the Métis were lazy, careless, and lacking intelligence • Used the Nor’ Wester newspaper to promote anti-Métis views

Canada Purchases Rupert’s Land • Rupert’s Land was becoming too expensive for the HBC • Nov 1869 sold to Canadian government because John A Macdonald wanted a Canada that spanned Sea to Sea - joined Rupert’s Land to the Northwest Territories

Métis in Rupert’s Land The Métis were not consulted in the transfer of Rupert’s Land WHY? • Could not prove any legal ownership of land • John A Macdonald saw them as in the way of expansion

Louis Riel • Métis • A well educated and literate lawyer • Excellent Orator (public speaker) • Soon to be the leader of the Red River Resistance

The Beginning of the Resistance • Government surveyors were trespassing on Métis land before official sale was finalized - Surveyors marking plans for a road - Métis saw their land being taken from them - Métis stood on the Surveyors chains in protest stopping their work

National Métis Committee formed to fight for Métis Rights in Red River Valley 1869 - Including the right to land • Riel did not oppose the idea of joining Canada, nor did he encourage rebellion against the government • Wanted to ensure Métis rights would be protected