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

2. 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

3. 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

4. Red River

5. 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

6. 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

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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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!

11. 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

12. 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!

13. HBC- New Organization
By 1820 HBC and NWC almost bankrupt, so in 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

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

21. 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

22. National Métis Committee
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