Chapter 9

Rise of the Métis

• Louis Riel Video

• Battle of Batoche

Red River Resistance

• A group of peoples living in what is now Manitoba organized themselves against the Canadian Government, why?

1. Rupert’s Land was British controlled so Canadian’s felt that as a British Colony they deserved to be given control if Britain no longer wanted to control it

2. Métis were tired of the HBC monopoly and began trading with the USA, and this worried Canadian annexation fears

3. Western expansion was a priority of many Confederation politicians, especially George Brown of Ontario (Ontario has the most seats)

4. B.C. wants to join Confederation, they just need a link (rail road)

Canada Buys Rupert’s Land

• In 1869 Canada bought Rupert’s Land for 1.5 million dollars from the HBC

• None of the people living in Rupert’s Land were consulted about the sale or to set up any agreements about land rights or peoples rights

• A LOT of Métis lived in the Red River area See the map on page 274 of the tb

• Read pages 275-276 and answer the respond questions

The Red River Resistance

• The Red River Resistance was composed of the people living in the Red River area of Manitoba

• They included Francophone and Anglophone Métis, Canadiens, retired HBC employees, Protestant settlers from Ontario and Scottish and Irish settlers

• The Métis were the largest individual group of peoples in this area

• Half the people in this area spoke English, the other half French

• The majority of these peoples joined in the Red River Resistance against the Canadian Government taking over their land

• We are going to do a time-line of the Red-River Resistance using handout 9-5

• Use pages 277 and 278 of the textbook to create a timeline of the events that caused the Red River Resistance

• Once you are done your timeline answer the respond questions on page 278

Timeline

• April 1869 - Agreement between Canada, the HBC and the British government to transfer Rupert’s Land to Canada

• July 1869 - Surveyors from Canada arrive well before the transfer date

• October 1869 - Louis Riel stops surveyors

• November 1869 - Métis volunteers stop Canada’s appointed Lt. Governor from entering Rupert’s Land and Métis annex Fort Garry

• December 1869 - Métis declare provisional Government

• Could also include decline of buffalo or crop failures sometime in the fall, no date specified in the tb

Review Questions pg 278

• 2 - Transfer of land or the surveyors, not talking with the people who lived their

• 3 - Canadian government showed a lack of respect for the Métis, alarming them

• 4 - where not consulted over the sale and the sending of surveyors indicates the government will not include them as citizens

Words that Challenge Canada’s Idea of Citizenship

Words that describe Canada

Words that describe the peoples of Rupert’s Land

“we refuse”

“prevent being enslaved”

“sacred right”

“ready to enter into negotiations”

“Strange Powers”

“pretends to have the rights to coerce us”

“peoples of Rupert’s Land and the North West”

“This people”

“country”

• Group read page 279 and answer the respond questions

• What are criteria for having a rebellion?

• Based on the information you have do you think the Métis should have Rebelled according to our criteria?

Questions for Riel

• On May 30th Louis Riel is visiting our class

• I want you to find out as much information from the textbook and other media sources to prepare yourself for his visit

• Because I want you to be able to ask Riel questions to find out the truth, because you need to remember that the victor writes the history

Who is Louis Riel

• According to your textbook Louis Riel history goes like this: Born at St.Boniface in the Red River Settlement in the

1850’s At 14 he left to attend College do Montreal to receive an

advanced education (he was a good student) Learnt to speak English, French and Cree and was

advantageous to living in the Red River Settlement He moved back to Red River in 1868 and due to his

education saw an opportunity to turn Red River into a province in order to better negotiate with Canada in order to improve the Red Rivers chances in getting what they want out of a Confederation deal

1869 the Métis formed a provisional government with out elections and chose Riel as the president

2 months later elections were called and Riel was elected president

In 1870 Riel created local elections for all cultures (Francophone, Anglophone, Catholic and Protestant) in the Red River area and had 20 representatives form a government, they chose Riel as their leader again

You Decide

• Read pages 282-285 and answer the respond questions as you go

• At the end I want you to decide which person, Nathaniel Langford or Robert Cunningham, presented a more accurate view of Louis Riel

• Write a paragraph explaining why you chose which one Keep in mind both men’s biases Use evidence (red letters in textbook are primary sources) Keep in mind your information about Riel from your

book and the respond questions you answered

The Manitoba Act

• The Red River Resistance ended in the negotiation of the Manitoba Act between Canada and The Provisional Government and the establishment of the province of Manitoba

• The Manitoba Act was a compromise between all the people involved in the Red River Resistance Métis wanted elected government, protection of Catholic

Religion and French language, and rights to the land they lived on

Canadiens wanted bilingual and bicultural rights protected First Nations wanted recognition of rights and land Anglophones from Ontario wanted to move west into

Manitoba The Canadian Government wanted land to build a railway

to B.C.

What Compromise did the Manitoba Act Strike?

• Acknowledged First Nations rights to land• Recognized Métis rights to land• Committed public funding for Protestant and

Catholic schools• Made Manitoba a province with its own

provincial government and the right to elect representatives to the federal government

• Made French and English the official languages of Manitoba’s Provincial Government

• Did not specify what land was for First Nations or Métis

• Did not outline a process for dealing with First Nation rights

• Did not give Manitoba control over public lands, all other provinces got control when joining Confederation

• Made Manitoba small in population. Also defined qualified voters as permanent residents, most Métis could not meet this standard because of the time they spent out of province hunting buffalo or fur trading

• put information about the Manitoba Act into a chart where you can show compromises for the minority (Métis, First Nations and Canadiens) and Compromises for Anglophones in the east

• respond questions on page 288

• Read page 290-291 and answer the respond question

• Read ALL of page 292 and 293 and answer the respond questions

Second Métis Uprising

• look at the picture on page 294, what does it tell you? buffalo overhunted Métis and First Nations rely on buffalo for their

food supply Food supply is low in these communities do to

massive buffalo hunts by American, Canadian and European hunters

The fur trade also depleted animal levels, so the First Nation and Métis were running out of food

Resettlement in South Branch

• page 293 shows a map of the settlement of South Branch

• circle shows the

location of south

branch communities

in what became

Saskatchewan

Problems at South Branch

• Canada’s police force for Rupert's land, the North West Mounted police were notoriously mean to Métis and First Nations

• Land surveyors arrived in the 1870’s to device how to route the national railway from Winnipeg to Edmonton to B.C.

• Land Speculators arrived to buy land along the railway route from the Canadian government to turn a profit

• surveyors and speculators bought land and picked land with Métis farms on it for their railways and business ventures

• Métis petitioned the Canadian government for recognition of their land, but he government did not respond because they were more interested in finishing the national railway system

• 1884, Gabriel Dumont, A South Branch leader went to Montana to find the exiled Louis Riel

• Louis Riel left his wife, children and job as a teacher to go to South Branch to talk to the people living their in hopes of finding a solution to their problems

• Louis Riel returns to South Branch and promises to help negotiate with the Canadian government

• Louis Riel sends multiple petitions to the Canadian government on behalf of the South Branch peoples, but nothing is responded to

• Rumors fly of Canadian troops being sent to SouthBranch

• Amid the Rumors, Louis Riel helps the leaders organize a government at South Branch

• The Métis, and First Nations decide to declare war on Canada based off skirmishes they have with the North West Mounted Police and the rumors of Canadian troops heading to South Branch

• Many Anglophone, Métis and white settlers wish to stay neutral

• Rumors were false

• however after declaring war against Canada, the Canadian government decides to send 600 troops to Batoche to confront the Métis

• Battle of Batoche lasts 3 days, 100 Métis and Canadian soldiers die

• Riel surrenders to Canadian troops

• Riel is given a trial and is hanged in Ontario

• His jury was composed only of Anglophones

• A member of the jury remarked “We tried Riel for treason, but he was hanged for the murder of Thomas Scott.”

• Read page 299 and answer the respond questions

• Louis Riel Video

• Battle of Batoche

Louis Riel Debate

• Should Canada have an official Louis Riel Day? To prepare for this debate answer the following

questions: Did Louis Riel have a positive influence on

Canadian history? Did Louis Riel do anything controversial? Are there any groups of people who idolize Louis

Riel? Are there any groups of people who hate Louis Riel?

• Louis Riel Question assignment handout

• Read the cartoon at the bottom of page 300 What is the message this cartoon is trying to

send?• read the captions and answer the questions on the

left hand side of the page to figure it out

• After the Second Métis uprising Manitoba’s government passed the Manitoba School Act Eliminated French as Manitoba’s official

second language Abolished funding for public French Catholic

Schools

Why did the Manitoba School Act Occur?

• Demographic Changes When the Manitoba Act was negotiated more

than 50% of the population was French speaking By 1890 immigration from Ontario and Europe

decreased the population of French speaking Catholics to 15%

Canada’s government advertised free land in Manitoba only in Protestant, English speaking neighborhoods in Canada and Europe

• Read page 301 and answer the respond questions

• Metis move west again

• read as a group pages 302-304