Seeking Sovereignty Louis Riel and The Red River Metis (1869–1885)
The Northwest Resistance The Return of Riel. After the Red River Resistance The Metis land grants in...
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Transcript of The Northwest Resistance The Return of Riel. After the Red River Resistance The Metis land grants in...
The Northwest Resistance
The Return of Riel
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
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
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
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
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”
Consider the Following:
1. If you were a Metis farmer living along the Saskatchewan River in 1884, who would you turn to for leadership?
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
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
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
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
1. Read through the Metis Bill of Rights (1885). What differences do you notice between this document and the 1870 document?
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?
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
Poundermaker Big Bear
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
• Big Bear and Poundmaker at Stony Mountain Penitentiary, 1885
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
vs
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
Consider the Following:
1. Why could the Canadian Federal Government and the Metis not find a peaceful resolution?
2. What was the Macdonald’s national vision and how did the CPR fit in?
3. Was the Riel verdict inevitable?4. What do you think was the larger consequence of
Riel’s hanging on the new Dominion of Canada?5. What is Riel’s legacy? Hero, traitor, villain,
madman, other? Explain
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
