The Red River Resistance

Troops were sent by Prime Minister Macdonald to restore "order" in Manitoba. Upon arriving they were sent to find Riel but were unsuccessful because he had fled the country once he was satisfied with what was accomplished by the Manitoba Act.

Frustrated, the men of these troops proceeded to ransack Metis homes. This continued until they left Manitoba and returned to Ontario.

This action by the Metis proved to be a mistake. After the execution, the peace that had been reestablished was shaken and so was the faith of Riel's supporters.

Three delegates from the Provisional Government were sent to Ottawa where the succeeded in having most of the demands of the List of Rights included in the Manitoba Act (1870). It was this Act which allowed the Government of Canada to create the Province of Manitoba.

Unfortunately, though agreeing in principle with original demands of the Provisional Government, Macdonald could not grant the new province the right of control over public lands. Settlement in the west was to be under federal jurisdiction.

Persecuted and discriminated against, the Metis dispersed and sought land on which to continue their way of life. Many of the Metis who had land allotted to them, lost it. For the most part, they were either given away or were swindled out of it. The Canadian Government "decided that adults and heads of families were not eligible" to receive lands. Only the "children who could prove residence in Manitoba at the time of transfer of Rupert's Land to Canada on July 15, 1870 were to receive land."

The Government of Canada dealt with The Metis land claims by issuing Scrip. There were two kinds of scrip to choose from:

The Red River Resistance

Money Scrip: could be traded for money

Land Scrip: could be traded for land

Meanwhile, Thomas Scott, a member of the Canadian Party, was arrested and reconfined at Fort Gary (Scott had been arrested earlier and had escaped). Scott was an Orangeman, a radical protestant and a fanatically loyal Canadian. He was insulting and disdainful to the Metis, and delighted in openly criticizing them. Scott was extremely disliked in return. After the Metis discovered his plans to undermine the Provisional Government, he was charged with insubordination and disloyalty. Scott was found guilty on March 4, 1870 and executed by a firing squad.

About 90% of the Metis took money scrip, because they did not want to become inactive or they did not trust the new Government of the Red River area.

They knew their lands could and had been easily taken from them, whether they had possessed a deed or not.

On October of 1869, Louis Riel, Baptise Tourand and a group of Metis prevented surveyors from completing their assigned tasks who arrived in the Red River Settlement "without permission of the people of the settlement" ( Sealey 1975: 15).

Afterward, the people of the Red River organized a National Committee. The National Committee sent a message to William McDougall ordering him not to enter the settlement.

This was done for two reasons :

To prevent McDougall and the Canadian Party (predominantly English protestants) from seizing power.

To delay the transfer of the Northwest to Canada until the Metis could negotiate reasonable terms.

After 1870 the Metis population was divided into three groups:

• Those who remained and identified with the Indian people.
• Those who farmed and were assimilated into the Euro-Canadian culture
• The wanderers who attempted to live the old life of the fur trade.

The Canadian Government sent another negotiator to Red River, Donald A. Smith, who successfully conveyed a message of good intentions from the Canadian Government.

In response, the Provisional Government held off committing themselves in any way, and prepared a complete List of Rights outlining their demands.

Fort Gary (1875)

After taking Fort Gary , Riel controlled the settlement and quickly established a council composed of 24 members, 12 English speaking and 12 French speaking.

On November 23, 1869, the old Council of Assiniboia was replaced with a Provisional Government of Red River. At this turn of events, McDougall returned to Ottawa.

During the period of 1840-1870, migration west from the Red and Assiniboine River Valleys was slow, but the Metis flooded out of these areas between 1870 and 1880. At first, they went to the Metis communities which were already established. Soon the settlements of Petite Ville (1870), St. Laurent (1874), Duck Lake (1876), Eugene (1880) and Batoche (1881) were thriving. The South Saskstchewan River attracted the largest numbers from Manitoba.