Northwest_Rebellions

Causes of the Canadian Northwest Rebellions Canada, throughout its rich history has been fortunate to have a minimal number of violent conflicts occur on its soil. Although in fact, Canada has participated in a wide variety of wars and battles around the world, domestic violence and war within the country itself is rare and many years in the past. The Northwest Rebellion of 1885, by the Métis people of Canada was the rare exception to this trend, and what occurred was a bloody series of conflicts spearheaded by the rebel leader Louis Riel. Widely considered Canada’s first terrorist, he lead the Métis and Cree people into war against the Canadian government, fighting for equal rights in a quickly growing new world. In order for a rebellion of the magnitude of the Northwest Rebellions, there were a series of occurrences and disputes prior to 1885 which can be examined as the causes. The conflict itself lasted under a year, with the battles ranging mainly in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the surrounding region. The major base of operations for the Métis and Cree people was the settlement of Batoche, located on the South Saskatchewan River. It was here where Louis Riel would form most of his battle plans and schemes for trying to take down the federal government. The battles ranged from direct conflicts such as the Battle of Frog Lake, to indirect raiding affairs including the Raiding of Battleford. In this instance, the white settlers saw the Métis and Cree marching towards them and simply left their house, there was no actual conflict. Other conflicts would ensue, most notably the battles of Batoche, Fishermen’s Butte, and the concluding event of Loon Lake. In order for such a series of events to take place, there had to be prior occurrences which caused the disagreement. The causes of the Northwest Rebellions can be examined in terms of the Red River Rebellion, the Canadian Pacific Railway and its concern for the Métis as well as Native peoples, and finally the belief of the Métis and Native’s that their culture and way of life was being lost in a growing new world from sea to sea. The Red River rebellion is widely examined as the precursor event to the Northwest Rebellions. It helped to define a new age Canada would be stepping into, an age of expansion, and trying to fulfill the dream from sea to sea. Occurring in the year 1869, the Red River Resistance was a series of events involving the opposing forces of the Métis and Indians leading the resistance against the Canadian Government. The Red River frontier covered what are today Winnipeg and the surrounding region, but back then it was much unliveable land. It acted as a sort of crossroads between central and eastern Canada to British Columbia and the colonizers settling the west. The Red River region was composed mainly of Native (Cree), French, Canadian, Scottish, and American settlers; as borders were not final and well-recognized, there were numerous American hunters and trappers venturing north in order to make a living. With a population of around 12 000 at one time, The Red River settlement allowed those settlers to establish a living, as almost anything that was being transported out to British Columbia would travel near the settlement. Although it allowed opportunities to thrive, the Red River region was an often volatile place, with the different cultures clashing on a regular basis. The Indians often had disputes when the colonizing cultures tried trapping and settling on areas that were designated native lands. At the heart of the Red River settlement was the Métis people. Their people’s heritage consisted of half Native and half European dissent (does not matter where in Europe, although usually English or French). They composed almost half of the entire Red River population, carving out their own chunk of land and authority among the varying other nations. They acted as a living example of how the country has evolved due to the fact of cross-breeding, the Métis adapted many aspects of life from both the Europeans and Natives. The Métis lifestyle revolved around the buffalo hunt, something adapted from the Cree tribes living in the region. They executed this hunt with extreme precision and military formations; they eventually got the reputation of being a race of “light cavalry” and expert horsemen. During this time from 1860-1869, the Hudsons Bay Company controlled all of the land settled on by the Métis, which was called Rupert’s Land. However rumours began to spread that the possibility of the Hudsons Bay Company may attempt to sell off some of their property, trading posts, and other assets. For many generations beforehand, there had been an understanding of the ownership of the land between the varying cultures, but now that the Hudsons Bay land was being sold off to the Canadian Government, the threat of expansion became a primary concern for the Métis. For many years previous to 1869 (starting in c. 1835) the Metis had a large number of conflicts with The Hudsons Bay Company, over trading rights and resources. Although The Hudsons Bay company had also tolerated the Métis to settle on the land as well as develop their own ways of life and freedoms to a certain degree however. Essentially what the Métis thought would happen was that Canada and the new world mentality would expand over their land and thus many ways of life would be lost over years. As well due to the decrease in the buffalo populations (which in turn affected the food main food source for the Métis) it was clear that Canada’s priorities did not lie with assisting the transformation from old world to new world. When the dealings for the new land were taking place between the Hudsons Bay Company and the Government, surveyors began showing up in the Red River frontier; this is where the more serious issues began. Sent to investigate and scope out the region, the surveyors were verifying for the Canadian government the land they were purchasing. Evident that they were hired by the Canadian Government, numerous tribes (this included the Métis) took notice and felt even more threatened than when the original rumours of the surveyors were created. While surveying a specific area of the Red River settlement, a young Métis by the name of Louis Riel, along with some men halted the progress of the surveyors. The story goes as Louis Riel literally stomping his foot on the survey chain and shouting; “You shall go no further!” Word after this phrase was shouted began to spread. Louis Riel was now the unofficial “spokesman” for the Métis people, and to some degree, the entire populous of cultures that settled in Rupert’s Land that were affected by these changing events. After some of the negotiations had taken place, the Canadian Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald appointed the first lieutenant-governor to the region, William McDougall. The scheduled time for Canada to overtake the rights to Rupert`s Land was December 1st, 1869, but due to Louis Riel`s defiance and opposition, the date had been pushed back, thus the land was still in control by the Hudsons Bay Company. Noticing the control Riel had over the situation, the United States began talks with the Métis leader, urging him into the possibility of leaving his conflict with Canada and join America. This came as very disturbing news to John A. Macdonald, as this threatened his original dream of a country “from sea to sea”. If America convinced Riel to join them, Macdonald may have had much larger problems then the Métis. However nothing to the degree of annexation ever materialized, but a new problem had arisen. Over the course of a few months, the conflict between Riel and the government had risen to the degree of some armed conflict. Riel had originally established a force that had prevented McDougall from entering Rupert’s Land through force, and realizing that his people could do damage through Canada by means of direct conflict, the battles escalated. Riel organized the siege of Fort Gary in Rupert’s Land against Canadian loyalists. The siege of Fort Gary was a success, and afterwards the settlers that had sacked the fort proclaimed a Métis provisional government, which in turn was headed by Louis Riel. By 1870, Riel had gained mostly all support from the Métis and settlers of Rupert’s Land, and the provisional government was considered a legitimate force by the Canadian government. The hope of the Métis was to negotiate with Canada the terms of possible entry into confederation, so long as their rights were properly recognized.