The North West resistance of 1885 had many reasons why it was caused. One major reason why the North West resistance was formed can be how the Metis were concerned about their land rights. They were also concerned about the invasion of white settlers, where the bison population was also decreasing. The Metis were getting less representation in the Government of the North-West Territories. In 1880 after the representation was given the Metis petitions were not being talked about by the Federal Government. There were many harsh economic changes happening in the West and there was no help from the Federal Government. This made the Metis very angry. Louis Riel was one of the main people during the North West Resistance. Louis Riel was a Canadian …show more content…
Louis Riel started the North West Resistance because of the land claims and the changing economy. This caused Louis Riel to start a resistance against the Canadian Government. There are many social, political, economic, and cultural reasons for why this resistance ever started.
Social/Cultural:
During the North West Resistance the Indigenous people were moved into reserves, where they never understood the idea of land ownership. This can also be a cultural factor as Indigenous people have a connection with the land better than settlers at that time, and us today. There was a lot of discrimination done with Indigenous people, as they weren’t given much of a political voice. The Metis petitions were not being noticed; they were being ignored. Louis Riel became their leader only to give the Metis as well as Indigenous people their rights. To make the Metis rights heard they made a committee which had Métis of the Lorne district (North-West Territories). The Métis leaders had many meetings where they were looking for ways to show the importance of their rights, they made a list of injustices happening with them, and they voted so
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There weren't many representatives of the Metis in the North-West Territories Government. This was one of the reasons why the rebellion started. After the Metis could become representatives during 1880, the Federal Government didn’t talk about/look over the petitions the Metis made. The Metis wanted a title and didn’t want to be driven out like in Manitoba. This led to the Red River Resistance. There was no answer to the Metis petitions which made the Metis pressure the government. The Cree of the Treaty 6 region 1885 was the result of their anger of breaking the treaty agreements, these treaties were supposed to be made in good thoughts. Louis Riel told the unhappy people living in the North-West to press their case on Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald’s Conservative Government. Then Louis Riel created a petition in 1884 where he made the Metis and non-Metis settlers sign it. On March 8, 1885 the Metis passed a bill called the Revolutionary Bill of Rights. The Revolutionary Bill of Rights was made to talk about Metis land title, provincial status for Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Red River, and it talked about acknowledging Indigenous people and their rights. There were many demands in this Revolutionary Bill of Rights. One demand was that the Metis wanted to claim their rights to their farms. There were a number of battles taking place in 1885 which could have been a major cause for the start of
The Red River Colony was a part of Rupert 's land, the Metis were afraid of losing their rights and land. Since Louis Riel was
Treaty 6 was signed on August 23,1876 at Fort Carlton and less than a month later on September 9, 1876 in Fort Pitt. Some Chief’s had expressed concern regarding being able to sustain this new way of life. They did not want to potentially lose touch with their way of living and the resources their lands possessed. The First Nations people had requested that the government aide their people with agricultural assistance, as well as help during times of famine, and pestilence. The Canadian Government was also asked if they could assist them with modern medicines.
The Aboriginals had original taught the early settlers how to trap and hunt about the land but in the documents associated with the deed and the land transfer, it was written that “Any claims of Indians too compensation for lands required for purposes of settlement shall be disposed of by the Canadian Government and the company shall be relieved of all responsibility in respect of them.”. Instead of the company leaving land for those who had aided them in the beginning. The singled them out due to racism and did not include them in any of the agreements between the HBC and the Crown in which they would receive land for themselves. This could have also contributed to the prejudice against the Aboriginals in future years because during that time period land was equal to power so those without land were treated as the poor and had no say. The deed also affected those who were against poaching and hunting.
I believe before the Alberta Settlements model can be adopted at large, there must be long discussions about each of these topics. The Métis leaders would have to figure out what would constitute good governance and how to guide themselves toward the future. Other changes include “crafting a new approach to housing, one which puts the emphasis on individual as opposed to public ownership” and voluntary certification for financial management and related governance functions. The Métis also have to consider the fact that Alberta houses many natural resources and the provincial government is naturally richer.
Louis Riel wanted these changes, and he protested in the most civilized way, without spewing blood. He created a provisional government of the Red River Valley, The Métis National Committee. He halted (not kill or hurt) land surveyors in the area, and created the “Métis List of Rights” (one of the first civilian rights copy) which included many of the same rights as the rest of Canada, but was seen as radical document. The document also ends up being one of the reasons the province of Manitoba was created. Riel speaking out led to the creation of province, which technically speaking, Riel could be considered a founding father.
This made it harder to collect fur for trade, and with the addition of crop failures, the valley’s economy was in an undesirable situation. Additionally, the HBC began to lose interest in Red River because the fur trades were declining, leading to further economic damage. Tensions were high, and the poor state of the economy made it harder for the metis to continue their original way of life. Furthermore, People like Dr. Schultz, and the Orange Order continued to increased the tensions within the metis community. Louis Riel and Canada’s Purchase of Rupert's Land
During the North West Rebellion in 1885, Riel wrote the Bill of Rights, which further improved the conditions of the Métis. This made Riel a defender and a supporter to the Metis rights and culture. Another thing that stands out was he tried his best to not have any injuries or deaths in his battles; however, the Canadian government kept ignoring and disregarding their demand. During the Battle at Duck Lake, Riel plan was to surround Crozier’s men and intimidate them and hope to take them hostage without a battle. He tried to use methods that were peaceful to achieve what they wanted, but the rebellion and fighting against Canada were inevitable.
Louis Riel was a proud Métis, a person of both First Nation and French ethnicity. The Métis were treated poorly by the Europeans in their own land and Riel wanted to change that. In the 1800’s, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), bought out Rupert’s Land and renamed it the Northwest Territories. The Canadian Government gave this land to incoming European immigrants. This act displaced the First Nations and Métis people who had originally inhabited that land.
As a result the Red River Rebellion ensued. A leader quickly arose to the forefront to help pursue the interest of the minority party and to hearken the attention of the privileged Angelo Canadian ran government. This leader was none other than Louis Riel. At "Almost twenty- four years of age, educated, clever, imbued with a strong sense of pride in himeslf and in his own people..." Riel was perfect to lead the Metis (Riel 9).
Charles Mulvaney tells reader “more life lost than had been lost by Canada fighting of 1837, or the Fenian raids of 1866 and 1870.” This shows that while a source like George Woodcock, A Social History of Canada mainly talk about how the Métis lose, it fails in not taking to account that both sides lost a lot in number. Lastly, people of the past have had a different idealism that we shared today some being cruel and corrupt while other help progress humanity toward a better future. Idealism is shown in Charles writing when Sir John said that ”the Half-breeds are always discontented” and “if you
these were years of Native American change. Though the legislature was goal was to drive tribes onto reservations and let them make sense of another lifestyle all alone, numerous Native Americans were not in agreeance. They organized into associations and rights groups and worked together toward one main goals, which was to convince the government to pass enactment that would ensure and help Native Americans Assimilate. By the year 1871, through many efforts on boths side it was clear that sending tribes to live on reservations was not a successful solution to the government 's dilemma.
The third and last reason is that Riel took the blame for all of his people, and their resistances, so they would not be punished for what they did to resist they government’s orders, and to stand up for each other and themselves. He was to blame, according to the government, and Louis Riel was hung for his “crimes” against the government. One reason that Louis Riel was not a traitor is that, even though he betrayed his own country, he stood up for what is right, and for what he believed in. Riel tried his best to see to it that the Metis and their own rights, language, religion, and ways of life, and that they could be protected from anyone who wanted to change the Metis and make them someone who they were not. Riel may have done some foolish things, like murdering the Irish Protestant by the name of Thomas Scott, but Scott had threatened Riel before his fate was
The settlers felt that the British government were treating them unfairly, and their rights were violated. The conflict between the British Government and settler helped to gather political ideas to break away from the British Government and declare their own independent nation.
Throughout the history of the United States, there generally have been dozens of particularly social movements, which is fairly significant. From the African American Civil Rights Movement in 1954 to the feminism movement in 1920, protests for all intents and purposes have helped these groups basically earn rights and fight injustice in a really major way. Some injustices that these groups face range from lack of voting rights to police brutality, or so they essentially thought. The indigenous people of North America aren’t actually immune to these injustices, basically contrary to popular belief. Back in the 1968, the American Indian Movement generally was formed to for all intents and purposes give natives security and peace of mind in a
This rebellion was one of the important moments of Louis becoming the “Father” of Manitoba. If this rebellion never happened, a government would have never been formed and the terms would have not been negotiated for Manitoba being able to go back into Confederation. This rebellion was simply a way for Louis to communicate with the government and make terms to agree with. He led a couple hundred Métis people all the way to a place called Fort Garry, where they then took it and the military over. As they were taking over the fort, they also grabbed hostages along the way and had a meeting with them.