The Metis and the Red River Rebellion

Paper Summary:

This essay examines the events leading up to and including the Red River Rebellion and the effects it has had on Canadian culture as a whole. It is also examined with respect to the role of Louis Riel and the effects it has had on Metis culture and natives.

From the Paper:

"The Red River Metis' conflicts with other settlers and the Canadian government were largely a result of the existence of a "half-breed" settlement. Historian George Stanley once described Metis people as "having darker skin than a white person but otherwise quite similar to Europeans. In all respectability, they are like civilized men, not more uneducated, immoral, or disorderly than many communities in the old world."1 During the first stage of Metis discontent leading up to the rebellion at Red River, between the years of 1830 and 1850, the unrest among the Metis was largely a result of economic concern due to crop failures and the trade monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company.2 During this period, the Canadian government did little in the way of aiding the people of Red River. The second stage of Metis discontent occurred between the years of 1850 and 1869, the years immediately preceding the uprising against the Canadian government. The reason for discontent during this period was rooted in racial and social concerns of the Metis.3 The Metis during this period believed they were being pushed out of their own land, their own unique culture that they had developed to make room for other settlers to occupy their land. The Metis viewed this as an insult against their abilities, and their culture as a whole. The first period of discontent led to the eventual dismantling of the Hudson Bay Company's monopoly and the second era of discontent led to the insurrection of 1869 under Louis Riel."

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