Aboriginal Peoples: Nomads hunting buffalo & fur trappers European Settlers: Hudson Bay Company employees Largest settlement was in Red River at Fort Garry (present day

Winnipeg). Most were from Scotland and were poor farmers. French-speaking Roman Catholics who lived at St. Boniface English-speaking Protestants who were looking for rich

farmland Largest group were the Metis (Aboriginal and European

heritage)

People of the West

Fort Whoop-up was a place near

present day Lethbridge, Alberta, inhabited in the 1870s by American smugglers and traders, who sold whiskey to Aboriginal peoples at outrageous prices.

This was the destination of the first leg of the Great March. The Mounties planned to build a police post at this Fort and end the whiskey trade.

North-West Mounted Police = a police force formed by the Canadian Parliament to keep the peace, prevent crime and to catch criminals in the Canadian North-West.

Fort Whoop-up &The North-West Mounted

Police

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lab6gyWsMXo

The Hudson’s Bay Company had withdrawn

its rule from Rupert’s Land in Jan. 1869. The Canadian government was not entitled

to establish rule until Dec. 1869, which left the territory with no legal government for 1 year.

The Canadian government sent surveyors out in June.

They were driving stakes into Metis Territory. The Metis did not have papers to prove that

they owned the land and they were worried that the new settlers were going to take their land. They also heard rumors that a railway was going to go right through the buffalo land.

Louis Riel became their leader

Resistance at Red River

Riel forms the National

Committee of Metis. They are to decide how to protect Metis Lands.

John A. MacDonald appoints a lieutenant governor for the North West Territories – William McDougall.

When McDougall arrives at Fort Garry, the Metis block him and his turned away.

Riel and Metis take over Fort Garry and set up a Provisional Government.

Resistance at Red River

Metis draw up a Bill of Rights: The Right to enter Canada’s Confederation

as a province The right to elect and send 4 Members of

Parliament to Ottawa Control over their own local affairs The right to sue both French and English

languages equally in schools and law courts The right to keep their customs, tradition,

and Metis way of life. They wanted a rail line to come to

Winnipeg and for the Federal government to negotiate treaties with Aboriginal peoples in the region.

Resistance at Red River

Some settlers from Ontario riot to

protest Riel’s government. They are known as “the Canadians.” They are jailed.

Thomas Scott threatens to escape and kill Riel.

He strikes his guards, calls the Metis a pack of cowards, and insults the Roman Catholic religion.

Riel orders Scott to be brought to trial. He is found guilty of disobedience and is brought before a firing squad.

The execution of Scott caused a crisis in Canada. People in Ontario were outraged, while people in Quebec supported Riel’s decision.

Resistance at Red River:

Thomas Scott Affair

Riel’s provisional government works

out an agreement with Ontario called the Manitoba Act. It was allowed to send 4 members to

the House of Commons in Ottawa and 2 members to Senate

The people could use English or French in schools and government

Land was set aside for Metis. Each family received scrip.

July 15, 1870, Manitoba enters Confederation as a province.

MacDonald sends troops to the Red River area in case of any more trouble.

Riel flees to the US.

Resistance at Red River

A treaty is an

agreement between peoples or nations, often for friendship, peace, or the purchase of lands and property.

The British started to pay treaty money as an annuity (steady allowance once a year)

They wanted the Aboriginal peoples to give up their rights to the land and move to reserves.

Treaties with Aboriginal Peoples

Aboriginal Peoples sign the treaties because:The buffalo are disappearingIncrease settlementSickness and Disease

Treaties with Aboriginal Peoples

Blackfoot pledge: Canadian Government

pledge:

• To give up about 129,500 square km of land in Alberta

• To observe strictly to the treaty

• To be loyal subjects to the Queen

• To obey the laws• To keep the peace• Not to harm people or

property• To bring Aboriginal

lawbreakers to justice

• Reserves (2.59 square km for every 5 persons) and no others will be allowed to trespass

• Hunting rights and the right to cut trees for firewood on the reserves

• $12 each year for every man, woman, and child and $5 each year as an annuity

• $1500 worth of ammunition• A suit of clothing; and a new

suit every third year• Farm tools, cattle and

potatoes• Teachers to instruct their

children

Treaty #7

Reserve life was difficult

There was a drought in the 1880s

Land was not suited for farming

The people that the government sent to teach the Aboriginals how to farm were not skilled teachers

Government agents often cheated the people out the best food

Not enough rations and supplies to go around

Treaties with Aboriginal Peoples

The Indian Act of 1876 was passed and

clearly placed the Aboriginal people under control of the Canadian Government.

Treaties with Aboriginal Peoples

BC joined Canada on the

promise that a railway would be built within 10 years.

John A. MacDonald wanted a railway from sea to sea

A group of business people under Sir Hugh Allan formed the Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CPR)

The Railway

Papers were stolen from Sir Hugh Allan by

a former employee and they were turned over to the opposition party, the Liberals

The Liberals claimed that the papers were proof that Allan and his friends gave large amounts of money to MacDonald’s government.

It appeared that Allan had bribed MacDonald for the right of his company.

The conservatives admitted that Allan and friends gave the party $350,000 as a gift during the election campaign of 1872.

Many Canadians were not convinced of the gifts and this event become known as the Pacific Scandal.

MacDonald and the Conservatives had to resign.

The Railway:The Pacific Scandal

The sign MacDonald carries says “Prorogation and Suppression of the Investigation.

Prorogue means to discontinue the meetings of parliament without dissolving it.

A message on his hands states “Send me another $10,000.”

The cartoonist believes he is guilty of accepting a bribe

A bottle is tucked into his jacket pocket alluding to MacDonald’s alcoholism.

A young woman with the banner ”Canada” lies collapsed, in disarray, at his feet..

The title indicates that Canada is adrift, without a proper captain at its helm.

Whither are we Drifting?

Although his government fell as a result of the Pacific Scandal,

Macdonald was re-elected in 1874.

Alexander MacKenzie

became Prime Minister. A great economic depression

set in. They thought the railway was

too expensive and decided to work on it only when they could afford it.

The Railway

MacDonald put forward a National Policy to solve the

country’s problems. The policy was aimed to encourage the development of

Canadian industries and boost the Canadian economy. Keep cheaper American goods out of Canada Encourage Canadians to buy goods made by other Canadians Fill the rich prairie lands with settlers Have the settlers buy manufactured goods made in eastern

Canada. Let them sell their agricultural products to eastern Canadians. Encourage them to do all this by building an east-west railway

MacDonald was re-elected!

The National Policy

1880, George Stephen and Donald A. Smith formed a

new Canadian Pacific Railway Company and they worked out a new deal with the Conservative government.

Almost 1500km of steel were laid in the prairies in 15 months

To keep costs down in BC, they brought in thousands of Chinese workers.

Only men came and their one goal was to make enough money to return home to their families and buy land.

The Chinese were treated poorly in BC. They had the most difficult jobs and most could not save enough money to return home. They were paid $25 a month but were charged $4.50 a week for room and food. Plus they had to buy their own work clothes and tools.

The Railway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o87MgkGAqeU&feature=related

The 28th of June 1886 was “red letter” day. At 8pm, the Pacific Express Number One steamed

out of Montreal 139 hours later, it stopped into Port Moody, BC.

The Railway

Also known as the Homestead

Act Stated that any adult, or head of

family, could claim a quarter section of land. (only land set aside for homesteaders)

All they had to pay was a $10 registration fee.

They had to live on the land for 6 months each year, build a house, and start to cultivate the land.

If they carried out these terms in three years, full ownership was turned over to them.

Dominion Act of 1872

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v

=kJqSS7Cj86Y

Metis Aboriginal Peoples Settlers

• Legal proof that they owned the small spaces of land where they lived

• A voice in their own government

• Food and more $ in exchange for the use of their land; many people were close to starvation with the buffalo wiped out

• Lower prices for farm machinery and for moving goods on the railroad

• Higher prices for their wheat

• A stronger voice for the North-West in Ottawa.

Discontent in the West:

The following groups wanted:

Watch Canada: A People’s History

Episode 10: Taking the West

Movie ICA

For Aboriginal Peoples:

The only Aboriginal rebellion in Canadian history was put down by force.

The Aboriginal Peoples had no choice but to move onto the reserves.

Those that took part in the rebellion lost their annual government payments. Their horses and ammunition were seized.

Results of the Rebellion

For the Metis:

Many fled to the wilderness in northern Alberta Others took up scrip worth $169-$240. When

the money was gone, they had neither land nor money.

The Metis Nation was broken up

Results of the Rebellion

For French-English Relations in Canada

The split between English-speaking and French-speaking people over the Riel affair was bitter. Neither side forgave the other for its view of Riel

Hard feelings between Ontario Protestants and Quebec Catholics lasted a long time

Results of the Rebellion

For Political Parties

Many people in Quebec stopped voting for the Conservative party.

Many Quebecers began to vote for the Liberal party. This was especially true after the Liberals chose a French-Canadian leader, Wilfrid Laurier

Results of the Rebellion

MacDonald is portrayed as a circus performer riding the horse of “English Influence” and a horse headed in the opposite direction named “French Influence.”

He is trying to keep his balance and hang on to the reins.

He is also bearing the weight of Louis Riel on his shoulders.

Riel’s legs are gripping MacDonald’s neck in a strangle hold.

MacDonald is in an impossible position and will never be able to find a solution that will satisfy both French and English Canada.

A Riel Ugly Position

For Western Canada:

The railroad was completed to bring the troops west

Settlers felt more secure in moving to the West because the rebellions had been put down.

Many soldiers who fought in the rebellion settled in the west.

Results of the Rebellion

Definitions &Historical

Significance National Committee of

Metis Provisional Government Metis Bill of Rights Manitoba Act Scrip Fort Whoop-up North-West Mounted

Police Treaty Annuity Reserve

Indian Act 1876 Canadian Pacific

Railway Company Pacific Scandal National Policy Dominion Land Act

1872