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Pontiac's War
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Royal Proclamation
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Quebec Act
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Meti Buffalo Hunters
"It was in the Red River region and on the prairies that the Métis began to make their mark on Canadian history. By 1810 they had established roles as buffalo hunters and provisioners to the NWC." -Canadian Encyclopedia -
The Selkirk Settlement
"in 1811, Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk, reached an agreement with the HBC to found the agricultural colony of Assiniboia for Scottish settlers with the ultimate goal of provisioning the HBC. The early Métis were allied with the Nor’Westers, and saw the colony as a direct threat to the NWC’s trade and thus their own livelihood." -Canadian Encyclopedia -
War of 1812
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Pemmican Proclomation
" The Pemmican Proclamation was an 1814 decree that forbade the export of pemmican and other provisions from the Red River Colony in the colonial district of Assiniboia, in present-day Manitoba. The declaration, made by Governor Miles Macdonell, angered many Métis and North West Company (NWC) traders who saw the move as a direct sanction against them."
-The Canadian Encyclopedia -
Banned Hunting From Horseback
"Macdonell issued a further proclamation banning the "running" of buffalo with horses, he had the support of the NWC. Now it was the Métis in the region of Red River who found their interests frustrated, as these proclamations directly impacted Métis families who survived by providing supplies to NWC traders." Canadian Encyclopedia -
Metis Evict Selkirk Settlers
After escalating raids on rival fur trade forts by HBC and NWC officers, many prominent Métis grew hostile to the Selkirk settlement’s leaders and, under the leadership of Cuthbert Grant, in 1815 decided to evict the settlers from the region. -
MacDonell Goes to Jail
"Macdonell surrendered to NWC representatives in June 1815 to be brought to Montréal to stand trial on charges of illegally confiscating pemmican. He never faced the charges in court." -Canadian Encyclopedia -
Battle of Seven Oaks
"About 60 Métis and First Nations men, led by Cuthbert Grant, was heading west of the Forks to deliver pemmican to the NWC canoe brigades on Lake Winnipeg. They were confronted at Seven Oaks by HBC Governor Robert Semple and 28 men (mostly HBC officers and employees). The gunfire and hand-to-hand combat that resulted left Semple and 20 of the HBC party dead. Métis 16-year-old Joseph Letendre died and Joseph Trottier was wounded." -Canadian Encyclopedia -
Seven Oaks Incident
"Territorial Governor Robert Semple, having replaced Macdonell, was killed during a confrontation with Métis who were attempting to evict settlers from the colony. The conflict continued until Lord Selkirk’s death in 1820 opened the way for the merger of the HBC and the NWC in 1821." Canadian Encyclopedia -
Nor'Wester William McGillavray's Letter
"Nor'Wester William McGillivray admitted in a letter of 14 March 1818 that the Métis were linked to the NWC by occupation and kinship. “Yet,” he emphasized, “they one and all look upon themselves as members of an independent tribe of natives, entitled to a property in the soil, to a flag of their own, and to protection from the British government.”
"The early Red River Colony did not allay these fears, but rather antagonized the Métis and the NWC."
-Canadian Encyclopedia -
HBC & NWC Merge
"After the merger a number of traders were deemed redundant and many took up residence at the Red River Colony, which thus gained an increasing Métis presence. Company employees with Métis families lobbied for the founding of a community where they could retire and have lands, livelihoods, schools, churches and other amenities." -Canadian Encyclopedia -
Racial Agregate
"the rapidly growing population in the Northwest was, by the 1830s, increasingly seen as a racial aggregate, as racially based interpretations of human behaviour reigned in the 19th century. As such, Métis were often limited in their advancement through Company ranks." -Canadian Encyclopedia -
Period: to
Metis Challenge HBC Monopoly
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Louis Riel Born
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Metis Disrupt Trial
"Métis disrupted the trial of free trader Pierre-Guillaume Sayer, effectively ending the HBC fur monopoly and ushering in an era of free trade." -Canadian Encyclopedia -
Metis Petition
"Métis petitioned the Imperial Government in London through Red River-born lawyer Alexander Kennedy Isbister to limit the Council of Assiniboia’s power. On the ground, the Council rarely commanded enough of a constabulary to compel Métis to follow its laws, so the Council was often forced to compromise with the community to ensure the enforcement of its laws." -Canadian Encyclopedia -
Louis Riel's Father Dies
Louis Riel receives word his father has died while he is away at seminary school. His father had been spokes person for 6,000 French Metis -
Marie-Julie Guernon
"He quietly became engaged. However, in the racially charged atmosphere of the day, Guernon’s parents refused to allow her to marry a Métis man and the engagement was broken off. Riel left the seminary and moved back to Red River." Canadian Encyclopedia -
Confederation
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HBC Sells Rupert's Land to The Dominion of Canada
"Among Métis, however, questions arose on how the Company had gained ownership of the Northwest, when a multitude of “natives of the country” including the Métis and their Cree, Saulteaux and Assiniboine relatives still possessed a claim to the territory as descendants of the original inhabitants." Canadian Encyclopedia -
Metis Reject Transfer of Rupert's Land to Canada
"Well aware of British plans to transfer their country to Canada, Métis leaders generally rejected the notion that a transfer was possible without the consent of the Indigenous peoples who lived there and strategized methods of resistance at several public assemblies in 1869. The armed conflict that ensued is known as the Red River Resistance or Red River Rebellion." Canadian Encyclopedia -
Metis National Committe/Provisional Gov't
"William McDougall, lieutenant-governor of the new territory, sent survey crews to Red River assess and re-stake the lands. Concerned that an influx of Anglo-Protestant immigrants from Ontario would follow, the Métis organized the Métis National Committee in order to protect the social, cultural and political status of the Métis in Red River and the Northwest more generally...Riel was elected as its secretary and later elected president."
-Canadian Encyclopedia -
Riel & Committee stop Land Surveyors
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Riel & Committee Roadblock
To Keep William McDougall from entering the Red River Settlement