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Period: to
Northwest Rebellion
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Laws of St. Laurent
The Metis adopted the Laws of St. Laurent as a way to adapt to the vanishing of the buffalo. They governed all aspects of life in the community, but especially the rules of the hunt, so the buffalo could be conserved as best as possible. -
Arrest of Gabriel Dumont
The winter of 1875 was a hard one for the Metis, and when spring came, some people not belonging to the groups who followed the Laws of St.Laurent started the buffalo hunt early. Gabriel Dumont, the president of St. Laurent, fined the perpetrators accordingly. They appealed to the government officials in the area, who arrested Dumont. Although the punishment was light, the government had infringed on the Metis right to self-government. -
CPR Construction Gets Underway
By 1882, the cost of building the CPR was amounting to more that anyone had planned for. John A. Macdonald speculated that the land in the prairies was worth about $71 million- enough to cover costs. The one obstacle to the plan was the Metis, who lived on the land. The government had no intention of letting them get in the way of money, although they found other ways than selling the land. One tactic was to cut the budgets allocated for First Nations, forcing them to go to the Metis for help. -
The Return of Louis Riel and the Metis Bill of Rights
In 1884, the Metis explained their troubles to Louis Riel, who was working as a schoolteacher in Montana. He agreed to help his people, and came to the Northwest. His intentions were nonviolent, but his presence was a threat to the government. In late 1884, Riel collaborated with a sympathetic farmer to write the Metis Bill of Rights. It stated the grievances of the Metis. -
Beginning of the Rebellion Proper
Louis Riel had demanded the surrender of Fort Carlton, near present-day Saskatoon. The first engagement between milita and Metis was a negotiation gone bad. Near Duck Lake, two Metis delegates were shot by the Northwest Mounted Police. The Metis retaliated, and both sides opened fire. The battle was over in half an hour, leaving 12 NWMP officers dead. The Northwest Rebellion was on. -
Aftermath and Trials
The government was relatively lenient with many of the captured rebel leaders. They were seen as having been lead astray by Riel. He was taken to Regina and put on trial, where a jury found him guilty of high treason, punishable by death. Riel knew his fate was sealed, but still tried to fight for his people. His defense was less personal and more on behalf of the Aboriginal and Metis people of the Northwest. -
Militias Mobilized
The Northwest Rebellion wasn't wholly a bad thing in the eyes of the government. If the CPR could be used to help defeat the rebels, the project would gain public approval. By 1885, the Manitoba militia started encroaching on the Northwest. The Governor of the Northwest also banned the sale of ammunition in the territory, disarming the Metis. On March 19th, Louis Riel gave a speech at St. Laurent, telling the people the government was determined to have a war, making peace impossible. -
Batoche
The cumulative battle of the Rebellion happened in Batoche. It had become the stronghold of the Metis forces, and was well defended despite the disparity between Metis fighters and their enemies. There were 725 milita men to 175 Metis. The Metis, making up for numbers in their courage, held Batoche for three days. In the end, the sheer amount of NWMP-aligned soldiers overwhelmed the Metis, and Batoche fell. On May 15th, Louis Riel was captured. -
Execution of Louis Riel
Despite the judge and jury recommending clemency, Riel was sentenced to death by hanging. The execution was carried out on November 16th. His death had many impacts. For the Metis, it meant the death of a man who'd fought for them twice. For French-Catholics, it was Ontario's attack on their culture. This marked a widening in the split between Quebec and the rest of Canada, especially Ontario. Above all, it was the end of rebellions in the West. The (white, protestant) government had won.
