When did the North-West Rebellion end?
March 26, 1885 – June 3, 1885North-West Rebellion / Period
Where did the North-West Rebellion end in 1885?
District of SaskatchewanWith Big Bear's surrender on July 2, 1885, armed resistance ceased in the District of Saskatchewan, thereby ending the last military conflict on Canadian soil. In the aftermath of the Cree uprisings, both Big Bear and Poundmaker were given prison sentences, and eight of their followers were hanged at Battleford.
Was the North-West Rebellion successful?
A series of battles left dozens of Métis and Cree warriors and Canadian soldiers wounded or dead. The Métis and their allies were eventually defeated by federal troops, though the Canadian government subsequently distributed land grants to the Métis.
How did the North-West Rebellion start?
The government responded in January 1885, saying it would not negotiate with Riel and would only consider the Métis' demands if these were presented at the proper time and place. Louis Schmidt and other Métis felt that this response by the federal government precipitated the outbreak of the 1885 Northwest Resistance.
Who won the North-West Resistance?
Dumont won the argument and on 12 April, with about 150 Métis and First Nations supporters, prepared an ambush at Tourond's Coulee, which the government soldiers would know as Fish Creek, 20 km south of Batoche on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River.
What is the most significant impact of the 1885 North-West Resistance?
Following the 1885 Northwest Resistance, the vast influx of non-Aboriginal settlers and the failure of the scrip system greatly disrupted the Métis' traditional lifestyles. Most Métis would lose out in the Prairie West's new social and economic landscape as newcomers flooded into the region.
What were the key events in the North-West Rebellion?
timeline of major events of the northwest rebellion26th March 1885,Battle of duck Lake. ... 5th April 1885, frog lake massacre. ... 24th April 1885 Fish Creek. ... 1st May 1885, battle of cut knife. ... 9th May 1885, Battle of Batcohe. ... 3rd July 1885, Riel on Trial. ... 16th November 1885, Execution of Riel.
Why was Scott executed?
Scott subsequently protected Marie from Riel and his "clumsy" courtship of her. This led to a hatred of Scott by Riel, causing him to want him executed. According to Bumsted, the only thing commonly agreed throughout these depictions is that Scott's execution was a political mistake by Louis Riel and the Metis.
Who were the first Métis?
Métis people are a post-contact Indigenous nation, born from the unions of European fur traders and First Nations women in the 18th century. The descendants of these marriages, the Métis, would form a distinct culture, collective consciousness, and strong Nationhood in the Northwest.
What did big bear do in the North-West Rebellion?
Mistahimaskwa (Big Bear), Plains Cree chief (born near Fort Carlton, SK; died 17 January 1888 on the Little Pine Reserve, SK). Mistahimaskwa is best known for his refusal to sign Treaty 6 in 1876 and for his band's involvement in violent conflicts associated with the 1885 North-West Resistance.
When was the Northwest Rebellion?
In the spring of 2008, Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Christine Tell proclaimed in Duck Lake, that "the 125th commemoration, in 2010, of the 1885 Northwest Rebellion is an excellent opportunity to tell the story of the prairie Métis and First Nations peoples' struggle with Government forces and how it has shaped Canada today."
What was the result of the end of the Rebellion?
The end of the rebellion led to the trial of Louis Riel, a trial that sparked national controversy between English and French Canada.
What was the name of the settlement in Saskatchewan during the Cree rebellion?
The South branch settlement was the centre of Louis Riel's Provisional Government of Saskatchewan during the Rebellion. To the west, where the Cree uprising led by Poundmaker and Big Bear occurred, was the Battleford sub-district with 3,603 people. The largest settlement and the capital of the district was Prince Albert with about 800 people ...
What was the name of the rebellion in 1885?
Batoche. Frenchman's Butte. Loon Lake. The North-West Rebellion of 1885 ( French: Rébellion du Nord-Ouest) was a rebellion by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of Saskatchewan against the Canadian government.
Where did the Métis settle?
After the Red River Rebellion of 1869–1870, many of the Métis moved from Manitoba to the Fort Carlton region of the Northwest Territories, where they founded the Southbranch settlements of Fish Creek, Batoche, St. Laurent, St. Louis, and Duck Lake on or near the South Saskatchewan River.
What was the last battle of the Rebellion?
The last armed engagement in the rebellion was the Battle of Loon Lake. On June 3, 1885, a small detachment of NWMP under the command of Major Sam Steele caught up to Big Bear's force which was moving northward after their victory at Frenchman's Butte. Big Bear's fighters were almost out of ammunition, and fled after a short exchange of fire and the release of their hostages.
Who was the Métis leader who fled the United States?
In 1884, the Métis (including the Anglo-Métis) asked Louis Riel to return from the United States, where he had fled after the Red River Rebellion, to appeal to the government on their behalf. The government gave a vague response. In March 1885, Riel, Gabriel Dumont, Honoré Jackson (a.k.a. Will Jackson), and others set up the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan, believing that they could influence the federal government in the same way as they had in 1869.
What was the North West Rebellion?
The North-West Resistance (or North-West Rebellion) was a violent, five-month insurgency against the Canadian government, fought mainly by Métis and their First Nations allies in what is now Saskatchewan and Alberta. It was caused by rising fear and insecurity among the Métis and First Nations peoples as well as the white settlers of the rapidly changing West. A series of battles and other outbreaks of violence in 1885 left hundreds of people dead, but the resisters were eventually defeated by federal troops. The result was the permanent enforcement of Canadian law in the West, the subjugation of Plains Indigenous Peoples in Canada, and the conviction and hanging of Louis Riel.
Why was Louis Riel's execution postponed?
Louis Riel’s execution was postponed three times: twice to allow appeals to higher courts, then for a fuller medical examination of his alleged insanity. The appeals failed and the medical commission report was ambiguous. The federal government could have commuted the death sentence, but the decision to let the law take its course was purely political. Riel was hanged at Regina on 16 November 1885.
How many Métis died in the Battle of Batoche?
Eight of Middleton’s force died during the Battle of Batoche. The general later reported that 51 Métis and First Nations were killed, but that number has often been disputed. Louis Riel surrendered on 15 May; Gabriel Dumont fled to Montana.
Why did Louis Riel fail to convince the jury?
His lawyers failed in their attempt to convince the jury that Riel’s religious and political delusions made him unaware of the nature of his acts — largely because Riel was so eloquent in his address to the jury on 31 July. The law provided no alternative to the death penalty, and on 18 September Riel was sentenced to be hanged ( see Capital Punishment ).
What happened in the 1870s?
By the late 1870s, the Plains Indigenous nations of the West — the Cree, Siksika , Kainai, Piikani, and Saulteaux — were facing disaster. The great bison herds had disappeared, pushing people to near starvation. Much of their land had also been signed away in treaties, and they were now seeing towns, farm fences and railways appearing on the once expansive prairies. In 1880, Cree chief Mistahimaskwa (Big Bear), and Isapo-muxika (Crowfoot) , leading chief of the Siksika, founded a confederacy to try to solve their people’s grievances.
Where did the Métis live in 1885?
In anticipation of police intervention of some kind — but without knowing that federal troops were coming by rail from the East — the Métis occupied the community of Duck Lake, midway between Batoche and Fort Carlton. On the morning of 26 March 1885, a force of about 100 North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) and armed citizen volunteers, moved towards Duck Lake under the command of Superintendent Lief Crozier.
When did the Métis pass the Revolutionary Bill of Rights?
In the fall of 1884, Riel prepared a petition and urged Métis and non-Métis settlers alike to sign it. On 8 March 1885 the Métis passed a 10-point “Revolutionary Bill of Rights” asserting Métis rights of possession to their farms, and made other demands, including: “That the Land Department of the Dominion Government be administered as far as practicable from Winnipeg, so that the settlers may not be compelled as heretofore to go to Ottawa for the settlement of questions in dispute between them and the land commissioner.”
How long did the North West Rebellion last?
The uprising is short but its legacy continues today. The North West Rebellion lasted less than three months in the spring of 1885. But the prairie uprising had an enduring effect on a nation. Its leader, Louis Riel, became a permanent symbol of language, religious and racial divisions in Canada.
What did the Red River Uprising win?
The Red River uprising had won many rights for Manitoba residents. Now Métis and white leaders in the North West Territories wanted Riel to work his magic for them. At first, Riel took the political route. He sent a petition to Ottawa outlining the grievances of the Métis and white settlers.
What did the Métis do in 1882?
In 1882, the Canadian government sent surveyors to the area rising fears among Métis that their land would be taken from them.
What happened in 1885?
Rebellion erupts. In March 1885, Riel formed a provisional government and a small military force. Armed conflict followed as Riel�s followers and government troops clashed mostly in the Saskatchewan territory. Riel lost all the support of the white settler's organization, which had once allied with him.
What did Riel believe?
Riel increasingly believed he was a prophet from God sent to lead his people. Rebellion erupts. In March 1885, Riel formed a provisional government and a small military force.
When did Louis Riel return to the prairies?
Louis Riel returns. Within this growing climate of frustration, Louis Riel returned to his prairie homeland in July 1884. The charismatic Métis leader had spent years in exile in the United States for heading the 1869-70 Red River Resistance.
What are the weaknesses of prairie natives?
Weakened by drinking, disease and starvation, prairie natives enter a dark age.
Overview
Historiography
A 2004 University of Saskatchewan MA thesis said that even though the 1885 North-West Rebellion was "one of the most-written about events in Canadian history", the historiography of the rebellion underestimated the significance and long lasting impact of the rebellion. The writers of these histories were white males who presented the events from a Euro-Canadian perspective. Historians largely overlooked the impact of the rebellion on residents of the region while focusin…
Nomenclature
The conflict is referred to by several names, including the North-West Rebellion, the North-West Resistance, the 1885 Resistance, the Northwest Uprising, the Saskatchewan Rebellion, and the Second Riel Rebellion. The conflict, in addition to the Red River Rebellion, was collectively referred to as the Riel Rebellions.
Although the terms rebellion and resistance can be used synonymously, its use in relation to thi…
Background
After the Red River Resistance of 1869–1870, many of the Métis moved from Manitoba to the Fort Carlton region of the North-West Territories, where they founded the Southbranch settlements of Fish Creek, Batoche, St. Laurent, St. Louis, and Duck Lake on or near the South Saskatchewan River. In 1882, surveyors began dividing the land of the newly formed District of Saskatchewan in the squ…
Demographics
The District of Saskatchewan, part of the Northwest Territories in 1885, was divided into three sub-districts and had a population of 10,595. To the east, the Carrot River sub-district with 1,770 people remained quiet. The Prince Albert sub-district located in the centre of the district had a population of 5,373 which included the Southbranch settlements with about 1,300. The South branch settl…
Course of war
Riel had been invited in to lead the movement but he turned it into a military action with a heavily religious tone, thereby alienating the Catholic clergy, the whites, nearly all of the First Nations, and most of the Métis. He had a force of a couple hundred Métis and a smaller number of First Nations at Batoche in May 1885, confronting 900 government troops.
Aftermath
The trial of Louis Riel occurred shortly after the resistance, where he was found guilty of high treason, and hanged. His trial sparked a national controversy between English and French Canada.
The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) played a key role in the government's response to the conflict, as it was able to transport federal troops to the area q…
Long-term consequences
The Saskatchewan Métis requested land grants; they were all provided by the government by the end of 1887, and the government resurveyed the Métis river lots in accordance with their wishes. The Métis did not understand the long term value of their new land, however, and sold much of it to speculators who later resold it to farmers. The French language and Catholic religion faced increasing marginalisation in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as exemplified by the emergin…
Summary
- The North-West Rebellion (or North-West Resistance) was a violent, five-month insurgency against the Canadian government, fought mainly by Métis and their First Nations allies in what is now Saskatchewan and Alberta. It was caused by rising fear and insecurity among the Métis and First Nations peoples as well as the white settlers of the rapidly ch...
Background
- By the late 1870s, the Plains Indigenous nations of the West the Cree, Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, and Saulteaux were facing disaster. The great bison herds had disappeared, pushing people to near starvation. Much of their land had also been signed away in treaties, and they were now seeing towns, farm fences and railways appearing on the once expansive prairies. In 1880, Cree chief M…
Formation
- On 18 and 19 March, an armed force of Métis formed a provisional government, seized the parish church at Batoche, and demanded the surrender of the nearby Hudsons Bay Company post at Fort Carlton. Riel was named president of the provisional government, and famed Métis hunter and tactician Gabriel Dumont was installed as military commander.
Prelude
- In anticipation of police intervention of some kind but without knowing that federal troops were coming by rail from the East the Métis occupied the community of Duck Lake, midway between Batoche and Fort Carlton. On the morning of 26 March 1885, a force of about 100 North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) and armed citizen volunteers, moved towards Duck Lake under the co…
Battle
- A large group of Métis and First Nations met them on the Carlton Trail outside the village. Negotiations ended in confusion and the police and volunteers fired at their enemy hidden in a hollow north of the road, and in a cabin to the south. The battle ended shortly after, with the police and volunteers retreating to Fort Carlton. Nine volunteers and three police members were killed, …
Aftermath
- In Ottawa, the governments reaction was swift and clear. There were only a few hundred full-time soldiers in Canada, but militia mobilization began on 25 March 1885, the day before the Battle of Duck Lake. CPR manager William Van Horne quickly arranged for Canadian troops to be transported across the unfinished gaps in the new railway, enabling them to reach QuAppelle, Sa…
Casualties
- Eight of Middletons force died during the Battle of Batoche. The general later reported that 51 Métis and First Nations were killed, but that number has often been disputed. Louis Riel surrendered on 15 May; Dumont fled to Montana.
Results
- The North-West Resistance had not been a concerted effort by all groups in the North-West. Even most Métis communities stayed out of the fighting. The people of the South Branch communities of the Saskatchewan River valley, centered at Batoche, had been the principal combatants. The Plains Cree of Big Bears band had participated, but the neighbouring Woods Cree had not. Som…
Trial
- As the government soldiers left the West, Louis Riels trial for high treason began at Regina. Riel demanded a political trial. His lawyers failed in their attempt to convince the jury that Riels religious and political delusions made him unaware of the nature of his acts largely because Riel was so eloquent in his address to the jury on 31 July. The law provided no alternative to the deat…
Terminology
- The Red River and North-West Rebellions are known by many names, including the Riel Rebellions, the Manitoba Rebellion and the Saskatchewan Rebellion. They are also known as the Red River Resistance, the 1885 Resistance and the Northwest Resistance. The terms rebellion and resistance are synonyms, but depending on which one is used, the perspective from which histo…
Definition
- According to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, for example, rebellion is defined as an organized and armed resistance to an established government, while resistance means resisting authority, especially in an occupied country.
Significance
- Indigenous studies scholars and many historians refer to the Métis and First Nations uprisings as resistances, meaning reactions against European colonization. This is because Métis and First Nations are understood to have established self-governance on their own land long before Ruperts Land was transferred to the Dominion of Canada.