The Metis in the 1870s Flashcards
What did the Metis think about the Manitoba Act of 1870?
The Manitoba Act created the new province of Manitoba in the lands surrounding the Red River. It was welcomed by many Metis as the new legislation seemed to protect Metis rights as well as those of future generations of Metis. Separate education systems were created for Catholics and Protestants. A lot of land was put aside for the “children of the Metis” as farmland and the rights of the Metis to their existing lands were protected.
How did things go badly for the Metis after the Manitoba Act of 1870 was passed?
Following the Red River Resistance, John A. Macdonald sent Canadian troops to Manitoba to ‘keep the peace’. Most of those troops were militia from Protestant groups that had caused trouble for the Metis in the past.
The militias committed acts of violence against the Metis including arson, assault, rape and murder.
What impact did the declining bison herds have on the Metis and Aboriginal people?
It caused problems because bison was still the main source of food for the Aboriginal people of the plains, and because the Metis traded animal hides. In response, the Metis passed strict laws governing the bison hunt.
What happened to the bison?
In the 1600s, an estimated 70 million bison roamed the grassland.
The slaughter of bison was part of the American government’s campaign to force First Nations people onto reservations so the American West could be made available to settlers.
The construction of the railways in Canada and the united States also divided great herds and brought in more hunters.
Bison hunting by Europeans was encouraged. The Americans knew that the loss of the bison would weaken First Nations people on the Plains.
Within a few decades, bison herds rapidly declined in number. Many First Nations people faced starvation as a result.
