- Also called:
- North-West Resistance, Second Riel Rebellion, or Northwest Uprising
- Location:
- Alberta
- Canada
- Saskatchewan
North-West Rebellion
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What was the North-West Rebellion?
The North-West Rebellion was a violent conflict in 1885 between the Canadian government, the Métis, and their Indigenous allies, in areas of Canada that would become Saskatchewan and Alberta. It was caused by Métis concerns over land rights and survival due to white settlers and declining bison populations.
Several battles resulted in casualties on both sides, but the Métis and their allies were eventually defeated by Canadian troops. Following the conflict, the Canadian government distributed land grants to the Métis. The conviction and hanging of rebel leader Louis Riel angered French Canadians and caused distrust between them and English Canadians. The rebellion significantly impacted west-central Canada, marking the culmination of the federal government's efforts to control native communities and settlers in the region.
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Where and when did the North-West Rebellion take place?
The North-West Rebellion was a violent conflict in 1885 between the Canadian government and the Métis, along with their Indigenous allies, in areas of Canada that would later become Saskatchewan and Alberta. It was triggered by Métis concerns over land rights and survival due to white settlers and declining bison populations.
The main combatants were from the South Branch communities of the Saskatchewan River valley, particularly around Batoche. Some Cree and Dakota warriors also fought with the Métis. After the Métis and their allies were defeated, rebel leader Louis Riel was hanged in Regina on November 16, 1885.
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Who were the main groups involved in the rebellion?
The North-West Rebellion of 1885 involved several groups with distinct grievances against the Canadian government. The main participants were the M\u00e9tis and their Aboriginal allies, primarily Cree warriors. The M\u00e9tis, led by Louis Riel, were concerned about land rights and cultural survival due to increasing white settlement and declining bison populations. Plains Cree, and some Dakota warriors also joined the fight.
Conversely, most settlers and the Blackfoot Confederacy remained neutral or supported the government. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) played a crucial role in suppressing the rebellion.
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Why did the North-West Rebellion happen?
The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was triggered by the Mélis' rising concerns over land rights and survival due to an influx of white settlers and declining bison populations, a crucial food source. Led by Louis Riel, the rebellion saw armed conflict between the Métis and their Indigenous allies against the Canadian government.
Ultimately, the Métis were defeated, and Riel's subsequent execution for treason deepened the divide between French and English Canadians. The North-West Rebellion marked a turning point in the Canadian government's control over native communities and settlers in west-central Canada, leading to the subjugation of native peoples and long-lasting political and emotional repercussions.
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What events or battles were important during the North-West Rebellion?
The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was triggered by Métis concerns over land rights and survival due to white settlers and declining bison populations.
Key events include:
* The Battle of Fish Creek, where the Métis halted General Middleton's advance.
* The Battle of Cut Knife Creek, where Cree warriors successfully deployed against government troops, leading to an Otter retreat.
* The Battle of Batoche, a decisive and bloody battle where Canadian militia defeated the rebels.. Batoche was the headquarters of Louis Riel, a leader of the Métis.The rebellion concluded with the defeat of the Métis and their allies, resulting in land grants for the Métis but also the conviction and hanging of Louis Riel, which caused distrust between French and English Canadians.
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How did the North-West Rebellion affect Canada afterward?
The North-West Rebellion had significant and lasting consequences in Canada. The Canadian government's triumph solidified its control over native communities and settlers in west-central Canada, leading to the subjugation of native peoples who felt oppressed after the treaties of the 1870s.
The execution of Louis Riel for high treason deepened the divide between Anglophones and Francophones, sparking outrage in Quebec and propelling Wilfrid Laurier to prominence as a defender of French-Canadian interests. Politically and emotionally, it took decades for local native and settler communities to recover from the defeat.
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North-West Rebellion, violent insurgency in 1885 fought between the Canadian government and the Métis and their aboriginal allies, in regions of Canada later known as Saskatchewan and Alberta. The North-West Rebellion was triggered by rising concern and insecurity among the Métis about their land rights and survival following an influx of white settlers and a decline in bison—a major food source for the Métis and indigenous peoples in west-central Canada.
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. Of lasting significance was the conviction and hanging of rebel leader Louis Riel, which angered French Canadians and caused great distrust between Francophones and Anglophones across much of Canada.
Disaffected peoples
By the late 1870s, tribes of Plains Indians—the Cree, the Blackfoot (the Blood, or Kainah, and Peigan bands), and the Saulteaux—were facing disaster. The great bison herds had disappeared, pushing people to near starvation, and much of the land claimed by the tribes had been signed away in treaties. Towns, farm fences, and railways appeared on the once wild and expansive prairies. In 1880, Cree chief Big Bear, and Crowfoot, leading chief of the Blackfoot, founded an aboriginal confederacy to try to solve their people’s grievances.
Meanwhile the Métis people—still feeling vulnerable after their Red River Rebellion (1869–70) in Manitoba—had grievances of their own. Their old life as fur traders and carriers for the Hudson’s Bay Company was disappearing, along with the bison, on which they too depended. They were also waiting for reassurance that titles to their river-lot homesteads and farms would be guaranteed.
Compounding problems, white settlers in Saskatchewan who had purchased land in the region, expecting that the Canadian Pacific Railway line would run northwest from Winnipeg to Edmonton, learned in 1882 that the railway would instead travel further south, through Regina and Calgary. Poor harvests in 1883 and 1884 added to their problems, along with an unsympathetic dominion government back east in Ottawa.
Key battles and developments
Riel returns
In the summer of 1884, the Métis of Saskatchewan brought Louis Riel, who had led the earlier Red River Rebellion, back to Canada from exile in the United States. Riel urged dissatisfied people in the region to unite and press their case on Canadian Prime Minister John A. Macdonald and his conservative government, which previously had failed to address their grievances. Later in 1884, Riel prepared a petition and urged Métis and non-Métis settlers alike to sign. The Canadian government, however, did not respond to the petition.
On March 8, 1885, Riel and the Métis passed a 10-point “Revolutionary Bill of Rights,” in which the Métis asserted rights of possession to their farms. They also 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.” On March 18 and 19, with tensions building, an armed force of Métis formed a provisional government, seized the parish church at Batoche, and demanded the surrender of the nearby Hudson’s Bay Company post at Fort Carlton. Riel was named president of the rebel government, and famed Métis hunter and tactician Gabriel Dumont was installed as military commander.
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