The Roots of Discontent: Métis and Indigenous Struggles

The Red River Rebellion of 1870 marked a pivotal moment in Canadian history, temporarily addressing Métis grievances through the creation of Manitoba as a province. However, this compromise was fragile. The Dominion government, eager to unify the nation, accelerated railway construction and encouraged mass immigration to develop the prairie regions for agriculture. This rapid transformation shattered the traditional hunting lifestyles of Indigenous peoples, setting the stage for cultural devastation.

The Métis, a distinct community of mixed Indigenous and European ancestry, had long relied on bison hunting and river-based trade. Their unique land-use practices—long, narrow riverfront lots—clashed with the square-grid surveys imposed by Ottawa. When settlers flooded into Manitoba after 1870, Métis families found their rights ignored, forcing many to relocate westward to the Saskatchewan Valley. Yet history repeated itself: surveyors, railroad workers, and mounted police soon followed, erasing their claims once more.

The Northwest Mounted Police: Guardians of Expansion

In 1873, the Dominion established the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP), a force unlike any in eastern Canada. Modeled partly on British colonial policing but adapted for frontier control, the NWMP wore scarlet tunics—symbolizing British authority—and blended military, judicial, and policing roles. Officially, their mandate was to curb American whiskey traders poisoning Blackfoot communities. In reality, they served as a colonial instrument: securing land for settlers and suppressing Indigenous resistance.

Under Commissioner James Macleod, the NWMP built forts like Fort Macleod in present-day Alberta. Their presence signaled Ottawa’s determination to enforce treaties and displace Indigenous nations. As bison herds vanished by the 1880s due to overhunting, Plains Cree, Blackfoot, and other nations faced starvation, compelled to sign treaties exchanging land for meager rations and reserves. Treaty 6 (1876), for instance, promised agricultural support but delivered little. The NWMP ensured compliance, becoming synonymous with Indigenous subjugation.

The 1885 Northwest Resistance: A Clash of Visions

By the 1880s, desperation boiled over. Crop failures, broken treaty promises, and the Canadian Pacific Railway’s encroachment fueled anger among Métis and First Nations. Louis Riel—exiled leader of the Red River Rebellion—returned from Montana to lead a new uprising. This time, he allied with Cree warriors under Poundmaker and Big Bear, while disgruntled white settlers joined protests against Ottawa’s neglect.

The conflict reached its climax at Batoche in May 1885. Métis fighters, skilled marksmen like Gabriel Dumont, held off government forces but were overwhelmed by troops arriving via the nearly completed railway. Riel surrendered, hoping his trial would expose Indigenous grievances. Instead, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald framed him as a traitor. Despite nationwide controversy—especially in French Quebec—Riel was hanged in Regina, becoming a martyr for Indigenous and Métis rights.

Cultural Erasure and the Reserve System

The aftermath of 1885 cemented policies of assimilation. Indigenous peoples were confined to reserves under the Indian Act, stripped of traditional practices like the Sun Dance or Potlatch ceremonies. Children were sent to residential schools, where abuse and cultural suppression were rampant. As bison-dependent economies collapsed, communities faced epidemics and poverty. Government agents controlled every aspect of life, from land use to travel permits.

Diamond Jenness, a prominent anthropologist, grimly predicted Indigenous extinction in the 1930s. Yet resistance persisted. Figures like Mohawk veteran Fred Loft founded the League of Indians in 1919, while coastal nations like the Haida fought land seizures. These early movements laid groundwork for later activism.

Legacy: From Rebellion to Reconciliation

The Red River and Northwest Rebellions exposed Canada’s colonial violence, but also birthed enduring struggles for justice. In 1999, Parliament symbolically recognized Riel’s contributions, though concrete reparations lagged. Today, debates over land rights, residential school reparations, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission reflect unfinished reckonings with this past.

The NWMP evolved into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, their romanticized image masking a darker history. Meanwhile, Indigenous nations continue reclaiming languages, governance, and land—proving that despite centuries of oppression, their cultures endure. The rebellions of the 19th century were not the end, but a defiant beginning in the long fight for sovereignty.

As Canada confronts its colonial legacy, the echoes of Riel’s rebellion remind us: true reconciliation requires acknowledging these wounds—and the resilience that survived them.