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Batoche | Gulf
of Georgia Cannery |
Signal Hill |
Craigellachie | Fur
Trade Lachine |
National
Battlefields Park | Vimy
Ridge | Dieppe
In 1870, The Northwest
was brought into Canada as a new territory. The Métis
people were a half native, half French group of people
who lived in these lands with no formal government or
laws. They immediately reacted to the arrival of
Canadian authority by challenging that authority and
declaring that they should only be brought into
Confederation as a province with recognized authority
and representation. Louis Riel led this movement and the
birth of the Province of Manitoba was the result.
The Métis did not end
up with the retention of the freedoms they valued and
many moved further west into the Saskatchewan areas as
Manitoba was populated by new immigrants from Ontario
and the Buffalo, which were the lifeblood of the Métis
life style, were killed off.
By 1884 the railway had pushed further
west n the new Métis areas and an armed uprising led by
Gabriel Dumont and Louis Riel erupted. Many local native
bands joined in the uprising and violence flared
throughout the area. John A Macdonald reacted by
dispatching an armed force under General Middleton to
suppress the uprising. The rode the train, marched
across the land were shipped on boats and made their way
west. In April of 1885 they arrived in the Saskatchewan
area and sought the Métis forces in order to engage and
defeat them in battle.
The Battle of Batoche, which was fought
from May 9-12, 1885, was the last stand of Louis
Riel and the Métis. Their defeat by the Canadian
Government forces marked the end of the Northwest
Rebellion. This site is a National Historic Site and
presents restored buildings from the period and the land
that this last great battle was fought on.
The site also represents the settlement
of the area by the Métis and examples of lot settlement
as well as information about the native groups that
participated in the rebellion.
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