Exploring History Through Personal Narratives
Voices From Red River
Begin your exploration of the Voices From Red River with The Red River Story to learn about the Red River Settlement and the conflicts that led to the Red River Resistance of 1869 to 1870.
Next, view the The Visual Timeline of the Red River Story using the arrows next to each image.
Complete your journey by Exploring The Letters to experience life in the Red River Settlement through the stories of its inhabitants.
Letters can offer a window into the past, revealing how individuals viewed what was shaping their lives. The historical fiction narratives created from primary and scholarly research share moments in time from the viewpoints of a Métis fur trader advocating for trading rights and a settler official dealing with a controversy in the community.
The Voices of Red River found in the Letters highlight the complexities of the relationships and the environment that shaped lives and livelihoods in the Red River Settlement revealing a deeper understanding of the formation of this region during this period in Canadian History.
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Image: Red River Settlement Map, Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
From Establishment to Resistance: 1810 to 1870
The Red River Story
The lands where the Assiniboine and Red Rivers meet have been home to Indigenous peoples for generations. These are the ancestral territories of the Anishinaabeg, Anishininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Denesuline, and Nehethowuk Nations. Today, this area is known as Winnipeg, Manitoba and the homeland of the Red River Métis, while the lands to the north remain the ancestral territories of the Inuit.
In 1670, King Charles II granted the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) a royal charter without regard for the Indigenous peoples inhabiting the territory, giving HBC control over a vast territory titled Rupert’s Land. The territory continued to be inhabited by many First Nations and was not given or surrendered.
In 1811, HBC granted 116,000 square miles of Rupert’s Land to Thomas Douglas, the Fifth Earl of Selkirk (Lord Selkirk), a Scottish nobleman and a controlling shareholder in HBC. Selkirk sought to establish an agriculture and trade settlement, bringing European settlers to live and work alongside First Nations communities who continued their traditional practices of trading, hunting, fishing, and harvesting. Establishing the settlement was challenged by the harsh winter conditions and escalating conflicts between settlers and Indigenous peoples over land use, trading rights and governance structures.
In 1816, these tensions erupted into a deadly clash at the Fight of Seven Oaks between colonists and a group of Métis traders, which was sparked by opposition to colonial trading policies. The following year, in 1817, the Selkirk Treaty was signed between Lord Selkirk and five Indigenous leaders, establishing an agreement for the Red River Settlement to continue.
A violent fur trade rivalry persisted until the 1821 merger of the North West Company with the Hudson’s Bay company. While the merger brought some stability to the region, it also created a monopoly over trade that influenced settler and Indigenous peoples rights and livelihoods.
For the decades that followed, tensions in the settlement grew under competing economic priorities and governance interests. The ongoing conflicts led to the Red River Resistance of 1869 to 1870, which resulted in the negotiation of the Manitoba Act and the settlement’s entry into confederation with Canada in 1870.
EXHIBIT BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Red River Story
A Visual Timeline
Click the arrows to view the visual timeline.
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1810 | Rupert's Land
This map shows the vast territory titled Rupert's Land, which the British Crown granted to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670, despite being home to many First Nations communities that had lived, hunted, and traded there for generations.
Image: Page from the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Land Tenures and the Occupation of Assiniboia, 1880. Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
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1811 | HBC Land Grant to Lord Selkirk
In 1811, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) granted 116,000 miles of Rupert’s Land to Thomas Douglas, the 5th Earl of Selkirk, a Scottish nobleman and one of HBC’s controlling stockholders. Lord Selkirk sought to establish an agricultural and trade settlement in the region.
Image: Hudson’s Bay Company Land Tenures and the Occupation of Assiniboia by Lord Selkirk’s Settlers. Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons. -
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1816 | The Fight At Seven Oaks
On June 19, 1816, the Fight at Seven Oaks erupted between a group of Selkirk settlers and Métis traders. The violent confrontation was sparked by escalating tensions over colonial policies and structures that threatened land rights and the livelihoods of the Métis, including the prohibition of exports of Pemmican and other goods from the settlement.
The conflict represents a pivotal moment in reshaping the power dynamics and relationships in the region between settlers, Hudson’s Bay Company officials and First Nations, foreshadowing a growing resistance to colonial expansion and governance.
Image: Scene of the Seven Oaks Fight, 1816. Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons -
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1817 | The Selkirk Treaty
After the deadly clash at the Fight of Seven Oaks between Métis and settler inhabitants in the formative years of the Red River Settlement, Lord Selkirk and his officials negotiated with First Nations Chiefs in an attempt to create conditions for a peaceful continuation of the settlement. The negotiation resulted in the signing of the Selkirk Treaty.
The agreement provided Lord Selkirk with secured land along the Red and Assiniboine Rivers in exchange for an annual payment to the First Nations. According to the Manitoba Archives, the Selkirk Treaty was the “first formal written agreement in Western Canada recognizing Indigenous land rights.” The arrangement enabled the development of the Red River Settlement to continue despite the existence of underlying tensions between First Nations and settlers in the region.
Image: Original Selkirk Treaty (1817). Public domain. Source: Library and Archives Canada, Wikimedia Commons.
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1821 | The Union of North West and Hudson's Bay
After years of destabilizing conflict in the region, the North West Company merged with the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821, ending a violent fur trade rivalry between the companies. However, the Hudson’s Bay Company became a monopoly that limited trading freedom and control over land for First Nations and Métis, continuing conflicts with European settlers and HBC officials in the Red River Settlement.
Images: North West Company Coat of Arms, 1800. Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Hudson’s Bay Company Coat of Arms, 1671. Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons. -
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1849 | The Sayer Trial
The Sayer Trial marked a significant development for the Métis community in their fight against the Hudson’s Bay Company’s trade monopoly.
In 1849, Métis trader Guillaume Sayer was arrested and found guilty of possessing illegal furs. Sayer was released without punishment and allowed to keep his furs. The outcome of Sayer’s trial was viewed by the Métis as confirmation of their right to trade freely.
Image: Fort Garry, Red River Settlement, a trading post. Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons
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1869-70 | The Resistance
Following the Sayer Trial, the Métis community petitioned for free trade and land rights, requiring equal economic, political, and cultural recognition alongside European settlers and colonial officials. The resistance grew as the Métis community sought recognition of their rights and freedoms that impacted their livelihoods.
Led by Louis Riel, the Métis formed a Provisional Government in 1869 to assert their rights and to negotiate terms for entering Canadian Confederation. The efforts of the resistance led to the negotiation of the Manitoba Act of 1870.
Image: The Provisional Government of the Métis Nation. Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons
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