Keys to History

The Manitoba Metis were descended from French or Scottish fur traders and Aboriginal women, and constituted a people with roots in both First Nations and European culture. Their way of life typically involved both farming on land they held in the Red River Colony (Winnipeg) and hunting the buffalo on the open prairie. Under the leadership of Louis Riel, they set up a government at Red River in 1869, but later accepted to be taken in as part of Canada, on the assurance that their land would not be confiscated from them and the use of the French language would be guaranteed. When these promises were not honoured, many left and travelled to north-central Saskatchewan to establish a new settlement.