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Context
The Metis had been in Red River since 1811, in a settlement founded by Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk on land granted by the Hudson’s Bay Company.
National Film Board film ‘Riel Country’, some background into the Metis:
Riel and Company (provisional government?)
Interesting Stuff
Louis Riel is still a controversial figure. Watch this clip from CTV as to how Riel, the perennial sh*t disturber is still making headlines. Well Canadian headlines anyway.
Watch this documentary about a Metis community in Northern Saskatchewan:
Study Questions
1. Why was Louis Riel seen as such a threat to English-speaking Canadians in Ontario?
2. In what ways could Riel’s provisional government be considered “legitimate?”
3. Why was the murder of Thomas Scott such a defining moment in the Red River Rebellion?