2. The Red River

The majority of the Métis people settled in the Red River area. In 1869 there were over 9,000 Métis. This compared with only 1,600 Europeans and Canadians in Red River.

The area was originally controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company until they sold a majority of their rights to Rupert's Land to the new Dominion of Canada in 1869.

The Métis resisted the take-over of their homeland by the Dominion Government. They seized Upper Fort Garry and its contents of cannons, arms and food supplies, leading to what is known today as the Red River Resistance.

A Provisional Government was formed, lead by Louis Riel, who set out for Ottawa to negotiate for Métis rights.

Negotiations in Ottawa resulted in agreement that the Red River settlement would enter Confederation as a new Province of Manitoba. Manitoba became a province in July, 1870, through the passing of the Manitoba Act.

The Métis retained existing land holdings in Red River and were guaranteed a 1.4 million acre land grant to be reserved for Métis children.

Not long after passing the Manitoba Act, Sir John A. Macdonald proceeded to dispatch a military expedition to Red River to establish control over the new province. With the arrival of the military, Louis Riel fled to American territory to live in exile.

An amendment to the Manitoba Act in 1874 called for the distribution of scrip to Métis adults in an effort to extinguish their title to the land.

The holder of land scrip was entitled to a certain amount of land.