Social And Economic Causes Of North West Resistance

The North West resistance of 1885 had many reasons why it was caused. One major reason why the North West resistance was formed can be how the Metis were concerned about their land rights. They were also concerned about the invasion of white settlers, where the bison population was also decreasing. The Metis were getting less representation in the Government of the North-West Territories. In 1880 after the representation was given the Metis petitions were not being talked about by the Federal Government. There were many harsh economic changes happening in the West and there was no help from the Federal Government. This made the Metis very angry. Louis Riel was one of the main people during the North West Resistance. Louis Riel was a Canadian

Louis Riel started the North West Resistance because of the land claims and the changing economy. This caused Louis Riel to start a resistance against the Canadian Government. There are many social, political, economic, and cultural reasons for why this resistance ever started.

Social/Cultural:

During the North West Resistance the Indigenous people were moved into reserves, where they never understood the idea of land ownership. This can also be a cultural factor as Indigenous people have a connection with the land better than settlers at that time, and us today. There was a lot of discrimination done with Indigenous people, as they weren’t given much of a political voice. The Metis petitions were not being noticed; they were being ignored. Louis Riel became their leader only to give the Metis as well as Indigenous people their rights. To make the Metis rights heard they made a committee which had Métis of the Lorne district (North-West Territories). The Métis leaders had many meetings where they were looking for ways to show the importance of their rights, they made a list of injustices happening with them, and they voted so

There weren't many representatives of the Metis in the North-West Territories Government. This was one of the reasons why the rebellion started. After the Metis could become representatives during 1880, the Federal Government didn’t talk about/look over the petitions the Metis made. The Metis wanted a title and didn’t want to be driven out like in Manitoba. This led to the Red River Resistance. There was no answer to the Metis petitions which made the Metis pressure the government. The Cree of the Treaty 6 region 1885 was the result of their anger of breaking the treaty agreements, these treaties were supposed to be made in good thoughts. Louis Riel told the unhappy people living in the North-West to press their case on Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald’s Conservative Government. Then Louis Riel created a petition in 1884 where he made the Metis and non-Metis settlers sign it. On March 8, 1885 the Metis passed a bill called the Revolutionary Bill of Rights. The Revolutionary Bill of Rights was made to talk about Metis land title, provincial status for Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Red River, and it talked about acknowledging Indigenous people and their rights. There were many demands in this Revolutionary Bill of Rights. One demand was that the Metis wanted to claim their rights to their farms. There were a number of battles taking place in 1885 which could have been a major cause for the start of