Summary
The arrival of the expedition under Colonel Garnet Wolseley in 1870 signalled a transition in the lives Indigenous peoples in Manitoba. The expedition included Ontario volunteers and Canadian settlers hoping to avenge the death of Thomas Scott. They acted in defiance of the rule of law. Winnipeg descended into mob rule in 1871 and 1872. The French Metis population was threatened continuously at the Land Office near Fort Garry, and French Metis entering Winnipeg were in jeopardy of being harmed.
Implications
The arrival of Wolseley’s force, and the continued flood of new settlers, many of whom were linguistically and religiously intolerant, led to a great exodus of many French Métis between 1870 and 1881. Many French Metis individuals migrated West into Saskatchewan. In some cases, they sold their land to incoming English Protestants as the Métis were being pushed out of their communities.
Resources
Date
1870-00-00