Racism

Between 1845 and 1855 the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate established a series of missions across the west, including at Ile-à-la-Crosse, where many Metis voyageurs wintered. In 1846, two Catholic priests, Alexandre Taché and Louis Richer Leflèche arrived at Ile-à-la-Crosse to establish the St Peter mission.These missions became bases of operations from which clergy travelled in the 1850s and 1860s to seasonal camps on the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers to spread Christianity.

Between the 1840s and early 1870s the western interior economy was characterized by the coexistence of native economies and European capitalism. By becoming middlemen in the fur trade, Metis individuals created an entrepreneurial niche for themselves, which was lucrative for many Metis merchant families. A few examples include the Grants, Brelands, McGillis, Gingras, Fishers, Letendres and Hamelins. As long as dual societies and economies persisted on the northern plains, these Metis traders prospered. The Metis “in-between” identity had the potential to be economically advantageous. Beginning in the mid to late 1870s, the disappearance of the buffalo and the movement of First Nations peoples to reserves led to a drastic alteration in the western economy and an end to the Metis’ influential middleman position.

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.

The Manitoba Act was passed at the closing of the Red River Resistance in 1870, which provided for the province of Manitoba and allowed the Red River settlement to enter Confederation as Canada's fifth province. Prime Minister J.A. MacDonald stated that he would compensate the Metis in the new province in order to settle the west peacefully, although the provincial land would be owned publicly. There were also provisions in the Act which protected the French language and Roman Catholic religion. Section 31 of the Act provided land for the children of Metis heads of families, which amounted to 1.4 million acres, to be divided into tracts and allotted to Métis families by Lieutenant-Governor Adam Archibald. Section 32 guaranteed all previous settlers possession of the lots they occupied before 15 July 1870, as well as hay rights in the outer two miles of various river lots. An amendment to section 32 in 1874 provided $160 scrip redeemable by Métis heads of families. The 1874 amendment also stated that improvements needed to be made to the land in order to obtain the title. Following the creation of the Manitoba Act, Prime Minister MacDonald refused to distribute the land legally owed to Metis people. The plan of Lieutenant Governor Archibald was to allow the Metis to maintain the river lot system of farming and distribute the 1.4 million acres over a period of approximately one year. Distribution of land in fulfillment of section 31 took over a decade, however, causing many frustrated Metis people to migrate west into Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as the United States. As well, government officials changed their minds about the 1.4 million acres, stating that the claimed land was now required to be outside the province of Manitoba. They also changed the date of proof of occupation to a date when most Metis would be away from their farms hunting buffalo. Shortly after the Act was passed, MacDonald sent 1200 troops to Fort Garry (now known as Winnipeg), to surveil and control the new province. The troops, as well as the influx of settlers, terrorized the Metis residents. Many Metis individuals were murdered, beaten, and raped. Metis landholders were frequently harassed in non-physical ways as well.

Following the amalgamation of the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company in 1821, the type of employment that Indigenous men were able to secure changed drastically. Before the amalgamation of the two companies, Indigenous men were paid an equal salary to their European counterparts, and were able to work in a wide range of positions. Some men were even able to secure the coveted position of officer. Their skills as hunters and trappers were valued, and men with ambition, regardless of ethnicity, were rewarded with more responsibility and more prestigious positions. However, after the amalgamation in 1821, Indigenous men were no longer afforded the luxury of vertical movement within the company. They were confined to servant and labourous jobs and were openly discriminated against. It also became a rarity for Indigenous men to secure contracted work, which they had done previously. Instead, they were often restricted to being hired only seasonally. The Hudson's Bay Company also used Indigenous workers as a means of controlling European workers. They had Indigenous men perform tasks that the European men refused to do, and the company hired Indigenous workers at a lower wage than European workers to drive competition at a time where jobs were scarce.

Beginning in the late 1800s, Euro-Canadian government officials found various reasons to victim-blame Indigenous women for widely felt poverty and distress. Officials claimed that they were dirty, gossipy, had no understanding of money and the economy, and most of all were immoral. This is exemplified in an 1886 controversy that arose from a newspaper article published by missionary Samuel Trivett, in which he wrote about the promiscuity of Indigenous women and the frequency of their inappropriate relations with NWMP officers, without consideration if . Canadian officials responded by denying inappropriate behaviour on the part of the NWMP. Although, they conceded that if there were incidents of such behaviour, the blame rested with Aboriginal women, who were inherently sexually promiscuous and seductive, thereby taking advantage of male police officers. Please see related database entry titled "History of Racist and Gendered Perceptions of Indigenous Women."