The Red River Rebellion

[laglaeske]

As i have read, rebellion at the Red River was originally caused by both Canadian and American settlers moving in to the Metis territory around the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. The Metis people were outraged by the Canadian Gov.'t's inaction, since their culture is essentially being threatened by extinction, so a guy named Louis Riel led armed rebellion against Canada, capturing Fort Garry. The Canadian Gov.'t in the East did not even realize that a sizable population of Metis even existed in Rupert's Land. How ignorant!

When the politcians in Ottawa were negotiating with the Hudson's Bay Company, shouldn't they check for settlements before they change "ownership" of the land?

[Mr. Delainey]

I think the Metis may have been considered expendable or, forgive me, "lumped in with the native peoples". If you had to consult with everyone in Rupert's Land before actually purchasing it you'd never get around to doing it.

Voltaire is reputed as having said, "Do not wait for perfection to do what is necessary." This is perhaps one of the most important political aphorisms explaining the motivations, actions and inaction of politicians and policy-makers.

[Mr. Delainey]

How the heck did the number of views for this post get to 1,000?

[laglaeske]

Good blogging, self-promotion, & striking-good looks maybe? ;D