3.1-1

Canada’s history with its Indigenous peoples, particularly the Métis, is far from pretty.

With Louis Riel, a youthful, educated Métis man at the helm of the Métis National Committee, the Métis people resisted simply having their land taken over by Canada. Instead, they proposed a treaty between themselves and the government of Canada in order to reach an agreement that satisfied both sides. However, Canada refused to have the Métis (along with the French and the English) as a third founding nation.

The reason for Canada’s refusal to negotiate is very much tied to a term Daniel Coleman has called White Civility. As explained in the CanLit Guide, White Civility is very much tied to the idea of loyalism to Britain. At this time, many of the settlers arriving in Canada are so-called civilized white people with English (or French) backgrounds; in fact, the Canadian government is almost certainly made up of just this type of persons. It was important for these British loyalists to make certain Canada was viewed as white and civil – something the Métis were not considered to be. Because of this, Canada was unwilling to partner with the Métis. As stated in the CanLit Guide, the Indigenous people “were seen primarily as obstacles to settlement who needed to be civilized before they could be assimilated into the population and become citizens.”

Ultimately, it is obvious that the Canadian Government was wrong in their failure to recognize the Métis as their own nation. The Métis Committee were being perfectly reasonable when the negotiations began. Working with the Canadians, they created the Provisional Government of Assiniboia and wrote up several reasonable terms that Canada would have to meet in order for them to join Confederation.

When a small group of armed Canadians aiming at disintegrating the provisional government were caught and put to trial by the provisional government, one of its men was sentenced to death. This action thoroughly upset much of the white population of Ontario and, while the government of Canada did fulfill enough terms for Manitoba to join Confederation, there was a call for restitution from Riel for the armed Canadian’s death – whether it had been justified or not. In order to satisfy these calls, Canada sent a force to the Red River that was ultimately aimed at killing Riel.

While Riel fled to the safety of the United States, it is still incredible to think that so much of the struggle between the Métis National Committee and Canada could have been avoided if the Métis were treated with respect rather than marginalized because they failed to fulfill an image of White Civility.

Works Cited

Louis Riel. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Web.

Introduction. CanLit Guides. Web.

Sugars, Cynthia. Civility at the Gates. Canadian Literature. Web.