Red River Settlement
The Red River Settlement, or Colony, was located at the fork of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, in the Red River Valley, on the boundary of present-day Manitoba and North Dakota.1 This was the first Métis settlement in 1800, so in 1812 when the HBC sold the settlement to Thomas Douglas, to bring in Scottish settlers, this led to conflict between the HBC, and the Northwest Company and Métis alliance.23 The HBC and the Northwest Company contested trade in the territory, but in 1820, the Northwest Company merged into the HBC.4 Eventually, tensions between Métis and settlers rose: many settlers were members of the Protestant Church's Orange Order, a violent anti-French and anti-Catholic group known for discriminating against the Métis, who were primarily French-speaking Catholics.5
By the time Canada confederated in 1867, the Red River Settlement's fur trade was declining; in 1869, the HBC sold the Settlement's land to the Canadian government, without consulting the Métis.6 As a result, Métis political leader Louis Riel started to organize the Métis to defend their rights to the land, which would later be known as the Red River Resistance/Rebellion.7 Riel successfully negotiated for the Settlement to enter confederation as part of the province of Manitoba in 1870.8 He was later exiled to the United States for the murder of Thomas Scott -though this remains contested, but in 1884 he returned to ensure that the Métis held proper title to their land, later known as the North-West Resistance.9 The resistance resulted in Riel surrendering himself to the Canadian militia and he was executed for treason in 1885.10 He was an advocate for both Métis and Francophone rights, and his death was widely mourned by these populations.11
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Douglas, Thomas

Riel, Louis

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Red River