March 1869 Of the 12,000 settlers in the Red River area of Rupert's Land, near present-day Winnipeg, over 80% are Metis, persons of mixed white (usually French) and Indian ancestry. The Hudson Bay Company agree to sell Rupert's Land to the Canadian government for 300,000 pounds, with the transfer effective on December 1..
October 11, 1869 The presence of a Canadian survey team in the Red River area angers local residents, and Louis Riel is chosen to confront the team. He takes up the cause of protecting the interest of Metis settlers.
October 30, 1869 William McDougall, chosen by Ottawa as the Lt. Governor …show more content…
(The reward is based on Riel's participation in the execution of Thomas Scott, an Englishman, during the tenure of his provisional government in 1870.)
April 1874 After Riel wins re-election to the House of Commons, the House votes to expel him.
February 1875 The Canadian government grants an amnesty to all Metis, except Riel, who participated in the 1869-70 turmoil. A grant of amnesty to Riel is conditioned on him accepting a five-year banishment from Canada.
December 1875 Riel meets with President Ulysses S. Grant. He complains of Canadian treatment of the Metis and asks for money and a promise that the United States will not let Canadian troops cross over U. S. land. Grant, not wanting to aggravate relations with Canada, refuses and suggests that Riel seek U. S. citizenship. A few days later, while attending mass in Washington, D. C., Riel feels the Holy Spirit speaks to him and he begans seeing himself as the "Prophet of the New …show more content…
January 1878 After spending two years in Quebec asylums, Riel is released. He soon heads west, spending time in St. Paul before eventually settling in Montana.
February 1, 1878 By now, thousands of Metis, unhappy with the situation in Ontario, have moved west to the south branch of the Saskatchewan River. In a meeting of Metis in St. Laurant, a list of grievances is prepared. Gabriel Dumont, in a letter to the lt.-governor of the North-West Territories asks for subsidization of local schools, assistance for Metis farmers, appointment of a French-speaking magistrate and a Metis member of the Territorial Council, and a land grant to extinguish the Metis aboriginal title.
Spring of 1880 Riel tries to organize local Metis and Indians for an invasion of Canada, but his plan fails. Riel begins earning a living trading goods bought on assignment for buffalo robes.
March 9, 1882 The marriage of Riel and Marguerite Bellehumeur, a Cree-speaking Metis woman, is blessed at Carroll. (Riel reported that the marriage took place without clergy in April