Did the Metis have a right to complain about the sale of Rupert’s Land?
The Metis certainly do have a right to complain about the sale of Rupert’s Land. To start off, more than 80% of the land’s population was Metis. They managed to live there in peace for over 40 years without any territory problems. But now, the Metis were forced to leave their territory since they were couldn’t live in peace anymore because people were coming in and taking their homes. The HBC/Britain/Canada treated the Metis unfairly because the Metis farmed there and contributed to the economy in many different ways. The Metis Bison hunt provided both pemmican and hides. Also, the Metis worked as labourers, as crew on York boats, or as HBC clerks.
As a result, Rupert’s Land should not be HBC/Britain/Canada’s because they were the ones that treated the Metis miserably by making them leave their homes behind. As well, they limited the Metis’s survival abilities, by not allowing them to trade in Rupert’s Land…This was difficult for the Metis to adapt to, since all their income was based off of trading buffalo fur and pemmican.
You should post the chart so I can see what you found and what you’re basing your analysis on. You should try to explain how the claims from the British were invalid in this argument.
Also missing the analogy. Something like the hypothetical story we looked at in class. You’ll need to be able to create an analogy for your unit project and it isn’t easy without practicing that kind of thinking.