First Nations, such as the Blackfoot, Cree and the Dene have always lived here. As the fur trade expanded west, Francophone traders, Metis, and British explorers travelled throughout the region and built trading posts. Years later, people from different countries settled here. Natural resources, such as coal, oil, gas and forests led to growth of communities throughout the region.
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The Metis
The Metis were among the first to settle in the Interior Plains. One big settlement was along the Red River, where Winnipeg is today. It was an important meeting place for two reasons: the river and Lake Winnipeg led to fur trade routes in the Canadian Shield, and the the Assiniboine River led further west. Metis often worked at Hudson's Bay Company and Northwest Company forts. They worked as trappers and as bison hunters, supplying food for the forts. * The Red River Cart - it was used by the Metis to transport goods and people across the plains. It could also float across rivers! * Pemmican - Pemmican comes from a Cree word that means lard or grease-like. It was an important source of income for the Metis people, they sold it to explorers from the Hudson's Bay Company and Northwest Company (who needed it to survive as they travelled great distances into the west). It was made by pounding dry meat (usually moose, buffalo or elk) and then adding dry berries. You would mix them together with rendered fat, and this makes pemmican! It's very nutritious and easy to carry, and you could eat it dry or put it into a stew. |
The North-West Mounted Police
Imagine that you are settler in the Interior Plains in 1870. You are far away from other established communities - the west was just beginning to be settled! In your small isolated community (if you were in one, many homesteads were spread quite far apart), who would you turn to if there was trouble? In 1873, Sir John A. Macdonald (he was the first Prime Minister of Canada) wanted a police force to bring law and Canadian authority to the new Territories. The vast distances (Canada is huge) meant that a mounted police force, or a cavalry would be best, so he created The North-West Mounted Police. *Cavalry - a group of soldiers or police who use horses. |