Nations at War - Episode 11

Good Morning, September has flown by really fast but I can also say that about 2022 as well!  We will continue with Nations at War and then we will be switching over to 31 days of Time Team.

This time on Nations at war, David Lyle explores the colonial war between the Metis and the Scots in the first half of the episode.  In the second half David Lyle explores a city in British Columbia, this city had a bloody past and would shape Canadian history forever.

Life on the Red River is hard and the competition for resources is fierce.  The First Nations learned to work with the environment.  To prevent nature from being overextended, the First Nations were on the move.  Buffalo was the key natural resource on the land.  Buffalo meat and hides were the currency in which they traded.  The Metis were born in this harsh world.  This nation arose from relationships between the fur traders and the First Nations women.

The First Nations women were key to economic trade and lead to the rise of Canada.  Their ancestors were English, French, and Scottish men.  The Metis economy was depended on trade.  Most of the Metis’ life was away from the fort and the children learned both white and indigenous ways.  They grew up to be guides and interpreters.  They spoke English or French; however, they were rejected by mainstream society.  The indigenous people felt the Metis were too cosmopolitan to be trusted.  The people could pass for either white Europeans or dark Indigenous people.  They were a people who had no ancient claim to their homeland.  They were in a state of limbo.

Scottish Migrants made their way to Canada and were initially friendly with Metis.  Soon there was a conflict between the Scots and Metis.  The Pemmican War was started and came to ahead.  The war caused the Hudson Bay Company to abandon their colony.  Unfortunately, the decline of the buffalo would cause the Metis to meet up with some of the fiercest warriors in the west.

As the Metis moved further from their homeland, they came into conflict with other tribes.  Guns impact the buffalo hunt.  On top of conflicts with other tribes, the Metis were in conflict with British and American hunters.  The Metis were also farmers and the elderly and children took care of the farm while the buffalo hunt was on.

The Metis would find allies with the Ojibwe and the two allies would fight the Dakota tribes.  These early clashes would start off decades-long conflicts.  The Dakota tribes would soon learn how deadly the Metis could be.  To learn more about the conflicts continue to watch the first half of this episode.

The second half of the episode explores the city of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.  The fur trade was expanding and the Blackfoot Confederacy carefully guarded their land.  Eventually, the Columbia and Fraser rivers were discovered and the fur traders could use them to get through the Rocky Mountains.  However, the Salish family language was present.  The Secwepemc people were part of this Salish-speaking nation and they were fishermen, hunters, foragers, and took care of the land.  They migrated in the summer and returned to permanent houses in the winter.  Eventually, their lifestyle would be transformed.  Kamloops was the center point of the Secwepemc people.  It was an outpost for trading.

The Syilx were a Salish-speaking people related to the Secwepemc people and they came into conflict with the Secwepemc people and they were fighting over a river.  The war was eventually ended with the Fish Lake Accord.  It only came about because newcomers were in the territory and they needed to be stronger together.  Tune into the rest of this episode to find out about the Secwepemc people.

The first episode half would be one to show “just for information,” in a history classroom.  This could also be a good series for research purposes as well.