Pemmican Wars - Red River Resistance Vol 2. by Katherena Vermette

Echo is asleep and dreaming of a line of buffalo going up a hill in the evening. Then she turns off her alarm in the morning, stretches and smiles as she looks out the window. Then she goes to school, and inside a hallway sits on a bench and is looking at her cell, a boy seeing her. After a little time he introduces himself as Micah, mentioning they had English together. 

He makes idle chat about a nonbinary teacher, noting they were tough. In class, the teacher is talking about the 1860s and the immigrants from the province in Canada were arriving in the red river colony. Some went to farm and others like Dr John Schults went as land speculators, going to make his fortune when the expected immigration rush took place. This was also when Hudson’s Bay Company sold 7 million acres of land to Canada, and several residents of Red River were worried the government wouldn’t honor their land titles. 

Echo was daydreaming of walking in a dying crop with men on horses near teepees to one side. Echo was standing near a tree when she’s spotted and she yells out loud when she notices. The man rears his horse and asks where she’d come from, Echo stating she didn’t know. He lets this go and points her to they having to go and the surveyors were over there. 

He then introduces himself as Benjamin, and helps her onto the horse behind him before riding away with her. Meanwhile elsewhere nearby the river, some men are coming up to another man telling him he wasn’t permitted on this land. The accuser Louis Riel with Jean Batiste Ritchot. Another man states his name was Major Webb and he was surveying the land on behalf of the crown and dominion of Canada. 

The man they came up on states this land wasn’t a part of Canada yet. This is Metis Land and no one has given them permission to do this. The major replies they were tasked to survey the entire area and he couldn’t stop them and they were there under the authority, another man interrupts in French saying to stop before he makes him stop. The other man signals the other man to stop and says to the group of they not wanting no violence but they must as them to stop this. 

The Major wavers as he states the Hudson Bay Company owned this land and everything on it and they sold it to Canada so it belonged to Canada now. The man says Red River doesn’t belong to Canada yet and the HBC doesn’t own them or this land. The Major stutters in protest, and the other man repeats of not wanting violence but they must ask him to leave. They watch the Major and his group retreat, the men are quietly happy but Echo and Benjamin see this and Echo asks if they’d stop, Benjamin thinking this was the start.

Back in class, a paper sign is pasted on the chalkboards with, Indigenous Student Leadership, Micah waves as Echo walks in. They are going to have a Bake sale and there’s a signup sheet with both Echo and Micah along with some others, including the author. Back in Echo’s room, she’s looking at her phone again before putting on tunes and falling asleep, returning to 1869 in November. 

Echo is in the middle of a busier western town and then finds Benjamin with his horse near the river at a dock. She asks what’s happening and he says they’d over into the fort. The Metis took over and will make a provisional government with Les Anglais. Echo asks if this is a good thing and Benjamin agrees it is, since they can negotiate with Canada and not just be sold like cattle by the Hudson’s Bay Company. 

He has her follow him as they go to a building Echo asking if this was like a rebellion and Ben replying they were resisting, but the HBC officials left the gates open for them and there wouldn’t be violence. At the border, men with horses and carts and riding horseback and walking are in a clearing of land. William McDougall speaks with some other men, stating he’s the governor general appointed by the prime minister of Canada and for them to move aside. The two men, once of them Ambroise Lepine, the military chief of the Metis, tells him he’ll go no further and he won’t enter the Northwest Territories. 

Back at the fort Ben is telling Echo they’d really be fighting these unjust policies and win. Meanwhile the Metis men are talking about keeping track of everything so they don’t get accused of being thieves. They spoke of replacing the council of Assiniboia with a provisional government and the man says Canada would see this as a rebellion. The response was they weren’t a part of the dominion yet and they were still freemen in their home territory and they had rights. 

Back with Echo, Ben is asking if she could stay awhile, she saying she’d like to and he agrees with her. Then Echo receives a letter and Ben helps her get on his horse. They ride toward a church and Ben hands the letter to a man inside. The letter contained the Metis List of Rights, adopted February 1870.

Back in 1869 inside a court a man is accusing another of being assaulted and the man, Thomas Scott is found guilty of aggravated assault and to pay the fine of $4. Thomas leaves the court and goes to a bar, asking a seated man if these halfbreeds ruled them now. The seated man tells him they have a plan. Later, one of the Metis men says how Scott Fellow is a troublemaker, and Ben talks with Echo of everything seeming to be fine, better even. 

Everyone is at peace and their leaders had a plan, he certain they wouldn’t lose their land now. The two are next on Ben’s horse gleeful as it ran. Then back at Winnipeg Middle School Echo is in the room where the bake sale was being held, near the table of cupcakes. The two teachers, one of them the obviously binary one smiling at the kids. 

Then Echo is back outside on her phone heading home, in her front yard, a kid making a snowman. When she walks up she makes a snowball and hits her guardian. Later on, the lady puts a blanket on a dozing Echo who’s slumped at the table with an open book. She dreams of the history, The Canada Firsters did escape their makeshift prison at the fort and in Jan 1870 they’d gathered to plan another insurgency, this time led by Thomas Scott and Charles Boulton. 

Charles Mair and John Schultz flee Red River for Ontario sensing the escalating risk on their lives. Donald Smith, an HBC Official and Major Railroad investor goes to Red River to get the provisional government and its supporters in order. At first he tries bribing supporters when he realized many wouldn’t be bought, so instead tries appealing to their reason. Feb 1870, Echo is back with Ben and they’re seeing a man restrained, she asking if this happened already. 

Ben replies the Canada First’s tried to attack the fort again saying they were going to kill Riel. Instead, two other men were killed, Norbert Parisian and Hugh Sutherland. The rumor was the leaders will be executed. An older man is talking with Riel saying he’d stayed the execution for Boulton and now must do so again for Scott, saying this was madness. 

Riel replies it wasn’t up to him, it’s up to the committee, he looking weary. Then in a court the judge bangs his gavel. March 1870, an execution is being readied to take place. The next day, Riel speaks with Bishop Tache of needing to send delegates to negotiate at once. 

They won’t forget to get amnesty for everyone involved and they prayed for this. They now had to pray Macdonald would keep his word of giving amnesty since he said he would. July 1870 Riel is told of the army was sent on a mission of peace and they’d come and take over. They had their act and were a province now. 

They also learn amnesty was coming for those who resisted. August 1870, Riel is told of the Canadian army being close and camped at the stone fort. These men were from the orange order called Orangemen, pro-monarchy, protestant organization from Ontario and strongly anti-catholic and anti-French. Mair and Schultz had been busy in Ontario turning the Canadians against them. 

The people start to leave the fort, Echo and Ben back on his horse while it rained. Echo wakes up in tears and goes out to see her guardian sitting in front of the tv. She asks if Echo couldn’t sleep and Echo replied she had a bad dream, her guardian asks if there was anything she could do, and Echo sits next to her and hugs her saying she missed her mom. Her guardian said she did too.

The next day Echo does the same thing, turns her music on and rides the public bus to school, going in and history is being spoken inside a class. The talk is about March 1870, when a committee convicts Thomas Scott for treason against the provisional government and the next day, Scott is executed by firing squad. The execution sparks a movement of revenge by Ontario Protestants against the Red River Metis, and the Ontario Government offers a bounty for Riel’s capture. The original amnesty offered is withdrawn.

The Manitoba Act is passed in May 1870 and put in effect by July. In May, Wolseley and an armed force of 1200 men are send to ensure the peaceful transfer of power from the provisional government to Canada. Many of Wolsey’s men were Orangemen and British army seeking revenge for Scott’s execution by looting, beating, and murdering. Riel flees to the U.S., and after the resistance despite being elected to parliament three times, Riel is wanted for murder of Scott and remains in exile for several years. 

Echo now back in Sept 1870, sees Ben packing up a cart. He tells her the army got there and they’d been relentless, killing people, esp. those who supported the provisional government. Riel fled and Ontario has a price on his head. Everyone wants to leave and no one feels safe there anymore so they’re going further west to seek refuge. 

Echo cries as she has to watch Ben leave her with a group of people. At the end of the book, the Metis List of Rights is provided. 

I’m looking forward to continuing the series. It is a fascinating story still and gives the historical facts in an easy format.