Before 1899 | 1900
to 1980 | Since 1980
Dates in History before 1899
1492
- First contact is made between Aboriginal people and Christopher Columbus
when Aboriginal people help his crew overcome sickness after their many
months at sea.
1641 - February: The League of the Iroquois,
also known as the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy, declares war against
New France. Opposing the Confederacy are the Huron and Algonquin Nations,
which have signed a treaty with Samuel de Champlain of New France.
1660 - May: The first Bishop of Quebec, Fran‡ois
de Laval, states that he will excommunicate any resident of New France
who is caught selling alcohol to Aboriginal people.
1666 - March: Iroquois warriors force Commander
Daniel de Remy de Courcelle to cancel his winter campaign against them
and return to Quebec City, following his loss of more than 60 men due
to exposure and hunger.
1680 - April: An exceptionallly devout young
Mohawk woman, from the community of Kahnawake, dies. Her name is Kateri
Tekakwitha, and she is considered by many to be blessed. Over the centuries
that follow, the Catholic church comes to recognize her as the first Aboriginal
candidate for sainthood.
1680 - May: Louis XIV, the King of France,
agrees to provide Aboriginal people with 40,000 acres (16,200 hectares)
of land near Montreal.
1770 - February: Chief Matonnabe of the Chipewyan
First Nation leads explorer Samuel Hearne on his second expedition through
the Barren Lands in search of the headwaters of the Coppermine River.
1763 - October: A Royal Proclamation issued
by King George III recognizes that the consent of First Nations is required
in any negotiations for their lands.
1807 - November: Mohawk leader Joseph Brant
dies. Brant led forces that fought against the Americans in the American
War of Independence in 1776.
1817 - July: The Selkirk Treaty is signed
by the Saulteaux and Cree First Nations and the Government of Canada.
1850 - September: The Robinson-Huron and
the Robinson-Superior treaties (the Lake Superior area) are signed by
the Anishinabe First Nations and the Government of Canada.
1862 - October: The Manitoulin Island Treaty
is signed by the Ottawa, Chippewa and other First Nations and the Government
of Canada.
1870 - February: In Winnipeg, Lord Strathcona
(Donald Alexander Smith) invites several Métis to accompany him to Ottawa
to present to the government a list of Métis rights to be
considered.
1870 - February: The Métis, having declared
their intention to be self-governing, establish a provisional government
at Red River and elect Louis Riel as President.
1870 - March: The Métis Council meets at
Fort Garry with the Bishop of St. Boniface to present their claims, including
a claim for separate schools for Métis children.
1870 - March: Louis Riel orders the execution
of Thomas Scott at Red River. Orangemen in Ontario are outraged by the
news, and a campaign begins to defeat Riel.
1870 - May: Many Métis demands are included
in George-Etienne Cartier's Manitoba Act, which turns the former District
of Assiniboia into Manitoba the fifth province of the new confederation
of Canada.
1871 - August: Treaty No. 1 is signed by
the Chippewa and Swampy Cree First Nations and the Government of Canada,
and Treaty No. 2 is signed by the Chippewa First Nations and the Government
of Canada.
1873 - October: Northwest Angle Treaty No.
3 is signed by the Saulteaux First Nation and the Government of Canada.
1873 - October: Métis leader Louis Riel is
elected to Canada's Parliament.
1874 - March: Louis Riel travels to Ottawa
to claim his elected seat in Parliament from the riding of Provencher.
1874 - April: Member of Parliament Louis
Riel is expelled from the House of Commons in Ottawa as a fugitive. A
warrant is subsequently issued for his arrest for his role in the execution
of Thomas Scott in Red River, Manitoba.
1874 - August: Treaty No. 4 is signed by
First Nations in Saskatchewan and the Government of Canada.
1874 - September: The Qu'Appelle Treaty No.
4 is signed by the Cree and Saulteaux First Nations in Saskatchewan and
the Government of Canada.
1875 - September: Lake Winnipeg Treaty No.
5 is signed by the Saulteaux and Swampy Cree First Nations in Manitoba
and the Government of Canada.
1876 - March: Treaty No. 6 is signed by the
Plains and Wood Cree, the Assiniboine and the Government of Canada.
1876 - August: Treaty No. 6 is signed by
the Plains Cree and Wood Cree First Nations and the Government of Canada.
1877 - March: Treaty No. 7 is signed by the
Tsuu T'ina, Siksika, Stoney, Peigan and Blood First Nations in Alberta
and the Government of Canada.
1881 - June: The famous Sioux Chief, Sitting
Bull, is immediately arrested after he leaves Canada and returns to the
United States. He had fled the United States following the battle with
General Custer at the Little Big Horn in 1876.
1885 - The Northwest Rebellion begins when
Louis Riel imprisons hostages and establishes a provisional government,
and his military commander Gabriel Dumont defeats the Northwest Mounted
Police at Duck Lake.
1885 - Military commander Frederick Middleton
and over 5,000 soldiers leave Toronto to put down Louis Riel's Northwest
Rebellion.
1885 - May: After fighting which lasts over
three months in the Northwest Rebellion, Louis Riel surrenders to General
Middleton. The casualties number approximately 80 men on each side.
1890 - April: The famous Chief Crowfoot from
the Siksika (Blackfoot) First Nation in Alberta dies. The senior Chief
helped his people to get a better deal when Treaty No. 7 was signed in
1877 at Blackfoot Crossing.
1897 - February: Mohawk clan mothers in Kahnawake
near Montreal tell the federal government that they want to keep their
traditional system of chiefs.
1899 - June: Treaty No. 8 is signed by the
Cree, Beaver and Chipewyan First Nations and the Government of Canada.
The treaty covers northern Alberta, parts of British Columbia and the
Northwest Territories.
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