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Peterborough in Peterborough County, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
 

Red River Resistance
⎯⎯⎯
La résistance de la Rivière-Rouge

Ans 150 Years

 
 
Red River Resistance / La résistance de la Rivière-Rouge Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2024
1. Red River Resistance / La résistance de la Rivière-Rouge Marker
Inscription.  
Louis Riel 1844-1885

[English]  Louis Riel led the Red River Métis in opposing Canadian expansion into their region in 1869. Only 25 years old at the time, Riel was chosen to head the provisional government that formed to protest the transfer of the vast territory of Rupert's Land to the new Dominion of Canada without the consent of its inhabitants. Defending Métis rights and culture was at the heart of the resistance movement. After intense negotiations with Ottawa, the region joined Canadian Confederation, becoming the province of Manitoba in 1870.

[Français]  En 1869, Louis Riel dirigea les Métis de la rivière Rouge opposés à l'expansion du Canada dans leur région. Riel avait alors 25 ans et fut choisi pour diriger le gouvernement provisoire formé pour protester contre le transfert du vaste territoire de la Terre de Rupert au nouveau Dominion du Canada sans le consentement de ses habitants. La défense des droits et de la culture des Métis était au cœur du mouvement de résistance. Après d'intenses négociations avec Ottawa, la région adhéra à la Confédération canadienne et devint la province du Manitoba en 1870.
 
Erected by Parks
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Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Government & Politics. A significant historical year for this entry is 1869.
 
Location. 44° 18.415′ N, 78° 18.1′ W. Marker is in Peterborough, Ontario, in Peterborough County. It can be reached from Hunter Street East 0.1 kilometers west of Ashburnham Drive, on the left when traveling south. The marker is located near the Trent-Severn Waterway Peterborough Lift Lock Visitor Centre entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 353 Hunter Street East, Peterborough ON K9H 7B5, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Kawarthas Northumberland Area and in Eastern Ontario. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Rupert’s Land.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: D-Day/Jour J (here, next to this marker); Women and the Second World War / Les femmes et la Seconde Guerre mondiale
Red River Resistance / La résistance de la Rivière-Rouge Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2024
2. Red River Resistance / La résistance de la Rivière-Rouge Marker
This is the rightmost of three markers near the Trent-Severn Waterway Peterborough Lift Lock Visitor Centre entrance.
(here, next to this marker); The Peterborough Lift Lock / L'ascenseur a bateaux de Peterborough (within shouting distance of this marker); Richard Birdsall Rogers (about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site (about 120 meters away); Tollington Bridge (approx. 1.2 kilometers away); The Robinson Settlement (approx. 1.4 kilometers away); The Peterborough Club (approx. 1.4 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Peterborough.
 
Also see . . .
1. Louis Riel (Canadian Encyclopedia).
Excerpt:  Riel led two popular Métis governments, was central in bringing Manitoba into Confederation, and was executed for high treason for his role in the 1885 resistance to Canadian encroachment on Métis lands. Riel was initially dismissed as a rebel by Canadian historians, although many now sympathize with Riel as a Métis leader who fought to protect his people from the Canadian government.
(Submitted on November 17, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 

2. Louis Riel (Wikipedia).
Excerpt:  The first resistance movement led by Riel was
Trent-Severn Waterway Peterborough Lift Lock Visitor Centre image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 31, 2024
3. Trent-Severn Waterway Peterborough Lift Lock Visitor Centre
The marker is on the left side of the Visitor Centre entrance.
the Red River Resistance of 1869–1870. The provisional government established by Riel ultimately negotiated the terms under which the new province of Manitoba entered the Canadian Confederation. However, while carrying out the resistance, Riel had a Canadian nationalist, Thomas Scott, executed. Riel soon fled to the United States to escape prosecution.

In 1884 Riel was called upon by the Métis leaders in Saskatchewan to help resolve longstanding grievances with the Canadian government. He returned to Canada and led an armed conflict with government forces: the North-West Rebellion of 1885. Defeated at the Battle of Batoche, Riel was imprisoned in Regina where he was convicted at trial of high treason. Despite protests, popular appeals and the jury's call for clemency, Riel was executed by hanging.

(Submitted on November 17, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on March 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 16, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 301 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on November 17, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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Aug. 10, 2026