Pemmican Proclamation

[3] The Proclamation defined the borders of the lands ceded to Lord Selkirk by the Hudson's Bay Company over which Miles MacDonell had been appointed Governor.

[4] and published in the: Report of trials in the courts of Canada, relative to the destruction of the Earl of Selkirk's settlement on the Red River With observations (p. 61-62) by Amos Andrew in 1820.

"Whereas the Governor and Company of Hudson's Bay, have ceded to the Right Honourable Thomas Earl of Selkirk, his heirs and successors, for ever, all that tract of land or territory, bounded by a line running as follows, viz:--Beginning on the western shore of the Lake Winnipic, at a point in fifty-two degrees and thirty minutes north latitude; and thence running due west to the Lake Winipigashish, otherwise called Little Winnipic; then in a southerly direction through the said lake, so as to strike its western shore in latitude fifty-two degrees; then due west to the place where the parallel of fifty-two degrees north latitude, intersects the western branch of Red River, otherwise called Ossiniboine River; then due south from that point of intersection to the height of land which separates the waters running into Hudson's Bay from those of the Mississouri and Mississippi Rivers; then in an easterly direction along the height of land to the source of the River Winnipic, (meaning by such last named river the principal branch of the waters which unite in the Lake Ságinagas,) thence along the main stream of those waters and the middle of the several lakes through which they pass, to the mouth of the Winnipic River; and thence in a northerly direction through the middle of the Lake Winnipic, to the place of beginning.

And whereas, the welfare of the families, at present forming Settlements on the Red River, within the said Territory, with those on the way to it, passing the winter at York and Churchill Forts in Hudson's Bay; as also those who are expected to arrive next autumn; renders it a nece-sary and indispensable part of my duty to provide for their support; in the yet uncultivated state of the country, the ordinary resources derived from the buffalo and other wild animals hunted within the Territory, are not deemed more than adequate for the requisite supply.

And be it hereby further made known, that whosoever shall be detected in attempting to convey out, or shall aid and assist in carrying out, or attempting to carry out, any provisions prohibited as above, either by water or land, shall be taken into custody, and prosecuted as the laws in such cases direct; and the provisions so taken, as well as any goods and chattels, of what nature soever, which may be taken along with them, and also the craft, carriages and cattle instrumental in conveying away the same to any part, but to the Settlement on Red River, shall be forfeited.

[6] “ The impact of the European factory system on traditional pemmican production has yet to be fully studied, especially at carryover places and between watersheds where large communities of indigenous people gathered.

Indeed, it became so commonplace for woodland hunters to visit and even inhabit trade routes and major transshipment points where they might gain access to the plains-trade pemmican stockpiled there that the HBC eventually outlawed its crews from making such exchanges and sternly rebuked traders who made it available around their posts.”[5] The early nineteenth century saw competition increase between food trading companies in and around the Red River settlement.

[5] “Competition over the trade, poor winters, and hunters burning the plains escalated prices and, in the end, contributed to one of Rupert’s Land’s more chaotic turns in 1814 with the advent of the “Pemmican Wars”—where the Selkirk settlers, under the Pemmican Proclamation, attempted to regulate and control pemmican production by rival companies.21 This very issue sparked the bloody Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816: Métis clashed with settlers who had earlier seized and now competed for the high-priced food supplies of the NWC coming from the Assiniboine River.”[5] A major contributor to the controversy surrounding the Red River Settlement was the purchasing of Hudson’s Bay Company shares by Thomas Douglas, the 5th Lord of Selkirk.

Douglas, in an attempt to provide new opportunities for Scottish settlers, purchased enough shares from the HBC to be granted a large land settlement in the Red River.

The harsh living conditions and scarcity of food would eventually lead to Douglas’ reliance on the Metis and the introduction of the Pemmican Proclamation, considering the ties he had severed with those he now depended on in the area.

[8] and published in the: Report of trials in the courts of Canada, relative to the destruction of the Earl of Selkirk's settlement on the Red River With observations (p. 61-62) by Amos Andrew in 1820.

[9] To procure pemmican in sufficient quantities, the HBC and NWC traded for it at several outposts in the Red River District and shipped it to their Bas de la Rivière depot on Lake Winnipeg where it was distributed to brigades of north canoes passing between Fort William and Athabasca or transported to Fort William where it was issued to brigades going to the company's eastern and southern districts.

While volumes increased to meet European demands by the turn of the century, so did the traded value, or price, of these commodities, especially in areas hard hit by changing game conditions.

Lower Red River outfits, by then supplying massive amounts of food to the trading companies, priced depot pemmican at an astronomical shilling per pound—in better circumstances, Europeans could get it for a quarter or less than that".

[5] The increased price of Pemmican, combined with the food shortage and tensions between the settlement of HBC and NWC territories ultimately developed into conflict.

This very issue sparked the bloody Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816, which saw the Métis clash with settlers who had earlier seized and now competed for the high-priced food supplies of the NWC coming from the Assiniboine River.

The Seven Oaks Incident occurred on June 1816, as a violent clash took place between a group of Hudson Bay Company Officers and Selkirk Settlers vs. a party of Metis traders from the Red River and the Upper Assiniboine.

[13] The notion the Battle of Seven Oaks was a massacre was a new “master narrative” of Western progress in 1870, which depicts Metis as savage villains, and white European settlers as the unanimous hero or victim.

Prices remained remarkably low across vast stretches of the British North American territories and stayed that way until the depleted herds could no longer feed the thousands of indigenous people and newcomers dependent upon them.

But by the late 1820s, HBC managers developed a standing order system and a region-wide buying strategy that stabilized the market and significantly undermined Indian bargaining power.

This transition to pemmican began because it was a source of energy that could be stored and preserved for long periods of time, which allowed fur traders to venture beyond designated areas to find game because of this new unspoiled food.

This meant the Lord of Selkirk's men (he promised 200 annually to the HBC) could take over the pemmican production, stop the Metis from supplying the NWC, and interrupt fur trades routes of rival company trappers.