The Manitoba Land Question, 1870-1882 Essay examples -- Article Analys

In the article titled â€Å"The Manitoba Land Question, 1870-1882† Sprague argues that the federal government was largely responsible for failing to properly address Metis Land claims. Sprague believes the Canadian government purposefully mismanaged and controlled Metis land organization to further its agenda. He also argues that the Canadian government did not hold up its constitutional obligation as per the Manitoba Act. Lastly Sprague suggests that newly introduced laws opened doors for settlers and made it difficult for the Metis to remain cohesive. As a result Sprague suggests that these factors lead to the loss of Metis land and therefore ultimately contributed to their subsequent exodus from Manitoba. To begin Sprague argues that the Canadian Government disingenuously mismanaged Metis land organization. Sprague states that evidence of this can be seen in the Canadian government not allowing the Lieutenant Governor Adams G. Archibald to make changes to Section 31 and 32 of the Manitoba Act. Archibald proposed the government grant outlined in Section 31 should allocate each person of Aboriginal ancestry an allotment of â€Å"140 acres† (pg.75) of land. Archibald also suggested that the location of these allotments be in close proximity so as to â€Å"not disperse families throughout the province† (Pg. 75). Lastly Archibald proposed a suggestion in carrying out Section 32 which insured that land owned was not jeopardized during the process of confederacy. He recommended that Manitoba be recognized as an independent province such that affairs including land ownership would be dealt with on a provincial level. Therefore as Sprague argues Archibald’s words were not taken into consideration by both the governments of John A. Macdonald and Alexa... ... In conclusion, Sprague believes that a number of factors carried out by the Canadian government ultimately led to the exodus of the Metis from Manitoba. Firstly through the manipulation of Metis land organization, secondly through broken promises made by the Canadian Government, and lastly through newly introduced laws which dispersed the Metis. In class we are currently studying the arrival of Selkirk settlers into Manitoba; this article was interesting as it put topics discussed in class in much more perspective. This article would be best suited towards those in the area of law, history or government as it contains historical evidence. Through this article Sprague has done an excellent job of outlining the historical events that took place during the 1870-1882 periods more articles surrounding this topic should be written to uncover further injustices.