THE CANADIAN ATLAS ONLINE MANITOBA – GRADE 6

The River Lot Farms of the Red River

Lesson Overview

In this activity the students will look at the role of the Red River in the settlement patterns and system of landholding that the Metis established in the mid-1800’s and the legacy of this system on the street layout in Winnipeg today.

Grade Level

Grade 6

Time Required

One or two 60-minute lessons

Curriculum Connection

Manitoba - Grade 6, Canada: A Country of Change (1867 to Present)

Link to Canadian National Geography Standards

  • Essential Element #1 (Grades 6-8) – The World in Spatial Terms
  • Essential Element #2 (Grades 6-8) – Places and Regions
  • Essential Element #3 (Grades 6-8) - Physical Systems
  • Essential Element #4 (Grades 6-8) - Human Systems
  • Essential Element #5 (Grades 6-8) - Environment and Society
  • Essential Element #6 (Grades 6-8) - The Uses of Geography
  • Geographic Skill #3 (Grades 6-8) – Organizing geographic information
  • Geographic Skill #4 (Grades 6-8) - Analyzing geographic information
  • Geographic Skill #5 (Grades 6-8) - Answering geographic questions

Principal Resource

The following sections of The Canadian Atlas Online are used in this lesson:

  • Rivers of Canada: Red River/Central Plain

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  • Glossary section of The Canadian Atlas Online

Additional Resources, Materials and Equipment Required

  • Computer lab with access to the Internet
  • Student Activity Sheet: The River Lot Farms of the Red River
  • Large classroom map of Canada or globe
  • The Canadian Atlas (optional)

Main Objective

Students will gain an understanding of the cultural legacy of the Red River; the importance of the Red River in the settlement patterns of the Métis people; and the lasting affects their river lot system of landholding has on the street layout in Winnipeg today.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

  • Locate the Red River on a map or a globe.
  • Access The Canadian Atlas Online website.
  • Gather information using web-based resources.
  • Define several terms associated with the history and culture of the Red River.
  • Value the importance of the Red River to the peoples who originally settled and farmed the area.
  • Sketch a map of a long river lot keeping in mind the value of the river and scale.
  • Draw conclusions about the river lot system used by the Métis and the impact it had on the current street layout in Winnipeg.

Lesson

TEACHER ACTIVITY / STUDENT ACTIVITY

Introduction

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  • Write the phrases: -“Mississippi of the North”
- “prairie seas.”
- “Catfish Capital of the World.”
- “Little Chicago,”
- Devils LakeDiversion”
on the chalkboard. Ask students to brainstorm what they all have in common.
  • Once the students have identified that the commonality among the five is the Red River, ask them to divide into groups of three or four and brainstorm and then share with the larger group why each of these phrases would be associated with the Red River.
/
  • Students participate in brainstorming session.
  • Students break into small groups and then share their ideas with the class.

Lesson (cont’d)

TEACHER ACTIVITY / STUDENT ACTIVITY

Lesson Development

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  • Point out the Red River on a large class map or globe. Ask the students to discuss the benefits for early settlers and First Nations people of living along a river such as the Red.
  • Have the students access The Canadian Atlas Online at
  • Direct them to the Rivers of Canada section, Red River (Central Plains) at
/
  • Students participate in discussion.
  • Students access the CAOL website.
  • Students access the Rivers of Canada section/Red River.

Conclusion

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  • Hand out the Student Activity Sheet entitled ‘The River Lot Farms of the Red River’
  • Have the students complete the Activity Sheet as instructed. Guide and assist when necessary.
  • Note: Activity sheet, Part C, question #2 answer:the streets have French names -Notre Dame, etc.
/
  • Students complete the Student Activity Sheet entitled ‘The River Lot Farms of the Red River’

Lesson Extension

There are several ways to extend this lesson:

  • Ask students to locate and indicate on a map several French/ Métis place names along the Red River.
  • Have the students compare and contrast the river lot system used by the Métis along the Red River as compared to the seigneurial system used by the French in Quebec.
  • Have the students assess the influence that the Red RiverValley’s physical geography had on traditional Métis culture and way of life.

Assessment of Student Learning

Students can be assessed in the following ways:

  • Teacher can correct and assess the Student Activity Sheet.
  • Students can be assessed on their participation in the large-group and small-group brainstorming sessions.

Student Activity Sheet:

The River Lot Farms of the Red River

The Métis are a unique culture that came about as a result of the marriage of French fur traders and Aboriginal women. They were some of the first settlers to establish farms along the Red River.

The Métis divided the land along the Red River based on the seigneurial system of New France. Unlike the English system which saw the square township survey, the French system was based on long narrow river lots. River access was a necessity, for the river provided the Métis with a means of travel, drinking water, and food. Each lot was up to 3 km deep but had a river frontage of only 150 - 250 m. Along the Red River, this long narrow pattern suited the Métis and other settlers’ need for both access to the river and to their neighbours. It gave each family a share of fertile black river soil for crops such as wheat, oats, barley, and vegetables, as well as space further back for some hay and pasture.

Many Métis voyageurs used the Red River and other rivers as highways as they travelled Canada in search of furs.

For fifty years or so after 1820, the river lot system served the Métis well. When the Canadian government purchased the area, then known as Rupert's Land(including the Red River Settlement), from the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1869, an attempt was made to enforce the English land holding pattern on the settlement. This attempt was not entirely successful.

As more settlers arrived in the Red River settlement, later to become Winnipeg, surveyors measured lots for new arrivals in long narrow rows back from the river. As a result of this system, Red River trails developed parallel to the rivers. One trail was close to the river which connected the houses. The other developed along the two mile border and another at the four mile border. These trails - now streets - can still be seen on maps of Winnipeg today: long one-way streets that run perpendicular to the Red River.

PART A – NEW VOCABULARY

Access the glossary section of The Canadian Atlas Online and write a definition for each of the words below. Website:

1. Métis:

2. Rupert’s Land:

3. Red River:

4. Hudson’s Bay Company:

5. Voyageur:

PART B - CULTURAL LEGACY OF THE REDRIVER

Read the section on the Red River entitled Cultural legacy found on The Canadian Atlas Online website at:

Complete the sentence by circling the correct ending.

1. First Nations travelled the Red River and its tributaries ……

  1. for thousands of year.
  2. rarely
  3. only in the summer months.

2. With European settlement, the Red became the theatre of the struggles for control of the …...

  1. Fur trade
  2. Shipping industry
  3. Canadian west

3. The Red River Colony was founded in 1812 and is now the city of …...

  1. Brandon
  2. Winnipeg
  3. Portage la Prairie

4. The Métis developed farms along the Red River that were in …...

  1. square lots.
  2. narrow strips.
  3. parallel lines to the river.

5. Waves of immigrants farmed the fertile soil in the Red RiverValley, turning it into one of the…..

a. most productive agricultural areas in Canada.

b. centres of the fur trade in Canada.

c. most densely populated areas in Canada.

PART C - THE RIVER LOT FARMS ON THE REDRIVER

Imagine you are a Métis family who recently acquired a tract of land on the Red River. You are to take this land and construct a river lot on it.

Your tract of ‘land’ is below. On this land, draw the perimeter of your river lot (pay attention to the size – keep scale in mind). Keep in mind the tendency of the Red River to spring flooding. On your lot, you must also sketch:

  • Your home
  • A vegetable garden for food.
  • A crop of some kind (wheat, oats, barley)
  • Space for some hay and pasture.

PART D - WINNIPEG TODAY

Study the map of Winnipeg below and answer the questions that follow. (You may also find a map of Winnipeg on page 138 of The Canadian Atlas)

  1. Describe the general layout of the streets in Winnipeg in relation to the Red River. Is there evidence of the river lot system that the Métis used to divide their land? Describe.
  1. What evidence is there on the east side of the Red River of French/Métis cultural influence?

CANADIAN COUNCIL FOR GEOGRAPHIC EDUCATION1