Commemorating the Battle of Seven Oaks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/07/2016 (3691 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Last month I joined community members to mark the bicentennial anniversary of the Battle of Seven Oaks, known by the Métis as the Victory of Frog Plain. 

The crowd listened to several community leaders speak about the significance of the event and celebrate the recently renewed historic site at St. John’s Park.  

The battle at Frog Plain, a result of the pemmican wars between Canada’s two major trading companies, left 21 settlers and one Métis dead. It would set into motion several events that would shape Canada as a country and inform both white and indigenous experience.  

On June 19, 1816 Selkirk settlers clashed with Métis under the leadership of Northwest Company Clerk and trader, Cuthbert Grant. The battle led to the capture of the Northwest Company depot at Fort William a year later by Lord Selkirk and his private army, and ultimately to the union of the two fur trading companies in 1821. 

For the Métis people, the Victory at Frog Plain is a story of the Métis struggle for independence, and the resistance of a marginalized people against economic domination. The battle and its aftermath contributed to the emergence and consolidation of the Métis Nation in Western Canada. 

Different historical interpretations have long characterized the historiography of Seven Oaks. The renewed site, funded in part by the Seven Oaks School Division, the residents association and the Seven Oaks House Museum, aims to provide a more inclusive and balanced historical perspective of the event. The space is a national historic site, and the monument is the oldest historical monument in western Canada, erected in 1891. 

Surrounded by my neighbours in St. John’s, many of whom are descendants of the Red River Métis and the Selkirk Settlers, I was reminded of the importance of community in the path to reconciliation. I encourage you to walk down to the park and participate in the space’s new narrative.

As a new MLA I’m so excited to attend community events like this and hear from my neighbours in St. John’s. On July 23, I will be hosting a community barbecue at the Ralph Brown Community Centre. All are invited to attend, and personal invitations will be sent out later this week. Hope to see you there! 

For more details please call my office at 204-582-1550 or email me at Nahanni.Fontaine@YourManitoba.ca 

Nahanni Fontaine
St. Johns MLA constituency report

Nahanni Fontaine is the NDP MLA for St. Johns.

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