The violent Seven Oaks incident lasted only a few minutes
but it left 21 Selkirk settlers and one Métis
dead. When news of the battle reached Lower Canada (now
Quebec), a shocked Governor John Sherbrooke asked William
B. Coltman, a prominent lawyer, to inquire into the
conditions which led to the bloody outcome. In this
section of his report, Coltman describes how the North
West Company attempted to bribe Selkirk immigrants to
turn against the Hudson's Bay Company.
Having a reputation for honesty and common sense,
Coltman worked long hours throughout the summer of
1817 to gather evidence and take depositions from
both sides in the Seven Oaks battle, and to bring
the perpetrators before the courts in eastern Canada.
His diligence resulted in a report which concluded
that the Selkirk party fired on the Métis first,
and had initiated the battle that resulted in their
own deaths. Today, Coltman's report is praised for
its thoroughness, accuracy, and relative impartiality.
Despite its objectivity, the report has seen little
of the light of day. Most writers and historians use
published secondary accounts of the battle which usually
interpret the Métis victory as a savage massacre.
Historian Lyle Dick believes this reinterpretation
has served the English-speaking community well, helping
to justify the dispossession of Red River Métis
lands and promoting a position more suitable to their
own ethnic group. In other words, it is much easier
to justify taking land from a community when it is
perceived as hostile and savage.
Part of the problem, however, also lies in the difficulty
of using archival records. There is only one copy
of the Coltman report and it is found in Ottawa. Published
secondary sources, however, are much more accessible
to researchers through the public library system.
