I. The native peoples of the Northwest
A. The Blackfoot tribe occupied Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Montana. The horse and the gun which were introduced to them by the Europeans changed their way of life.
B. Guns changed the life of the natives.
1. Food supply and travel was made easier by the gun.
2. Some bad things about the guns were the following:
a. Loading the powder and the shot was awkward.
b. Guns broke easily in the cold.
c. They did not have easy access to ammunition.
C. The horse changed the life of the natives.
1. They used the horse to hunt buffalo.
2. The natives looked for six qualities in a horse:
a. The ability to sustain a high speed over a large distance.
b. The ability to respond immediately to a command.
c. The ability to move …show more content…
The rest were natives

V. The natives, Métis, and Country-born
A. Country-born
1. Most came from the Hudson Bay area.
2. They usually had Scottish or British fathers.
3. They were Anglican
4. They farmed the land.
B. Métis
1. They were strongly Catholic.
2. The Sayer Trial
a. Métis started resenting the power of the Hudson Bay Company over the settlement.
b. In 1849, the Hudson Bay Company arrested Mr. Pierre Sayer for illegally selling furs to other native groups.
c. Two to three hundred Métis lined up in front of the courthouse where he was to be tried.
d. Sayer was found guilty.
e. Rioting started while the verdict was being read.
f. The judge refused to pass down a sentence fearing for his life.
g. Sayer was set free.
C. The Métis and the Country-born doubled every fifteen to twenty years. The Plains natives, however, decreased.
1. Smallpox epidemics (1837-1838)
a. It was carried down the rivers (Saskatchewan and Missouri Rivers).
b. It spread rapidly because the natives lived together in communal dwellings.
c. Three thousand five hundred natives, Métis, and Country-born died.
d. The Cree survived.
2. Scarlet Fever (1864-1865) - 1,000 Blackfoot died.
3. Measles - The Cree died.
4. Influenza and whooping