Winnipeg

Winnipeg lies near the meeting of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, where waterways link the northern forests, the plains and Lake Winnipeg. The Forks has been a gathering and exchange place for Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. Its name comes from a Cree expression for muddy water, also applied to the great lake to the north.

In 1738 a French post called Fort Rouge was built near the Forks under La Vérendrye’s direction. Later the North West Company and Hudson’s Bay Company established competing posts at the junction. The Red River settlement began in 1812, bringing settlers into a country where Métis and First Nations communities were already deeply involved in the fur and provisions trade. Rivalry over that trade brought conflict before the companies united in 1821.