James Ross (9 May 1835 – 20 September 1871) was a
Métis journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
,
lawyer, and member of the
provisional government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...
established by
Louis Riel
Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...
during the
Red River Rebellion
The Red River Rebellion (french: Rébellion de la rivière Rouge), also known as the Red River Resistance, Red River uprising, or First Riel Rebellion, was the sequence of events that led up to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by ...
of 1869–1870. He graduated with honours from the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
in 1857. He also received a Master of Arts from the same university later in 1865. He was the Métis son of Scottish immigrant author and
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
fur trader/administrator
Alexander Ross and Sarah (Timentwa), an Okanagan tribal woman. James married Margaret Smith in Toronto on 18 May 1858.
Ross represented the views of the
anglophone
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...
community in the
Red River Colony
The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assinboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay ...
, defusing tensions between the
French- and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
-speaking delegates of the
Métis National Committee. He served on the Convention of Forty
[http://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/12539.Convention%20of%20Forty%20revised.pdf ] (January 25, 1870 to February 10, 1870) as a representative of St. John's Parish. Ross served as translator of the speeches of the French delegates, and also served on the "Committee of Six" responsible for drafting the "List of Rights" that were presented to the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
during the negotiations that led to the
Manitoba Act
The ''Manitoba Act, 1870'' (french: link=no, Loi de 1870 sur le Manitoba)Originally entitled (until renamed in 1982) ''An Act to amend and continue the Act 32 and 33 Victoria, chapter 3; and to establish and provide for the Government of the Pro ...
of 1870 and the entry of the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Manitoba
, image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg
, map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada
, Label_map = yes
, coordinates =
, capital = Winn ...
into the
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion ...
.
James Ross died of tuberculosis on September 20, 1871.
References
External links
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Memorable Manitobans: James Ross (1835-1871)James Ross : 1835-1871 : the life and times of an English-speaking halfbreed in the old Red River settlement; Remis, Leonard Lawrence
1835 births
1871 deaths
University of Toronto alumni
People of the Red River Rebellion
Métis politicians
Canadian people of Scottish descent
Canadian Métis people
Lawyers in Manitoba
{{Canada-law-bio-stub