Abstract EN:

In 1873, the Canadian government founded the Mounted Police to assert its sovereignty on the Western plains, to prepare Euro-Canadian settlement and to control First Nations and the Metis. This colonial policy triggered the resistance of the Metis, who took up arms in 1885 to defend their territory and political rights. This thesis is based on original sources from the police archives. They reveal the existence of an on-going cooperation of some Metis, from the arrival of the police on indigenous territory in 1874 until the end of the century at least. This thesis aims at understanding why the police hired these Metis during its takeover of the West and the first contacts with Indigenous peoples, as well as throughout the implementation of its colonial mission, even after the Metis uprising of 1885. Through cooperation with the police, the auxiliaries tried to mitigate the negative effects of colonialism by making economic, social and political gains. The auxiliaries provided the police with the social and cultural capital it needed – their knowledge of aboriginal languages, cultures and environment – to implement its missions in an unfamiliar territory. In return, the police provided salaries and supply contracts as well as its own military and judicial help. The police and its auxiliaries relied on each other in this interdependent relationship. This research has shown that the auxiliaries formed socio-familial networks who were loyal to Canada, which helped the police hire trustworthy men. Nevertheless, this cooperation also stems from the auxiliaries’ agency since they shared the economic capital obtained from the police through their social networking practices.