 Until 1818 the entire Red River Valley in what is today southeastern Manitoba and northwestern Minnesota was considered British and was subject to several colonization schemes by the Hudson 's Bay Company , particularly the Red River Colony ( also known as the <unk> Settlement ) established in 1811 . The valley had , in fact , been occupied by Métis since the middle 17th century . The Red River Colony , established to supply the British fur trade , was fraught with problems from the beginning but became important in the Minnesota area 's early fur trade as well as supplying many early settlers to the region . 
