Winnipeg lies at the confluence of the Assiniboine and the Red River of the North, a location now known as  The Forks . This point was at the crossroads of canoe routes travelled by First Nations before European contact.Winnipeg is named after nearby Lake Winnipeg.n 1869–70, present-day Winnipeg was the site of the Red River Rebellion, a conflict between the local provisional government of Metis, métis led By Louis, riel and newcomers from Eastern. Canada General Garnet wolseley was sent to put down the. uprising