 From 1815 to 1821 employees of the Hudson 's Bay Company and the North West Company engaged in various territorial conflicts known as the " fur trade wars , " including the famous Battle of Seven Oaks at what is now Winnipeg , Manitoba . As a result of these conflicts numerous Métis migrated from the Red River area to central and eastern Minnesota , particularly in the vicinity of Saint Paul . This " Red River Exodus " became a major source of francophone immigration into Minnesota during the territorial era . The Métis and other mixed @-@ race groups were often regarded as French Canadian " whites " rather than " Indians " . 
 From 1815 to 1821 employees of the Hudson <a href='null_genetive' title='1'><mark>'s</mark></a>Bay Company and the North West Company engaged in various territorial conflicts known as the " fur trade wars , " including the famous Battle of Seven Oaks at what is now Winnipeg , Manitoba . As a result of these conflicts numerous Métis migrated from the Red River area to central and eastern Minnesota , particularly in the vicinity of Saint Paul . This " Red River Exodus " became a major source of francophone immigration into Minnesota during the territorial era . The Métis and other mixed @-@ race groups <a href='uninflect' title='2'><mark>were</mark></a> often regarded as French Canadian " whites " rather than " Indians " . 
From 1815 to 1821 employees of the Hudson  Bay Company and the North West Company engaged in various territorial conflicts known as da " fur trade wars , " including the famous Battle of Seven Oaks at wht is now Winnipeg , Manitoba . As a result of dem conflicts numerous Métis migrated from the Red River area to central and eastern Minnesota , particularly in the vicinity of Saint Paul . This " Red River Exodus " became a major source of francophone immigration into Minnesota durin the territorial era . The Métis and other mixed @-@ race groups was often regarded as French Canadian " whites " rather than " Indians " .