November 16, 1905. I am 61 years old today. In a way, I’m lucky: many of my children and grandchildren live near me in Saskatchewan. But I do not feel like celebrating. Why? Twenty years ago, on November 16, 1885, Louis Riel, a great patriot who defended the rights of the Métis in the Prairies, died. He was hanged because a court said he was a traitor to the country.
Like Louis Riel, I was born in the Red River colonyColonizationColonization occurs when one country takes control of another country, territory, or people. It happens when... (in the Winnipeg area today). Many Métis families lived there. What is a Métis? A Métis is someone who has both First Nations and White ancestorsAncestors - An ancestor is a person who is related to someone but lived many years/.... My grandfather was a white Catholic francophone who worked in the fur tradeTrade is when we buy, sell, or just exchange goods (things, foods, etc.) or services (helping.... He married my grandmother, who was Indigenous. The Métis were a bison-hunting people. By 1905, almost no bison were left; they had been decimated.
At 14, Louis Riel was sent to study in Québec. He returned to the colonyColonizationColonization occurs when one country takes control of another country, territory, or people. It happens when... when Canada bought the northwest lands of the Hudson’s Bay Company without consulting us. Riel became our chiefChiefs Definitions: The leaders of the clans and tribes were called chiefs. These men were elected... to protect our lands and our rights. I participated in the resistance movement he led, which led to the creation of Manitoba as a Canadian province in 1870. We were happy with this victory.
However, as more and more white colonists arrived, many Métis moved further West. That’s what I did with my family. But colonizationColonizationColonization occurs when one country takes control of another country, territory, or people. It happens when... caught up with us. So we asked Riel, who had gone to live in the U.S., to come back and help us again. Except this time, things ended badly. Riel was captured and sentenced to death by a court hostile to our cause. And the Métis gained nothing.
AuthorAuthor - A person who writes something Auteur - Une personne qui écrit quelque chose: Service national du Récit de l’univers social
See also – Traces of the past:
