Louis Riel Essay

Louis Riel

Louis Riel is viewed in many different ways, but titling him as a true Canadian hero would be a commendable definition.  He became a strong leader of the Métis people between the years of 1867 and 1885. The lack of cowardice he showed when fighting for the right of the Métis people showed just how heroic he was.  He simply gave the Métis what they asked for – a strong leader with a good heart. He put his own freedom at risk to show the Métis how much they were valued by him.

 Louis Riel had been an obvious choice to serve as leader of the Métis. His educational history, while studying to become a priest and later as a lawyer, proved his leadership abilities.  His father’s history as a Métis leader also provided a strong family history of leadership. Among a list of his many achievements was the “List of Rights” for the people of Red River.  After the Hudson Bay Company transferred the Red River and North-West to the Canadian government, surveyors were sent by the Prime Minister of Canada, John A. MacDonald, to these locations. This wasn’t the only thing that the Métis feared the outcome of; the hostile Anglo-protestant immigrants arriving from Ontario made them very cautious as well. As leader of the National committee, Riel decided to take action by stopping the surveyors and ceasing to let McDougall into the Red River.  He then sent himself and the Métis to Fort Garry, the HBC trading post, seizing the fort along with the officers inside it. That’s when Riel realized it was time to make a “List of Rights” for the people of Red River. He wanted the people of Red River to benefit from this new ownership, too. It was their land first and he wanted to make sure they received properly divided portions of land. He wasn’t about to let aliens take over the land that their families had owned for decades. He had to protect his peoples’ freedom.

After imprisoning the HBC officers, a Canadian armed resistance attempted to take back Fort Garry. They soon failed, surrendering to the Métis. While the officers were imprisoned inside Fort Garry, Riel distributed a “Declaration of the People of Rupert’s Land and the Northwest.” Not long after, Riel became head of the “provisional government,” proving to be an eligible leader.  This led to the Canadian government sending ambassadors of “good will” to Red River to speak with Riel. At the request of Donald A. Smith, chief representative of HBC, Riel agreed to attend a meeting about the “List of rights” he had created. It was agreed that there were to be 40 speakers, 20 speaking French and 20 speaking English.  The delegates discussed a new “List of Rights” and authorized Riel’s provisional government.  An agreement was made to send three delegates to Ottawa to mediate the admission of Red River into confederation, while Riel would release the prisoners he had earlier captured at Fort Garry.  Thomas Scott and Charles Boulton led a small group of men who had escaped from Fort Garry early on, but they were shortly captured again when the Métis felt threatened. Riel soon ordered a death sentence upon Scott at a court-martial advised by Ambroise Lépin, one of Riel’s colleagues. This was not in Riel’s best interest, but rather something done to ensure the safety of his people at their request.

When Riel heard word that a military force would be arriving for a Red River expedition, he escaped to the US in fear. John A. MacDonald attempted to keep Riel in the US, as a way of averting a political confrontation. Instead, Riel decided to enter federal politics, despite Ontario’s $5000 reward for his arrest, brought on by the execution of Thomas Scott. He was elected for the House of Commons three times in a by-election, but was banished from entering. He remained in exile for many years and spent time in several Québec asylums due to the belief he had about himself being on a religious mission as a chosen leader of the Métis. Many people believed this was just a nervous breakdown, but given the amount of people who chose Riel to lead the Métis, it doesn’t seem too drastic a thing for Riel to believe. Québec saw him as a protector of the Roman Catholic faith and French culture of Manitoba and he was seen as nothing more than a hero to the Métis. However, on July 6^th, 1885, Riel was charged with treason. To be certain, they postponed his trial until his mental state had been studied. Although only one of the three physicians testing him declared him insane, he was found guilty. On November 16^th, 1885, Louis Riel was hanged. His execution was objected extensively throughout Québec and the Métis. This shows what an impact he had on his many followers.

 Louis Riel was a true Canadian hero. He led his people to a victory and his life ended with a great amount of respect from many people. His leadership skills got  1,400,000 acres of land for the Métis and a “List of Rights” for his people. Had he not been such a loyal leader and saviour, perhaps his death sentence would not have been so highly protested. In the end he may have been executed, but his main goal was still accomplished.  He enabled the Manitoba Act and received the much deserved land that the Métis had been fighting for.

Bibliography

"Louis Riel" Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_riel> Dec.7, 2010.
Stanley, George F.G, "Riel, Louis" The Canadian Encyclopedia <http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=a1ARTA0006837> Dec. 8, 2010
"Louis Riel" University of Saskatchewan Archives <http://library2.usask.ca/northwest/background/riel.htm> Dec. 8, 2010

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Vocabulary.

1. Representative government – A representative government is one in which representatives are elected by people to make laws on their behalf.
2. responsible government – responsible government can be voted out if elected representative fail to please a majority of the people who elected them.
3. oligarchy – power is placed in the hands of a small group of rich and influential men
4. democracy – these governments are representative and responsible
5. Constitutional Act – A law that separated Upper Canada from Lower Canada and established an elected law-making assembly, a governor and two appointed councils  (1791)
6. veto – To stop something with authority i.e. to veto a law is to cancel the law without having to confer with anyone
7. Family Compact – Small group of rich business people in Upper Canada – the Council was made up of members of the Family Compact.
8. Chateau Clique – Same as the Family Compact but in Lower Canada.
9. Legislative Assembly – An elected law-making body of men
10. governor – The head of the government in the Canadian colonies appointed by the British Crown.
11. appointed – Selected by a higher authority.
12. elected – Voted in by the majority of the voting public.

squeamish little cats

It all started with a squeamish cat, named…Nipper. That cat caused killer fog to surround London.  Because he clawed open a gas tank and that was really really ridiculously bad. And then he ate it. And somehow he got the Minamata disease, even though he was nowhere near China. Meanwhile, you’re sitting in your living room, waiting for Phineas and Ferb to start, when all of a sudden you see this squeamish cat…. And it’s charging right for you, which is very strange because you have never owned a cat in your life and how would he even get into your house? Well, it doesn’t matter because he’s there now. So what do you do? You put him in a room full of rocking chairs, because you know how nervous that makes a cat.. you know when their tails get stuck under a rocking chair… thing…leg….whatever? Then you pack up your belongings and book it out the door so you can catch the midnight train…..going anyyyywwhhheeerre. 

            Later that night the squeamish cat found its way out of the room full of rocking chairs because it’s sly…. All cats are sly… what did you expect? They’re like little…..stealthy beasts…. Anyways, he’s roaming the streets like a crazed monster high on cat nip or something… but really it’s the Minamata disease that I talked about earlier… it gives you these weird epileptic …symptoms. By the way you never ended up going on that midnight train.. you were late by 5 minutes.. so you came back home only to find that the squeamish cat was eating your nachos. You confront him and all he says is “look what the cat dragged in” and you give him a puzzled look, then say “why would you say that? You’re a cat…” and then the cat books it out the door like there’s no tomorrow.  You never see that cat again, but it makes you realize that there’s nothing good about a cat, especially if they’re squeamish, so you make a pact: Never ever in a million years will I EVER buy a cat.

            The next day, Nipper was out for a stroll, twitching as usual, when he came across an aardvark. His name was Ted, and he too had been encountered by the killer fog. Nipper decided to leave out the fact that it was him who had created this killer fog, as to not cause an epic brawl… in which the aardvark would assumingly beat him. Aardvarks are tough… you should know that. They ended up becoming great pals… until they hated each other.

THE END

KILLER FOG!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

The Killer Fog of 1952 took place in London, England on December 5th and was an environmental disaster that took up to 12 000 lives within approximately a week. The Fog affected many and left just as quickly as it came. In the beginning though 900 lives were taken per day. London seems to have a history of having a thick smog in the heart of the city- in other years the smog tended to be worse in winter months do to the burning of coal for heat. The fog of 1952 was a combination of Carbon dioxide, hydrochloric acid, fluorine compounds and sulphuric acid that clung to water particles in the air to form the deadly fog. Problems were further compounded by the anticyclone hanging over London - which is a system of rotating winds that pushed air downwards and trapped the smoke over the city thus  preventing it from disappearing. The first victims of the Killer Fog were young children, elderly, and the weak or already ill people of London.  The citizens of London were still feeling the affects of the fog even after it left and people were still dieing. Now, 50 years later the Killer fog of 1952 is known as the most fatal environmental story EVER!

Canadian ID Test

Q: What makes you Canadian?  How is your "Canadian-ness" shown in your daily life?  If you are not Canadian, think of the people you see around you everyday and apply these questions to them.  Write at least 150 words in your blog explaining how you or the people around you express Canadian-ness.  A one sentence answer will not do it here.  You may refer to any information on the class blog to support what you have to say.

A: Being Canadian isn't the way you act or the things you do, it's just being a part of a country full of freedom, multiculturalism, pride and acceptance. I am Canadian because I live in Canada, I am accepted, I am free, I treat everyone fairly, and I love my country. It's not how often I apologize, or how much I say "eh," or how I love beavers and moose, or how much I eat maple syrup. It's just the fact that I live in this beautiful country as a proud citizen. Our nation was created without a revolution, in peace, making us a peaceful country. We are a tri cultural society, and we accept each others cultures. This is what makes not only me, but everyone in this counrty, a Canadian.

Anteaters are wonderful

Although I may be in socials class, I can't keep my mind off of anteaters. They are just so cool. This one time at the Calgary Zoo, I saw an anteater snorting up some ants... BEST DAY EVER.