Royal Ontario Museum returns Chief Poundmaker's pipe and saddle bag to family

Wed, February 22, 2023 

Nikita Ashley Poundmaker, left, and lawyer and family friend Lawren Trotchie look at a saddle during a repatriation ceremony at the Royal Ontario Museum, in Toronto, on Feb. 22, 2023. A pipe and saddle belonging to Chief Poundmaker were returned to the family from the ROM collections. 

(Evan Mitsui/CBC - image credit)

Century old artifacts belonging to a 19th century Plains Cree chief who was known as a peacekeeper were returned to his descendants in a repatriation ceremony at the Royal Ontario Museum.

After months of conversation, the Toronto-based museum transferred a ceremonial pipe and a saddle bag that belonged to Chief Poundmaker back to members of his family on Wednesday.

Pauline Poundmaker, or Brown Bear Woman, has been leading efforts to repatriate her great-great-grandfather's belongings and sacred objects from collections held in Canada and internationally.

"It's an honour to be the generation that's able to bring these artifacts home," she said in a phone interview.

Under Poundmaker Cree Nation laws, descendants are required to initiate and lead repatriation. Poundmaker's family members are striving to bring home his personal belongings, which they say were taken from him under duress.

Pauline Poundmaker travelled this week from Saskatchewan to Toronto with nine others, including other direct descendants, to partake in a repatriation ceremony with staff at the museum.

It was the first time she got to see the two items in person that belonged to her great-great-grandfather. The special moment was sacred and emotional, she said.

"I had a moment there where I couldn't hold back the tears. The significance of being here and the honour it is to be able to bring these artifacts home. It's hard to describe."

A famed 19th century Indigenous leader

The museum acquired the two items nearly a century ago. The saddle bag is made out of tan hide and adorned with beads in colours ranging from red, yellow and green. The museum said the item was sold to them in 1924.

The ceremonial pipe is dark in colour and made out of ceramic or stone. Like many First Nations customs objects used in ceremony, the pipe cannot be photographed. The museum said in an email information from the donor suggests Chief Poundmaker presented the pipe to a doctor in 1885 after which is was passed down to others in the medical field before the museum received it in 1936.

The ROM did not make any representatives available for an interview ahead of the repatriation ceremony.

Oliver Buell/Library and Archives Canada

Poundmaker, whose Cree name is Pitikwahanapiwiyin, is considered one of the great Indigenous leaders of the 19th century and was key in negotiations that led to Treaty 6, which covers the west-central portions of present-day Alberta and Saskatchewan.

A number of the leader's belongings were taken and housed in museums after the Northwest Rebellion in 1885 — the same year Poundmaker was convicted of treason for leading his warriors in the battle against Canadian Forces after government soldiers attacked about 1,500 Indigenous people, including women and children. He served seven months before dying shortly after his release.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a formal apology and exoneration for Poundmaker at the First Nation that bears his name in 2019.

As the Poundmaker family strives to bring home the personal artifacts of Chief Poundmaker, they continue to be inspired by his willingness to stand up for what he believed in a peaceful way, said Pauline Poundmaker.

Parks Canada returned a ceremonial staff believed to belong to Chief Poundmaker last year that is to be put on display at the museum named in his honour in Saskatchewan.

Addressing harm

Pauline Poundmaker says the growing movement of institutions repatriating items shows there is a willingness to address previous harms against Indigenous Peoples.

"It's a beautiful shift to having different relationships and writing a different history," she said.

The saddle bag is to be put on display at the Chief Poundmaker Museum and the ceremonial pipe will be placed in safe keeping with the museum. The museum is tasked with making sure they are equipped with the tools to preserve the items for generations to come, said Pauline Poundmaker.

"We want to continue to preserve our history and honour history."

Liam Richards/The Canadian Press

She has been told there are about 20 other items spread across North America and Europe. The family is in the beginning stages of getting two other items repatriated.

The Royal Ontario Museum temporarily closed its gallery dedicated to First Peoples art and culture last year to work with Indigenous museum professionals on what they called critical changes to the gallery.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for POUNDMAKER 

Rebel Yell

Chief Poundmaker, wrongly convicted of treason-felony in 1885, to be exonerated by Trudeau

Social Shari 

PM set to visit Poundmaker Cree Nation in Saskatchewan on May 23

Olivia Stefanovich · CBC News · Posted: May 07, 2019 3:24 PM ET | Last Updated: May 7

More than 130 years after he was convicted of treason following a battle with Canadian troops in what is now Saskatchewan, Chief Poundmaker is going to be exonerated by the federal government. (Submitted/CBC)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will later this month exonerate a First Nations chief who was wrongly convicted of treason-felony after leading his warriors in battle against Canadian forces in 1885.

Trudeau will exonerate Chief Poundmaker during a May 23 visit to the Saskatchewan First Nation that bears his name, according to local officials and a senior government source. 

"It's kind of a 'pinch me' moment because we've always wanted this to happen," said Blaine Favel, a former chief of Poundmaker Cree Nation. 

KEN MONKMAN POUNDMAKER INTERCEDES 

NOW THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA NEEDS TO EXONERATE THE GREAT METIS LEADER AND COMPATRIOT OF POUNDMAKERS, LOUIS RIEL 

I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT I WORKED ON THE UNDERGROUND FORMER U OF A SU PAPER THE GATEWAY WHEN THE STAFF TOOK IT OFF CAMPUS DURING A PAPER STRIKE AND RENAMED IT THE POUNDMAKER IN HONOR OF THIS FORGOTTEN HERO OF WESTERN CANADA  IT BECAME A COMMUNITY BASED PAPER FOR NUMBER OF YEARS LONGER THAN THE ORIGINAL STRIKERS/OCCUPIERS THOUGHT

ONE OF OUR EDITORS WHO WORKED FOR THE EDMONTON JOURNAL BOB BEAL CO WROTE A HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST REBELLION APPROPRIATELY TITLED PRAIRIE FIRE

AN APOCRYPHAL TALE OF POUNDMAKER NEGOTIATING A TRUCE WITH SAM STEELE OF THE NWMP (RCMP). POUNDMAKER ANNOUNCED HE WOULD HAVE TO DISCUSS IT WITH THE WOMEN ELDERS TO GET THEIR APPROVAL.

STEELE SNORTED THAT POUNDMAKER THE GREAT CHIEF WAS TOLD WHAT TO DO BY SQUAWS

POUNDMAKER REPLIED WITHOUT BLINKING AN EYE AT THE INSULT TO THE ELDERS OF THE TRIBE,  YOU ANSWER TO THE GREAT MOTHER ACROSS THE SEA DO YOU NOT.

SEE MY BLOG POSTS

Rebel Yell

 Louis Riel Day

Remember Riel

Poundmaker Cree Nation leaves FSIN, will leave AFN, to 'protect treaty rights' independently

Saskatoon StarPhoenix - 

Poundmaker Cree Nation Chief Duane Antoine speaks to media in 2016.© Provided by Star Phoenix

Poundmaker Cree Nation is pulling out of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, and also intends to leave the national Association of First Nations (AFN). Leaders say the band will preserve and protect Treaty rights as an independent nation.

Poundmaker, “in exercising their jurisdiction,” served a band council resolution to the FSIN terminating its membership, effective immediately, the band said Thursday in a news release.

According to the notice, Poundmaker members “no longer want to be associated or represented by the FSIN, as they do not serve the purpose it’s intended for, which is to ‘preserve and protect Treaty.’ ”

Chief Duane Antoine said Poundmaker will also serve notice to the AFN “within a couple of weeks,” ending that relationship.

He said the First Nation will now represent itself directly with the provincial and federal governments “on its own desired self-determined initiatives that support Treaty and inherent rights within the terms of Treaty 6.”

“We are moving along,” he said. “We want to deal directly to our Treaty partner, the Federal government, nation to nation.”

Longtime councillor Bryan Tootoosis said this decision has been years in the making.

“ We’ve discussed it publicly, through our Elders, our band members, in meetings we’ve had about what’s best for our children, the unborn and our Elders, thinking, of course, all the time, about the needs and the requirements of the people from Poundmaker,” he said.

Matters have now come “to a boiling point,” Tootoosis said.

“FSIN has not preserved and protected our Treaty rights for a long time. We just lost faith in the whole area of jurisdiction.”

He said the First Nation has been working hard on issues of education, community safety, health and food sovereignty — but when it needed help, “there was no FSIN around, anywhere.”

In particular, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tootoosis said it has been difficult to get the money and support they need to keep their people safe and well.

“Funding for the pandemic was going through everybody else,” he said. “By the time it got to us, we got crumbs.”

Tootoosis echoed Chief Antoine’s wish for Poundmaker to take on a nation-to-nation relationship with the federal government, one Treaty Six signatory to another.

“We have the education. We have lots of professional people from Poundmaker. We have lawyers, we have social workers, we have all the university-educated people.

“We need to do things ourselves — and I think we do better when we do things ourselves.”

Tootoosis emphasized that this decision is “not a personal attack” on the these advocacy organizations or the people who work there — he himself used to work for the FSIN, and Poundmaker members are still employed there.

“We are trying our best to make things work for everybody, and our number one priority is protecting our Treaty rights and obligations,” he said. “It’s a business, political and community-based decision. The Elders have spoken many times about this, and we decided that this is the appropriate time.”

The FSIN now represents 73 First Nations in Saskatchewan. The federation, which could not immediately be reached for comment, says its mandate is to honour the spirit and intent of the treaties, as well as the promotion, protection and implementation of the treaty promises that were made more than a century ago.

The AFN represents more than 600 First Nations and more than 900,000 Indigenous people in Canada.

Poundmaker Cree Nation, located near Cut Knife, has more than 1,250 members.

— Local Journalism Initiative

jupeterson@postmedia.com

Poundmaker's Lodge wants Alberta government to return land containing potential unmarked graves

Author of the article:Ashley Joannou
Publishing date:Jun 27, 2021 • 

The Poundmaker's Lodge Treatment Centres Society says burial sites on the school ground have been identified by survivors and verified by ground penetrating radar several times in the past, and the society has some burial maps of the site. 

The Poundmaker’s Lodge Treatment Centres Society wants the Alberta government to return a portion of land next to the site of the former Edmonton Indian Residential School, which they say could contain unmarked graves.

The Poundmaker’s Lodge has sat on the site of the former residential school northwest of Edmonton for decades. In a statement last week, officials said land adjacent to the property, known as River Lot 56, has been identified as “an area of concern” by survivors of the school.

“Poundmaker’s Lodge Treatment Centres Society recognizes the quickly developing surrounding areas and is proactively working with the Nations toward urban reserve status to ensure the protection and perpetuity of this sacred land,” the statement says.

No one from the society was available for additional comment prior to presstime.

River Lot 56 is a provincially managed natural area that is sometimes used for hiking or cross-country skiing.

In a statement, Adrienne South, press secretary for Indigenous Affairs Minister Rick Wilson, did not directly answer questions about whether the province would be willing to return River Lot 56 or what the potential process would involve.

She pointed to the $8 million that has been earmarked by the government for grants to Indigenous communities to identifying unmarked burial sites and commemorate them.

“These grants will go to support Indigenous organizations so they can decide how to best approach these sensitive issues. Such work can help inform the issue raised by Poundmaker’s Lodge, and potential next steps,” she said.

Poundmaker’s Lodge said burial sites on the school ground have been identified by survivors and verified by ground penetrating radar several times in the past. The society also has some burial maps of the site.

“Moving forward, there is a plan in place to continue to work with ground penetrating radar in further exploration of additional burial sites which are known to exist,” the statement says.

According to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, the Edmonton Indian Residential School ran from 1924 to 1968 and had as many as 200 students at a time, including from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia, Northwest Territories and Yukon.

The society is also working with the University of Calgary and Alberta Culture and Heritage to develop the last remaining historical building on site into a historic resource centre and is planning on developing a digital resource museum after further consultation with Elders and survivors.

“Poundmaker’s Lodge Treatment Centres Society’s Eagle Staff reminds us that we are the keepers of this sacred land; the land where our children walked and are buried,” the statement says.

“We will ensure their stories continue to be told where voices were silenced so others will not forget.”

Meanwhile, a gathering of survivors is being planned for July 5 and 6. Survivors can confirm their attendance by calling the lodge.

The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of a residential school experience. Support is available at 1-866-925-4419.

EDMONTON SOLIDARITY RAIL BLOCKADE
'This is not violence': Counter-protesters tear down blockade on CN rail line in Edmonton

FUNNY BUT THATS NOT WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT THE FIRST NATIONS PROTESTERS, BUT I AGREE IT IS NOT VIOLENCE IT IS VANDALISM

RED NECKS VS FIRST NATIONS

One of the organizers said they had planned to maintain the blockade until Justin Trudeau intervened and the RCMP left Wet’suwet’en territory

The Canadian Press
Colette Derworiz and Daniela Germano

February 19, 2020

EDMONTON — A blockade set up on a Canadian National rail line on the western edge of Edmonton in support of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs was being dismantled — at least temporarily — Wednesday after a handful of counter-protesters showed up.

About 20 people called Cuzzins for Wet’suwet’en had set up barriers early in the day in solidarity with the chiefs who oppose a natural gas pipeline through their traditional land in British Columbia.

The blockade consisted of wooden pallets on the tracks and signs that say “No Consent” and “No Pipelines on Stolen Land.”

One of the organizers, who was wearing a balaclava and called himself Poundmaker to protect his safety, said they had planned to maintain the blockade until Prime Minister Justin Trudeau intervened and the RCMP left Wet’suwet’en territory in B.C.

Confrontations with counter-protesters at the site, however, led Poundmaker and the others to abandon the blockade. They said they wanted to keep it peaceful.

Poundmaker didn’t rule out erecting a blockade again at the site or somewhere else. “Site 1 wasn’t the only site we had in mind.”

THEY ARE CONVERSING, HAVING A CONVERSATION

WHICH IS ABOUT AS MEANINGLESS AS THE TERM 

A CONVERSATION MEANS NOTHING ACTION IS ALL

A counter protester argues with a protester as supporters of the indigenous Wet’suwet’en Nation’s hereditary chiefs camp at a blockade along the CN rail line in Edmonton, Feb. 19, 2020. Codie McLachlan/Reuters

Wet’suwet’en supporters linked arms in front their camp as a few counter-protesters tried to remove pallets and other materials from the tracks.

“This is the violence. See this is the violence,” said a protester, who had his face covered.

“This is not violence. I am just trying to remove some garbage,” a counter-protester responded.

Guy Simpson, an oilfield worker from Leduc, Alta., said he decided to show up at the blockade after seeing it on social media.

“One blockade at a time. I’ll clean it up,” he said after loading some items from the camp onto his pickup truck.

Simpson and other counter-protesters removed the wooden pallets and other materials that were on the tracks.

Another man with a beard and a ball cap and driving a black pickup truck stopped on the road over the tracks and yelled at the protesters from his window. “There’s a lot of hard-working people out of work,” he told them. “I’m taking time out of work right now so I can tell you punks to get to work.”

A protester sarcastically replied: “You really showed us.”

The pickup driver shouted as he drove off: “Why don’t you guys just drop dead? You can’t even uncover your faces.” 

 

A protester tries to block counter protesters from tearing down a blockade along the CN rail line in Edmonton, Feb. 19, 2020. David Bloom/Postmedia

Poundmaker said he knows people are upset that the blockades across the country are affecting the economy and jobs.

“I know they think we’re coming after oil and gas,” he said. “But we’re focused on justice for Indigenous people right now. We’re focused on trying to build a future for everyone.”

CN said in a statement earlier Wednesday that CN police and local police had responded to the blockade.

Later in the day, an Edmonton judge granted the company a 30-day injunction applying to all rail lines in Alberta. CN lawyers had argued that the company has nothing to do with the dispute and is being hurt economically by the blockades.

Lawyers said a train was bearing down on the blockade at about 4:30 a.m. when CN received an anonymous phone tip about the protest on the tracks. The train stopped 20 cars short of the blockade.

They said the blockade had held up 14 trains by lunchtime, backing up traffic and threatening perishable and hazardous goods.

Alberta Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer said he expects police to enforce the order on any other blockades.

“Albertans will not be economic hostages while lawbreakers block critical infrastructure such as rail lines,” he wrote on Twiter.

CN Rail 'not panicking' about bottomline impact yet, but says it's a victim of the blockade crisis

'What is happening here is anarchy': Premiers call for swift end to rail blockades

I AGREE IT IS SELF ORGANIZED RESISTANCE FROM BELOW

Hereditary chief says RCMP must 'pick up everything and go' before he meets with ministers

Premier Jason Kenney, who has been critical of the blockades popping up across the country, said he expected police to respect and enforce court orders.

He planned to be on an afternoon conference call with all of Canada’s premiers about the blockades.

“These illegal blockades — there is people losing their jobs, blue-collar people, vulnerable people,” he said in Calgary.

“What is happening here is anarchy.”

The Coastal GasLink pipeline the hereditary chiefs oppose has already received approval from elected band councils.

Protests began after the RCMP moved in to enforce an injunction to keep hereditary chiefs and their supporters away from pipeline worksites. Blockades by Indigenous people and supporters have shut down a good part of CN’s rail network, suspended most Via Rail passenger service, and temporarily blocked traffic on streets and bridges and at ports in multiple cities.

A protester tries to block counter protesters from tearing down a blockade along the CN rail line in Edmonton, Feb. 19, 2020. David Bloom/Postmedia

The Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, which represents 16 First Nations across Alberta, said in a statement that it supports the hereditary chiefs.

“We call upon law enforcement officials to ensure safety of peaceful land protectors and the railway workers,” said Grand Chief William Morin.

He urged the RCMP to leave Wet’suwet’en territory and asked that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan meet with the Wet’suwet’en “to resolve this in a peaceful manner for all Indigenous Peoples and Canadians.”

In Ottawa, Trudeau said his government is trying to find a resolution, but he also acknowledged the economic affect the rail blockades are having across the country.

“We know that people are facing shortages. They’re facing disruptions. They’re facing layoffs. That’s unacceptable,” he said.

“That’s why we’re going to continue working extremely hard with everyone involved to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”

— With files from Bill Graveland in Calgary and Dean Bennett in Edmonton

Counter-protesters demolish rail blockade

Protesters set up camp around 4 a.m. on Wednesday.

a day ago By: Jennifer Henderson

About half-a-dozen counter protesters dismantle a blockade built by First Nations protesters on a CN Rail line west of Edmonton on Wednesday afternoon. The blockade of wood and barrels was constructed to show solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en protesters who are currently embroiled in a battle with RCMP and the Coastal GasLink project on First Nations’ territory in B.C. CHRIS COLBOURNE/St. Albert Gazette

A group of around a dozen counter-protesters tore down a rail blockade southeast of St. Albert.

Early Wednesday morning, a group of protesters set up a camp near the Winterburn Industrial Area close to Acheson to show solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en blockades taking place in B.C.

The camp set up early in the morning and dozens of protesters blocked the rail tracks with a car and wooden pallets that read, "No consent" and "Reconciliation is dead.” A car also blocked the tracks.

Protesters let vehicle traffic through but early in the morning protesters said a train had approached the tracks and one of the protesters laid down on the tracks to stop the passing of the train.

One man, who went by the pseudonym Poundmaker, said they were standing in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en protests.

“These blockades could be solved so easily but I think we are just going to see the government talk, talk, talk and then just raid our territories again.”

Poundmaker said the only thing that will stop the blockades is Coastal GasLink and RCMP removal from Wet’suwet’en territory.

Gallery: Rail blockade torn down by counter-protesters

During the noon hour counter-protesters gathered and attempted to tear down the camp and push past the protest. They tried to push past protesters into their camps, take down the pallets and rolled away garbage cans next to the camp.

The counter-protesters backed a truck up next to the camp and started trying to load parts of the camp into the truck.

An older woman, Arlene Seegerts, hopped into the back of the truck with another protester trying to pry their items back from the men.

As the counter-protest group grew in size, they became more vocal and bold.

“Your violence is not welcome here,” protester Michael James told the counter-protesters.

The men shouted at the protesters telling them to get jobs and said their camp looked like litter and they were just cleaning it up.

“You liberal paid friggin' protesters can go away,” a counter-protester shouted.

James said he was standing with the First Nation people to make sure their human rights aren’t being abused.

“This is a peaceful protest and we're exercising our democratic right (which) is a right to protest in this country,” James said.

“We just want people to have a dialogue. You don't need violence. You guys, you can see the violence is coming at us. It's not something that we're bringing,” James said.

James noted he was also brought out because of his concerns over the climate crisis.

Seegerts said the Wet’suwet’en people are standing up for the rights of all Indigenous people to live peacefully in their territories.

"If those rights go, everybody's rights go. There won't be an Indigenous person here to claim to have any rights if the government takes them," Seegerts said.

"Yes, it is about the pipeline but that's not the issue. The issue is a violation of Indigenous rights to live on their own lands and their own territories, the right to free, prior and informed consent of what comes on to those lands and what doesn't."

As drivers passed the camp, many told them they are blocking farmers from getting their grain out and one man told the protesters to “drop dead.”

As the counter-protesters pushed on, some of the protesters shouted back and a couple of people tried to wrestle their items back, but the majority formed a human chain and began singing the Strong Woman song.

As the crowd was singing, a process server arrived and dropped off a court injunction at the feet of everyone forming a human chain.

With the counter-protesters becoming increasingly aggressive and a court injunction being served, the protesters decided they needed to pack up their camp.

“The violence that these counter protesters are bringing, we're not comfortable with. We are peaceful protesters,” James said.

While the protesters were preparing to leave, the counter-protesters continued to tear down their camp, filling up a trailer behind a truck.

Court injunction

On Wednesday afternoon, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Paul Belzil ruled in favour of CN and granted an emergency injunction to the rail line. The injunction will apply province-wide for 30 days, and police can be called to serve and enforce that order.

A lawyer for CN told the court that eastbound and westbound cars carrying perishables, industrial products and flammables were stopped, which would have a “severe” impact on the Canadian economy.

Another lawyer said the blockade is creating a serious safety issue.

Poll Results

Should protesters be allowed to block Canada's rail lines?

Yes, making a stand against climate change is important27 votes 11.34 %

No, they are breaking the law and should be arrested211 votes 88.66 %

---

Total votes: 238
Added: Feb 18, 2020 4:20 PM

Rebel Yell

Louis Riel and the Northwest Rebellion

The origins of Western Alienation, embraced today by the Conservative Right in Alberta, was in the Northwest Rebellion.

And it was the Conservative government of MacDonald that imposed it's colonial, read Ontario, domination over Western Canada to avoid the creation of an autonomous government. In short to stop the creation of a Quebec in the prairies.

Ironic isn't it, that the loudest voices crying out that 'West Wants In', are the heirs of the Ontario Imperialists of the Conservative party of MacDonald.

Those who supported an autonomous West were the Quebecois. Not out of spite over the loss of independence after the battle of the plains of Abraham, but out of a belief that Canada was a federation of peoples.

1867: Four provinces choose to sign the new federation project; Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Lower Canada that will now be known as the province of Québec. The vote is very close, but finally, the federation passes in Québec (27 for, 22 against). But George-Étienne Cartier, one of the fathers of this federation along with MacDonald, originally saw this as a pact between two people: the French-Canadien and the English. In truth, the deal offers nothing of the sort, and the people of Québec are absolutely not recognised as an equal partner in this deal. Québec is nothing more than a province among four. These two visions of what Canada should be still clash today. It's the "Québec is a people and a nation different from the rest of Canada" vision versus the "Québec is just a province like the others" one. The new dominion of Canada will know a new age of prosperity, but the people now referred to as "French-Canadians" do not benefit much from the great games of finance and commerce, and remain a largely exploited work force. To boot, they are now nothing more than a minority in an officially "bilingual" country, where in fact, practice imposes English. Quebec First Era: from Federation to the Quiet Revolution (1867-1960)

The Quebecois viewed Quebec as one region, Ontario as another, and that the West was itself an autonomous region that should determine for itself, it's role in Confederation. That was not to be as the Ontario mercantilists, with their support from the British Crown and its monopoly corporations like the Hudson's Bay Company declared the West theirs, and used the North West Mounted Police and colonialist property owner militas to exert its rule .

The result was the Riel Rebellion, the great North West Rebellion where the West declared itself an autonmous region with its own government of the peoples by the peoples, including Metis and Natives, as well as settlers.

Métis Bill of Rights

PROVISIONAL GOVERNING COUNCIL BILL OF RIGHTS This is the formal List of Rights drawn up by the Provisional Governing Council of the Metis Nation, as the formal conditions for the entry of Rupert's Land into Confederation on December 1, 1869. That the people have the right to elect their own legislature. That the legislature have the power to pass all laws local to the Territory over the veto of the Executive by a two-thirds vote. That no act of the Dominion Parliament (local to the Territory) be binding on the people until sanctioned by the Legislature of the Territory. That all Sheriffs, Magistrates, Constables, School Commissioners, etc., be elected by the people. A free Homestead and Preemption Land law. That a portion of the public lands be appropriated to the benefit of schools, the building of bridges, roads and public buildings. That it be guaranteed to connect Winnipeg by rail with the nearest line of railroad, within a term of five years; the land grant to be subject to the Local Legislature. That for the term of four years all military, civil and municipal expenses be paid out of the Dominion funds. That the Military be composed of the inhabitants now existing in the Territory. That the English and French languages be common in the legislature and courts and that all public documents and acts of the legislature be published in both languages. That the Judge of the Supreme Court speak the English and French languages. That treaties be concluded and ratified between the Dominion Government and the several tribes of Indians in the Territory to ensure peace on the frontier. That we have a fair and full representation in the Canadian Parliament. That all privileges, customs and usage existing at the time of the transfer be respected. This meeting took place in Fort Garry on Wednesday, December 1, 1869.

Photograph of Gabriel Dumont at Fort Assiniboine,
May 1885; Glenbow-Alberta Institute.

This was the peoples charter that Gabriel Dumont, and the Metis Council crafted and invited Louis Riel out of exile in the U.S. to join them in a Metis reistance in Western Canada. The demand for self government spread through out the West from Winnipeg to the Saskatchewan Alberta border.

Dumont impressed George Woodcock, 'the gentle anarchist' of Canadian letters, who wrote a biography of Ghandi as well as Dumont. As a pacifist anarchist Woodcock, a transplanted Brit, living and teaching in Victoria, saw Dumont and the Northwest Rebellion as a struggle for an indigenous form of self government that was completely different from the parilmentary system imposed on Canada by the Conservatives and their British masters.

From his birth at Red River (now Winnipeg, Manitoba) in December of 1837 to his death in 1906 at Batoche, 100 kms (60 miles) north of Saskatoon on the South Saskatchewan River, Dumont saw the bison go from a seemingly unlimited renewable resource to near extinction. He observed Saskatchewan change from a teeming and wild land of grasses, rivers and forests - a land without boundaries - to a tamed, measured-out patchwork of farmland tended by sod-busters from somewhere else. And he witnessed a freedom-loving people become subjugated to a fiefdom in the faraway, insensitive capital of Ottawa, a place whose foreign laws were carried out by the disciplined, military-like Redcoats of the North-West Mounted Police.

"Though illiterate, Dumont's first request to the territorial government was for education for Metis kids," Woodcock writes in Gabriel Dumont. "His next request was for land. It's the Conservative government of Sir John A. Macdonald's unheeding of injustice and unresponsiveness to land claims that led to revolt."

Dumont's background as an Indian fighter and buffalo hunter made him a formidable foe for the North-West Mounted Police and federal forces. A true guerrilla fighter, he used the element of surprise and his knowledge of the land to great effect.

Riel was a martyr, perhaps with messianic delusions. But Dumont, writes Woodcock, was a Canadian hero in the "high romantic vein," like a Homerian protagonist, the "greatest Metis buffalo hunter, who had no superior when it came to the wisdom of the wilds." Gabriel Dumont by Gordon McIntyre


1869 and 1884-85 : Ottawa plans a new Canada "from coast to coast" and wants to send new settlers in the lands between Ontario and British-Columbia. In doing so, the MacDonald government ignores the presence of the Natives that already live there, like the French-speaking Manitoba Métis. Louis Riel takes the lead of a rebellion that will oppose him to Ottawa. The Canadian government has absolutely no intention of seeing a second Québec emerge in the west and sends the army to crush the rebels. Riel and eight Native chiefs are sentenced to death by an exclusively English-speaking jury. Québec strongly denounces the verdict and Montréal is on the verge of ethnic war. MacDonald declares "Even if all the dogs of Québec bark, Riel will be hanged!" (approximate translation). In Québec, all wear black armbands in memory of the "lost brother". Once more, one's hero is the other's enemy.
Quebec First Era: from Federation to the Quiet Revolution (1867-1960)



Poundmakers Surrender Speech (exerpt)

"When you came, we treated you well. What did you do in return? You stole our land. You shared a little food with us. And you said you paid for it. You killed off our buffalo for no useful purpose for you. We did not destroy the buffalo. We know they are useful. Everything we needed came from them. What will you destroy next?

When I was a young man, I often went on a war party. We rode all day. And all day we passed through herds of buffalo. The plains were black as far as one could see with herds of buffalo. We killed one only for food.

After the whites came, the buffalo became fewer and fewer. We all know that. We began to hate the white persons. They were robbing us of our birthright. We became very poor. We wandered to the south. The buffalo were not coming back. We were told, "the land is not yours anymore. We were to stay only on our small patches of land that were leftover (iskonikana). Our grandfathers travelled on these great plains and called it their own.

Why do I have to live on a small patch like the white persons? I only want my freedom."

The general's reply to Poundmaker's speech was that the Indians had defied the government by taking up arms; that their members had killed farmer instructors and Indian agents. "These men must be given and tried and punished." Poundmaker, as chief, would be taken hostage and remain a prisoner for the good behaviour of his people.

Ah yes hostage taking, like concentration camps and homelands in South Africa modeled on Indian Reserves in Canada, were all introduced by the British. Hostage Taking was introduced into into the Middle East by T.E. Lawerance, where it is still a popular tactic today.

The Northwest Rebellion is known in the United States as the period of the Plains Indian Wars, as American settlers, and robber barons move westward. Had the Riel Rebellion succeeded, like the failed rebellion of farmers and artisans in 1837 in Upper and Lower Canada, then the history of North America, not just Canada would have been different.

The alternative would have been a Metis, White, Native nation from Manitoba across the Prairies, south to the Dakotas and West to the Pacific Nothwest.

"Poundmaker and the legendary Big Bear, who was forced by starvation of his people to finally take treaty in 1882, were leaders in the fight for fair treatment. "The principle strategy of the Indian leaders was to build a widespread political movement," says Stonechild, "like the political lobbying type of thing you see today.For their roles in the rebellion, Poundmaker and Big Bear were sentenced to three years each in Manitoba's Stoney Mountain Penitentiary. As a sop to Crowfoot, whom Ottawa did not wish to anger, Poundmaker's hair was not cut and he was released after serving only seven months of his sentence. Still, his health suffered in prison and he died just months after his release, while visiting his adopted father Crowfoot. The year was 1886. He was 44." Poundmaker by Dave Yanko

In 1887 Louis Riel is hung as a traitor against the Conservative Government in Ottawa. In Quebec the people take to the streets to protest the political execution of Riel, in Ontario the ruling class and its Conservative Party clinks glasses and celebrates the death of the 'traitor' Riel with the comprador politicians from Quebec..

November 22 1885, to the March Field, Montréal

The emotion is at his height. Louis Riel has just been hung to have dared to claim the rights of its compatriots. While Ontario celebrates, the Quebecois are completely dismayed. The shops are closed, the tocsin resounds. November 22, on the March Field, takes place one of the more moving gatherings of the history of the Quebec. Fifty thousand persons attend the event, carrying to the arm the black armband of the mourning.

On the tribune, several speakers succeed themselves to denounce the federal government of the Conservatives, but the one that book the words more memorable Is Honored Haberdasher. Here the transcription of this that again today is considered as the one of the bigger speeches of the history of the Quebec. Note that to this era, one used the term "race" for done reference to the "populates".

Riel, our brother, dead east, victim of his devotedness to the cause of the Hybrid one of which it was the boss, victim of the fanaticism and treason; fanaticism of Sir John and of someone of its friends; treason three of the ours that, to keep their wallet, sold their brother.

While killing Riel, Sir John did not only hit our race to the cœur, but it especially hit the cause of justice and humanity that, represented in all the languages and sanctified by the whole beliefs religious, required grace for the prisoner of Regina, our poor brother of the North-Ouest…

We here fifty thousand citizens, met under the protective aegis of the Constitution, in the name of the humanity that screams vengeance, in the name of two millions of French in pleurs, to launch to the federal minister in escape a last malédiction that, passing on itself echo in echo on the shores of our big river, will go to attain it the moment it will lose view the earth Judicial.

As for those that remain, as for the three that represented the Quebec province in the federal government, and that do not there represent more than the treason, bend the head in front of their failure, and cry their sad one goes out; for the blood spot than they carry to the forehead is indelible, as to remember it of their cowardice. They will have the goes out of their brother Caïn.

Opposite this crime, in the presence of these failures, which is our duty? We have three things to do: we to unite to punish the guilty ones; break the alliance that our representatives did with the orangisme; and look for in a more natural alliance and less dangerous the protection of our national interests.

We to unite! Oh, that I feel comfortable while pronouncing these words! There are twenty years that I ask the union of all the lively forces of the nation. There are twenty years that I say to my brothers to sacrifice on the altar of the fatherland in danger the hates that we blinded and the divisions that we killed. […] it was necessary the national misfortune that we deplore, it was necessary the death of the one of the ours for that this rallying cry fût understand. […]

And then, do not forget, we liberal, that if the nation in mourning because of the assassination of Riel, the conservative ones our brothers are damaged in a deeper pain than the ours. They cry Riel as us, but also they cry the fall and the treason of their bosses. Them that were if proud and with reason, of Chapleau and of Langevin, that see in the the one eloquence and in the skillfulness of the other the good day country, are obliged to bend the head and to curse today those that they blessed yesterday. […]

Chapleau refused the hand of a brother to keep the one of Sir John; it preferred the screams of some fanatics to the Canadian French one the whole nation blessings; it preferred the death to life; the death for him, the death for Riel; his career is broken as the one of Riel, only this one fell in man, that one in traitor!

For an good political analysis of the Northwest Rebellion and its importance in defining the West read Beal, Bob; Macleod, Rod. - Prairie fire : the 1885 North-West Rebellion. - [Rev. ed.] - Toronto : McClelland & Stewart, 1994. - 384 p.

And thus began the histoirc annexation of the Canadian West by the mercantilist monopolies of the CPR and Hudson's Bay Comapny under the armed rule of Conservative Party hacks in Ottawa, British colonial governors like the Selkirk family in Manitoba, and their colonial military force the NWMP.

McLean, Don. - 1885 : Metis rebellion or government conspiracy? - [S.l.] : Pemmican Publications, 1985. - 137 p

• Claims that the Conservative government forced the Métis into rebellion in order to save the Canadian Pacific Railway financially.
• Rea, J.E. - "The Hudson's Bay Company and the North-West Rebellion". - The Beaver. - Outfit 313, no. 1 (Summer 1982). - P. 43-57

With Indian lands ceded to the railway, the CPR needed farmers and workers to open up the West. They invited immigrants to come and farm on homestead land, adjacent to the railway. Winnipeg boomed as the grain capital of North America, directly linked to the Chicago Grain Exchange, today the castles of capital still stand in the wind swept streets of a depressed Winnipeg. The great banks that Wobbly Joe Hill sang about, stand empty and dead, where they once ruled the Western expansion of eastern capitalism.

The second wave of Western alienation came with rise of a militant labour and socialist movement in the West. The west was RED before it was Red Neck. The IWW and the Socialist Party of Canada with its militant industrial union, the One Big Union (OBU) were active across the Prairies. The OBU itself was created in 1919 in Calgary, on the eve of the Winnipeg General Strike. Ukrainian, Scots, Irish, Icelandic, Finns, Germans, and Jews from Eastern and Central Europe homesteaded the land and took jobs in the mines and forests. They created their own socialist organizations and newspapers, like the Ukrainian Labour Farmer Temple.



During the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, and its brutal repression by the RCMP, many immigrants were deported as enemy aliens and Bolsheviki, by the Conservative Party and the ruling class in Ottawa.

After the boom of the 1920's farmers and workers organized across the prairies into political parties, in Alberta the United Farmers of Alberta was a coalition of farmers and labour activists. The platform included recall of MLA's and referendums. Ideas that today have been taken up by the Right Wing.

The CCF, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, (later to become the NDP) was founded in the Grain Exchange building in Calgary in 1932. It was the original Western Reform Party. It then came out with a socialist declaration entitled the Regina Manifesto, in 1933. A fitting tribute to the original Prairie populist Lous Riel , who was imprisoned and hung in Regina.

During the Depression out of the West came the On to Ottawa Trek that the Left in Canada challenged the Borden Conservative government to end the concentration camps for the unemployed, and called for a living wage at the time, unemployment insurance and a social safety net.

The complaints of those in the West were always the same, we had a different vision of Canada, one that like the original Metis declaration called for autonomy, and direct government.

Today those socialist bashers on the right who identify with U.S. Republicanism and equate their wanna be Americanism with Alberta Seperation, or with right wing populism of the Reform/Alliance/Conservative party, or even cheer on Ralph Klein as he bashes Ottawa, would do well to learn their history lessons of Western Canada's past. It is a libertarian socialist history not a right wing one.

Sure the West wants in, but we want a new confederation as do the peoples of Quebec. This is not about giving right wing governments in the provinces more power, this is about creating a new federation, which was the original vision of Papineau, Mackenzie, Dumont, Riel, Poundmaker, Carl Berg, Pritchard, and J.S.Woodsworth. A peoples confederation, a federation of the self governed, a Cooperative Commonwealth, not a Conservative or Liberal government in Ottawa, but proportional representation, that cedes decision making to local levels of govenment, whether it is muncipalities, or native self government.

The provinces of Alberta and Sasksatchewan are celebrating our centennials but so are the IWW and the Socialist Party of Canada, equally founders of the West . The provinces are creatures of Ottawa, our muncipalities are founded by the peoples who live here. Their power was taken away despite ancient British traditions that recongized the autonomy of cities and their aldermen, in order for the State to expand its empire in the West. Provincial autonomy is tyranny of the State over the popular political insitiutions of the people:

1. That all Sheriffs, Magistrates, Constables, School Commissioners, etc., be elected by the people.
2. That a portion of the public lands be appropriated to the benefit of schools, the building of bridges, roads and public buildings.

In the West our history has been shaped by the British Colonialists of Canadian Confederation and their mercantilist partners the HBC and the CPR. In our history lessons we learn little of the Native, Metis or immigrant struggles, settling instead for the history of the victors. We are not taught that Quebec supported the West and it's struggle to be an autonomous self governing region, an equal partner in Confederation. Instead we are taught all that rebelious Quebec wanted was French speaking rights, and their support of Riel was to spite the English rulers in Ottawa.

I believe the speech reprinted below by Louis-Joseph Papineau exposes the lies of the origins of Confederation as a common agreement between regions. His is an alterantive history of Canada, that has not been available in the West in our social studies classes in school.

Papineau was no mere Quebec Nationalist, he was a Canadian, who saw this as a new country, one like the United States, offered a new land, and a new federation of peoples, in his Speech to the Institut Canadien he preciently predicted Canada would become not just a home to European Immigrants but Asian immigrants as well. This is his speech on Confederation, a Quebec ideal that was usurped by the familial and mercalintalist interests in Ontario. His idealism and his vision of Canada fits well with those of us in the West.

Papineau led the 1837 rebellion for a government of the people, for a constiuent assembly against the vested interests of the Family Compact. Papineau passed legislation, the first in Canada, giving Jews the vote.

During the Spanish Civil War, the left in Canada who joined the international Brigades named their Brigade the Mackenzie-Papineau Brigade, the Mac-Paps, in honor of the heros of the 1837 Rebellion.


Alberta politicians have always aligned with Quebec, for their own political and provincial interests against the Ottawa power brokers for sure, but Quebec's view of history is little revealed to the average person in the West. Instead these same politicians invoke Quebec's vision of Canada, as the 'selfish aggrandizment of special powers and intersts', which of course they should get as well.

The people in the West have always wanted a different kind of Confederation, but our own ruling class uses this 'alienation' as a cheap trick to maintain their own power base, which has moved from Winnipeg in the 19th and early 20th Century, to Calgary in the 21st Century.

I would advise that reading this whole speech would be revealing of the half truths and lies that have shaped English Canada's version of what Quebec wants for Canada. And indeed the real history of Canada and Confederation as the betrayl of legislative authority and its usurption by the landed aristocracy of British mercantilism. As it is I have exerpted portions I feel are pertinent to this article.

1867 Speech of Louis-Joseph Papineau at the Institut canadien

Among the most important and useful truths, those that pertain the the better political organization of a society are at the forefront. They are among those of which it is a shame to have not studied carefully, and cowardly to dare not proclaim, when we believe that those we possess are true and therefore useful.

The good political doctrines of modern times, I find them condensed, explained and delivered for the love of peoples and for their regeneration, in a few lines of the 1776 Declaration of Independence, and the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

The true sociological doctrines of modern times can be summed up in a few words: Recognizing that, in the political and temporal order, the only legitimate authority is the one to which the majority of the nation has given its consent; that are wise and beneficial constitutions only those for which the governed have been consulted, and to which the majorities have given their free approbation; that all which is a human institution is destined to successive change; that the continuous perfectibility of man in society gives him the right and imposes him the duty to demand the improvements which are appropriate for new circumstances, for the new needs of the community in which he lives and evolves.

It is not the precipitated acceptance of the butched Quebec Act of confederation that can prove the wisdom of the statesmen of England. It is not their work; it was prepared in hiding, without the authorization of their constituents, by some colonists anxious to stud themselves to the power that had escaped them. The sinistre project is the works of badly famed and personally interested men, it is the achievement of evil at the British Parliament, surprised, misled, and inattentive to what it was doing.

At first sight, the act of confederation cannot have the approval of those who believe in the wisdom and the justice of the Parliament and the excellency of the English constitution, since it violates its fundamental principles, by taking control over the sums of money belonging to the colonists alone and not to the metropolis nor to any authority in the metropolis. It is guiltier than any of the preceding acts. It has the same defects, and it has new ones, which are unique to it, and which are more exorbitant against the colonists than were those of the parliamentary charters granted or imposed before. The others were given in times and conditions that were difficult and exceptional. The transfer of a new country, with a majority whose religious beliefs and political education differed deeply from those of the minority, could have let us fear that the latter be exposed to denials of justice. Full religious tolerance, the most important of the rights which belong to men in society, had not been understood nor allowed at the time. England was persecuting at home, insane and unjust; she was insane and unjust here, here more than elsewhere, because the public law was supposed to protect us from evil. She ignored it. If she had restricted herself to protective measures for the minorities, she would have been praised; but she exceeded the goal, she oppressed the majority, she did wrong. But it was then a common error which misled her and which excuses her. The odious laws of intolerance are repudiated by all of the civilized world today, except for Rome and St. Petersbourg. There too however, sooner or later it will be necessary to render justice at the sight of the benefits which it pours on the States which respect it.

The concision in the word of Cavour: "The free Church in the free State", is one of the most beautiful titles given to respect, love and admiration, justly acquired by this famous statesman. These happy words, which once stated can never be forgotten, which, in a short sentence, contain a complete and perfect code on the subject they expose and explain, in one moment, -- as if all the tongues of fire of the Coterie had touched all those which tried to retain them -- allow us to understand, love, and proclaim the full truth which was only obscurely perceived and timidly loved before. And yet this revelation, sudden for a lot of people, is already codified, since a long time, for all, in the thirty-six States of the Union next door.

The free, independent Churches, separated from the State, do not require anything from it in presence of one another, are the happiest and become most useful, because of this separation from the State and the proximity of their rivals. They rely on their knowledge and their virtues, they do not require nothing else. They as nothing of what they consider useful to the promotion of their cult, all to the benefit of all their ministers, their charity, and their benevolent organizations. Watching one another, they are eminently moral, because the exposure and publicity would punish each fault they commit. No fault being able to go by unpunished, one will rarely occur. Where only one Church rules, it is not useful, it represses heresies, schisms and witches. Its adversaries claim: "it must necessarily be that it is wrong, if it is so cruel." and its friends say: "it must necessarily be that it is divine, if it obtains support in spite of these cruelties."

When the right to freethinking, whether religious, political or scientific, is as generally proclaimed as it is it by the laws, the values and the practice of our days, it cannot be lost. Judicious people will not need to demand it later.

Other parliamentary acts against Canada were acts of rigour, following disorders which would have been prevented by a tiny portion of the concessions that were granted much too late. The merit of these concessions is small and has little value, because they were made only after executions which were murders.

The present act was inflicted to provinces which were peaceful, where there no longer existed animosities of race or religion to calm down. Where nobody was guilty, all were punished, since they received a law for which they were not consulted.

This new governmental plan reveals, more than the others, the violent animosity of that the aristocracy feels towards elective institutions. It was only after long years of ceaseless efforts that the Legislative Councils were made elective. Did those who had been morally glorified by tearing off this important concession to the colonial and metropolitan authorities glorify themselves much today by ravishing it to their compatriots? On the contrary, they felt and they knew that they would not escape the contempt that these tergiversations deserved. They fought among themselves with eagerness to obtain nobility titles from overseas. They defrauded on the one hand their country and other the other they were even defrauding among themselves for the superiority of the rank; and they found ways to associate many accomplices to their shame, as if it was less dark because it was shared! They promised the elected counsellers to have them counsellers for life. They created themselves a fake aristocracy, that became such by their participation in an obvious violation of the law. All these intrigues were immoral enough to please the English cabinet and to push it to adopt an act even worse than almost all its past wrongs. These reactionaries were asking the institutions of the Middle Ages back at the very moment the noble English people was demolishing them.

No, it is not true that the political discussions, which were as sharp in both Canadas, were a fight between races. They were as rough in Upper Canada, where there was only one nationality, than here, where there were two. The majorities of both of them were uninterested friends of rights freedoms, and privileges due to all the English subjects. They were voluntarily exposing themselves to liefull slanderings, to dangerous angers, to sanguinary revenges sometimes, from egoistic minorities, by themselves weak, but supported by the strenght of the bayonnettes paid with the gold of the people, but everywhere directed against the people.

The privileged people always think that the prayers and the complaints against the abuses which benefit them are an invitation to repress them by violence. Proud, just and enlightened men, whose convictions are intense because they are the result of strong studies and long meditations, have faith in the empire of reason, and it is for reason alone that they ask the correction of the abuses. Their efforts are addressed to all, to the powerful ones initially, to inspire them sympathy for the people that are suffering and that were impoverished by the abuses. They present them with glory and happiness to conquer, if they know how to render the society of their time more prosperous and more moral that it was it in the times which preceded. They address them initially and preferably, because their mind being more cultivated, they would be better prepared to be able to consider questions of general interest under all their various aspects, and to solve them quickly and correctly when selfishness does not blind them. They address the masses after, to say them that the sabre is not in their hands, but that reason is the richest and most invaluable of divine gifts and that it was separated almost equally amongst all, that the culture of the mind can centuplicate its fruitfulness and strength; that to clear the land one needs physical strenght enlightened by experience, but that in order to make good constitutions and good laws, and to apply them wisely, it is necessary to have before all a strong reason, enlightened not only by serious studies, but above all by a real devotion to the country, and the absence of any personal covetousness of ambition or interest. Here is what could seen before, here is what has since become so rare, now that fortunes acquired at the expense of the public and personal honor, have become so numerous! How badly do these reproaches of propensity to violence come from those who constantly have recourse to violence to prevent the free discussion of political or social questions, physical violence by means of the law, moral violence by the anathema!

Papineau was 81 years old when he appeared at the Institute in 1867

First Nations were speaking the truth all this time, says regional chief

The discovery of a mass grave where the remains of 215 children were found at an Indian residential school in British Columbia last week has spurred the Alberta government to take action.

Yesterday, Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson announced that his government will fund research to compile a registry that will include undocumented deaths and burials of the Indigenous children who attended residential schools in Alberta.

Assembly of First Nations Alberta Regional Chief Marlene Poitras appreciates the move, but admits it “bothers” her that a mass grave is what was needed for the province to respond.

“Our people knew about it. Our people talked about this, that they witnessed babies being burned in incinerators. They witnessed the children. Young boys had to bury the dead. That was what was requested of them from the priests and the nuns. They knew these stories.

“Now it’s come to light they have been speaking the truth for all this time. And, yes, it does unfortunately take something like this to make people stand up, take notice and to make attempts to do something about it,” she said.

Wilson points out that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, which were delivered in 2015, includes six calls for Missing Children and Burial Information. The TRC called upon the federal government “to allocate sufficient resources” (Call No. 72) for the development and maintenance of a National Residential School Student Death Register.

Poitras believes the federal government “has a huge responsibility” and needs to take it on considering it was a federal policy that brought about the Indian residential school system.

Wilson says because the federal government has not “step(ped) up to the plate,” Premier Jason Kenney gave him permission to take on the work. PARTISAN BS

Wilson says that Kenney also told him that if Ottawa didn’t provide funding to advance the work, Alberta will make the funding available. There is no price tag yet as to how much that funding will be. Wilson said he made an initial call to the federal government today for financial support.  FINALLY

There is already provincial grant funding available for research work for residential schools through Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women. Wilson said Minister Leila Aheer has said she will provide support.

Service Alberta Minister Nate Glubish will be the lead on the government-led initiative because he has “the ability to get into files,” said Wilson.

Wilson anticipates searching will begin in the Legislature library and will branch out to include working with the churches, First Nations, colleges like Blue Quill, and organizations like Poundmaker’s Lodge. Both Blue Quills, in Saddle Lake First Nation, and Poundmaker’s, in St. Albert, are former residential schools.

Poitras knows records will not be easy to track down. She points to Holy Angel residential school in her home community of Fort Chipewyan. Once it was demolished the records went to Fort Smith, NWT, and are now in Yellowknife.

“So there’s a lot of digging that needs to happen,” she said.

Poitras says she has had only a brief discussion with Wilson about the registry.

“He needs to get the leadership involved,” she said. “Talk to the leadership and establish some kind of committee, working together to ensure that we do this in a respectful way and that we have the information that we need for us to work through.”

Wilson understands that documentation is not available for all of the 25 residential schools that operated in Alberta.

“Several of the chiefs have reached out to me and said come and meet with us. We’ll work with you.…We have to work with the Elders. We have to work with the survivors, because they're going to be the boots on the ground. They're going to know from their own personal histories and the stories that they've heard as to where these things are,” he said.

Wilson said while Alberta Services began the work today of looking at documents, there is no deadline set as to when the registry will be completed.

“It’ll be evolving as we go. This isn’t something that’s just going to (be taken) on and disappear,” he said.

Wilson said the work could go beyond developing a registry and include looking for unmarked graves.

“That’s part of it, but of course we have to really be sensitive around that area,” he said. He emphasized moving forward on what happens with “very sacred ground” will be up to chiefs and Elders.

A resource guide put out by Aheer’s department in 2020 for researching and recognizing residential school sites references “careful archaeological investigation using ground-penetrating radar … to find burial locations.”

It was this technique that discovered the mass grave at Kamloops Indian Residential School.

Poitras points out that the federal government provided the resources for that work so “there is precedent set in terms of the amount of resources that are required, so it’s not something that we don’t know.”

She said the registry and finding the burial sites are necessary work for families.

“Every region, right across the country, it needs to happen. We have to do a search for the rest of the missing children to honour them, bring them back, so the people that have all those losses can have some form of closure,” she said.

She said an apology from the Pope, as the Roman Catholic Church operated about 70 per cent of the country’s Indian residential schools, would also help heal. Other church leaders have apologized for their part in the schools.

Wilson said people are now more aware of Indian residential schools because of the news of the 215 children buried in the mass grave.

He says a vigil he attended last night at the Alberta Legislature had easily 3,000 people there, many of whom were non-Indigenous.

“(There were a) lot of tears, but we've got to do that grieving and hopefully like now, with what we're doing, we can move forward and start that healing process because we can't dwell on the grief. It will just overwhelm you,” said Wilson.

Because of that grief, Poitras stresses the need for mental health support for trauma and healing. Wilson says the government has “pumped up” the services during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a news release issued today, Métis Nation of Alberta President Audrey Poitras called yesterday’s announcement “a good start.”

“History sadly supports our mistrust, but we hope that this devastating discovery is the catalyst for true reconciliation in this province,” said Audrey Poitras, who pointed out that Métis children also attended residential schools.

Métis were not included in the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement approved in 2006, nor in Prime Minster Stephen Harper’s apology in 2008.

“While we cannot bring these children home to their families, we can honour them, their communities, and the plight of Indigenous people everywhere by ensuring that the atrocities of the past are never repeated and never forgotten,” said Audrey Poitras.

Windspeaker.com

By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com, Windspeaker.com

Remember Riel

Buckdog and POGGE remind us that Louis Reil was hung today 121 years ago today by the Conservative Government of the day on behalf of the CPR railroad and the ruling class.

Riel was the Father of the Canadian West, the first real reformer. He led what could have been the first North American revolution, not just in the Canadian Prairies but across the aboriginal plains of North America.

See my Rebel Yell for my tribute to Riel, Dumont and Poundmaker.

Like the Revolution of 1837, the Riel Rebellion shows that Canada does have a revolutionary history, despite the ruling class myth that this country was built on Peace, Order and Good Government.

This is the last testament of Louis Riel a poem recently discovered and donated to the University of Regina. It was written by Riel to his jailer.

Let virtue be our soul's food'

A poem and introduction written by Louis Riel for his jailer about three weeks before Riel was hanged for treason: Robert Gordon! I beg your pardon for so having kept you waiting after some poor verses of mine. You know, my English is not fine. I speak it; but only very imperfectly.

The snow,

Which renders the ground all white,

From heaven, comes here below:

Its pine frozen drops invite us all

To white -- keep our thoughts and our acts,

So that when our bodies do fall,

Our merits, before God, be facts.

How many who, with good desires,

Have died and lost their souls to fires?

Good desires kept unpractic'd

Stand, before God, unnotic'd.

O Robert, let us be fond

Of virtue! Virtues abound

In every sort of good,

Let virtue be our soul's food. Louis (David) Riel Oct. 27, 1885 Regina Jail

See:

A History of Canadian Wealth, 1914.

Aboriginal Property Rights

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