Batoche

Here's a very brief history lesson. In the 14th century the French sent trappers over to trap furs and to establish a trade relationship with the Aboriginal people. One of their strategies to build a relationship with the Aboriginal people was to breed with them. Through history it shows that people are more willing to deal with people who are blood related over people who aren't. When the English sent trappers over they were under the opposite orders, do not get involved in that way with Aboriginal people. Of course some of them did. The English and Scottish/ Aboriginal descendants were merged back in with European society. The French/ Aboriginal descendants became a very distinct culture, neither French or Aboriginal. These were later known as the Metis, which literally translates into halfbreed.

Think of the Metis culture as a blend of the two cultures. In later centuries they became firmly established in the Forks area (which is now in the province of Manitoba) which is an area where there are many lakes and rivers (think trade routes). They had a flourishing community in this area where they were middlemen and trappers in their own right. Mean while in Upper Canada (which is Ontario, Lower Canada is Quebec), they were trying to build Canada. This is now in the mid 17th century. The government of Canada (very young here) then sent surveyors out of the settled areas of Upper Canada to spread the word of the forth coming government and also to get a better idea of how the land was.

They came to the Forks, and without regard to the settlements and people who had lived in that area for more than a hundred years, they started to survey and in general upset the people who lived there. The Metis people sent them packing. A man named Louis Riel, along with other men from the Red River colony set up a government (similar to a provincial government of today, they were even elected in) and sent a letter to Upper Canada. In essence it stated that they wanted a right to their lands, to respect what government they had set up and they would be happy to join Canada as a province. The list was about 40 items. The government responded by sending troops after a particular bad spot when a government offical was put to death. After several small battles the Metis were offered script (a piece of paper giving them rights to lands else where) and were kicked off their land that they had cleared and settled. Most of the script given out gave them land several hundreds of miles away from where they were currently, which lead to the problem of getting there. Most Metis people sold their script back to the government for money and tried to stay in that area. Mostly because they had no way of getting to those lands. To get their it would at least a month hard travel (with families and with no trade routes.....the railway had not gotten that far yet). So they took the small amount of money they were offered for the script and tried to resettle in the same area.

Some of them did leave and found a new place to settle, in what is now known as Saskatchewan, about an hour and a half from Saskatoon. They created the town Batchoe which is where they stayed and developed for many years without conflict. But eventually the government came again, and the same thing was going to happen....or so the people thought. So they didn't wait this time, they started a "rebellion" or "resistance" depending on what you read.

This is one of the only buildings still standing where Batoche use to be. This church still bares the marks of the fighting at this site. These bullets are over 100 years old.

Inside the church, a guide and Metis man from the local area shows us how the church and other buildings in the area where constructed. I don't have a better picture of this so imagine this.....see the belt the man is wearing? That is a huge symbol of the Metis people. It was a calculator, a calendar and a symbol. On each end there is about 5 inches of the yarn used in each colour. They would knot a different colour for each type of animal they trapped, knot a certain number of threads for how many days they said they'd be gone ect.

This is the back of the church. The organ upstairs is one of the oldest in western Canada.

This is in the upstairs of the Rectory beside the church where the school teacher and the priest lived and worked. This is the area that was the post office.

This is right behind the postal area, this is the teaching area.

Downstairs in the kitchen area which still holds many of the same furnishing.

The view onto the river nearby the graveyard.

I said before that the people of Batoche decided not to wait to see what the government of Canada would do. So they sent a man named Gabriel Dumont to find Louis Riel (who after what happened at Red River had fled to Montana, and had stayed their for 15 years). The people of Batoche were convinced that Riel would help them win. After three days of fighting off roughly 2000 men (they had about 300 men) the Metis lost, and Riel gave himself up. He was hanged about 6 months afterwards for his crimes. Interesting enough, this was the virgin battle of the Gatling gun. A gun that can fire up to 300 bullets per minute. The stone above is Gabriel Dumont's grave marker.