Assignment 8 - The Real Riel

In this assignment, we are supposed to read about Louis Riel, the founder of Manitoba and a person who helped form Canada. In other words, most people see him as the father of Confederation. After we have gathered enough information about Louis Riel, we are supposed to try to feel how some people felt about Louis Riel, it can be negative or positive. We then write an imaginary interview with Louis Riel. Click Here for more information on this assignment. The setting for this interview is November 14th 2120.

AND NOW WE HAVE WITH US LIVE ON INFLUENTIAL HISTORY-MAKERS OF THE PAST LOUIS RIEL.

Host: Ladies and gentlemen, today is a new day with newer discoveries to make. On this wonderful morning we are lucky to have been able to bring Louis Riel here from the past to share some of the experiences he has gone throughout his life. Luckily we reached him two days before his execution. Now before, I call Louis Riel to come here on this stage, I would like to share some general information about him to give you a better understanding of who he is and why he is important to our history, particularly Manitoba's. Louis Riel was born on October 22nd, 1844 and he unfortunately passed away on November 16th, 1885. He is the oldest child of Louis Riel Sr. and Julie Lagimodière, who had eleven children in total. They were one of the well-respected French Canadian-Métis family. Now, give it up for LOUIS RIEL, (waiting for audience to settle down) who would probably give more accurate information about himself. (Louis walks onto stage, greeting the host). Louis Riel, its a pleasure to have you here.

Louis: The pleasure is all mine and I can really see the development Canada has gone through over the past century.

Host: (laughs) Of course, thanks to people such as yourself. Well, Mr. Riel today we have you here to tell us Canadians the actual truth about yourself and exactly what caused people to think what they are thinking about you right now. We will start with I guess your father. I heard that your father unfortunately died in 1864, how did that affect your life?

Louis: Wow, that's quiet sudden starting with my father's death. Anyways it affected my life because when I heard about my father's death, I started losing interest in the priesthood which gave me no choice but to withdraw from the college of Montreal. Afterward, I did try to continue my studies in the Grey Nuns but I was later asked to leave due to the fact that I basically had lack of both interest and discipline to the subject. Also because of the death my father, I started to work as a law clerk in the Montreal office of Rodolphe Laflamme . So, overall it affected my life as well as my career.

Host: Well, its tragic and I personally think that if I were in your shoes I would probably lose interest in priesthood too because from my experiences such shocks changes the way you think. Keep watching and we will be back after this short break.

Break in session for 5mins.

Host: Ok we're back with Louis Riel. So after your fathers death, you continued to stay in Montreal and there you found someone really special. I am sure that the audience and I will love to hear more about it.

Louis: I got involved in a relationship with the most amazing woman I had ever met named Julie Guermon. Julie and I decided that we should get married and we signed a marriage contract. So basically we were engaged but however, Julie's family were against her involvement with a metis and so our engagement was broken.

Host: Riel, when your engagement was broken due to their family not wanting Julie to be involved with metis, were you offended to that comment or decision?

Louis: In fact I was offended because they made such a quick judgement, they didn't even try to get to know us metis.

Host: After the incident with Julie, did you marry anyone else?

Louis Riel's Kids

Louis: Well, after having my heart broken by Julie, I never thought I would be interested in another women but I however, married another most amazing women name Marguerite. With her I had two children named Jean and Angelique and a third son who passed away at birth.

Host: Look at the bright side you were able to get over Julie and Marguerite must have been a very incredible woman. Anyways we will be back right after this short break keep watching.


Break in session for 5mins.

Host: Ok we are back. Now Mr. Riel this next question of mine has absolutely nothing to do with what we have been talking about. I heard that you were involved in the red river rebellion, what was your purpose or role there?

Louis: I had several roles in the Red river rebellion. These roles include: maintain peace in the settlement, preventing William McDougall from entering the settlement, being spokesmen of the Metis and there are several others that aren't as important.

Host: I have been wondering. Was your role able to end the rebellion?

Louis: To say the truth, my role had nothing to do with the end of the rebellion. Basically the rebellion ended as soon as I fled from the settlement due to the fact that most people thought that the only reason the expedition was coming was to arrest me because of Thomas Scott's execution.

Host: With all that events happening around you, did you get involved in any type of problems such as stress, depression and etc.

Louis: Yes, in fact I got involved in a continues stress which later made me suffer from mental exhaustion. As it got worse I was forced to go to a psychiatric hospital in Montreal and in Beauport (somewhere near Quebec).

Host: That is so terrible and so unexpected. I also heard that many people throughout Canada has different opinions about you. Some say that you were a father of Confederation while others thought you were a traitor and other such things. How do you feel about the way other people think about you? Do you agree or disagree with their opinions?

Thomas Scott

Louis: Well, all individuals have different opinions and you really can't blame them because its all about what they hear or read about. I maybe a traitor to some eyes because I basically shot Thomas Scott by agreeing to his execution. I however think that I shouldn't have been judged so fast because obviously I wouldn't have agreed to someones execution without reasons. To think of it, if I didn't kill Thomas Scott, he would probably gather with others and try to attack Fort Garry and kill many innocent people. So, I disagree with being called a traitor because the way others thought of me killing Thomas Scott was not the way I meant it. People thought that by killing Thomas Scott, I enraged anti-Catholic and anti-French sentiment in Ontario but I was actually trying to make people to take metis more seriously. As for the father of Confederation, I have to agree because I was responsible for the entrance of Manitoba into Confederation. So technically I agree and I also disagree with their opinions.

Host: We were just getting at the good part but we will be back after this really short break.

Break in session for 5mins.

Host: OK we are back. Now Louis are you ok you look a little uncomfortable. Don't worry we only have like 2 questions left. So here it goes if you were able to go back in time, what would you change and why? For example would you have not killed Thomas Scott.

Louis: Well, if I were able to go back in time which I can actually today since I am here from the past, I would probably not kill Thomas Scott. Instead I would put him under custody because part of the reason why the government did accept our will was because I killed Thomas. The second thing I would probably change is not to flee from the settlement and instead listen to their decision because I felt really bad leaving the metis side when they needed me the most as a spokesmen. Other than that I am actually proud of myself for accomplishing more than what I planned too. I mean, I am known as a father Confederation and hero to most people.

Thomas being executed

Host: Yes, you really are a true hero. Anyway, you execution is in two day, how do you feel about that?

Louis: I feel like I am being punished for no reason, well at least I think that I am being punished for no reason. The reason for that is because I thought that I did something that would help the people of metis and lessen the racism against them. I also think that I brought the concept that everyone needs human rights, no matter what race they are.

Host: It was a privilege to interview you but unfortunately we are running out of time, so I guess this is a bye.

Louis: The pleasure was all mine, never thought I would be able to see how this developed.

Host: (laughs) Watch me tomorrow to make even newer discoveries, same channel, same time, WATCH ME!

Visit my partners blog by clicking the picture:

Here are the websites I used for information:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Riel
2. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-2390-e.html
3.http://www.shsb.mb.ca/Riel/indexenglish.htm

Assignment #7- Canadian Personalities

For this assignment, we are supposed to read about different personalities from these categories: we fought, we inspired, we fought, we governed and we built, click here to read about these five categories. After reading about at least two people each section we are to answer questions. For more information visit Mrs. Pollock's blog at Canadian History.

Which category of Canadian Personalities interested you the most? Did you like the "we inspired", "we founded", "we fought", "we built" or "we governed" section the best? Why?
The category of Canadian Personalities that interested me the most was "we built." This section includes the following Canadians: Samuel De Champlain, David Thompson, James Bernard Harkin, Francis Rattenbury, and Jules Timmins. This section in particular interested me because Canadian with such personality has changed Canada in its physical appearance. They built hospital for the sick, schools for education, parks for little kids to play, map to helps us find our way, roads and railways for transportation and many more. If it weren't for these Canadian, there will be only the church for education and for health care, river for transportation and you wouldn't probably see much high buildings or museums and etc. also think that if it weren't for them we probably couldn't enjoy life like we do now because every fun activity needs a place of it own. I mean that if like to watch a movie in the theatre, there has to be a building where you can watch, or if you would want to play soccer with a group of friends then you would probably need a park with a field suitable for playing. Therefore, Canadians with such personalities has changed not only the physical appearance of Canada, but also the lives of our citizens.

Which personality interested you the most? Why? Find an image of him or her to embed (add to the body of your post) and write, in your own words, a short description of what he or she did and why he or she is your favourite. If you get information from any source, you must credit it by creating a link to it (that includes information from the site that I've asked you to look at).

The personalities that interested me the most was Francis Rattenbury who was born on October 11 in Yorkshire, England. Francis Rattenbury was an architect in England but most of his careers were spent in British Columbia in Canada. His career first started with an apprenticeship in 1884 to the Lockwood and Mawson Company in England. He however, left for Canada in 1891 where he arrived in Vancouver which was a new province of Canada.There in Vancouver, due to growing economic, social and political status, there were a lot of competition between architect's in building a new legislative building in Victoria. Francis Rattenbury entered the competition and he also won the competition. He worked really hard on the building in British Columbia which was officially open in 1898.The magnificent work he did on the buildings in British Columbia, Francis Rattenbury got many offers to built building of many types in Victoria and other parts of the province. He also worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Grand Trunk pacific Railway, he designed hotels, stations for the GTP, Crystal Garden and he also built a lot of legislative. He however, wasn't as popular later in his life because he lost the competition to build the Saskatchewan Legislative Building. Due to the fact that Francis Rattenbury had no formal training in architecture, he was replaced by well-trained and better educated architects.Francis Rattenbury got murdered by his second wives lover, George Percey Stoner in 1935. Francis Rattenbury interested me the most was because he has made a lot of accomplishments in architecture despite the fact that he was not well-trained or well-educated. He has changed a lot in the appearance of Canada especially in the British Columbia.

In your post, suggest three more influential Canadian personalities that could be added to this site. Why did you choose these people? Which categories would they fit into? Link to information about each of them.

Three Influential Canadian Personalities:

Terry Fox: Terry Fox was born on July 28Th, 1958 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was known as a Canadian humanitarian, athlete, and cancer treatment activist. Terry loved sports, he loved to run, play soccer but unfortunately he met with an accident which gave him sore right knee. He soon found out that he was diagnosed with "Osteosarcoma," a type of cancer and the only way to treat this was with an amputated leg. Three years after losing his leg, Terry decided to run from coast to coast to raise money for cancer research. He created the "marathon of Hope," hoping to get one dollar from each Canadian Citizen. He should be put in the Category "we fought" because he fought to save many others who were and are suffering from cancer, he gave up his life to save others. He truly is one of a kind.

Dr.Henry Norman Bethune- Norman Bethune was interested in medicine since childhood and has always wanted to be a doctor just like his grandfather was. During world war one, Norman Bethune was a stretcher bearer where he got wounded and was immediately sent home. After returning home, he got his medical degree from the University of Toronto. Throughout his life he has made a lot of accomplishments such as inventing over dozens of medical tools which includes the Bethune Rib Shears and the mobile blood transfusion unit. He also suggested that Canada should have a universal health care system and he helped china who was fighting japan in 1938. There in China, Norman Bethune taught the Chinese the medical skill needed in the hospital and in battle. Unfortunately he died while saving a Chinese soldier without wearing gloves and he caught an infection. I think that Norman Bethune should belong in two of the categories, " we fought," and "we found." I think that he belongs in we fought because he fought to save the lives of the soldiers and one day he gave up his live for those soldiers. I also think he belongs in the category we found because he found or rather invented many medical tools that helps many doctors to cure sicknesses.

Henry Richard- Henri was born near Ste. Genevieve Manitoba. Henri was conscripted into the Canadian Army on February 11Th 1943, he was only conscripted for home service unless he had any interest in volunteering to go overseas. As a home service he was however assigned to go to Kiska, Alaska to fight the Japanese. He however, got dispatched for Europe during the spring of 1944. On August 8Th, 1944 where he finds on a battlefield in France. Due to the fact that the Germans were undefeatable, Henri was one of the soldiers who dies on August 28Th 1944. I think that Henri belongs in the category "we fought" because he was one of those Canadian who sacrificed so much. just so that the future generations could live in peace. Henri is truly one of Canada's heroes.

**** Mystery History Maker Match Up Game

7. Go back to your post and answer the following question:
d.) Which History-Maker did you have the most in common with? Were you able to figure it out from the clues given? What do you share with that person? What are some things that are different between you and that person?

Clues
-I had one sister and two brothers. My parents died when i was only eight

-I spoke English but my original rules of basketball have been translated into dozens of languages.

-I was pressured to call my new game "Naismithball," but i prefer to call it basketball.

-I earned degrees in philosophy, physical education, medicine and theology

-I belonged to many sports teams, the university choir, the debating team, and the literary society.

- I travelled and lived in many parts of Canada and the United States, I served in France during the first world war.

- I believed in building character through sports and education.

- School and streets have been named after me

-The Naismith Memorial Basketball hall if fame bears my name

- Athletic awards are given in my honour

-Postage stamps and coins have celebrated my inventions

The history-maker that I had most common with was James Naismith. James Naismith was born on November 6, 1861. He was known as the inventor of the sport basketball, played by 300 million people from all over the world. Throughout his life, James Naismith has coached in several schools, universities and etc. He wrote the original rulebook of basketball and he was also credited for introducing the first football helmet. He was also the founder of the University of Kansas basketball program. James Naismith has many athletic awards that are given in his honour. James Naismith was inducted into the Canadian Basketball of Fame, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, the Ontario Sports Legends Hall of Fame, the McGill University Sports Hall of Fame, the Kansas State Sports Hall of Fame and the FIBA Hall of fame. James Naismith's Quote " I decided that the only satisfaction that I would ever derive from life was to help my fellow beings ."

Things we have in Common:

-we both believe in building character through sports and education

-we both have more than one siblings

-we both love the sport basketball

Thing that are different:

- James Naismith has two brothers and I don't have any brothers

- He got his degree for theology, medicine, physical education, philosophy and I am only in grade eight. Although I am planning to get my degree in medicine.

- Many athletic awards are given in his honour

8. Think long and hard about this part and then post an answer to this question on your blog:
e.) One hundred years from now, (in 2109!) imagine that students are learning about Canadian History Makers and they discover you. What will you be remembered for? How were you a Canadian History Maker? You are using your imagination, so think about some things that you would like to accomplish in your life and imagine that you have all the accomplishments of your life to look back on. Write a short profile of yourself, imagining the contributions you have made to the future of Canada. (Write this as though you've lived your whole life. You may have been a phenomenal athlete, the first black Prime Minister, cured cancer...use your imagination!)

Froher Ahmadi was born in 1995. She was credited for finding cure to many diseases that has killed many people around the world. These diseases include: Influenza, Lupus Erythematosus, Polio, Ebola, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Diabetes, HIV/AIDS, Asthma, Cancer, and the Common Cold. The diseases listed above were once incurable once upon a time and they killed more than 1 million people. She was not interested in Medicine but that however changed when Froher saw many innocent kids from Africa dying from such diseases. Ever since she has realized that, she has been working on cures to these diseases till the day she died. Throughout her life, she has saved millions and millions of people. She has also given hope to many people whose loved ones are suffering from such diseases. Another thing that Froher is well-known for is her famous Fashion Company which was and still is one of the top business running. Froher used most of the money she got from her Company on Charity and for fundraisers. That also changed many people's life in areas such as Africa. She received a Nobel prize for each of the diseases she found a cure for. She however, got many prizes for curing Cancer because after many researches done by other scientists, we finally succeeded thanks to Froher Ahmadi, a genius in curing diseases.

" If you persevere and not give up you will be able to reach your goal."