The Battle of Batoche ended the
North-West Resistance – one consequence being Louis Riel’s surrender to General
Middleton. Any summary has its limitations but in order to give a fuller
picture than the one everyone might more likely see on the Canadian
Encyclopedia website, I suggest having a look at
Our Legacy
Kurt Boyer writes:
Conclusion
Impacts from the North-West Resistance were felt throughout
Canada and linger on to this day. The influences from the Resistance were
multifaceted and served to progress and repress multiple interests. It provided
a rational to finish the railway, served as a political tool in Quebec, and
materialised as a “common enemy” to placate settler dissent in Manitoba. The
most severe and long lasting effects were felt by the generations of Métis and
First Nations in Saskatchewan, who following the Resistance were subject to
increased marginalisation which today still permeates in Saskatchewan.
And reading about a military event in someone’s own words is
even better. The great scholar of western Canada, George Stanley, annotates a
rare transcription of Gabriel Dumont’s own account of the Battle of Batoche as
well as the earlier Duck Lake and Fish Creek battles in
Canadian
Historical Review 30 (1949), "Gabriel Dumont's Account of the
North-West Rebellion 1885."
Canadian Historical Review
Another account from the Back to Batoche Virtual Museum of
Canada is at
is at here.
And then there is art, which can capture the truth and
reality in other ways altogether. Here is the Regina poet Bruce Rice reading at
“Regina City Council (Saskatchewan Canada) for National Poetry Month. This is
part of a Mayor to Mayor challenge to have a poet read at the start of the
local council meeting; 33 cities across Canada took part. The poem was written
for the national retrospective of Regina artist and scupltor, Joe Fafard. It's
in my [Bruce Rice’s] book,
Life in the Canopy (Hagios Press
2009). The sculpture is from one of the Metis killed at the Battle of Batoche in
1885, which ended the Riel Rebellion.”
See the video and Joe Fafard's sculpture here
