Red River Rebellion

Here are two takes on one painting. Canoe Manned By Voyageurs Passing A Waterfall is an 1869 oil painting by Frances Anne Hopkins.

The Metis people are a specific mix of First Nations and white descent who created a unique culture of their own, much of it in the West. By 1885, tensions with the federal government led to action between the two sides in what became the North-West Rebellion.

Among their leaders were Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont, seen here.

Today Riel is deemed a Father of Confederation, certainly the father of Manitoba, and yet his life came to an end with a treason conviction and a hanging. These are the cuffs used on Riel to lead him to the noose.

The items in this display case- hat, scarf pin, and totem pole, are all the work of Haida artist Charles Edenshaw.

I leave off for today with what I'll have in more detail tomorrow: a church right in the midst of this space.

Durham And Elgin

This impressive sleigh is part of the collection inside this portion of the Canadian History Hall.

For decades in the first half of the 19th century, the move towards responsible government ebbed and flowed in Canada. Government from far off London, with governor generals who from time to time weren't listening, fueled resentments and rebellion in 1837 and 1838. The push was to make colonial governments answerable to the people, as opposed to solely responsible to the Crown.

This British coat of arms dates to the era, and originally resided in Montreal.

Out of the rebellions, Lord Durham, the governor general at the time, made recommendations in what was called the Durham Report. Among those steps enacted was a union of Canadian governments, an ungainly arrangement at the time that nonetheless started to pave the way for Confederation. A portrait of Lord Durham is found here.

Co-premiers of the government, Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine began taking steps to move towards a formal responsible government. They were supported by the governor general of the time, Lord Elgin.

This is a bust of Lord Elgin, aka James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine. He also happened to be the son of that same Lord who made off from Greece with what are today the Elgin Marbles. 

Out of the move towards responsible government came the move towards Confederation of Canada and our Founding Fathers. One of those was Thomas D'Arcy McGee. An Irish radical in his youth who came to see the merits of the British Parliamentary system, he was an eloquent speaker and friend of our first prime minister, John A. Macdonald. McGee was assassinated in April 1868 after years of bad blood with the Irish nationalists he had turned his back on. One of them was convicted and hung, though he might well have been innocent. A portrait of McGee resides here.

Here we have a view of the original Centre Block, built in mid-century. This would later burn in the 1916 fire.

I finish for today with something entirely different. This is an elk skin of the Blackfoot tribe, residents of the Canadian prairies. It was typical of that tribe to use this as their winter count- a depiction of an event in a given year that particularly stood out, done in a spiralling out circle. This one shows how important the horse became to the people over time.

New Realities

The end of the French and Indian War saw France lose most of its possessions in North America, including New France. Britain established itself in force, and in the decades to come would start sending out immigrants from its islands to the New World in greater numbers.

Many of the artifacts in this area reflect the tools and items of that period, both in rural and town settings. Communities formed, institutions were established, and both the French and First Nations peoples worked to find their way under British rule.

New France

I will be catching up on blog reading in coming days, as I am away from the city at the present and coming back on Wednesday. Be patient with me!

The Post Contact Wars took place as New France was establishing itself in North America. First Nations peoples fought the French, other tribes, or both, jockeying for position. A cabinet was filled with weapons from all sides.

New France would emerge from it all, lasting until the conclusion of the French and Indian War, with populations of French immigrants making a new home in the New World. Artifacts and display panels here examine the story of New France in detail.

These are contemporary made items that you could pick up. The bright red fabric is a sash, often seen being worn by the French-Canadians called voyageurs, the fur traders who penetrated deep into the continent in search of resources. On top of it is an adze, in the Pacific Coast First Nations style, a precision tool used for carving.

The British had their own designs on the New World. They had already established colonies along the Atlantic coast, thirteen of which would throw a temper tantrum in the 1770s. Even before then, in the Maritimes, the stage was being set for a coming conflict between the two rival powers over Acadia. The French and Indian War would bring an end to New France. 

For today I leave off with this painting. Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia is a painting from the circle of Samuel Scott, dating to around 1751. The town and harbour changed hands between France and Britain on numerous occasions before the British took it for good in 1710. That didn't quite end things, as for decades to come the town was regularly dealing with First Nations or French attempts to take it back. 

Contact

800 years ago on Baffin Island, this Inuit man lived and died. In collaboration with the local community of Arctic Bay, researchers reconstructed his appearance in a full sized model, and replicated some of the artifacts he was found with. He has been given the name Nuvumiutaq.

The first confirmed contact of Europeans into the New World took place a thousand years ago with the Vikings. First Nations peoples first encountered their ships as the Norse under Lief Erikson made landfall and brief settlements along the east coast of Canada. L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland proves their presence here, and there have to be other places.

The Vikings didn't stay long, but centuries later the French and the English would make their own crossings into the New World, and their presence would be a permanent one.