Riel’s vision grows stronger

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/11/2023 (699 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I was asked to be a flag carrier at this week’s Manitoba Indigenous Youth Achievement Awards.

When I arrived, elder Carl Stone — who was in charge of the Wednesday ceremony — handed me the Manitoba flag to dance with, while giving other bearers the “Every Child Matters” flag, Rotisken’rakéhte (Mohawk Warrior Society) flag, Métis flag and Canadian flag.

I admit I felt awkward.

While I am a proud Manitoban, it’s weird to be the Indigenous person carrying a symbol of the British Empire (complete with Union Jack and doused in regal red) and be asked to celebrate in front of the Indigenous community.

I did it, of course, but I also wondered what kind of message it sent.

The symbols, ideas, and legacies of the British Empire are most often the things Indigenous peoples have to challenge, resist and overcome to become successful.

On Thursday, I was still reflecting on this as I witnessed Manitoba’s new government introduce its first bill: the Louis Riel Act.

When given royal assent, Riel (1844-85) will be given the honorary title of Manitoba’s first premier.

Public and private school teachers will be invited to teach about his dynamic and complex life. Manitoba students will learn how Riel was just 24 when the Red River Métis formed a “National Committee” and declared an independent republic, rejecting the claims of British North America (Canada) and its representative William McDougall over Rupert’s Land (or the Northwest).

First acting as secretary, Riel would become leader of Manitoba’s first government and helped draft and pass a bill of rights that negotiated the 1870 Manitoba Act and entry of the province into the Dominion of Canada.

We all know what happened next.

The Canadian government violated the promises made in the Manitoba Act and negotiated treaties with First Nations, swindled Métis out of land and rights, and instituted laws and policies designed to attack, assimilate and institute cycles of poverty, violence and shame amongst all Indigenous peoples.

As the first visionary of Manitoba, Riel fought the rest of his life to stop British domination and destruction of Indigenous lives, while stubbornly maintain the independent and unique multicultural spirit that birthed this place.

Accusing Canada of perpetrating “fraud” in 1874, Riel wrote: “The old inhabitants of Rupert’s Land and the Northwest have never ceased claiming that which belongs to them, that which the Canadian government owes them for so many reasons. And today, more than ever, they forcefully make this claim. What we are demanding is amnesty, is the loyal execution of the Manitoba Act. Nothing more but nothing less.”

Joining with Métis and First Nations leaders, Riel, 41, would be hanged for helping guide the North-West Resistance of 1885.

Riel’s spirit of resistance, autonomy and love for Manitoba and its possibilities never left, however.

Each one of us, as Indigenous and Canadian inheritors of Riel’s legacy, carries with us a little bit of his vision.

This exists today in our unifying pride as westerners — whether it be on the football field, in the political arena or in art, literature and dance.

It also resides in our stubborn consistency in choosing different ideological paths. There is a reason progressive governments persist here and die in other places, national chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations come from here, and labour, social and civil rights movements are birthed in this place.

There is a reason “Friendly Manitoba” is a place of many firsts in Canada (the first First Nations provincial premier, for example); is the home of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; Winnipeg has the largest proportional Indigenous population; and where refugees from places such as Ukraine and Syria integrate somewhat seamlessly.

Riel, as our first leader, is a large reason for all of this.

“This is certainly a proud day for the Red River Métis and for Métis citizens,” Premier Wab Kinew said as he announced the bill.

“But today is meant to be a day of pride for all of us as Manitobans. Because this is about acknowledging our true history as one people, as one province with a shared heritage and one common destiny moving forward into the future.”

For decades, Canada’s British ancestors — particularly those outside of Manitoba — have labelled Riel “revolutionary” and “criminal” and “crazy,” hell-bent on violence.

Soon, he will be known just as premier — a visionary who taught us this place is unique, autonomous and where all of us can live, work and reconcile with one another.

A place where all flags can fly and our children can succeed standing alongside them.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca