Assignment # 8 Louis David Riel

Ridge:And next I will be talking with the ghost of Louis Riel, it will surely be a treat.

Louis:hello ridge i am honoured to be on your show tonight.

Ridge:so Louis I've heard that you led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, tell us about your first one The Red River Rebellion?

Louis: Sure it goes like this, The provisional government established by Riel ultimately negotiated the terms under which the modern province of Manitoba entered the Canadian Confederation. Riel was forced into exile in the United States as a result of the controversial execution of Thomas Scott during the rebellion. Despite this, he is frequently referred to as the "Father of Manitoba". While a fugitive, he was elected three times to the Canadian House of Commons, although he never assumed his seat. During these years, he was frustrated by having to remain in exile despite his growing belief that he was a divinely chosen leader and prophet, a belief which would later resurface and influence his actions. He married in 1881 while in exile in Montana, and fathered two children.

Ridge:i heard that you were executed how did they kill you?

Louis:well first I was reconciled with the Catholic Church, and assigned Father André as his spiritual advisor. He was also given writing materials so that he could employ his time in prison to write a book. Louis Riel was hanged for treason on 1884.

Ridge:how old are you now?

Louis:I am 165 years old now, after my birthday

Ridge: Thanks for bieng on my show.

Louis: anytime

Assignment # 7

Gabrielle Roy in 1945, year of publication of Bonheur d’occasion Photo: Annette and Basil ZarovGabrielle Roy fonds, Library and Archives Canada NL 22064Signature of Gabrielle Roy Gabrielle Roy fonds, Library and Archives Canada e-004665726
THE PERMANENT OUTSIDER
Canadian literature changed in 1945. So did the life of Gabrielle Roy. A French Canadian who grew up in poverty in Manitoba, Roy translated that experience and her observations as a Montreal journalist into vivid depictions of urban misery. The 1945 publication of Bonheur d’occasion (later translated as The Tin Flute) launched a new literary genre in Canada — the “urban novel” — and brought fame and prosperity to Roy. Success did not diminish Roy’s drive to write or alter her vision of herself as a permanent outsider.
To write, it’s a need, it’s almost physical. You cannot avoid picking up the pen. Or touching the white page that is there, stretched out. Totally ready to receive . . . And you write precisely because you want to give, because you want to share with others. Because you have felt, or understood, the truth of certain human beings and you must say it.
Gabrielle Roy, Châtelaine, April 1966

Assignment # 6

William Hall VC (April 28, 1827– August 25, 1904) was the first black person, the first Nova Scotian, and third Canadian-born recipient of the Victoria Cross. Born at Horton's Bluff, Nova Scotia, in 1827 as the son of freed American slaves, at age 17 Hall joined the merchant navy as a seaman. Later, he volunteered for the Royal Navy at Liverpool, England, February 1852.
When the Indian Mutiny broke out in May 1857, Hall was on HMS Shannon en route to China. She was intercepted and ordered to Calcutta (city has been renamed Kolkata). A Shannon Brigade was formed of several gunners, sailors, and marines, under Captain William Peel. The ship was towed over 600 miles up the Ganges River to Allahabad. Then the force fought across country to Campbell's headquarters at Cawnpore and were in time to take part in the relief of Lucknow.
On 16 November 1857 at Lucknow, India, naval guns were brought up close to the Shah Nujeff mosque, and the gun crews kept up a steady fire in an attempt to breach the waIls, while a hail of musket balls and grenades from the mutineers inside the mosque caused heavy casualties. Able Seaman Hall and Lieutenant Thomas James Young, the battery's commander, were eventually the only survivors, all the rest having been killed or wounded, and between them they loaded and served the last gun.
Hall remained with the Navy, rising to the rating of Quartermaster Petty Officer in HMS Peterel before he retired in 1876 and returned to his home village in Horton Bluff. Hall is buried in Hantsport, Nova Scotia where his grave is marked by a monument at the Baptist church. His Victoria Cross is preserved at the Nova Scotia Museum.