Village Squire, 1976-10, Page 26and Ikrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. •
Across the street -- symbolically not on part of the legislature
grounds -- is a statue of Louis Riel, imprisoned in concrete, his
gaze angrily fixed on the seat of political power.
Riel, the Metis who led two rebellions during the settlement of
the west, formed the first government in 1869 in what is now the
province of Manitoba. The Metis were children of the fur trade, a
mixture of Indian and French blood, who believed they possessed
an historic right to the plains -- all the way from the Red River
around Winnipeg to the Rocky Mountains in Alberta.
But when the Hudson's Bay Company sold the west to the
Canadian government without consulting the Metis, Riel stepped
in to head a provisionalgovernment that forced Canada to take a
different view of the North-West. Instead of becoming a colony of
Canada, Manitoba became another province, the fifth, and the
Metis were awarded about 1'/: -million acres. '
Riel was banished from Canada for five years for his part in the
death of an Ontario laborer. After his return and a second
rebellion -- this one in northern Saskatchewan -- Riel was tried
and hanged for treason. He died a rebel and was buried in St.
Boniface Basilica churchyard. •
He i9 still a controversial figure in some parts of Canada, but
Winnipeg treats Riel like a maligned hero. A new building has
been named after him, the statue erected near the legislature,
and the blue and green tuque he wore Nov. 16, 1885 -- the day he
was hanged -- is kebt in The Museum in the Old Convent beside
the basilica.
Nearby is the small wooden coffin that carried his body from
Regina, where he died, to Winnipeg. The coffin was partially
burned in the 1968 fire that destroyed the old cathedral.
The old convent, built in 1846, also contains historic religious
items, and is one of several museums. in the city worth a visit.
The Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature is an excellent
place to see "how the west was won". Graphics, artifacts,
specimens, reconstructions and audio-visual presentations are all
imaginatively used to interpret the human and natural history of
Manitoba.
In the same building is the planetarium with changing shows.
The Living Museum is an outdoor museum of 25 acres, a piece
of prairie the way it was when homesteaders arrived. Three
houses in the city have beep restored -- Dalnavert, once the home
of Sir Hugh John Macdonald, only son to Canada's first prime
minister, Sir John A. Macdonald; Ross House, the first post
office in Western Canada, opened in 1855; and Seven Oaks
House, the oldest habitable house in Manitoba, built in 1851.
There are also three Ukrainian museums; the Museum of
Ukrainian Cultural and Education Centre, containing.a library of
rare books some dating to 1642; and the Ukrainian Arts and
Crafts Museum, with costumes and artifacts from the Ukraine
brought to Manitoba by early pioneers. The third, St. Volodymyr
Ukrainian Catholic Centre Museum has religious and ethnic
displays.
Aunt Margaret's Museum of Childhood Inc., which calls itself
Canada's first museum of childhood, offers a nostalgic trip
completed with sound effects. Another doll museum, in Fort
Garry, (less than 20 miles from Winnipeg;. has a collection of
1,000 antique dolls dating from the 1800s, along with toys,
storybooks, miniatures and memorabilia pertaining to children.
Winnipeg isa a good place to shop for crafts. The Crafts Guild
of Manitoba handles the work of Winnipeg weavers,. carvers,
jewelers, etc., plus Ieatherwork and carvings of Indians and
Eskimos in the province.
There isa zoo in Assiniboine Park with over 1,000 animals; the
Pan -Am swimming pool used in the Pan-American Games of 1967
and open to the public; and shopping areas at Lombard Place, an
underground concourse, and on the second floor of Winnipeg's
new convention centre.
The $25 million convention facility also contains a theatre,
cocktail lounge and skywalk to a 410 -room hotel, and of course,
meeting rooms. The largest is 7,800 square feet.
River cruises are available on the Red and Assiniboine Rivers
that intersect the city. One of the riverboats follows the Red River
to Lower Fort Garry, once a provisions centre for the Hudson's
Bay Company's far-flung trading posts. The fort is being restored
to its mid -1800s condition.
For more information contact the Canadian Government Office
.cd. Tourism. 150 Kent Street, Ottawa K1A OH6.
24, VILLAGE SQUIRE/OCTOBER 1976
For fall: Colourful and comfortable
Autumn -ripe colours in Trevira Polyester and
wool blend double knits. They look so good and
are so easy to care for because they're machine
washable. Kitten Knits puts it all together
beautifully.
•
VEST WT67 $40
BLOUSE D95$26
PANT WT69 $28
THE
SHOPPE GODERICH
OPEN FRIDAY NIGHT TO 9 P.M.