“Perceptions” by Jerry Warner
Opinion Column
A few years ago, while vacationing in Montana for the summer, I came across something I never expected. While driving through ranch country near the Missouri River south of Great Falls, I came across an intriguing historical marker on the side of the road. Being the history buff that I am, I pulled over to see what the bronze plaque had to say about this isolated part of the Treasure State.
How surprised I was when the billboard was about a famous Canadian (not American) who fled Canada to avoid being captured or killed by his political opponents. This Canadian was born in St. Boniface, Manitoba in 1844, fought hard for the rights of his Métis people, and is little known today to most Canadians outside of Manitoba.
A charismatic leader, he was elected to Parliament three times but lost his seat, and twice was forced to flee to the United States to escape persecution. In May 1885, he led the North-West Rebellion, but was captured at the Battle of Batoche, tried in Regina, convicted of high treason and hanged. Today, however, Métis leader Louis Riel is considered a hero and is called the “Father of Manitoba” for his brave fight for recognition of the rights of the Métis people.
So, you might ask, “Why was I so interested in Riel?”
Well, this week I visited Fort Steele Heritage Town for the first time in a long while and renewed my interest in local history, and I’m happy to report that although many of the historical attractions are dormant – including the historic and much-loved steam locomotive No. 1077 being closed for inspection – the Heritage Village is still going strong.
But Mrs Underhill’s City Bakery still makes delicious sausage rolls, and there are occasional wooden carriage tours pulled by big Clydesdale horses, after which you can take in a film at the Wild Horse Theatre. But overall Fort Steele was painfully quiet when I visited last week – an eerie silence befitting a ghost town, ironically.
So, what’s going on? I heard Fort Steele is going through a “period of transition” this year. Transition to what? No one seemed to know. One person I spoke to said only “politics” and nothing more. Another said Fort Steele is going through “challenging times” and that next year will be better than ever under new management. In the meantime, Fort Steele will not be hosting its fall fair this year, but the very popular “Spooktacular” will go on as scheduled in October and is sure to draw large numbers of visitors.
Still, this is pretty thin air for what was once a big part of the local tourist season. I know that the Friends of Fort Steele, which runs Heritage Village, has applied for union certification. No one seems to be talking about it, but applications like this are perfectly normal in today’s world and are no reason to close up shop.
Are Canadians just less interested in history than our friends across the border who, as I saw in Montana, celebrate their historic ties to Canada? Let’s be honest: to downplay the role that Superintendent Sam Steele and his brave troops played in keeping the peace is one of the most historic and colorful parts of Canadian history.
But some of us seem to disagree, for reasons that are hard to understand. After all, Steele and Chief Isadore of the Kutonaxa faced the possibility of a local war in what was called the “Kootenai Uprising” when Native American sentiment naturally ran high as they watched their land being taken over by a gold-crazed mob, mostly American gold miners. But Steele and Isadore worked together to defuse the possibility of war, and even became friends by the time Steele and his men drove out of town.
When this happened colonialism was reaching its ugly height, but in the East Kootenays it was stopped in its tracks by the cooperation of Isadore and Steele. This did not happen easily, there were difficulties along the way, but, as some would deny, it happened.
This process is called history and we can all learn from it.
Jerry Warner is a retired journalist who enjoys studying history regardless of where it happened.
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