Louis Riel: Hero

This is a little poem/ballad as a tribute to Louis Riel for all that he did for the Metis and the people of the Red River.

The founder of Manitoba,

a French Canadian, Indian.

He fought for his people's lives.

Louis Riel, he had to win.

The Red River & North-West were transferred,

from Hudson's Bay to the government.

While John A. McD' sent survey crews,

the Metis feared their punishment.

So they made a National Committee,

in which Riel became secretary.

He gave his all to everything.

It was a heavy load to carry.

They stopped all sorts of unwanted things,

just to keep their homes.

Fort Garry was seized, November 2.

They stopped their moans and groans.

But Louis kept on fighting,

for his people, it was a sight.

So he made a very big list.

A list of all their rights.

Later on T.Scott was "murdered"

to keep their spirits high.

Then May 12 1870,

the Manitoba Act was applied.

Now Quebec really liked Riel.

He defended their faith & cultures.

While others wanted him ridden of

like a wild pack of vultures.

I'm sure you've heard of King David.

He was a man of talent and strength.

Riel was often compared to him,

for the time he gave up (in length).

Now everyone has to die,

it's not like we have a choice.

But Louis left early November 16.

He gave himself up, his voice.

If you look at everything he's done,

it would not be a mistake.

That he used his heart & mind & strength

with every choice he would make.

The point I'm trying to make,

it may not seem so clear.

But Louis Riel was a hero.

So everyone should cheer!

Hope you enjoyed!

Louis-Joseph Papineau

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Important Vocab

1. Representative government – A representative government is one in which representatives are elected by people to make laws on their behalf.
2. responsible government – responsible government can be voted out if elected representative fail to please a majority of the people who elected them.
3. oligarchy – power is placed in the hands of a small group of rich and influential men
4. democracy – these governments are representative and responsible
5. Constitutional Act – A law that separated Upper Canada from Lower Canada and established an elected law-making assembly, a governor and two appointed councils (1791)
6. veto – To stop something with authority i.e. to veto a law is to cancel the law without having to confer with anyone
7. Family Compact – Small group of rich business people in Upper Canada – the Council was made up of members of the Family Compact.
8. Chateau Clique – Same as the Family Compact but in Lower Canada.
9. Legislative Assembly – An elected law-making body of men
10. governor – The head of the government in the Canadian colonies appointed by the British Crown.
11. appointed – Selected by a higher authority.
12. elected – Voted in by the majority of the voting public.

Upper and Lower Canada's Problems

Upper and Lower Canada. Both part of the same country but completely different. Upper Canada consisted of the British colonists while Lower Canada was made up of the French. But they both had similar problems, like their problems with their government. The British argued about the land, and the French argued about their culture/language. In Upper Canada, there was no progress. No roads were being built because of the crown and clergy reserves while the French felt as if the British would kill them off with the Irish colonists (during their potato famine) or even bring more English-speaking people into their homes to make them learn English. It wasn't until Louis-Joseph Papineau came along and help fight for the french. Unfortunately, they failed at their attempt to rebel against the British and were only left with injured and killed "frenchies". The British, however, had a newspaper-owner named William Lyon Mackenzie who ended up trying to fight for new government ways, but he too failed. If none of these things had happened, we would still today have an Upper and Lower Canada, separated by race.

Personal Plan

Eveybody needs a plan of how they're going to help make the world a better place so here is mine. I plan to go rollarblading at least twice a week in my neighbourhood for about 30 mintues. Since the fall has come arond quite quickly, this would be a good time to spend my free time outside raking leaves, cutting the grass, or weeding the gardens. That could be done for about 30-60 mintues each. If I cut the grass or rake up the leaves, I can then put the grass/leaves on the garden or in the compost so that after a while,we will have fresh clean dirt to put in our gardens. By doing simple and little things such as that, it will all help to make our world a better place to be in.

What Can I Do?

Most advertisements and commercials have been trying to make their products better by saying they are "Environmentally-Friendly." Some actually help make the world a better place while others are the exact same as it was before, or worse. Take cars for example, many companies are selling/advertising "green" cars. It migt be because they run on electricity insted of gas. Well, either way, your not really helping our planet, are you? My oldest brother spent a year in France at a university there, but when he came home, he gave us his car so that he would have to bike to school everyday. It was a hard choice to make, but he believes that it WILL help our environment. So a way that I could help as well could be to car-poor with friends when I need to get somewhere, run and bike more often, or even spend more time out in the "fresh" air insted of being inside just playing video games. That's one thing that my family likes to promote, being and staying active.

The Great Garbage Patch

In 1988, the Great Garbage Patch was first discovered by Charles J. Moore. He first found it as he was sailing home and he came upon a huge stretch of floating debris. Most of the waste was plastic since the Earth cannot digest it. The mess stretched across the North Pacific Ocean including the coastal waters off North America and Japan. As it grows in "swirling" seas, the ratio grows of plastic to sea life, 6:1. There is approximately 3.5 million tons of debris that's about the size of Texas. Since there is more trash to animals, some eat the debris and die. At this time, people are sending out vessels with "plastic-harvesting" nets to catch the garbage and try to clean up the large mess.

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