Macdonald and Riel : The Victor and the Victim

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General Steps: 

I wanted to emphasize Macdonald's role in prairie history. Students thoroughly examine the roles of Macdonald and Riel, events of the Red River/Northwest Resistance, impact on English/French Canada, the impact on the First Nations and Metis nation of Canada. This project is to have students conduct research, to analyze the issues of the time period, and to have students take part in a role play where they must grapple with the many issues arising in the 1800's.

During this lesson the students of the class will conduct research on the Red River Resistance and the Northwest Rebellion as well as the role of Riel and Macdonald played in these events. They will analyze the impact of Macdonald’s and Riel’s actions and the reactions of English and French Canada. The lesson will culminate with a press conference having students represent Riel, Macdonald, and the press in both English and French Canada. The final product of the lesson will consist of a dialectic essay.

Duration : Minimum 300 Minutes

Students will begin by conducting research of the causes of, and the events of the Red River Resistance and the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 with a focus on the roles of Riel and Macdonald. Attention is also to be paid to the French/English relations and opinions by focusing on the reactions in Ontario and Quebec to the events that played out in the Red River area (1869/70) and the Northwest Territories (1884/1885). The initial goal of this research is for the purpose of developing an online timeline of the events of the Red River and Northwest conflicts for presentation to the class using one of the online timeline resources listed in the “Resources” section. This initial research is for the students to become familiar with both the sequence of events and the cause and effect components. An alternative to the timeline might be to create a Prezi (https://prezi.com) for presentation to the class. At least two classes should be dedicated to this part of the lesson.

Next the students will focus on Riel himself, the trial and the reaction of English and French Canada. This they will research using the questions in their handout as a guide and the included resources. Once this research is completed the students are to complete a written analysis of the trial of Louis Riel where they are to answer the following in a five paragraph analytic essay: “Identify and explain the reasons why the trial of Louis Riel is considered a legal and political embarrassment that still polarizes Canadians.” As a part of the analysis of the reactions of French and English Canada the students are to interpret the two contemporary editorial cartoons included on their handout using the included questions.

The culminating activity for the students is to hold a press conference (The Victor and the Victim) as described on the student handout. To help give the students an idea of how press conferences are conducted record and play a copy of a modern press conference to begin the preparations.

Evaluation:

Assessment will be conducted on several of the student activities. The timeline should be evaluated for its attractiveness, accuracy of the facts, and for having all of the details. The analytic essay about the trial of Louis Riel itself should be evaluated using a rubric designed for such an essay. The cartoon analysis questions are to be evaluated for accuracy. After the press conference the student will submit their speeches, and the questions along with the explanations about the questions for assessment as explained in the student handout. Finally the critical thinking questions that precede the dialectic essay should be evaluated for the veracity of the arguments made in their answers. The dialectic essay is to be evaluated using the included rubric.

Suggested Resources:

Print Resources: 

The Trial of Louis Riel (Print). Coulter, John. Oberon Press, 1970. 72 p. ISBN 0887500072.

The Trial of Louis Riel: Justice and Mercy Denied (Print). Goulet, George. Calgary: Tellwell, 1999. 290 p. ISBN 0-9685489-0-3.

From the Gallows: The Lost Testimony of Louis Riel (Print). Doyle, David G. Summerland, BC: Ethic Enterprises, 2000. 192 p. ISBN 0-9681596-4-8

Louis Riel and the Métis (Print). Lussier, A. S. (ed.). Pemmican Publications Inc, 1978. 173 p. ISBN 0-919143-16-4.

Louis Riel: Rebel of the Western Frontier or Victim of Politics and Prejudice (Print). Bowsfield, Hartwell (ed.) Toronto: Copp-Clark, 1969. Bowsfield. 227 p.

Riel: a Life of Revolution (Print - non-fiction). Siggins, Maggie. Toronto: HarperCollins, 1995. 507 p. ISBN ISBN 0-00-638470-6.

Web Resources :

The Northwest Resistance 
Trial of Louis Riel
The Hanging of Louis Riel 
Canadian Encyclopaedia - Louis Riel 
CBC- Canada: A People's History 


For information about the Dialectical Reasoning approach and an example see this website.

Student Handouts and Rubric