Gabriel Dumont was born in December 1837 near present-day Winnipeg.
At the age of 13, he fought in the Battle of Grand Coteau against the Sioux where he proved his bravery in battle.
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While he was not involved in the Red River Resistance in 1869-70, he emerged as a leader of the Metis by 1885.
He led 300 Metis at Duck Lake against the NWMP in the NW Resistance, where Dumont suffered a gun wound to the head & lost his brother Isidore but won the battle.
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Throughout the North West Resistance in 1885, Dumont led his Metis in a guerilla warfare campaign against the Canadian militia.
He won another battle on April 24 at Fish Creek, and then led the four-day defence at Batoche, which the Metis lost.
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He was forced to go into hiding after the North West Resistance & he lived in the United States where his mystique among the Metis in Canada grew.
In 1886, he was briefly part of Buffalo Bill's Wild Wild West Show where he showed off his shooting abilities.
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He returned to Canada after being granted amnesty and spent the rest of his life on his land near Batoche, hunting, fishing and trapping.
He passed away in 1906.
His legacy is often overshadowed by that of Louis Riel, despite his importance in Metis history.
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Today is Tartan Day! The day was first celebrated in 1987 in Nova Scotia and has been celebrated nationally since 2010.
Canada's Official Tartan was designed in 1964 by David Weiser.
Here are the official (and unofficial) tartans of Canada's provinces and territories.
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British Columbia:
This tartan was designed by Eric Ward in 1966 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the union of Vancouver Island and British Colony. It was adopted as the official tartan in 1974. It represents the Pacific Ocean, the forests and the Pacific Dogwood.
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Alberta:
The official tartan was designed by Alison Lamb, director of the Edmonton Rehabilitation Society, and Ellen Neilsen, the weaving instructor. It was adopted in 1961. It represents the forests, grain fields and Alberta's official colours.
From 1963 to 2009, Canadian Roman Catholic priests took to the ice for charity.
Through 907 games, they raised $4 million and only lost six games.
Not bad for a team whose backup goalie was a horse.
This is the story of the Flying Fathers!
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In 1963, two priests from Northern Ontario, Les Costello and Brian McKee, heard about a boy who lost the use of an eye. His mother couldn't cover the medical bills so they organized a charity game to raise money.
Costello had played in the NHL for 15 games in 1948-49.
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The game raised $5,000 to help the mother. Originally it was supposed to be a one-off event but proved to be so popular it became an annual tradition.
Calling themselves the Flying Fathers and Puckster Priests, they became known for their entertaining antics on the ice.
In 2006, after the Alberta government had a huge surplus, three million people received a cheque for $400.
Officially called Prosperity Bonus, the cheques were more widely known as Ralph Bucks, named after Premier Ralph Klein.
This is the story.
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In November 2004, the Progressive Conservatives won their 10th consecutive majority government. While it was another election win for the party, the party was worried after it saw the popular vote fall from 61.9% to 46.8%, its lowest since 1993.
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In September 2005, Premier Ralph Klein announced that the province had a $6.8 billion surplus due to high oil and gas prices. This was far above the $2.8 billion that was previously estimated in the 2005-06 budget, and part of that would go to Albertans.
From 1928 to 1972, the Alberta Eugenics Board imposed sterilization on individuals deemed by an appointed board to be "mentally defective".
In that time, 2,832 sterilizations were conducted, the vast majority without consent.
This is the story.
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In the early-1900s, eugenics was growing in popularity. By the early-1920s, eugenics supporters began to lobby Alberta's ruling party, the United Farmers of Alberta, to implement eugenics legislation. On March 25, 1927, the UFA introduced a sexual sterilization bill.
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The bill was opposed by the Conservative and Liberal parties and did not reach second reading. It was reintroduced on Feb. 23, 1928 and passed one month later.
The Act formed the Alberta Eugenics Board, which was chaired by Dr. J.M. MacEachran.
In pre-colonial Canada, the First Nations established many prominent settlements.
Two of the most famous were Hochelaga and Stadacona, located on the sites of Montreal and Quebec City.
These two villages were home to nearly 4,000 people.
This is their story.
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It is not known when Hochelaga first appeared.
Historians believe the village was established at some point between 1200 CE and 1500 CE. The village apparently sat at the base of Mount Royal, and was surrounded by farmland.
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The size of the village varied by the time of year. When Jacques Cartier arrived in 1535 it had between 1000 and 3000 people.
Within the village there was at least 50 homes, according to Cartier.
Each home measured 15 metres in length and 3.5-4.5 metres in width.
There is a unique dialect of the Irish language that evolved in Newfoundland and became forever linked with the island.
It is called Newfoundland Irish and many work to keep the language alive.
This is the story.
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Irish immigrants arrived on the island to work in the late-1600s. Over the next 200 years, the Irish language was used heavily on the island, and became its own dialect. Church services were even done in Newfoundland Irish on the island.
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Irish poet Donnchadh Ruadh Mac Commara sailed around the island and used Newfoundland Irish in his Irish language poems. By the 1780s, the Irish were the dominant ethnic group of St. John's and by 1815, 19,000 Irish lived in Newfoundland.