Americans gripped by immigration and ethnicity issues should glance for perspective at the large print on the base of the Statue of Liberty: Give me your tired, your poor ... Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me ... Canadians with similar anxieties about immigrants and refugees -- categories that were often historically identical -- should think about Samuel de Champlain, who founded our country in the early 1600s.
metis
Happy Louis Riel Day! It's time to make it a national holiday
Louis Riel is honoured today in Manitoba, but we think it's time to make it a national holiday.
Related rabble.ca story:
Should Louis Riel Day be a national holiday in Canada?
Monday, February 18 is Louis Riel Day in Manitoba. Today, rabble.ca published an editorial making the case for a national holiday in honour of Louis Riel. June Scudeler argues that an Indigenous Unity Day is more suitable. What do you think?
Make Louis Riel Day a national holiday?
In a move clearly designed to appeal to “family” voters by B.C.’s Liberal government, B.C. celebrated its first Family Day on February 11.
While people optimistically frame the day as one of celebrating created or non-biological families, the fact that Family Day is modelled after a similar day in Alberta shows its conservative roots. Just look at B.C.'s innocuous campaign with its adult cartoon bear with two cubs as an illustration of the holiday’s ideological premise.
So how can we recalibrate the holiday? rabble.ca has suggested that February 18 be designated Louis Riel Day, a national holiday.
A big Court decision for Metis and non-status Indians in Canada
Yesterday, a Federal Court announced a ruling with major implications for Metis people in Canada. (Photo: Stak & Co / flickr)
Related rabble.ca story:
9 Metis out of 10 are English-Speaking
125 years after Louis Riel hanging, it seems that English assimilation is rampant among Metis. Anyaways, that's what suggest some data released by Statistics Canada in the latest issue of "Canadian Social Trends"
An exploration of cultural activities of Métis in Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/2010001/article/11142-eng.htm
According to this study only one Metis out of ten can speak "an aboriginal language" (mostly Cree and Ojibway). French, Riel's language, is also only spoken by one out of ten Metis and Michif, the Metis French-Cree Creole, has under 3600 living speakers.
Any toughts?