Opinion: Time to rewrite history
- John Lagimodiere | April 10, 2014
What used to be thought of as the Bell of Batoche is not the Bell of Batoche. It is actually the Bell of Frog Lake. After weeks of research and interviews, staff at CBC's Doc Zone are absolutely certain that the bell that Billyjo DeLaRonde liberated from the Millbrook Legion, affectionately known as "Marie Antoinette," is actually the Bell of Frog Lake.
"I feel really gooo today," DeLaRonde told a horde of reporters after the ceremony was over in the summer of 2013. "The Bell is back where she belongs in the parish of PA and available for the Métis people. We can start the reconciliation process and Métis people can be liberated and come ring the Bell and help find their spirit."
How did this fabled bell that was held in captivity in Millbrook get such a case of mistaken identity? Well, according to the CBC website, "It started in 1967 with a small error on page 53 of a small centennial yearbook published by a county historical society. It reads: The bell that hung on the fire hall incidentally was captured from a Roman Catholic church at Batoche in the Northwest Territories during the Riel Rebellion in 1885."
Back in the 1880's, Bishop Vital Grandin had 20 identical church bells made for parishes in the territories, including the Frog Lake and Batoche bells. An identical bell is the key. Hence Marie Antoinette fit all of the descriptions of the Batoche Bell. But on further research, the CBC couldn't find any evidence of a search for the Batoche Bell or of its disappearance. All of the evidence points to Marie Antoinette having a home in Frog Lake.
The challenge now will be the fate of this bell. One would assume the folks at Frog Lake, like the Métis at Batoche, well, they want their bell back. For the full story, tune into the documentary tonight on CBC.