Talk:Bell of Batoche

Comments

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone knew the history of church bells at batoche. I know that Lawerence C. Clarke purchased a church bell for the oblates at a cost of around $100 dollars in the decade or so before batoche was burn't in 1885.

I find the bell history a bit confusing.

Avimimus 17:45, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

Article in view of Frog Lake evidence

For uninvolved editors seeing this RfC, this article is about a war trophy taken from the Battle of Batoche during the 1885 North-West Rebellion in Canada. A dispute over its ownership carried on for decades between the Métis people and the descendents of the North-West Mounted Police soldiers who looted it. The bell was stolen from a museum in 1991, disappeared and then resurfaced in Métis hands in 2013. However, recent evidence has revealed that this artifact had actually been looted from Frog Lake, Alberta, and the actual bell of Batoche had been donated to another church and destroyed in a fire. Some work will be required in this article to separate the actual historical evidence from the lore and the disputes that arose from it, both of which are historically significant. --Drm310 (talk) 03:59, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

This is a sensitive topic but do any edits that need to be done. I think the name of the bell should remain the "Bell of Batoche" until (or if ever) a new name is chosen. The name itself has become part of its complex history.---Kayoty (talk) 07:29, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

• Comment Hi. What is it you are looking for comment on? If it is whether to include information or not some links to references would be needed. AIRcorn (talk) 09:06, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

I suppose I was looking for ideas on how to restructure the article. The bell was more than just a war trophy - it was a strong symbol for the Métis people of the injustices they believe were committed against them, and their leader Louis Riel. A lot of effort was invested in trying to repatriate the bell - first diplomatically, then by force - and there was much fanfare surrounding its reappearance. Now, with the recent evidence, all those decades of strife appear have been in vain. Some people are upset by the fact that the artifact they had fought over for so long was not what they thought it was: Revised Bell of Batoche story troubling to some Métis

I suggest making the edits you see fit and seeing if anyone challenges them. You should be fine as long as your references are of a reasonable quality. The one you linked looks fine to me. Just try and keep it balanced| and tell both sides of the story (although this does not necessarily mean keeping it equal). I don't really know anything about this so I am sorry I am not much help to get you started, but I will keep watching the page for a little while and provide any advice I can. AIRcorn (talk) 07:06, 15 April 2014 (UTC)

I just looked at your edit history and see you have more experience than me here, so I apologise if my tone above came off a bit condescending. I assumed you were a relative newbie. AIRcorn (talk) 07:12, 15 April 2014 (UTC)

No worries, Aircorn. As experienced as I am, I don't usually make edits about culturally sensitive matters that have potential controversy. --Drm310 (talk) 18:57, 17 April 2014 (UTC)

• comment..I added info on the "Bell of Frog Lake" on the Frog Lake Massacre page from a French source. Note that Father Legoff claimed the bell at Frog Lake weighed 200 pounds while the Bell of Batoche is only 20 pounds. A possible 120 year old printing error.-- Kayoty (talk) 08:02, 17 April 2014 (UTC)
• Comment I agree with Aircorn's comments. I think the article is fine, as is. Other editors will revert changes should there be an issue. Chris Troutman (talk) 00:20, 1 May 2014 (UTC)