Annie of Red River

As a kid in the early 2000s, I joined a scrappy new video site called YouTube. We were girls creating content for other girls, but with our growing success came new rules from the man in charge. There was no reason to believe that anything dangerous was going on. No reason until he was taken away in handcuffs. I'm Lauren White, and from CBC's Split Screen, this is There Goes My Childhood, available now on CBC Listen, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. Bonjour, et me ça va? Bonjour, à n'y. It's October 1868. Canada is one year old. Canada is still two years from becoming part of the Dominion, and what is now Winnipeg is still Red River. Built up from the muddy waters of the Red and Essinoboin rivers, the Red River settlement is the gateway to the West, and to indigenous people, the heart of Turtle Island. Horse drawn carriages and Red River carts with squeaky wheels, vine for room on dirt roads. Scottish, English and French traders and settlers mix with First Nations and Métis peoples. Annie, a Métis woman and her husband, Andrew Bannetine, own a shop here in Red River, they often stroll the settlement's main street. Oh my dear Annie, the newcomers are nothing to worry about. They're just young men seeking adventure. Half of their ignorance if you want Andrew, but they are making a mockery of our respectability and making a fortune off our backs. I just don't trust them. You don't trust anyone, my love. It's what makes you such a fine business woman. I do. I trust my family. I trust my community. It's just these thieves thinking everything is worth the taking and casting us aside till there's nothing left, what about the future of our children. Welcome to this place, a CBC radio adaptation of the acclaimed graphic anthology. In this ten-part series, you'll hear true stories of indigenous heroes, battles, triumphs and traditions. 150 years of history retold by indigenous people. I'm your host, Rosanna Deerchild. Think of me as your time guide storyteller. Our first stop through time is 1868 in what is now Winnipeg, Manitoba. Winnipe is Cree for Muddy Waters. Annie of Red River tells the story of Annie Bannetine, a no-nonsense Métis woman who does something extraordinary to take a stand that inspires our resistance. Today, it's market day in Red River. On a busy street, Annie and Andrew meet a familiar face. Is that, is that young Louie? Louie, real. Louie, my boy. I heard you're back. How you've grown, dear Louie. Tell me, how was your mother? She is well, Madam. It's been a hard year, but our family has their health. I'm glad to hear it. You tell her she should come visit us. It's been too long since I've seen her in town. And how are you getting on at home? Ah, there is always work to be done on the land. Red River must feel small after all those years in Moriel. I am happy to be back with my family and in the country of my heart. That farming does not come as naturally to me as it did to my father. That is not your fault, my boy. It's been a bad year all around. It's been such a hard few years. The magan. So many ruined crops. It's a hard time. I fear it will be a long winter for many. I am hoping to make the Christmas get together that Andrew and I host the best one yet. We can get all the newcomers and their Canadian friends to help our poorer neighbors and enjoy some Red River hospitality. You are tireless, Annie. Anything for a party? We need to do what we can for one another. Things can't go on like they have been, that's for sure. Did you hear about that road? They're building all the way from Lake of the Woods to here. Maybe that will mean good paying jobs so that our young men can support their families. They're bringing in Canadians from Ottawa to do that work. I fear there won't be many opportunities for our local boys. A sign of things to come, I think. More Canadians immigrate here every day. Now that Confederation has taken hold in the East, Prime Minister McDonald's sites are set on us here in the Northwest. He won't stop. Not until he gets his railway, that's for certain. We may not be Canadians, but we are all to permissouac, the people who command themselves. We are also may team at them. No more than savages to some. Time might come when we need more than hope, dear lady. But we've been here a long time, kayaks, generations. These they can do is honor our lands and our homes. That is at least home. You're listening to this place on CBC Radio, Indigenous Reclamation of Resistance and Resilience. Today, Annie of Red River, a MAT woman who was the muse for Louis Royale's Resistance. But you didn't know that piece of history. Later in the show, we'll speak with author Catherine of Vermette. First, we return to the Red River settlement where Louis Royale's warning would be prophetic. It's November 1868. Charles Mayer, paymaster for the road build, has arrived from Ontario. He is loud, cocky, and racist. She and his Canada First Crowd draw Annie's iron. Andrew assures her that the newcomers will get in line, but Annie laments that they mock the MAT and are nothing but trouble. She would soon be proven right. The desk of Charles Mayer, an account of the half-reads of Red River. After staying at the Dutchman's hotel, I couldn't stand it any longer and headed to Dr. Schultz for a few days. The change was a relief. I assure you, from the racket of the motley crowd of half-reads playing billiards and drinking. They are everywhere here in Red River. Many wealthy people are married to half-breed women you see, who having no coat of arms but a totem to look back to, make up for the deficiency by biting the backs of their white sisters. The white sisters fall back upon their whiteness, whilst the husbands treat each other with desperate curses and hospitalities, with a view to filthy looker in the background. The country is great, inexhaustible, inconceivably rich. Farming here is a pleasure. There is no till in it, and all who do farm are comfortable and some wealthy. The half-breeds are the only people here who are starving. 5,000 of them have to be fed this winter, and it is their own fault they won't farm. As for the farmers, scotch, English and the French, not one of them requires relief. It's not long before mayors rant, makes it to the Benatine breakfast table. As for the farmers, scotch, English, French, not one of them requires relief. Hi. That doesn't sound like like breakfast reading any. This is from an op-ed published back east. Such damn lies, who does this Charles Merit think he is anyways? Just a young man trying to make a name for himself is all, it's nonsense, meaningless. It is not meaningless. This is in the Toronto Daily Globe, a city of over 50,000 people who will have to take his word about us. Those Canada first boys, they have no real power, so they resort to petty trouble-making. don't stand for it. - No one can possibly take him seriously. - The Canadians will. They don't know us. They will think this drivel is true. Then they will come here and droves. Is this what they think of us? Is this how it's going to be? I won't have it. - What will you do, Annie? - I'll be at our store. When Mary comes in, I'll show him what happens when you tell lies about the matey. - Good morning, Mrs. Banditite. - Densey, good morning. I'll be in my office. When Mr. Charles Mayer comes in for his papers, you let me know. - Yes, ma'am. - Annie knows Mayer's words will have consequences. Many eyes and ears are trained on the Red River, looking for Annie excused to descend upon her homeland. The settlers are insensitive at best, hostile at worst. - Mayer has arrived, ma'am. - How dare you write these despicable lies about us? - Calm yourself, woman. I only write what I see as the truth about you, people. - Truth? I'll show you truth on the very streets of the. - Mary, Mary! - What are you doing? Stop it, are you mad? Stop hitting me. - Charles Mayer feels the sting of Annie's anger at the end of her horse whip. It echoes through the dusty streets and a crowd gathers. Some laugh, others cheer. And soon the familiar figure of Louis Riel himself appears at the back of the raucous scene. - Hey, what's going on here? - Oh, hello Louis. It seems Mayer is feeling the wrath of Annie Valentine's horse whip. - This is what happens when you disrespect the women of Red River. Can't much! Now get the hell out you scoundrel, caescus. - Annie is right. How dare that man speak about the may-t this way? Perhaps I was destined to return to Red River after all. I have much to do and more to learn to help my people. - A year later, the province of Manitoba was created, but may-t land titles called Scripps were not honored. Annie and many others never received their land. And while Louis Riel was eventually recognized as the founding father of Manitoba, after his rebellions, in 1885, the Canadian government executed him. In 1908, the fierce and mighty Annie Bannetine died in rural Saskatchewan. - In 2002, Ryan Wedding was an Olympic snowboarder at the top of his game. - Ryan's style is really gun-ed and gold. - And in less than a minute, it slipped away. But he continued to chase the high. - Ryan James Wedding. He controls one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations in this world. - I'm Michelle Shepard, and from CBC podcasts and the Toronto Star, the most wanted Olympian, available now. - Annie of Red River is the first episode of this place, sharing stories of indigenous heroes, battles, triumphs, and traditions. I'm Rosanna Deerchild. Katharina Vermet wrote Annie of Red River. She is also the author of the award-winning novel The Break and the graphic series A Girl Called Echo. She joins us to share more about Annie Bannetine. Welcome, Katharina. - Thank you for having me. - Thank you for joining us. - Well, you certainly got this book off to a bang or a crack of the whip as the case may be. (laughing) - Yeah, isn't that great? - Oh, I love that story. - It is. - It's a great, great story, beautiful, beautiful depiction of Annie Bannetine. Tell me how did you find her? Where did you find her? - I was doing research into my graphic novel series, A Girl Called Echo, and just diving through all this golden age of the Métis history in the 1850s and '60s. And she just kind of comes up. She just rises as this shining light. She had a very interesting life. She was the daughter of Andrew McDermott and kind of grew up in kind of a kind of affluence. She had a lot of power, like self-power, and just a lot of control over her life. And then she does this, like just takes Charles Mayor to school. And I love that. I love that story so much. When we came up with the storybook idea and Catherine approached me with it, I immediately said, I want this timeline. Like I want the first, I want to talk about Annie. Like she was just the reason I got on board. She was very exciting to me. - And what was it about her or her story that really drew you in? Why her? - Well, not only her, not only is she like this amazing woman who, I mean, aside from horse-whiping a-holes in the middle of the street, she also was this incredibly community-oriented organizer. She was a shopkeeper. She worked very much alongside her husband and worked for her father before him. And she organized so many different things in the communities. This was a time of great famine. So she organized a lot of drives to feed people, feed all kinds of people who were living in Red River. She was one of the instrumental fundraisers for the first hospital that ever happened in Winnipeg. Like she was just a really empowered woman who knew her place in the world and knew how much she was worth. And I was really attracted to that. I also really loved that she represented Maytee people in Red River pre-canada coming in. Where it was really known as the Golden Age of Maytee history. Like we were really thriving. We were three quarters of the population of Red River at the time was Maytee. We were not only the majority, but we were in control of a lot of things. I liked that she represented that time, you know? In such a great way. And she was just this kick-ass auntie. Like I really love her all around, yeah. - When you say auntie, what do you mean by that? What role does auntie play in Maytee cultures? - I really think of auntie. And I mean everybody has a different definition of auntie. For me, and auntie is a person who is, you know, an older woman, probably, you know, biological aunt to, you know, we were all Catholic over there. So there was, she was probably a biological aunt to many, many little kids. But also she was just a general auntie to the community. And auntie is someone who takes care of you and auntie is someone who you give respect. And one of the things I made sure, that I really wanted to put in the story is that she was an auntie, like a community auntie, like this, to lure you out. And I think she definitely influenced him and what happened shortly thereafter. - Now, the exchange district in Winnipeg is of course a national historic site these days with terracotta heritage buildings and warehouses and hip restaurants and boutiques. But take respect to 1860. And I know you did a lot of research and what the Red River settlement would have looked like in those days, can you pay us a picture? - From what I understand, and I always feel like history is incredibly overwhelming. So I feel like I have a tiny little snapshot of a very big hole. Main street was basically where Main Street is now. Only of course it was a big large dirt road. The center point of the entire settlement was Fort Gary, which was at the end of Main Street along the river. So kind of where Broadway and Main Street are now. It was kind of the opening corner of the Fort, which was huge and went over what is several city blocks now. Back when this happened, the Bannetine store was roughly around where Bannetine Avenue is now, which is really the heart of the, what is the exchange district now. And this was also kind of how everything was organized is this what happened on shopping day. So this was when everyone kind of came in for shopping day and everyone picked up there. You know, it was just this bustling community where there was, there wasn't any bridges at the time, but there was a lot of fairies that were ferried over. You know, people probably pulled up on their canoes. There was tons of wagons red river carts. So like, you know, those squeaky wheels were probably heard all over and they were so loud. Those wheels are so loud. Lots of horses, you know, kind of going here and there. And a lot of the people that came for shopping day didn't live very close. Anyone who, you know, wasn't all that well off lived quite far away by comparison. So over the river in St. Boniface or North towards like Seven Oaks area. So yeah, it was just like, there was a few stores, a lot of like, you know, perhaps like, brick buildings. There's also this really cool cool old looking saloon that kind of looks like something out of like Santa Fe, New Mexico. It just was this like I don't know what that was if it was like mud walls but it looks like an old Pueblo style kind of saloon and that's where everyone everyone absolutely everyone drank and there was cock fights in the dirt floor kind of thing so that wasn't very far off from where we were either so just a rowdy place. Now as you said historically there is like lots going on Canada this Canada first the the railroad etc. Why would Annie's actions on that day be the spark for Louis Riel's rebellion? Well actually the first ever political quote-unquote political action that he did because he had come he had come back from like Montreal by way of Minnesota and about in around this time in late 1868. So when this happened when Annie horsewood Charles mayor in the middle of the street that was February and the the resistance happened in the fall in September. One of the first actions of as a political leader he was elected as secretary of the Meatsy council was to write a letter to the Montreal newspaper basically depicting the story of what happened with Annie and Charles mar and basically telling the world that was Montreal and Canada at the time what happened and why Charles mar is not the victim of you know some crazy savage beating but actually he did he did wrong he you know he called out the Red River women and the Red River women responded. So that was actually the first letter to the editor that and it was signed LR and I should say it was signed LR and it was never properly officially attributed to Louis Riel but everyone believes that it was Louis Riel and it was his first act of political involvement which happened like literally six months before the Red River resistance began in earnest. So really I think he was definitely well aware of it. I think he was probably on the sidelines cheering Annie on and I think he definitely saw that that ability to fight back that ability to see that this treatment was wrong and the power to do something about it I think absolutely it influenced him undoubtedly I would say undoubtedly. And do you know if she ever faced a consequences for those actions or what happened to Annie? I've never heard anything about consequences I know that shortly during the Red River resistance which was when the Meatsy soldiers overtook the fort to try to negotiate their way into Canada rather than just be sold off like chattel around that time Andrew her husband became quite sick I believe it was tuberculosis. So sometime in early 1870 she went to Scotland with him and their children so that he could recuperate from his illness. She did live to be a very old woman she she lived she came back to Red River I think after the resistance and after the trouble she wasn't involved in it directly. She lived for a time in Saskatchewan she was buried in the Caldonin cemetery here in Winnipeg and she lived into the 1900s I believe it's 1904 so she did get to see her grandchildren grow up I don't think she suffered any consequences other than you know probably just a really great reputation and I don't think anyone crossed her after that I mean just imagine those kids hey they're just like okay mom whatever whatever you say yes auntie right away auntie well what an extraordinary woman she was what do you what would you like readers of the graphic novel or listeners of this place podcast to take away from the story of Annie Banner time I think if Annie lived nowadays she would be one of those aunties that really just takes people out on Facebook um she she takes no prisoners and just tells you like it is um I think that's the kind of person she would be I I I for me Annie just represented standing up for yourself I don't advocate violence or horse whipping people in the street as much as it's a great story it's such also a quote unquote wild west kind of story but I always think that it's amazing when people stand up for unjust treatment um and stand up to people who are talking smack about their their younger younger friends that's the kind of thing she represents to me just standing up for yourself and your your people you got to put that on a t-shirt don't talk smack Annie Banner time if she was on Facebook she'd be like don't be talking smack to me ashtag auntie sets and finally Catherine why do you think it's important to share these stories these true stories of indigenous resistance and resilience with all Canadians I think we're just um some great work is happening and I really think we're there's so much to know in history I find history um the little bit of research in history I find it incredibly overwhelming um and daunting to try to explain history I think we are only just now beginning to understand um our history as indigenous people as indigenous nations um in this country now called Canada I think that um we don't know I mean as as a MAT person I feel like I didn't know the story I think as a Canadian person I are you know an indigenous person I don't know so many of the stories that are out there and there's so many things to know and I think we are just beginning to to learn those stories I think we have to hear I think that has to be tons of books like this tons of podcasts like this I think there's so many stories we have yet to hear. Catherine of her Met is the author of Annie of Red River the story with illustrations by Scott B. Henderson and colors by Donovan Yasuk is included in the anthology this place 150 years retold published by Portaging Main Press Limited Annie of Red River was adapted for radio by Rosanna Deerchild this place is produced by Jackie Black Eva Grant Braden Alexander and me special thanks to our casting consultants native earth performing arts and to our cast Sheldon Alter Chris Majaki and PJ Prudette next week on this place we traveled to the northwest coast of what is now British Columbia tilted ground is about the life and legacy of chief Billy Asu written by his great great grandson Sonny Asu why does felt that he was you know standing in defiance of the colonial laws that were being that he was being subject to and that we as indigenous peoples are still subject to till today you know the story happened you know almost a hundred years ago and here we are today with a lot of these same laws that affect us as indigenous peoples on a daily basis so you know being able to learn where he stood his grounds I think helps me route where I need to stand my ground in terms of how I communicate to the world with my with my art and my work about the messages that I want to get out there his spirit just kind of got into me and I wanted to learn more about him and tell more of his stories and it's I just felt it was really important to keep caring on his his message of acceptance and defiance Billy Asu leader of the Kwakwakewak who led his people to adopt not assimilate to learn more about this place visit cbc.ca/thisplace and follow us on your favorite podcast app I'm Rosanna dear child can ask them it now a thank you for listening I go say for more cbc podcasts go to cbc.ca/podcasts