WINNIPEG -- A new stamp being released in honour of the 150th anniversary of the resistance that led to the creation of Manitoba as a province puts Louis Riel front and centre.
The Manitoba Métis Federation partnered with Canada Post on the stamp, put out to coincide with the anniversary of the Red River Resistance of 1869-70, also known as the Red River Rebellion.
The image is a composite based on a photograph of Riel surrounded by members of his provisional government from 1870 and a lithograph of Upper Fort Garry from 1948. The MMF said it was designed by Paprika and illustrated by Gerald DuBois.
The resistance that began in fall of 1869 began with a confrontation between unarmed Métis and a crew of land surveyors preparing for the arrival of settlers. It ended with the creation of the Manitoba Act in 1870, following negotiations with the Riel-led provisional government.
The MMF said during the event the Métis asserted their right and protected their families.
"I hope everyone in Canada buys this stamp, and that it goes all over the world. It is a form of visibility and presence that will memorialize his People’s struggle for land, sovereign rights and for the integrity of our distinct culture," said David Chartrand, president of the MMF, in a news release.
