
In 1885, during the Riel Resistance, soldiers from Millbrook,
Ontario did something that would link their hometown to this historic Canadian
conflict for over a century. They stole an eighty pound silver bell. The blessed
bell was from the Catholic church in Batoche, Saskatchewan. The soldiers returned
to Millbrook with their war booty where the bell stayed for 105 years. In 1991
the bell went missing and its whereabouts remains a mystery. From this 115 year
old controversial theft and reclamation saga emerged the inspiration for 4th Line
Theatre's groundbreaking, crosscultural production about the 1885 resistance:
Crossings (The Bell of Batoche). Five years in the making, Crossings strives to
tell the stories of the Riel resistance from three distinct cultural viewpoints:
Metis, First Nations and Euro-Canadian.
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