{"id":480213,"date":"2026-02-17T08:01:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/480213\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T08:01:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:01:19","slug":"louis-riel-day-celebrated-across-manitoba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/480213\/","title":{"rendered":"Louis Riel Day celebrated across Manitoba"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Across Manitoba today, Louis Riel Day is being marked with reflection and celebration recognizing the M\u00e9tis leader\u2019s role in the creation of the province. More than 150 years after the Red River Resistance, Riel\u2019s legacy continues to shape how Manitoba understands its history and identity.<\/p>\n<p>Riel helped negotiate Manitoba\u2019s entry into Confederation in 1870, leading a provisional government at Red River. He was later executed in 1885 after leading two resistances but is now widely recognized as the founder of Manitoba.<\/p>\n<p>In Winnipeg, that legacy is being celebrated at The Forks, which formally partnered with the Manitoba M\u00e9tis Federation.<\/p>\n<p>The site hosted a full day of programming, including M\u00e9tis artisan vendors, traditional jigging, cultural displays and a number of activities teaching children about fur trade history and language.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Forks has been a meeting place for thousands of years, so it is really important to celebrate where we came from and where we are going, and continue to invite people here to learn more and celebrate,\u201d said Tineke\u00a0Buiskool-Leeuwma, communications\u00a0and marketing\u00a0advisor at The Forks.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PEOPLE-CELEBRATING-AT-THE-FORKS-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-575331\"  \/>People celebrating Louis Riel Day at The Forks, Winnipeg on Feb. 16, 2026 (Mitchell Ringos, CityNews)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/THE-FORKS-AREA-1-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-575335\"  \/>People celebrating Louis Riel Day at The Forks, Winnipeg on Feb. 16, 2026 (Mitchell Ringos, CityNews)<\/p>\n<p>Winnipegger Claudette Delorme said, \u201cI come here today to be a part of the laughs, the fun and maybe learn something new.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it reconnects me back to where our people came from,\u201d Delorme added.<\/p>\n<p>Another Winnipegger Loraine Kehler, who was also celebrating at The Forks, said, \u201cwe lost our heritage and growing up in care we lost everything, so I am learning everything about Metis and being proud of me and I don\u2019t have to be afraid to go anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/METIS-ARTISTS-AT-THE-FORKS2-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-575330\"  \/>M\u00e9tis musicians performing on Louis Riel Day at The Forks, Winnipeg on Feb. 16, 2026 (Mitchell Ringos, CityNews)<\/p>\n<p>For M\u00e9tis musicians Michael Audette and Troy Flamand, performing on Louis Riel Day is deeply personal. Fiddle music has long been at the heart of M\u00e9tis culture, passed down through generations and playing on Louis Riel Day is a way to carry that tradition forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can keep playing the same fiddle, this is Grandpa\u2019s fiddle and grandpa\u2019s attire I wear, he is very proud we keep up the Metis traditions and Louis Riel Day what better day to celebrate that,\u201d said Audette.<\/p>\n<p>And performing at The Forks, a historic gathering place with deep ties to the fur trade and Red River M\u00e9tis history,\u00a0 makes the moment even more meaningful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was always a beautiful culture here, we\u2019ve seen many musicians busking or sharing their gifts with atmosphere and to be involved what the MMF has partnered with is super special,\u201d Flamand said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Across Manitoba today, Louis Riel Day is being marked with reflection and celebration recognizing the M\u00e9tis leader\u2019s role&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480214,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-480213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}