Festival hears tale of how Metis group stole Bell of Batoche from Ontario legion

BATOCHE, Sask. – The Bell of Batoche is finally home in Saskatchewan, and the dramatic tale of its return is finally being told.

Billyjo Delaronde told a large crowd at a festival in Batoche on Saturday how he and a group of four other people stole the Metis artifact from an Ontario legion hall in 1991.

The bell originally hung in Batoche but in 1885 it was taken to Ontario as a trophy by federal troops when the Metis were defeated during the Northwest Rebellion.

Delaronde, who is from Metis and from Manitoba, says his group went to the Millbrook Royal Canadian Legion during the daytime and distracted the people by spilling tobacco on the floor.

When they went to search for a broom, Delaronde says he and his group grabbed the bell and brought it back west.

He says he’s held onto the bell ever since because he feared prosecution, and it’s a huge weight off his shoulders to finally give it back to the public.

Delaronde dubbed the operation, “Metis Mission Impossible.”

After the bell was brought east in 1885, it found a home in a fire hall bell tower in Millbrook until that building burned to the ground. The bell cracked in the flames. It eventually made its way to the Millbrook Royal Canadian Legion hall, where it was displayed.

The bell hasn’t been viewed publicly since it disappeared from the legion hall in 1991.

There had been speculation that it was being held hostage by those who took it and wanted to sell it to the highest bidder.

The Union nationale metisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba negotiated for the bell’s return and is now to oversee its care.