"Without Fear, Favour or Affection:" The Men of the North West Mounted Police

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An Educational Resource Based on "Without Fear, Favour or Affection:" Men of the North West Mounted Police for Grades 7-9

This educational resource explores the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) from 1870 to 1920. It contains three critical challenges and one culminating challenge targeted for students in grades 7-9 history, social studies or Canadian studies courses. The culminating challenge asks students to synthesize their understanding of the experiences, trials and achievements of the North West Mounted Police from 1870 to 1920 by creating a powerful metaphor. Although each challenge can be used separately, completing all three challenges and the culminating activity below will maximize student comprehension.

1. The Toughest Day: Write an exaggerated patrol report that includes the five greatest barriers to success for the NWMP in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities.
2. A Commemorative Stamp Collection: Design a stamp collection commemorating the five most significant points in the history of the NWMP.
3. Relationship Tableaux: Create and photograph five tableaux (for this exercise, a tableau can be described as a live portait where people physically create a scene using their bodies and very few if any, props.) that exemplify the relationship between the NWMP and First Nations and Métis peoples.
4. Metaphorically Speaking (Culminating Activity): Synthesize understanding about early policing by the NWMP in western Canada by creating a powerful metaphor to represent the NWMP.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Explore interactions between NWMP members and First Nations and Métis peoples in the Canadian West
• Assess the significant events in the history of the NWMP from 1870 to 1920
• Examine NWMP members' daily life
• Make and support a reasoned judgment using available evidence
• Effectively communicate ideas for a specific purpose and audience

Curriculum Connections

Alberta	7	Social Studies: Canada: Origins, Histories, And Movement of People
	9	Social Studies: Canada: Opportunities and Challenges
British Columbia, Yukon	9	History: Europe and North America 1500-1815
Nova Scotia	7	Social Studies: North America
	8	Social Studies: Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Canada
New Brunswick	9	Social Studies: Developing a Global Perspective - Through Cultural Understanding
Newfoundland and Labrador	7	Social Studies: Living in North America
Northwest Territories, Nunavut	9	Social Studies: The Growth of Canada
Ontario	7	History: New France, British North America, Conflict and Change
	8	History: Confederation, History of Western Canada, Changing Society
	9	Social Studies: Native Studies
Prince Edward Island	7	History: Canadian History Pre-Contact- 1814
	8	History: Canadian History 1814-1900
Saskatchewan	9	Social Studies: The Roots of Society

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Critical Challenge A
The Toughest Day

Synopsis

Students explore the variety of duties and responsibilities of the NWMP (both unique and mundane), rate their difficulty, and then write a patrol report that includes the five most significant barriers to success for NWMP members.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Examine NWMP members' daily life
• Identify NWMP members' roles and responsibilities
• Assess the difficulty of NWMP members' tasks
• Determine the most significant barriers to achieving success
• Communicate understanding by creating an exaggerated patrol report

Materials

• Access to the website Without Fear, Favour or Affection: Men of the North West Mounted Police or copies of the On the Job and Serving the Nation sections of the website
• Copies of handout A1 and handout A2
• Handout A3

Suggested Activities

Step One:
Instruct students to read On the Job and Serving the Nation. They should look for and record all the roles and responsibilities NWMP members were expected to take on (i.e., maintaining peace and order in the West, conducting the census, facilitating treaty negotiations, delivering mail, etc.). You may consider dividing the class into groups of about three or four students and directing each group member to read one or two sections of the briefings and then report their findings back to their group.

Step Two:
Distribute copies of handout A1. Using the list of roles and responsibilities from the above activity, invite students to describe what success for each might look like in the eyes of the NWMP. More than one answer can be described for each. Student responses might include: remaining alive, completing the task, developing positive relationships, negotiating a compromise, catching the bad guys, completing the job quickly, encountering no unexpected problems, etc. Next, invite students to suggest barriers to success or difficulties the NWMP might have had in completing their tasks. Student responses might include: rugged terrain and weather conditions, lack of resources, miscommunication, cultural differences between NWMP and other people in the area, vastness of the land, lack of expertise with the task, members quitting, etc.

Note: To extend and deepen student understanding, you may wish to pose the following thought-provoking questions: Would other members of the community see success in the same way as the NWMP? Would they have a differing view of the barriers to success? What do the answers to these questions tell us about the values of both the NWMP and members of the community? Are these values conflicting or harmonious?

Step Three:
Now, lead a discussion about difficulty. You may wish to have students recall difficulties in their own lives such as struggling on a math problem, not having enough allowance money to go to the movies, etc. Discuss what makes for a significant barrier. Encourage students to differentiate between those minor difficulties that can easily be overcome and those that are truly barriers to success, needing great effort to surpass.

Note: It is important that teachers discuss historical perspective at this time. What is a significant barrier today may have been insurmountable years ago. What seems easy to us may have been very difficult in the early days of the West. Understanding this, students' criteria for significant barriers might include:

• Complexity (many elements are involved)
• Lack of an easy answer or quick fix
• Large scope
• Unchangeable elements (e.g., weather, terrain, etc.)
• Challenge to mental or physical ability or safety
• Conflict with personal values or beliefs, etc.

Step Four:
Instruct students to list the barriers to success in the first column of handout A2. Using the criteria developed above, students rate each barrier and then justify their answer briefly. Justifications should reflect both the evidence in the reading and the criteria. Note: It may be valuable to discuss how NWMP members viewed some of the laws that may have been created in the East, yet were to be followed in the West. If possible, note some examples. Did these laws make sense for the locations and purpose for which they were being used? Much as a lawyer must sometimes defend a person whom they believe to be guilty, in some cases NWMP members may have personally disagreed with a law but been obligated to enforce it. How would this have multiplied the difficulty factor? Ask students to look for any areas where this might have occurred and to estimate by how much the difficulty would have been magnified.

Step Five:
Invite students to use their completed handout A2 to select the five most significant barriers to success for the NWMP. Have students write a one-day patrol report that shows a NWMP member trying to succeed at a variety of assigned roles and responsibilities, but having to struggle to overcome the most significant barriers identified in Step Four. Student responses should be submitted in point form, approximately 1.5 pages, and should include reference to the justifications and criteria for significant barriers. As well, despite the exaggeration this activity requires, student work should reflect the following:

• An accurate account of events (the only exaggeration should be that they all happen in the same day)
• An attempt to reflect the authentic voice of the NWMP

Step Six:
Evaluate student work using handout A3.

Extensions:

• Students rework an existing patrol report to reflect an alternate perspective (e.g., how a Métis person might have viewed the NWMP's work that day).
• Using Henri Julien's diary and sketches, or the diaries of James Finlayson, Sévère Gagnon, or Commissioner G.A. French, students create a "patrol report" of the March West.
• To modify the activity, reduce the size of the submission to 0.5 or 0.75 page.
• Consider alternative modes of report presentation, such as the creation of a brief drama called "The Toughest Day," a slideshow or video presentation, or possibly an oral report, similar to one that a patrolman might give to a superior officer of the NWMP.

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Handout A1
Describing Success and Identifying Barriers

Name:

Role/Responsibility of the NWMP	Success (What would success look like in the eyes of the NWMP?)	Barriers to Success (What could prevent the success of the NWMP?)

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Handout A2
Rating the Barriers

Name:

Instructions: Use the following scale to rate the significance of the barriers to the NWMP's success.

1-very significant 2-somewhat significant 3-somewhat insignificant 4-very insignificant

Barrier	Level of Significance	Justification
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4
	1 2 3 4

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Handout A3
Assessing Patrol Reports

	Excellent	Competent	Weak
Understanding of roles and barriers	The patrol report clearly displays understanding of the roles of the NWMP and the barriers to their success.	The patrol report adequately displays understanding of the roles of the NWMP and the barriers to their success.	Understanding is not clearly evident in the patrol report. Successes and barriers are not clearly identified.
Respect for authentic voice	The patrol report is written with a sensitive respect for the authentic voice of the NWMP.	The patrol report is inconsistent in that the authentic voice is sometimes apparent, but there is evidence of other voices or perspectives as well.	The patrol report either does not respect the authentic voice of the NWMP, or does so only rarely. Other voices or perspectives are dominant.
Level of detail	The patrol report is well developed and detailed.	The patrol report is adequately developed and includes moderate detail.	The patrol report is poorly developed and lacks detail.

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Critical Challenge B
A Commemorative Stamp Collection

Synopsis

Students first explore the history of the NWMP from 1870 to 1920 to determine which are the five most significant events, and then create a commemorative stamp collection.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Examine the history of the NWMP from 1870 to 1920
• Compile a timeline of the history of the NWMP
• Assess the degree of significance for each event
• Determine the five most significant events in NWMP history
• Communicate understanding by creating a commemorative stamp collection

Materials

• Access to the website Without Fear, Favour or Affection: Men of the North West Mounted Police or copies of the Serving the Nation section of the website
• Access to other Web resources such as the RCMP website
• 11x17 in. sheets of paper (one per pair of students)
• Small index cards (10-15 per pair of students)
• Examples of contemporary and/or historic stamps
• Copies of handout B1 and handout B2

Suggested Activities

Step One:
Divide students into pairs or small groups. Assign a span of years to each group to research. Students then consult a variety of resources to investigate NWMP history during the assigned years.

Step Two:
Ask: "Is getting a new pencil significant?" "Is getting a new baby sister or brother significant?" Have students explore the differences between these two scenarios. Lead a discussion to determine the criteria for a significant event. Student responses might include: duration and intensity of impact (e.g., legacy, tragedy or glory), scope of effect (e.g., affecting a large number of people), creation of lasting or monumental change, etc.

Step Three:
Next, students develop a concise timeline of the events that occur in the assigned years. Students should record each event on a small card, including a brief description, but leaving a space for written work described later in this section. Place each card on an 11x17 in. sheet of paper organized similarly to the following diagram:

Using the criteria for significance, students place highly significant events above the dateline (highlights) and less significant events (lowlights) below the dateline. In the space remaining on each card, students justify their judgment about significance and support their assessment with evidence.

Step Four:
In chronological order, students present their timelines orally, describing each event and explaining their justification for the level of significance they have assigned. Join each section of the timeline together to create one large class timeline to which all students can then refer. If appropriate, students can choose to change the position of their cards in light of elements that arise during class presentations.

Note: Students should only move a card if new evidence suggests that the event is more or less significant than the events in their own set of assigned years. They should not compare it to other years' events at this time.

Step Five:
Using the criteria established, and the class-developed timeline, students select the five most significant events in the history of the NWMP. Partner each group with another group. While one group presents their choices and justifications, the other group can assess their work using handout B1. Alternatively, teachers may also complete this formative assessment to improve student comprehension.

Step Six:
Discuss what powerful and effective visual elements look like. Students might offer the following descriptions: "clear," "informative," "communicating message or facts," "paying attention to detail," etc. While stamps are a form of visual element, their size and use necessitate a tweaking of the criteria. Show samples of stamps on an overhead or projector or circulate actual stamps throughout the class. Discuss what adjustments might be made to the criteria to address the specific qualities of powerful stamps. For example: the detail cannot be too small or it will not be seen; too much information is not effective and may detract from the effectiveness of the message; since a stamp travels across the country, it should be a symbol of Canada and should represent all or most Canadians; a stamp needs to include appropriate information such as country, date, cost of stamp, etc.

Invite students to adjust the criteria. Student responses might include: providing an appropriate amount of detail, communicating information clearly, respecting perspective, providing information, paying attention to elements of appeal, etc.

Step Seven:
Show students the "NWMP-March West" stamp. In small groups, have students practise using the criteria to determine whether this stamp is powerful. Groups will be asked to present their judgments, so they must be prepared to provide a justification for their decisions.

Step Eight:
In small groups, students create a collection of stamps that commemorate the five most significant events in the history of the NWMP from 1870 to 1920. Student work must reflect understanding of each event, using the criteria for a powerful and effective stamp. Each stamp should bear a title and date. Also, instruct students to include brief justifications for each of their final selections.

Note: If, in the previous step, students have judged the March West stamp as one of the five most significant, they can include it in their commemorative collection. However, in this case students must expand the collection to include the six most significant events. If students deem that the stamp itself does not meet the criteria, or that it only meets some of the criteria, yet they deem that the March West should be included in the most significant events, they can include it in their collection, but must redraw the stamp to reflect the changes they think it requires.

Step Nine:
Assess student work using handout B2.

Extensions:

• To modify the activity you may consider reducing it to the first three significate events.
• Invite students to research one of the significant events in more depth and to create a monument for the NWMP (including location and form) that would commemorate that event.
• Instead of drawing the stamps by hand, students could create e-stamps using tools on the Web or other computer software.

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Handout B1
Assessing the Significant Events

	Well-developed	Competent	Underdeveloped
Evidence for support	Evidence is specific and clearly supports the judgment.	Evidence is adequately supportive though some items are unclear.	Evidence either does not support, or only minimally supports the judgment.
Criteria for significance	The criteria were carefully considered.	The criteria were moderately well considered.	The criteria were either not considered or were used ineffectively.
Justification	Justification is clear, concise and well developed.	Justification is discernable, somewhat clear and adequately developed.	Justification is weak, unclear and inadequately developed.

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Handout B2
Assessing the Commemorative Stamp Collection

	Well-developed	Competent	Underdeveloped
Justification for significant events	Choices are well supported with clear and effective justification.	Choices are adequately developed with identifiable and somewhat appropriate justification.	Choices are only minimally supported (or totally unsupported) with justification that is sometimes unclear or weak.
Authenticity (respects perspectives involved)	Language and sketches are appropriate and sensitive to the various perspectives involved.	Language and sketches are adequate and consider the perspectives involved.	Language and sketches are unclear and do not effectively consider the perspectives involved.
Communication	Language and sketches are very carefully crafted, clear and informative.	Language and sketches are adequately crafted and somewhat informative, but a few important details have been omitted or information has been added.	Language and sketches are poorly crafted and unclear; essential details have frequently been omitted, or unnecessary information has been added.

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Critical Challenge C
Relationship Tableaux

Synopsis

Students investigate the cultural differences and challenges experienced as recruits and Aboriginal peoples met in the West between 1870 and 1920. Students create and photograph five tableaux that effectively exemplify the relationship between NWMP members and First Nations and Métis peoples.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Understand the cultural differences between NWMP members and Aboriginal peoples
• Understand the challenges faced by NWMP and Aboriginal peoples in the West
• Make and support judgments about the relationship between NWMP members and Aboriginal peoples
• Communicate understanding by creating tableaux

Materials

• Access to the website Without Fear, Favour or Affection: Men of the North West Mounted Police or copies of the following excerpts from the website's section Serving the Nation: 1885 and After, Protect and Enforce: First Nations.
• Copies of handout C1 and handout C2
• Handout C3
• Enough digital cameras to provide one for each group of five to seven students
• Handout C4

Suggested Activities

Step One:
Distribute copies of the following excerpts from the website's sections Serving the Nation: 1885 and After, Protect and Enforce: First Nations.

Also, distribute copies of handout C1. Instruct students to read the excerpt and to look for phrases describing events or issues relating to NWMP interaction with Métis or First Nations. Students record the issue or event in the first column, and then describe in the second column what is said or what they infer about the interaction between these groups. For example:

Issues and Events Identified	Relationship Between NWMP and Métis or First Nations
1869: Macdonald's plans to create North West police force included 150 Métis 1870: Red River Resistance occurred; Métis protested government's move to annex North West, saying it violated their rights Massacre of Indigenous peoples at Cypress Hills by white Americans and Canadians causes Macdonald to respond with creation of NWMP Desire to have Native peoples sign treaties	Macdonald trusted the Métis and thought they were the best choice to police the area The trust between the government and Métis was broken and a less amicable relationship between the two resulted NWMP was created to protect Indigenous people from unscrupulous white people NWMP gained the trust and confidence of Native leaders without bloodshed

Step Two:
As a class or in small groups, share and discuss the completed handout C1. Through discussion, identify the qualities inherent in any good relationship, such as trust, communication, assistance, sense of security, open-mindedness, care, concern, sharing, etc. In groups, determine how well the NWMP and First Nations and Métis fared in each of these categories. Students can organize their ideas using handout C2.

Step Three:
For the purpose of this exercise, a tableau can be described as a live portrait where people physically create a scene using their bodies and very few, if any, props. Facial expression, body stance and physical arrangement are very important in communicating the message in tableaux, as there are no words or movements to give explanation to the audience.

Step Four:
Students are surrounded with visual messages in their everyday lives but may not necessarily know how to create an effective one of their own. Show students a variety of pictures (candid shots, newspaper photos, etc.). In a class discussion, have students identify which pictures they think are effective and which are not. (This discussion may begin with "Which ones did you like or dislike?") Next, discuss why some of the pictures were more appealing or effective than others. Focus on the construction of the image and the message it portrays rather than the subject matter itself. Discuss the use of the foreground and background, white space, distracting elements, communication, purpose, etc.

Through the discussion, guide students in the identification of the criteria for effective tableaux. Criteria might include effective use of space, minimal distractions, clear communication of message, purposefulness, etc. Since students are unlikely to have frequently used tableaux as a manner of representing learning, it might be important for the teacher to consider and share the hints provided in handout C3.

Step Five:
Divide the class into groups of five to seven students. Instruct each group to create four or five tableaux that effectively show the relationship that the NWMP had with Métis and First Nations. Suggest to students that they begin by selecting one of the issues or events from handout C1. Then, they can use the relationship descriptions from that page and the ratings from handout C2 to flesh out their tableaux. For example, students might have one or two peers exemplify the remnants of the Cypress Hills Massacre in the background while in the foreground other students show the NWMP arriving to protect the Native people. Encourage students to use facial expression and body language to communicate the relationship as clearly as possible. Each tableau should be photographed a few times so that students will have several photos from which to choose the best for their final product. (Digital cameras work best for this exercise as photos do not need to be printed to be viewed). Students should use the criteria for effective tableaux to guide their decisions about which five tableau photos will be included in their final product.

Step Six:
Assess student work using handout C4.

Extensions:

• Suggest that students create an effective title for each tableau.
• Invite students to write one caption that could address all of the tableaux if they were used on a single page in a textbook.
• To modify the activity complete the tableaux as a class, having small groups of students create each tableau that the class has planned together.

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Handout C1
Exploring Interactions

Name:

Issues and Events Identified	Relationship Between NWMP and Métis or Indigenous Peoples

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Handout C2
Judging the Relationship

Name:

Using the rating scale below, give a score to the relationship between the NWMP and Métis and First Nations. Be sure to support your rating with description and evidence.

1-excellent 2-good 3-weak 4-poor

Qualities of Relationships	How did they fare?
Trust	1 2 3 4 Support:
Communication	1 2 3 4 Support:
Assistance	1 2 3 4 Support:
Security	1 2 3 4 Support:
Open-mindedness	1 2 3 4 Support:
Care and concern	1 2 3 4 Support:
Sharing	1 2 3 4 Support:
	1 2 3 4 Support:

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Handout C3
Helpful Hints

The following are guidelines that may be helpful for students and teachers in this activity:

• Make sure hallways, garbage cans, rugs and other distractions do not get in the way of photos -- foreground and background (when showing samples of effective and ineffective pictures, ensure students can see how easily items can distract).
• Only allow one or two props at most -- the tableau needs to be expressed by the students alone and props can often take over and cloud communication of the message.
• Try to obtain as many cameras as possible -- it is difficult for the teacher to take all the pictures unless the class is small. Pair groups up for feedback and picture-taking.
• Suggest that students take many shots of the same scene so that they have several choices and can use the criteria to select the best ones.
• Suggest that students minimize the space around their actors so that their scene fills up the whole shot. Excessive white space will detract from the effectiveness of the tableau.
• View and print visuals in black and white as this reduces the distraction of students' brightly coloured clothing.

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Handout C4
Assessing Tableaux

	Well-developed	Competent	Underdeveloped
Effective communication	Elements included are purposeful and highly informative.	Some elements included are purposeful, while others are disjointed or extraneous. Tableau is moderately informative.	Details are often disjointed or included haphazardly. Intentions are unclear and the meaning of tableau is difficult to discern.
Identification of qualities of NWMP relationship with Aboriginal peoples	Exemplifies comprehension and includes various elements of the relationship.	Shows adequate comprehension and only addresses some elements of the relationship.	Shows lack of comprehension regarding the elements of the relationship.

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Metaphorically Speaking
Culminating Challenge D

Synopsis

Students synthesize their understanding from previous challenges by creating a powerful metaphor that represents the NWMP.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Aggregate understanding from prior challenges to address the task
• Judge and create a powerful metaphor
• Communicate understanding by creating and explaining a powerful metaphor

Materials

• Access to the website Without Fear, Favour or Affection: Men of the North West Mounted Police or copies of the website's section Serving the Nation
• Copies of handout D1 and handout D2
• Handout D3

Suggested Activities

Step One:
Share and discuss a variety of well-known metaphors or similes. Ask students what is meant by the phrase "Life is like a box of chocolates?"

• Each chocolate is different
• We can make a decision in life and not know where it will lead
• Something might look like one thing on the outside but may be entirely different on the inside
• We may like some parts of life and dislike others
• Etc.

Step Two:
Ask students to think about how the following statements are like the one discussed above. Ask them to determine what is common to all of the statements. Students' answers should include: "they are comparing things" "both things are nouns" "the things are actually not alike at all" etc.

All the world's a stage.
He is a wizard.
Her eyes are like diamonds.
Your bedroom is a pigsty!
She turned white as a ghost!

Next, ask students to determine why the following items have not been included in the first list. Student responses might include: "they are just describing things" "both things are not nouns" "they are simple statements" etc.

He has beautiful blue eyes!
My car has a fancy paint job!
I will give you a penny for your thoughts.
He is just like his brother.
She laughed so hard she almost cried!

Finally, to check for understanding, provide students with the following testers:

Eating the sandwich was like having a rainbow of flavours in one bite.
I love you as much as I love chocolate!
She is the apple of my eye.
Her aunt is a loose cannon.
The flowers were glorious!

Step Three:
Introduce to the class a familiar topic such as "Our School" or "Summer Vacation." Invite students to brainstorm ideas about what might represent the topic. For example, they might suggest that their school be compared to a star, a mall, a fair, etc. For summer vacation, they might suggest the wind, a roller coaster, a house, an adventure novel, etc. Divide the class into pairs or groups of three. Have each group choose one of the metaphors and explain how it is representative of the topic. Instruct students to record their thoughts on the chart on handout D1. Invite students to share their metaphors aloud.

Step Four:
Ask students "What makes a powerful metaphor? What elements set strong metaphors apart from weak ones?" Responses might include: "They evoke a clear mental image" "They provide a suitable fit with important facts" "They are engaging" etc. In a discussion, lead the students to develop a set of criteria for powerful metaphors.

Step Five:
Instruct student groups to apply the class-generated set of criteria for powerful metaphors to the metaphor they created for the familiar topic. Distribute a copy of handout D2 and direct student groups to evaluate another group's metaphor to see how or whether it meets the set of criteria. In areas where the metaphor is deficient, instruct students to suggest adjustments. If they think that the metaphor cannot be salvaged, have students write a short paragraph explaining why it does not meet the criteria and suggesting one or two alternative metaphor ideas.

Step Six:
Have student groups create a powerful metaphor to represent the NWMP. Metaphors should include: reference to the relationships between NWMP and settlers and First Nations; the hardships faced by NWMP in preserving the peace in the West; the challenges of living in untamed lands; the multitude and variety of duties of the NWMP; etc. Students' written work should be approximately two pages in length. Alternatively, student work could be submitted in a poster format including a picture of the metaphor and descriptive labelling for each of the elements.

Step Seven:
Use handout D3 to evaluate student work.

Extensions:

• Gifted students could be asked to create an additional metaphor to represent the entire West during the 1870-1920 era.
• To modify the activity, consider directing the students to create and explain some simple similes to clarify some of the elements learned about the NWMP.

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Handout D1
Detailing a Metaphor

Name:

Topic:

---

Metaphor:

---

Key elements of the topic	Representation -- how the element is represented within the metaphor

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Handout D2
Peer Assessment of Powerful Metaphors

Name:

Evokes a clear mental image
Suitable fit with important facts
Engaging
Overall, as a metaphor, it is
very powerful	fairly powerful	fairly weak	very weak
because . . .

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Handout D3
Assessing Powerful Metaphors

	Well-developed	Competent	Underdeveloped
Metaphor evokes a clear mental image	Easy to get mental image. There are few unclear points.	Somewhat clear despite some enigmatic areas.	Image not clear, very confusing.
Logical	The metaphor is a clear fit that is well described and reasonable.	The metaphor is adequate and includes only a few instances of over-exaggeration or lack of clarity.	The metaphor is stretched to fit. The comparison is poorly described and unreasonable.
Engaging	The metaphor is creative and original. It is insightful and thought provoking.	The metaphor is somewhat creative and original. It is interesting.	The metaphor lacks creativity and originality. It is uninteresting.

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Further Resources
(English)

www.fortwhoopup.com/history_nwmp.html
This page from the Fort Whoop-up website provides another look at NWMP history from one of the key forts of the day.

www.museevirtuel.ca/Exhibitions/Police/index.html
Galt Museum's NWMP: A Tradition in Scarlet is a wonderful interactive site for learning about the NWMP and the early days of the Canadian West.

www.nwmpmuseum.com/historyofthenwmp.html
This page from the Fort Macleod website provides a concise history of the NWMP from 1874 to 1904.

www.ourheritage.net/trek_1973/pole_walsh_Colvin.html
This submission to the "Our Heritage" website traces the path of one NWMP member James Colvin and includes some of the official documents from his service days.

www.ourheritage.net/Julien_pages/Julien1.html
This page from the "Our Heritage" website is a digital version of artist Henri Julien's diary and sketches which he completed on the March West.

www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/sk/walsh/natcul/histo_e.asp
This is Parks Canada's "Fort Walsh" page, which provides information about this important early NWMP fort.

www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/history/history_e.htm
This links to the RCMP website "Origins of the RCMP" page where students can find a great deal of information on the NWMP.

www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/history/marchwest_sep_e.htm
This page from the RCMP site is a digital version of the original diary of Commissioner George Arthur French which he completed on the "March West".