The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a rebellion by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of Saskatchewan against the government of Canada. Many Métis felt Canada was not protecting their rights, their land and their survival as a distinct people. Riel had been invited to lead the movement of protest, he turned it into a military action with a religious tone. This alienated Catholic clergy, most Indigenous tribes and some Métis, but he had the allegiance of a couple hundred armed Métis, a smaller number of other Indigenous warriors and at least one white man at Batoche in May 1885, confronting 900 Canadian militia plus some armed local residents. About 91 people would die in the fighting that occurred that spring, before the rebellion's collapse. Despite some notable early victories at Duck Lake, Fish Creek and Cut Knife, the rebellion ended when the Métis were defeated at the Siege of Batoche; the remaining Aboriginal allies scattered.

Riel was put on trial. He was convicted of treason and despite many pleas across Canada for amnesty, he was hanged. Riel became a heroic martyr to Francophone Canada, ethnic tensions escalated into a major national division whose repercussions continue to be felt. Due to the key role that the Canadian Pacific Railway played in transporting troops, Conservative political support for it increased and Parliament authorized funds to complete the country's first transcontinental railway. Although only a few hundred people were directly affected in Saskatchewan, the rebellion's lack of success contributed to the eventual assurance that the Prairie Provinces would be controlled by English speakers with a limited francophone presence, to the alienation French speakers across Canada who were embittered by the repression of their countrymen. After the Red River Rebellion of 1869–1870, many of the Métis moved from Manitoba to the Fort Carlton region of the Northwest Territories, where they founded the Southbranch settlements of Fish Creek, Batoche, St. Laurent, St. Louis, Duck Lake on or near the South Saskatchewan River.

In 1882, surveyors began dividing the land of the newly formed District of Saskatchewan in the square concession system. The Métis lands were laid out in the seigneurial system of strips reaching back from a river which the Métis were familiar with in their French-Canadian culture. A year after the survey the 36 families of the parish of St. Louis found that their land and village site that included a church and a school had been sold by the Government of Canada to the Prince Albert Colonization Company. Not having clear title, the Métis feared losing their land which, now that the buffalo herds were gone, was their primary source of sustenance. In 1884, the Métis asked Louis Riel to return from the United States, where he had fled after the Red River Rebellion, to appeal to the government on their behalf; the government gave a vague response. In March 1885, Gabriel Dumont, Honoré Jackson, others set up the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan, believing that they could influence the federal government in the same way as they had in 1869.

The role of aboriginal peoples prior to—and during—the outbreak of the rebellion is misunderstood. A number of factors have created the misconception that the Métis were acting in unison. By the end of the 1870s, the stage was set for discontent among the aboriginal people of the prairies: the bison population was in serious decline and, in an attempt to assert control over aboriginal settlement, the federal government violated the terms of the treaties it had signed during the latter part of the decade. Thus, widespread dissatisfaction with the treaties and rampant poverty spurred Big Bear, a Cree chief, to embark on a diplomatic campaign to renegotiate the terms of the treaties; when the Cree initiated violence in the spring of 1885, it was certainly unrelated to the revolt of Riel and the Métis. In both the Frog Lake Massacre and the Siege of Fort Battleford, small dissident groups of Cree men revolted against the authority of Big Bear and Poundmaker. Although he signalled to Ottawa that these two incidents were the result of desperate and starving people and were, as such, unrelated to the rebellion, Edgar Dewdney, the lieutenant-governor of the territories, publicly claimed that the Cree and the Métis had joined forces.

For Riel and the Métis, several factors had changed since the Red River Rebellion. The railway had been completed across the prairies in 1883, though sections were still under construction north of Lake Superior, making it easier for the government to get troops into the area. In addition, the North-West Mounted Police had been created. Riel lacked support from English settlers of the area as well as the great majority of tribes. Riel's claim that God had sent him back to Canada as a prophet caused Catholic officials to try to minimize his support; the Catholic priest, Albert Lacombe, worked to obtain assurances from Crowfoot that his Blackfoot warriors would not participate in a rebellion. The District of Saskatchewan, part of the Northwest Territories in 1885, was divided into three sub-districts and had a population of 10,595. To the east, the Carrot River sub-district with 1,770 people remained quiet; the Prince Albert sub-district located in the centre of the district had a population of 5,373 which included the Southbranch settlements with about 1,300.

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Palio is a 1932 Italian historical drama film directed by Alessandro Blasetti and starring Leda Gloria, Laura Nucci and Guido Celano. The film is set against the backdrop of the Palio di Siena during the Medieval era. Leda Gloria as Fiora Laura Nucci as Liliana Guido Celano as Zarre Mario Ferrari as Bachicche Mario Brizzolari as Dott. Turamini Olga Capri as La Cicciona, innkeeper Ugo Ceseri as Rancanino Vasco Creti as Brandano Mara Dussia as Vittoria de' Fortarrighi Anita Farra as Beatrice Umberto Sacripante as Saragiolo Gino Viotti as Gano Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinema. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2009. Palio on IMDb

Hokuto Konishi known as Hok or Hawk or Falcon, is a member of the American hip-hop dance crew Quest Crew and was a finalist on the third season of the American reality television show So You Think You Can Dance. His Season 3 performance on So You Think You Can Dance – Hummingbird and Flower choreographed by Wade Robson won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography in 2008, he was a student in graphic design at Santa Monica College. Hok was seen in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel as a hip-hop dancer participating in a music competition, he is the choreographer of LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" and "Champagne Showers" music videos. Konishi is one of the judges on the CBS talent competition The World's Best representing the country of Japan. Konishi is a breakdancer and has appeared on So You Think You Can Dance in seasons one and three. In season two Konishi nearly made it to the final twenty, but with only a student visa, he was unable to be employed in the United States, which resulted in his dismissal from the program.

Subsequently, he obtained a work permit and became eligible to participate in the competition in Season Three. He was voted off the show by the judges on July 19, 2007. Konishi is known for his breakdancing moves and was a member of the dance troupe SickStep, he appeared with SickStep in the season two auditions and was the final member to make it through to the Vegas stage. As of 2007, he is a member of a breaking crew called Quest Crew, which competes and performs in various venues in California. Konishi is friends with So You Think You Can Dance season one contestant Ryan Conferido. Born in Tokyo, Konishi grew up in Oxford, England, he is a graduate in graphic design at Santa Monica College. Hok Konishi started dancing at age 15, he attended a dance studio for 2 years learning how to Hip Lock. His dance style refers to hip hop and b-boying. Hokuto likes to cook, paint and play the violin, he is so far the only one in his family. He has performed in the musical theatres Vibe, All VC, the Sai-Gai Carnival.

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