Having barely survived the trenches of World War I, returning Canadian soldiers — and the public at large — were greeted with a horror of a different ilk: the Spanish Flu. Weapons were no defence.
A legendary athlete, he was adored and celebrated as the finest runner of his time. But journalists of the day could never reconcile such brilliance with his First Nations origin. Yet even when their discomfort turned to slurs and condescension,Tom Longboat's dignity remained intact.
Today, the wrongfully convicted can win their freedom and compensation. But when the death penalty was still in place, no one at the gallows got a second chance.