Louis Riel (1844 - 1885)

Born 22 Oct 1844 in St. Boniface, Red River Settlement, Rupert's Land

Ancestors

Husband of Marguerite (Monet) Monet dite Belhumeur — married 28 Apr 1881 in Pointe-au-Loup, Fort Berthold, Dakota Territory, United States

Died 16 Nov 1885 at age 41 in Regina, North-West Territories, Canada

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Biography

Louis Riel is Notable.

Louis "David" RIEL (1844 - 1885)

Métis leader. Founder of Manitoba.^[1]

Central figure in Red River & North-West resistances.^[1]

General

Louis Riel (French pronunciation: /lwi ʁjɛl/) was born on 22 October 1844 in Red River Colony's St. Boniface mission.^[2][3][4] He was the son of Louis Riel and Julie Lagimodière. He was a descendant of Jean-Baptiste Riel dit L'Irlande born in Limerick, Ireland who married at Sorel, Canada in 1704.^[5] His grandfather was married to Marguerite Boucher whose mother was Chipewyan,^[6] and his mother was part of one of the first white families to settle in the Red River Colony. Riel was the oldest of 11 children in the family.

Riel led the Métis in two resistance conflicts with the Canadian government: the Red River Rebellion of 1869-1870,^[7] and the North-West Rebellion of 1885. The latter conflict ended with Riel being convicted of high treason, for which he was executed on 16 November 1885.^[8] He is buried in Winnipeg's St. Boniface Cathedral cemetery.

A promising student, the young Riel was sent on scholarship to Montreal to study for the priesthood.^[1] Riel left school after his father died, so that he could help to support his mother and siblings. As part of this effort, he worked as a law clerk, and at other jobs, some in the United States.^[9] He was described as about five and a half feet tall, and somewhat slim.^[10]

In 1869, the Hudson Bay Company agreed to sell Rupert's Land and the Northwest Territory, to the Dominion of Canada. Concerned for the rights of the Métis, the Métis National Committee, with Riel as its secretary, was formed "to protect the social, cultural and political status of the Métis in Red River and the Northwest more generally."^[1]

After successfully stopping a Canadian government crew surveying land infringing on a Métis-owned river lot bordering the Red River at St. Vital,^[11] the Committee set up a provisional government on December 8, 1869 to negotiate, the transition of territories with the Federal Government. On December 27, 1869, Louis Riel took over from John Bruce as president of the Red River Colony's provisional government. Armed with a list of representative rights the Provisional Government delegates' negotiations in Ottawa with the Canadian Government led to the enactment effective July 15, 1870 of the Manitoba Act and to Manitoba's entry into the Canadian Confederation.^[1][12]

Fearing for their lives following the court martial and execution of the Orangeman Thomas Scott, Louis Riel and two other Provisional Government leaders, Ambroise Lepine and William Bernard O'Donoghue, were forced to leave the country.^[13] Riel made several attempts to return, and was elected to the government three times, but was never able to take his House of Commons seat.^[1][9]

Warrants were issued in September 1873 for the arrest of Louis Riel and Ambroise-Dydime Lépine for the “murder” of Thomas Scott, with Lépine being arrested at St. Vital, but with Riel escaping.^[14] In November 1874, Lépine was found guilty of Scott’s murder and sentenced to death by Chief Justice Edmund Burke Wood,^[14] In January 1875, Governor General Lord Dufferin commuted Lépine's death sentence to two years of imprisonment.^[14] In February 1875, both Lépine and Riel were granted parliamentary amnesty, conditional on their banishment from Canada for five years.^[14]

Between 1875 and 1884, Riel lived in New York, married Marguerite Monet, had three children, became a United States citizen, and taught Métis boys in Montana's St. Peter's mission.^[9]

Riel returned to Canada at the request of some Saskatchewan-area Métis residents led by Gabriel Dumont, who wanted help resolving outstanding rights claims including especially those related to land ownership, which led to armed conflict. The Métis forces were defeated by Canadian militia at the Battle of Batoche fought from May 9 to 12, 1885 at the ad hoc Provisional Government of Saskatchewan capital of Batoche,^[9]

Riel turned himself over on May 15, 1885 to three scouts with General Middleton's command, the English-Métis Thomas Hourie, Robert Armstrong, and William Diehl.^[15][16][17]. He was put on trial and found guilty of treason. Despite the jury's request for mercy, Louis Riel was hanged on November 16,1885.^[9][18]

Legacy

Excerpt taken from the The Canadian Encyclopedia article penned by George F.G. Stanley entitled "Louis Riel":^[1]

Politically and philosophically, Riel's execution has had a lasting effect on Canadian history. Riel’s execution made him the martyr of the Métis people. In Central Canada, the political fallout from Riel’s hanging enlivened French Canadian nationalism, propelling Honoré Mercier, who came to power as Québec Premier in 1886 on a platform that played to the feelings aroused by Riel's hanging. Riel’s death also caused a fundamental shift in Québec voting trends, moving the province’s traditional support of the Conservative Party to the Liberal Party under the leadership Wilfrid Laurier as 8th of Prime Minister of Canada. Riel's execution remains a contentious issue, and demands for his retroactive pardon have been made on a number of occasions. Far from the days where Riel was a hated “traitor” and the “murderer” of Thomas Scott, Riel has been recognized as a Father of Confederation, as a wronged man, as a defender of his people, and as a protector of minority rights in Canada.

Riel has a number of statues commemorating him in his home province.^[19] In 2007, Manitoba recognized him with a public holiday held annually in February. For the Métis, 16 November, the day of Riel’s execution, is a national public commemoration of Riel’s life and the struggles he led. Riel still remains the most famous Métis leader and an important figurehead for Métis people in Western Canada.

Riel’s place in Canadian history is more celebratory than in the past. For many, Riel has become a Canadian hero, as he embodies many contemporary issues in the country — bilingualism, multiculturalism, tolerance for difference, a keen sense of social justice — than many of his contemporaries. However, writers often ignore that Riel was very cautious of the Canadian national project, seeing it as assimilatory as much as unifying. Métis scholars now critique the zeal with which Riel has been Canadianized and how this appropriation is often at odds with Riel’s political beliefs, which featured a prominent place for Métis nationalism and political independence.

Research Notes

The Marianopolis College / The Quebec History Encyclopedia article source entry below provides four authored excerpts annotated to situate these outstanding authors' characteristic contribution to Louis Riel literature.

These four annotations are as follows:

• Re J. E. Collins—The following excerpt ... is part of a biography on John A. Macdonald. Collins was a great admirer of the "old chieftain" as Macdonald was called. He shared the usual prejudices against the Métis and Riel common in the English-speaking areas of Canada at the time. His rendition of the Thomas Scott affair is typical of the English, Conservative, Protestant and Orange supporters of the time. Thirteen years after the events that the excerpt describes, the intensity of the anti Riel feelings can be easily felt by the reader. As the other excerpts will show, the description of the events by Collins is both inaccurate, in several respects, aside from lacking in objectivity. These inaccuracies, and the prejudicial terminology used to describe the situation, served to darken the image of Riel and arouse sympathy for Scott. Convinced that events had taken place in the manner, and for reasons, as described by Collins, is it any wonder that the average English-protestant Canadian had no sympathy for Riel in 1885 and resented their French Canadian compatriots for wishing to intercede in his favour?
• Re Thomas Flanagan—The second description of the events is written by Thomas Flanagan. He is recognized as the foremost expert on Riel amongst historians. Yet, his views are not universally accepted. Flanagan is highly critical of Riel and of the course of action taken by the Métis. In his numorous writings on the subject, he has strongly defended the course of action taken by the authorities at the time and described Riel in an unflatering manner. He has argued that Riel was both sane and guilty of what he was charged with in 1885. In the excerpt presented below, his critical views come out in the use of vocabulary: the Métis are said to be "insurgents" and the group is described as the "half-breeds". The use of this XIXth century derogatory term is usually banished in contemporary writings.

• Re Lewis H. Thomas—The third description of the events is from the pen of Lewis H. Thomas. He has written extensively about various elements of the history of the West in Canada. Thomas is a great supporter of Riel. The main thrust of his writings on the subject is to defend the cause of Riel and of the Métis. In one of his papers, he described the trial of Riel as a "Judicial Murder", something with which Flanagan has taken great exception. In the excerpt below, it is Scott who is "unscrupulous", "ignorant and bigoted". As for Riel, he is shown to have been reasonable in sparing Boulton. Yet, indirectly, in the end, Thomas admits that the "murder" of Scott was a "political blunder.

• Re George F. G. Stanley—George F. G. Stanley stands as the "Dean" of the scientific historiographical writers on Louis Riel. In 1936, he penned a seminal work entitled The Birth of Western Canada. First amongst English-speaking historians in Canada, he wrote with feeling, sympathy and compassion about the Métis in general and Louis Riel in particular. He was hugely instrumental in bringing a positive view of Riel to prevail in English-speaking Canada. Although a pathetic figure in some respects, Riel, under his pen, is cast as the Father of Manitoba.

These author excerpt annotations should be used as minimum critera to enhance the Riel-5 profile in terms of verifiability, neutrality and breadth of coverage.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} Stanley & Gaudry 2013 / 2016 .
2. ↑ Toussaint 2000, p. 27: "Il est né le 22 octobre 1844 dans une maisonnette de « bois rond », à St-Boniface ..."
3. ↑ Hamon 2017, p. 51 citing Stanley 1964 based upon correspondence with Henriette Riel : "Louis Riel was born in 1844 in the home of his grandparents, the Lagimodière-Gaboury home, a small one room house just north of St. Boniface at the fork of the Red and the Sienne [sic - Seine] rivers. ... This was the land across from Douglas point [sic - Point Douglas is a historical neighbourhood of Winnipeg on the left bank of the Red River], originally granted by Lord Selkirk."
4. ↑ St. Boniface became a city that is part of present-day Winnipeg in Manitoba.
5. ↑ PRDH Pionnier 66339 : Jean-Baptiste Riel L'Irlande
6. ↑ SHSB, arbre de Louis Riel
7. ↑ Ferland & Vermette 2006, p. 133, regarding the Red River events of 1869-70: « L’Informateur [Vermette] utilise les mots ‘évenements’ et ‘troubles’ mais jamais le mot ‘rébellion’ qu’on entent, à tort, même de nos jours. »
8. ↑ Image of Louis Riel's tombstone.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4} LouisRielDay.com. Timeline Oct. 1844 - Nov. 1885.
10. ↑ "Another Letter" St. Paul Daily Press. St. Paul, MN. Dec. 18, 1869, Vol. IX, Issue: 299, p. 1 (accessed at Genealogy.Bank)
11. ↑ Trémaudan 1935, pp. 166-167
12. ↑ Drouin 2020, p. 61.
13. ↑ Duval 2001, p. 66
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3} Thomas 1982/2016
15. ↑ virtualmuseum.ca / Louis Riel, p. 6 of 11
16. ↑ Trémaudan 1935, p. 344
17. ↑ Pihach 2017, pp. x-xi
18. ↑ Image of Louis Riel's death certificate
19. ↑ Payment 1999 and Hamon 2017 describe the controversy surrounding the two most famous of these statues in the following terms;

    Payment - ... et des récentes controverses entourant l'ancienne et la nouvelle statue de Louis Riel sur le terrain de la législature manitobaine. Après plusieurs années de controverse, l'ancienne statue représentant un Riel nu et angoissé a enfin été enlevée, et la Manitoba Métis Fédération commande à un autre artiste francomanitobain une nouvelle statue, représentant Riel comme un homme d'état métis. Le conflit éclate lorsque le collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface offre de prendre l'ancienne statue que certains considèrent une œuvre d'art et d'autres, une abomination. Malheureusement, la controverse oppose également la Manitoba Métis Fédération et l'Union nationale métisse, d'une part, et deux artistes franco-manitobains, d'autre part.

    Hamon - The monument erected by Marcien Lemay and Étienne Gaboury depicted Riel as a naked figure, twisted and suffering. He is pathetic, tortured and ugly. The Manitoba Metis Federation rejected this representation and favoured a more statesman-like figure designed by Miguel Joyal. This statue represents the triumph of Riel and the continued presence of Métis in politics today. As a public statement by the Métis, it suggests a refusal of colonial domination.

• Anderson, Frank W.; Allan Robert K. (1984). The Riel Rebellion, 1885. Frontier Book Co.. 96 pages. ISBN 9780919214620
• BAnQ Vieux-Montréal / Fonds Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal. Lettre de 3 pages en date du 24 juin 1874 de Louis Riel adressée à Charles-Joseph Coursol, président de la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal,,
• Bowsfield, Hartwell (1969). Louis Riel: Rebel of the Western Frontier or Victim of Politics and Prejudice?. Copp Clark Publishing, Toronto.
• CPAC / youtube.com. "Did You Know? - The History of Louis Riel"
• Campbell, Report by Sir Alexander (1885). In the Case of Louis Riel, Convicted of Treason and Executed Therefor. Ottawa: MacLean, Roger & Co.
• Library and Archives Canada Census of 1870, Item: Louis Riel, p. 68, St. Vital parish
• Charlebois, Dr. Peter (1975). The Life of Louis Riel. New Canada Publications, 1975. ISBN 978-0919600379. 255 pages. According to the author : "The villain of this book is certainly Sir John A. Macdonald who deliberately fomented both Metis uprisings: the first to secure Metis land for Canada and to suppress French language rights in Manitoba: the second to gain a pretext to advance more of the taxpayers' money to the bankrupt Canadian Pacific Railway." (Cited in D. Vaugeois' 1976 book review published in Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française,)
• Drouin, François (2020). "Il y a 150 ans : Louis Riel devient chef du gouvernement provisoire de la colonie de la Rivière-Rouge", Cap-aux-Diamants Numéro 140, Hiver 2020, pp. 60–61
• Duval, Jacinthe (2001). The Catholic Church and the Formation of Metis Identity Past Imperfect, Vol. 9, pp. 65-87.
• Ferland, Marcien; Vermette, Auguste (2000). Au temps de la Prairie: Histoire des Métis de l'Ouest canadien racontée par Auguste Vermette, neveu de Louis Riel ISBN 292134792X ISBN 978-2921347921
• Flanagan, Thomas; University of Calgary (1991 / 2010). Manitoba History: Louis Riel’s Land Claims in Manitoba Historical Society, Manitoba History, Number 21, Spring
• Flanagan, Thomas (1992). Louis Riel, Ottawa: The Canadian Historical Society, Historical Booklet No. 50.
• Flanagan, Thomas (1996). Louis 'David' Riel: Prophet of the New World. , Goodread Biography, University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division; Revised Edition. 240 pages (paperback). ISBN 978-0802071842
• Flanagan, Thomas (1983 / 2000). Riel and the Rebellion: 1885 Reconsidered. Western Producer Prairie Books / University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division; 2nd ed.. 1983. 256 pages. ISBN 978-0802082824
• Groulx, L. (1963). Compte rendu / Book Review de / of [Stanley, George F. G., Louis Riel. The Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1963. 433 p.] Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française, 17 (2), 293–301.
• Hamon, Michael (2017). The many worlds of Louis Riel: a political odyssey from Red River to Montreal and back 1840-1875 (PhD thesis). McGill University.
• Howard, Joseph Kinsey (1970). The Strange Empire of Louis Riel. Swan Publishing Co., Toronto, Ont..
• Jordan, Mary Veronica (1974). To Louis Riel From Your Sister Who Loves You: Sara Riel. Griffin House, Toronto.
• Manitoba Historical Society (MHS, 2017). Memorable Manitobans: Louis “David” Riel (1844-1885): The best biographies are by Stanley, Thomas Flanagan, and Maggie Siggins.
• Manitoba Metis Federation. Making Manitoba / La création du Manitoba
• Marianopolis College (2007). "The 'Murder' of Thomas Scott". The Quebec History Encyclopedia. Retrieved Nov 19, 2020. With annotated excerpts from:
  1. Collins, J. E. (1983). Life and Times of the Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald, Premier of the Dominion of Canada. Toronto: Rose Publishing Company. 642 pages, excerpt pp. 358-360.
  2. Flanagan, Thomas (1979). Louis 'David" Riel. Prophet of the New World. Goodread biographies (1983 ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 215 pages, excerpt pp. 29-30.
  3. Stanley, George F. G. (1963). Louis Riel]. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson. 431 pages, excerpt pp. 111-117.
  4. Thomas, Lewis H. (2016) [1982]. "[Stanley, George F. G. (1963) Louis Riel". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
• McRae, Matthew / activehistory.ca (2020). What’s in a name? Thomas Scott and the curious case of the forgotten memorial. Active History, Published March 4, 2020.
• metismuseum.ca / Gabriel Dumont Institute / Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture. Index of selected documents & images for Louis Riel
• Needler, George Henry (1957) Louis Riel: The Rebellion of 1885. Burns & MacEachern. 81 pages
• Neering, Rosemary (1999 edition). Louis Riel, Fitzhenry & Whiteside. 200 pages. ISBN 978-1550414653
• O'Toole, Darren (Oct 22, 2019). Louis Riel: Hero, heretic, nation builder. Canadian Geographic, a magazine of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society
• Payment, Diane (1980). "Riel Family: Home and Lifestyle at St-Vital, 1860-1910". Parks Canada. Manuscript Report No. 379. 133 pages.
• Payment, Diane Paulette (1999). "Les héritiers et héritières de Louis Riel : un aperçu des relations entre les Métis et les Canadiens français dans l'Ouest canadien" In Waddell, Eric (ed.). Le dialogue avec les cultures minoritaires. Sainte-Foy, Quebec: Presses de l'Université Laval. ISBN 2-7637-7634-5. pp. 53-75
• Pihach, John D., (2017). Mudeater : an American buffalo hunter and the surrender of Louis Riel, University of Regina Press, ISBN 978-0-88977-458-2 (paper) ISBN 978-0-88977-462-9 (pdf) ISBN 978-0-88977-463-6 (html)
• PRDH Pionnier 66339: Jean Baptiste Riel L'Irlande
• Riel, Louis [Author]; Flanagan, Thomas [Editor] (1976). The Diaries of Louis Riel. Hurtig Pub.. ISBN 0888301170, ISBN 9780888301178
• Société historique de Saint-Boniface (SHSB, 2011). L'arbre généalogique de Louis Riel
• Société historique de Saint-Boniface, Centre du patrimoine (Online). Louis Riel: One Life, One Vision., accessed Oct 11, 2020.
• Stanley, G. F. G. (1964). "Louis Riel". Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française, 18 (1), pp. 14–26.
• Stanley, George F.G. (< 2002, updated by Adam Gaudry in 2016). "Louis Riel", The Canadian Encyclopedia article
• Thomas, Lewis H. (1982 / 2016). "Louis Riel" in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 11, UofToronto/ULaval, 2003–, accessed November 5, 2018
• Toussaint, Ismène (2000). Louis Riel, le bison de cristal, Montréal: Les Éditions internationales Alain Stanké. ISBN 2-7604-0776-4
• Trémaudan, Auguste-Henri de (1935). Histoire de la nation métisse dans l'Ouest canadien, Montréal: Éditions Albert Lévesque (Réimpression en 2010, Montréal: Lux, ISBN 978-2895960959). Considered to be a 'classic' work among the body of Métis literature.
• Ved Parkash. Arora (Compiler, 1972). Louis Riel: a Bibliography. Provincial Library Regina, Saskatchewan.
• virtualmuseum.ca (n.d, >=2003). Louis Riel (1844-1885): Biography
• Louis Riel, Wikipedia article
• Salhany, Roger E. 2019. A Rush to Judgment - The Unfair Trial of Louis Riel. Dundurn, Toronto

See also

• d’Eschambault, A. (1947). Compte rendu / Book Review de / of [Marcel Giraud's Le Métis canadien — Son rôle dans l’histoire des provinces de l’Ouest]. Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française, 1(1), 137–143.
• Giraud, Marcel (1945), Le Métis canadien, son rôle dans l'histoire des prairies de l'Ouest, Paris, Institut d'ethnographie, 1 296 p.. Reprinted in 2 vols., with introduction by J.E. Foster with Louise Zuk, Saint-Boniface, Man.: Éditions du Blé, 1984. Translated by George Woodcock as, The Metis in the Canadian West , Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1986 (631pp.; 729p.). Also considered to be a 'classic' work among the body of Métis literature.
• Redbird, Duke (1978), We are Métis: A Métis Perspective of the Evolution of an Indigenous Canadian People, Masters thesis, Toronto, York University, 188 pp.