Historical Figures Codexery

Louis Riel

Defender of Métis rights and founder of Manitoba

Defeated at Batoche, Riel was convicted of high treason and executed by hanging.[1]

Quick Facts

Office
  • President of the Provisional Government
  • then
  • Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia
Born
22 October 1844
Birthplace
St. Boniface, Red River Colony, Rupert's Land
Died
16 November 1885
Place of death
Regina, North-West Territories, Canada
Cause of death
Execution by hanging
Children
3
Resting place
St. Boniface Cathedral

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

His father Louis Riel Sr. gained prominence by organizing a group that supported Métis trader Guillaume Sayer.[2] He experienced a period of emotional and religious turmoil, at one point believing he was David Mordecai.[3] In 1869 Riel denounced a survey of the Red River settlement and helped disrupt its work.[4][5] Within his local community, the Riel family was well respected, and Louis was the firstborn among eleven children.[2]

Bishop Alexandre Taché, who was keen to foster young Métis candidates for the priesthood, noticed Riel when he was thirteen and subsequently organized his enrollment at the Petit Séminaire de Montréal in 1858.[6][5] A provisional government was proclaimed by the Métis National Committee on 8 December, and Riel assumed the presidency of that government on 27 December.[7] On 4 March, Thomas Scott was put to death by a firing squad composed of Métis men under Riel's orders.[8]

What the cited sources add

Historians have argued whether the act was a genuine commitment to bilingualism or a surrender to Riel's alleged dictatorship.[9] The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada states that the Métis remained frustrated that the federal government did not address their petitions regarding land title and political representation.[10] In 1884 Métis leaders resolved to bring Louis Riel back from the Montana territory.[10] Louis Riel drafted a new petition in December 1884 that was more urgent in tone.[10]

The government responded in January 1885 that it would not negotiate with Riel.[10] Louis Schmidt and other Métis felt this response precipitated the outbreak of the 1885 Northwest Resistance.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Louis Riel" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Louis Riel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Payment, "Riel Family: Home and Lifestyle at St-Vital, 1860–1910", Parks Canada, 1980, p. 32; Goldsborough, "Louis 'David' Riel (1844–1885)", Memorable Manitobans, 16 February 2020; Thomas, "Riel, Louis (1844–85)", 2016; Thomas, "Riel, Louis (1844–85)", 2016; Morton, "Riel, Louis (1817–64)", 1976 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Louis Riel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thomas, "Riel, Louis (1844–85)", 2016; ; Markson, "The Life and Death of Louis Riel a Study in Forensic Psychiatry Part 1 – A Psychoanalytic Commentary", Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 1965, p. 246–252 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Louis Riel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thomas, "Riel, Louis (1844–85)", 2016; "Red River Resistance", Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Thomas, "Riel, Louis (1844–85)", 2016. facts only, no text reused. biographi.ca
  6. Wikipedia, "Louis Riel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mitchell, "The Riddle of Louis Riel Part 1", Maclean's, 1 February 1952; Goldsborough, "Louis 'David' Riel (1844–1885)", Memorable Manitobans, 16 February 2020; "Louis Riel – One Life, One Vision", Société historique de Saint-Boniface / Centre du patrimoine, 2020; Thomas, "Riel, Louis (1844–85)", 2016; Thomas, "Riel, Louis (1844–85)", 2016; ; Markson, "The Life and Death of Louis Riel a Study in Forensic Psychiatry Part 1 – A Psychoanalytic Commentary", Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 1965, p. 246–252 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Louis Riel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Reford, "Smith, Donald Alexander, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal", 1998; Bumsted, "Red River Rebellion", 22 November 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Louis Riel" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Dick, "Nationalism and Visual Media in Canada: The Case of Thomas Scott's Execution", Manitoba History, 2004–2005, p. 2–18; Thomas, "Riel, Louis (1844–85)", 2016 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "Relations with First Nations and Métis", Dictionary of Canadian Biography. facts only, no text reused. biographi.ca
  10. "1885 Northwest Resistance", Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. facts only, no text reused. indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Louis Riel (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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