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Louis Riel Sr. (père) (July 7, 1817 – January 21, 1864) was a farmer, miller, Métis leader, and the father of Louis Riel . Life. Born in Île-à-la-Crosse, Rupert's Land, Riel was the eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Riel, dit L’Irlande, a voyageur, and Marguerite Boucher, a Franco- Chipewyan Métis.
RIEL, LOUIS, farmer, miller, and Métis leader; b. July 1817 at Île-à-la-Crosse (Sask.), eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Riel, dit L’Irlande, a voyageur, and Marguerite Boucher, a Franco-Chipewyan Métisse; d. 21 Jan. 1864 at Saint-Boniface (Man.).
- Early Life
- Riel at Red River
- The Métis National Committee
- The Intervening Years: Quebec to Montana
- The Provisional Government of Saskatchewan
- Trial and Execution
- Legacy and Significance
- Historiography and The Issue of Madness
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Riel was born in 1844 in Saint-Boniface, in the Red River Settlement. His father, Louis Riel, Sr. — a businessman and political leader in the Métis community — organized a large Métis resistance to the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) fur-trading monopoly at the trial of Pierre-Guillaume Sayer in 1849. Riel’s political legacy likely influenced his son, w...
In March 1869, the HBC agreed to sell Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory to the Dominion of Canada. Anticipating the transfer of these lands, the federal government appointed William McDougall as lieutenant-governor of the new territory and sent survey crews to Red River that August to assess and re-stake the lands. Concerned that an inf...
The Métis National Committee was consolidated as a provisional government in early December 1869. With Riel at its helm, it issued a "Declaration of the People of Rupert's Land and the North-West," which rejected Canada’s authority to govern the Northwest and proposed a negotiated settlement between Canada and the new provisional government. In res...
In Ontario, Riel was widely denounced as Thomas Scott's "murderer" and a reward of $5,000 was offered for his arrest. In Quebec, he was regarded as a hero, a defender of the Roman Catholic faith and French culture in Manitoba. Anxious to avoid a political confrontation with the two principal provinces of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald tried to persu...
By 1885, the North-West Mounted Police had been established, and a railway to the West almost completed, so the impetus for the Canadian government to negotiate with Métis as it had in 1870 was no longer present. Tired of waiting on Canadian action, the BatocheMétis, at a meeting on 5 March 1885, proposed to take up arms in order to compel Canada t...
On 6 July 1885, a formal charge of treason was laid against Riel. On 20 July, his trial began in Regina. Against Riel’s wishes, his counsel defended Riel on the grounds of insanity, pointing to the time he spent in asylums in the late 1870s. Riel, however, understood that by casting him as insane, his lawyers would discredit his people’s legitimate...
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 in Quebec in 1886 on a platform that played to the ...
The story of Riel has endured dramatic shifts since the 1960s. While Riel’s legacy has always been controversial — loved by some, hated by others — his status as a rebel, highlighted by many non-Métis historians and political scientists, has been largely replaced by the recognition that Riel was a visionary whose principles resonate with many Métis...
Learn about Louis Riel, the Métis leader who founded Manitoba and resisted Canadian encroachment on Métis lands. Find out about his early life, education, political career, and execution.
Aug 26, 2008 · Jean-Louis Riel (1817-1864) was a Métis farmer, miller and activist who fought for free fur trade and Métis rights in the Red River colony. He influenced his son Louis Riel, who became a prominent Métis leader and politician in Manitoba.
Louis Riel ( / ˈluːi riˈɛl /; French: [lwi ʁjɛl]; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first prime minister John A. Macdonald.
Louis Riel Sr. Click to enlarge. Métis leader, miller. Born at Île-à-la-Crosse in what is now Saskatchewan, he went east to Lower Canada with his family in 1822 and was educated there as a wool carder. At age 21 he joined the Hudson’s Bay Company at Rainy River, where he served from 1838 to 1840.
Learn about the life and vision of Louis Riel, the Father of Manitoba, who fought for the rights of the Metis people. Explore his family, his exile, his rebellion, his trial and his death through images and texts.
