Louis Riel (Plain-Language Summary)

Early Life

When Louis Riel was young, he spent much time in Quebec. He went to school there. He was an excellent student. He also went to a seminary. A seminary is a place that trains men to become priests. Riel did not become a priest though. He decided to get engaged. He could not become a priest because priests cannot marry. His fiancé’s parents did not want her to marry a Métis man. Many people at the time discriminated against the Métis people. So, Riel went back to the Red River Settlement.

Red River Resistance

When Riel was young, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) owned Rupert’s Land. The Red River Settlement was in Rupert’s Land. In 1869, the HBC sold Rupert’s Land to the federal government. The government wanted colonists to move to Rupert’s Land and the North-West Territories. The HBC had sold the North-West Territories to the federal government, too. Many Métis lived in the Red River Settlement. The government did not ask them what they thought about colonists living on those lands. The government considered Métis views to be unimportant. Many Métis were angry, especially when the government sent teams of surveyors to survey the land in 1869. William McDougall led the survey teams. The government had made him the lieutenant-governor of the area. The Métis protested against what the government was doing. They set up the Métis National Committee. Louis Riel was the president.

In October 1869, the Committee stopped the survey teams. Then, in November, it stopped William McDougall from entering the Red River Settlement. It also seized Upper Fort Garry. Upper Fort Garry belonged to the HBC. In December, the Committee created a provisional government. A provisional government is a government that will not last for a long time. The provisional government issued a “Declaration of the People of Rupert’s Land and the North West.” Among other things, the declaration stated that Canada should make a settlement with the Métis. William McDougall refused. This angered Riel and the Métis. In March 1870, they created the Provisional Government of Assiniboia. Some Canadians resisted this provisional government. Thomas Scott, a leader of this resistance, was executed by the Métis. The federal government eventually decided to negotiate. In May 1870, it created the Province of Manitoba. Land was reserved for the Métis. However, the Métis had limited access to those lands compared to non-Indigenous settlers. The Métis wanted the federal government to uphold their promise of land. Negotiations between various levels of government and the Métis about land rights continue.

North-West Resistance and the Execution of Louis Riel

Louis Riel fled to the United States after the Red River Resistance. The military force sent by the federal government in 1870, known as the Red River Expedition, planned on killing him. Riel travelled back and forth to Canada and the United States from 1870 to 1884. He stayed in Canada after 1884. He was asked to come back by the Métis. He went to the North-West Territories because that is where they wanted his help. Settlers were coming into their territory and Métis were losing their land. To fight for their rights, Riel and the Métis set up the Provincial Government of Saskatchewan in 1885. Soon after, some Métis and First Nations fought battles against the Canadians for land and rights. They lost. Louis Riel was then put on trial. He was executed for treason. This was controversial then and it is controversial now. Louis Riel was seen as a rebel by many non-Métis people, but as a hero by the Métis. More people now consider Riel to be a hero.