Louis Reil: A Hero?

The dictionary defines a hero as a person noted for feats of courage and strength or nobility of purpose, especially one who had risked or sacrificed his or her life. Louis Riel was exactly that. He was a patriot who stood up for his people and his beliefs. He was also a victim of prevailing prejudices of his time. Louis Riel stood up for what was right, he was a strong leader, and he died for his people. Still many people today think that he was a traitor, but he was no traitor, he was indeed a hero.

The Metis people are people of mixed Native American and French-Canadian ancestry. In the late 1800’s they were poorly treated by the Canadian government, Louis Riel then stepped in a became there leader. The Metis had been living on the Red River settlement long before the land was sold to Canada. Still Canadian settlers came and began settling before the land belonged to them. They only saw the Metis as being in the way. When Canada purchased Rupert’s land from the Hudson Bay Company , the Metis had difficulty gaining legal title to their land and some lost their farms. Louis Riel knew this wasn’t right. He wrote a carefully worded petition that complained about the treatment of the metis, but the government did not take immediate action. He then staged a rebellion, known as the Red River rebellion. He did this to protect his people from being mistreated. He was willing to stand up and speak for them and make some conditions when no one else was.

When the Metis decided they needed a plan to get the government to listen, they chose Riel as their leader to set up a provisional government. A provisional government is a temporary government set up in a crisis situation. Riel became the leader of this government and drafted a list of rights. He then presented it to the Canadian government and eventually got John A. McDonald to agree to most of the terms. Louis Riel did not want violence. He gave speeches to the Metis asking for peace and he got there support. He wanted to try and work things out with the government through negotiating. After Riel was banished to the United States for five years the Metis had trouble finding a new leader. They needed someone who could read, write, and speak both English and French.