Metis Leader of the Red River Rebellion
© Cher Gruener
Louis Riel, the leader of the Metis tribe, was a main player in the Red River Rebellion and was instumental in the forming of the province that would be Manitoba.
Louis Riel was the leader of the Metis nation and the founder of the province of Manitoba. But who was he?
Louis Riel was born in 1844 in the Red River Settlement (modern day Manitoba). Deemed a smart child, he was sent to study in Montreal for the priesthood. His interest in that waned so he did not complete his course; his quest to become a lawyer ended up similarily. Having no vocation, but having training, he went back to the Settlement. It was the late 1860's.
When Riel got back to the Red River Settlement, the country of Canada had been formed. The land west of the province of Ontario was owned by the Hudson's Bay Company and was known as "Ruperts Land".
During the time that Riel was in Montreal, the Metis (First Nations tribe of mixed blood that took up most of the land in the Red River Settlement) had managed to disrupt the monopoly that the Hudsons Bay Company held on the fur in the area. The Company was forced by the government to relinquish certain rights and freedoms back to the Metis. Not only that, but with the settling of the west by whites changing the ways of the Metis and cutting up their land, the Metis were feeling pushed out of what had always been theirs. So they appointed Louis Riel as their leader.
Around 1849, the Canadian government had begun to build a road to Fort Garry, which was the Hudson Bay Company's fort. They did not take the Metis interests into consideration. The Metis on the other hand, were afraid of white Canadians coming into their land with different beliefs (the Metis were primarily Catholic), different languages, cultures, etc.
Riel then lead a Metis protest against the Hudson Bay Company. The group walked from their land to Fort Garry (in modern day Manitoba) to take possession of the fort when they were stopped by the Hudson Bay Company's director, Donald Smith. Smith won the confidence of the Metis but only temporarily. As it turned out, Riel and the Metis caused some disturbances while fighting for control of Fort Garry, which are collectively called 'the Red River Rebellion'.
Several volunteers were recruited by Canada to fight Riel and the Metis during the rebellion. One of these men was Thomas Scott. Scott, while battling with Riel and the Metis, was captured by them and thrown into prison. Scott was not your model prisoner, he would often taunt the guards and threaten Louis Riel's life and for such treason, Scott was executed.
News about Scott's death quickly reached Ontario, with its English speaking people who were quite outraged because of the execution. Upon learning of Scott's death, John A. MacDonald (Canada's first Prime Minister) sent troops to squash the rebellion and retake it. Eventually, the Red River Rebellion would bring about the Manitoba Act, thus bringing forward the province of Manitoba.
Manitoba became a province in 1870, albiet a much smaller version of the one we know today. It only contained 1,400 acres which had to be shared by the Metis and whites alike.
What happened to Riel? Another reaction because of Scott's execution was the arrest of Louis Riel by the Worsley Expedition which forced Riel to flee to the United States. He returned to Canada to be elected leader of some Metis and other idigenous peoples which banded together and created an uprising.
The uprising was stopped and Riel was captured and hung for his past deeds.
