Louis Riel: Traitor and Hero

Interestingly, Louis Riel's relationship with the Canadian government in contrast to Red River residents can be summed up best by his political career. Elected to the House of Commons on 3 different occasions, he was never allowed to serve. Unlike many modern re-imaginings of the Métis leader, Riel himself is not so much a Canadian archetype than someone who actively opposed the Confederation as a whole. Born to a French-Ojibwan father, Riel's allegiance was never to Canada itself, but to people like him—the French-speaking Métis who were treated less than accommodatingly by the newly instated government. This loyalty extended beyond just this group, however, to the Anglophone Métis, the white prairie settlers, the Plains Indians, and even those in the U.S. of Aboriginal descent. In his diaries, Riel, initially opposed to the idea of helping white settlers, realized his problem was larger than just race: "I saw [whites] were deprived of responsible government, I saw that they were deprived of their public liberties ... I have directed my attention to help the Indians, to help the half-breeds, and to help the whites to the best of my ability." Essentially, the conflict was one between the prairies and distant Ottawa, which seemed to Riel bent on subjugating the prairie inhabitants, and which he fought against for the duration of his life. This lasting commitment to people's rights shaped the events of the 1869 and 1885 Riel rebellions, and is perhaps the reason for Riel's pervasive presence in Canadian culture. There are few other figures in Canadian history so entrenched in the battle for liberty, few other underdogs who so dedicated their lives to the protection of their community.