Louis Riel Day in Manitoba
February 19 is Louis Riel Day in Manitoba Canada
“When the Government of Canada presented itself at our doors it found us at peace. It found that the Métis people of the North-West could not only live well without it . . . but that it had a government of its own, free, peaceful, well-functioning, contributing to the work of civilization . . . It was a government with an organized constitution, whose jurisdiction was all the more legitimate and worthy of respect, because it was exercised over a country that belonged to it.”
Louis Riel | Manitoba Métis Federation (mmf.mb.ca)
Louis Riel (1844-1885) Commemoration stamp
Artist/designer: Reinhard Derreth using a photograph by William James Topley
Release date: June 19, 1970
Louis Riel, @ 1870 // Photo: Archives and Special Collections, University of Manitoba
Louis Riel First Day Cover, with Riel stamp and Manitoba Centennial (released January 27, 1970)
1 proof: progress proof, photogravure, 2 colours
All images courtesy Archives Canada
Today marks Louis Riel Day in Manitoba, Canada. Riel was one of the founders of Manitoba and it’s first Premier. He should be considered one of the Fathers of Confederation but is often ignored or disparaged for his role as a fierce and articulate leader of the Métis people. He was executed November 16, 1885, by the Canadian government for high treason, an act that haunted the government for decades to come.
For a century, his complex legacy was downplayed and dismissed, but in the 21st century, a new look at his leadership and passionate defence of the Métis and Indigenous sovereignty has been re-evaluated.
Louis Riel, Métis leader, founder of Manitoba, central figure in the Red River and North-West resistance (born 22 October 1844 in Saint-Boniface, Red River Settlement; died 16 November 1885 in Regina, SK). Riel led two popular Métis governments, was central in bringing Manitoba into Confederation, and was executed for high treason for his role in the 1885 resistance to Canadian encroachment on Métis lands. Riel was initially dismissed as a rebel by Canadian historians, although many now sympathize with Riel as a Métis leader who fought to protect his people from the Canadian government.
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Riel’s place in Canadian history is more celebratory than in the past. For many, Riel has become a Canadian hero, as he embodies many contemporary issues in the country — bilingualism, multiculturalism, tolerance for difference, a keen sense of social justice — than many of his contemporaries. However, writers often ignore that Riel was very cautious of the Canadian national project, seeing it as assimilatory as much as unifying. Métis scholars now critique the zeal with which Riel has been Canadianized and how this appropriation is often at odds with Riel’s political beliefs, which featured a prominent place for Métis nationalism and political independence.
A few links to help understand Louis Riel Day:
Louis Riel | The Canadian Encyclopedia
Louis Riel | Manitoba Métis Federation (mmf.mb.ca)
UM Today | Indigenous | Video: Why we celebrate Louis Riel (umanitoba.ca)