Louis Riel: His Background, His Life, His History

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Louis Riel: His background, His life, His History

Throughout the mid-eighteen hundreds, the Metis and First Nations people saw a lot of changes due to the increased numbers of White settlements. Throughout their struggles, one Metis man stood up in defense of his people and land. This is a story of the life of Louis Riel, the man who changed it all. His background, his roots, his history.

Louis Riel was born on October 22, 1884 in the area of the Red River Settlement, St. Boniface, Manitoba and was the first of eleven children born to Louis Riel and Julie Lagimodiere. Riel’s father, Louis Riel Sr., was born to Jean Baptiste Riel L’Irlande and Marguerite Boucher (Guilbeault, 2007). Louis Riel’s mother Julie, was born to Jean Baptiste Lagimodiere and Marie-Anne Gaboury (Guilbeault, 2007). The Riel family was a highly-respected French-Canadian family of mixed European and Aboriginal ancestry called the Metis, who devoted their lives to Catholicism and earned a well-known name (Worldwide Sunshine, 2013).

Riel was educated by Roman Catholic priests in the St. Boniface area at a young age. In his teenage years, Riel was recognized by Bishop Alexandre Tache, who was promoting the priesthood for talented Metis at the time. In 1858, Riel attended the Petit Seminaire at the College de Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, which was arranged by Bishop Tache and was held by the Sulpician order of priests (Guilbeault, 2007). While in Montreal, Riel studied English, Science, French, Greek, Latin, and Philosophy (Guilbeault, 2007). Riel was a scholar in his studies and did well in all of his subjects (Worldwide Sunshine, 2013). He appeared to enjoy his studies.

In 1864, on one of his trips to Montreal, Riel stopped in Crookston, Minne...

... middle of paper ...

...clopedia. Retrieved from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/featured/battle-of-batoche

Boyer, K. (2008). 1885 - Aftermath. University Saskatchewan Library. Information received from: http://scaa.sk.ca/ourlegacy/contact

Linder, D. (2004). The Trial of Louis Riel. Information received from: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/riel/rielaccount.html

Société historique de Saint-Boniface. (2010). The Death of Louis Riel. Centre du patrimoine. Information received from: http://shsb.mb.ca/en/node/1381

Stanley, G. (2012). Louis Riel. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation. Information received from: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/louis-riel

University of Toronto. (2013). On this date Louis Riel was Hanged. Thomas Fisher Rare book Library. Information received from: http://fisher.library.utoronto.ca/date-louis-riel-was-hanged

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