Who Was Louis Riel A Traitor?

Louis Riel was a Metis leader, founder of Manitoba, and a central figure in the Red River and North-West resistances. He was born on 22 October 1844 in Saint-Boniface, Red River Settlement and died 16 November 1885 in Regina, SK. He lead 2 Metis Nations, and brought Manitoba to confederation. Many people think that he is a martyr. A martyr is a person that was killed to protect or for their religion or other beliefs. However I still think that Louis Riel is a traitor. A traitor includes someone who betrays another’s trust, someone who is false to an obligation or duty, and it is also someone that acts against one’s nation, sovereign or country. And I think that Louis Riel did just that.

One reason why I think that Louis Riel is a traitor is because of the North-west rebellion. The North-west rebellion was violent, insurgency (active revolt or up-rise) against the Canadian government, fought mainly by Métis militants and their Aboriginal allies in what is now Saskatchewan and Alberta. Just with that information, you would assume that Louis

Riel was part of it. That is because, he is the leader of the Meits, so it would only make sense if he was there. In the North-west rebellion a group of armed rebellion (included Metis) that broke out at Duck Lake against a group of North West Mounted Police. Then in Battleford and Frog Lake they were raided in pursuit of food. In response to that, Prime Minister Macdonald sent troops west via the railway and it only took them 5 days to arrive at the Metis headquarters of Batoche. Then they fought, the Meits fought with bullets that the women made, and when they ran out, they used stones and nails. However they surrendered only after 2 days. So how could Riel be a martyr, he most likely told and directed the Metis on what to do. And not only that, he is sacrificing his own people’s lives rather than going out and fighting for them. A martyr would do nearly anything for their people, and Riel definitely did not show that.

Another reason that I think that Louis Riel is a traitor is because of the Red River Resistance. At the Red River Resistance, surveyors started appearing in the Red River settlement area and began to divide up the land into square lots. When they were doing that, they were also ignoring the fact that Métis people already lived on that land. The Métis, and Louis Riel, protested, and refused to allow the surveyors onto their land. You might think that he did something a martyr would do. However he actually slowed down the process of the western expansion. Usually you would want to expand as fast as you can, then start to build. But when he started protesting, it was wasting time that could of been used for the western expansion.

If those reasons don’t convince you, this one will.

My final reason that I think that Louis Riel was a traitor is because he flees to the United States of America. The reason that he wanted to flee to the USA was to protect himself. A large number of the soldiers wanted to seek out Riel and avenge the death of Thomas Scott. Because someone told him about the soldiers plans, he decides to flee with Lépine and William O'Donoghue, an Irish American. I don’t think that it was right for him to leave his people and flee to the USA to protect himself. Like the definition of a traitor states, someone that betrays their group. He abandoned the Metis just to protect himself. If he was a martyr, he would’ve stayed in Canada and protect his people like that. According to the slides that we did, he didn’t come back on his own. Some of his people had to bring him back to Canada. And not to mention, he left for 5

years.

A reason that he is not a martyr is clearly explained with the execution of Thomas Scott. Thomas Scott was a violent and racist man and one of the persons attempting the overthrow. He was caught and put into trial. After the trial, he was considered to be guilty. So he had to executed. He was executed by Louis Riel. Even though Thomas Scott was not a good person, RIel shouldn’t of execute him. He should’ve been jailed instead. I don’t that it shows him being a martyr because he executed someone because he thought that he was bad. However, he doesn’t know that he is just as bad. For example he promised an amnesty by the Prime Minister of Canada but it never came. He thinks that he is right but he really isn’t.

So those are some reason why I think that Louis Riel is a traitor. Though many people may think that he is a martyr, they should know who he really is and what he did. A traitor is someone who betrays other and Riel did that to his own people. He might be passionate about his people rights, but sometimes it seems like he doesn’t care. However, I admit. Sometimes he is an actual martyr to his people, but then he is a traitor to the Canadian government. Riel might be an awesome hero to his people at times but a nightmare to the Canadian government. So overall he is still, a traitor.