ABOUT LOUIS RIEL
First of all, I feel that if you are of mixed race it is important to know something about Metis culture and the individual that organized and lead the fight for indigenous rights in the newly formed Canada of the 1870s and 1880s..
So, who was Louis Riel? Why did he have such a profound impact on Canadian history, culture and the Metis people as a whole?
Well to start, Louis Riel lead two of the most significant Indigenous resistance efforts in Canadian history. The first was the armed (13 month long) Red River Resistance of 1869, that resulted in a negotiated settlement with the first Canadian Prime Minister John A. McDonald, and played a role in the creation of Manitoba, an indigenous conceived province of Canada. The second was the armed conflicts of the Northwest Resistance of 1885, which resulted in the defeat of the Metis forces at Batoche and the trial of Louis Riel on charges of treason that culminated in his execution on November 16th, 1885.
The above absurdly short introduction to the subject of Mr. Riel is common knowledge and available in full historical detail in a number of books and publications, but as I have already stated, I would like to contribute a family's perspective derived from what has been passed down through the writings of my Great Grandfather, Charles Sauve and through the oral tradition of story telling practiced by my Mother Joan D. Smith and Grandmother Josephine Sauve. My hope is that our contribution is viewed as respectful and thought provoking and will add another wrinkle to the Riel story that will help humanize, and broaden the understanding of his story and it's far reaching impact into the present day.
I have my personal opinions on the subject of Louis Riel's role in transforming the culturally "loose" customs and ideas of the Metis into an awakened national identity capable of forcing the Canadian Government into negotiating terms. What I share comes from a family history of generations that have been deeply impacted by the familial nature of our association with Louis Riel. I'm not saying my family can provide a "scoop" that could be somehow construed to be the "true story of Louis Riel", but I do believe that what my family has to contribute is insight into the thinking and experience of a Métis family that was part of the network of Red River Métis Clans that actively supported Louis Riel in his struggle for Indigenous rights as well as the significance and lasting influence of Riel's leadership and accomplishments.
Mr. Louis Riel
First off, to say that my Great Grandfather, Charles Sauve was a Metis activist would be an understatement. After Louis Riel's death he dedicated much of his life to the Cause that Louis Riel died for. His efforts on behalf of this Cause were influential in salvaging and protecting the stories, culture, and Metis family histories for the future generations of Metis people. He also purposed his work to challenge the typical Eurocentric assumptions and judgements projected onto the whole Riel saga and by association the Metis / Mixed Blood peoples. Charles Sauve actually used the phrase "Extermination of our people" in his note books. I feel that our shared understanding of Metisness has survived to this day in part due to the efforts of Charles Sauve.
There is a story that my Mother told me about our family tradition of always referring to Louis Riel as Mr. Riel. He was held in the highest regard as the author of a great and inclusive vision of a promised land for the Metis people and for his spiritual leadership and selfless courage in the face of the colossus known as the British Empire.
My Mother as a little girl would observe her mother (Josephine) sitting in the family den reading from the personal Batoche Journal of Louis Riel and weeping for the great opportunity that was lost to the people of Canada when they hanged Louis Riel. Josephene was to have tearfully proclaimed that "Louis Riel was only trying to do something good for the world".
The Prophet of the New world
Growing up my mother told me so many fantastic stories about being Metis and related to Louis Riel and that my Great Grandfather was one of the two men sent to retrieve Louis Riel's body after his execution, along with her many, many other stories, that I tended to think that it was all just some sort of grandiose family fantasy on her part.
There were a few additional reasons I tended to discount her assertions, One we lived in the USA and Metis history has been effectively banished from the historic consciousness of it's citizens, myself included. You see, here in the USA, there is only Red and White and the ongoing struggles of that binary argument (not to overlook the history and current circumstances of our Black brothers and sisters who have been in their turn been manhandled by the same highly efficient colonial effort practiced in North America). But also because my mother was just so spectacularly different from every one I have ever known. She was a 5' 1" storm of energy and tended to live life one battle after the next, saying things like "they may get a meal but I sure as hell will get a mouthful!" And she did.
It wasn't until I became an adult and was encouraged by a Lakota Elder named Stan to research and embrace my Metis heritage. What I have discovered since beginning that emotional journey into the past, is that my mother's stories were grounded in provable facts and that her stories were just the tip of the iceberg, a doorway into a culture and a world view that my Great Grandfather Charles Sauve was committed to saving from the rubbish heap of similarly dominated indigenous peoples around the world.
Mr. Louis Riel
Recent events have reminded me of the trajectory of loss that the Metis people and my family have endured.
I can name dozens if not hundreds of incidents and insults to my family that has tainted the way we have experienced life. The latest loss, betrayal and blatant disregard of my family as the entrusted keepers of Metis history, Cultural traditions, and the words spoken and written by Louis Riel has left me stunned and sad in the extreme. I'm lucky however to have friends like Tom Gugler, Todd Ragland and Watt Childress with whom I can share my story and process my feelings. If not for these trusted people I would probably sucumb to the dispare and hopelessness that typifies my families response when faced with these injustices.
After a few days of very emotional discussions, I realized something that may be obvious to others, and that is that we Metis are a landless people. Sure we have our traditional lands of our birth and where we lived since the day Metis people began to populate this contenent, but landless in terms of lands recognized by treaty with the Canadian government. This realization has led me to rethink my understanding of the important legacy left by Louis Riel, and how we Metis have and are bennifiting. I've come to believe that Riel as the profit of the new world identified a location for his vision of a Metis govered homeland (Northern Saskatchwan and Alberta. But more importanly the he left us with a clear understanding of who we are as a people.
the importance of Wahkohtowin
Wahkohtowin is a Cree word for a philosophy of being that links land,
family, and identity into one inseparable whole. If one views, through the lens of Wahkohtowin, Louis Riel’s spirituality, political activism, and final sacrifice, one is exposed to a nuanced understanding and an appreciation of the deeper indigenous values at work in his choices and style of leadership.
For more reading on Wahkohtowin and its traditional role in Métis culture please see Brenda Macdougall’s excellent book, One of the Family, Métis Culture in Nineteenth-Century Northwestern Saskatchewan.
