1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:18,920 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy B. Wilson. Tracy. Yeah, 4 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: Canada is spending celebrating his hundred and fiftieth birthday. I 5 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,600 Speaker 1: am aware of this. We know because lots of people 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:29,520 Speaker 1: have mentioned it to us and requested that we do 7 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: some sort of Canadian history. UM. And one particular topic 8 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,440 Speaker 1: has come up over and over and over so many times. Uh. Specifically, 9 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: it was requested by Alexander, Jamie, Susan, Nicole, Drina, Stasha 10 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:44,960 Speaker 1: and Tyler. If you requested it and I missed you, 11 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: I apologize. Uh. But today this topic is considered by 12 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: some but not all historians to be the father of Manitoba, 13 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: and that disparity in these some but not all is uh. 14 00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: And how he's viewed is something that's really been a 15 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: part of his agacy pretty much from the beginning of 16 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: his life as a prominent figure in Manitoba and Canadian history. 17 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: And we were talking today about Louis Rielle. Before we 18 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: get into Louis Rielle's story, we need to back up 19 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: a little bit and set some context about the mate people. 20 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: The origin of the earliest Mayti is traced back to 21 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: the sixteen hundreds in eastern Canada. Matie is a French 22 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: word that translates roughly to mixed blood or hybrid. As 23 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: European fishermen took wives from the local indigenous population, their 24 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: children became the first generation of mate. Yeah. There are 25 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: a number of different translations that you will see of maytie, 26 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,400 Speaker 1: from very sort of mild ones like oh it means 27 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: combined to some fairly disparaging type translations uh. Just if 28 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 1: you go looking know that that will happen. And as 29 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: the fur trade led French Canadian trappers and traders to 30 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: move west, they too often took wives from the Indian population, 31 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: marrying primarily Cree, Ogibwa or Salto women. And this was 32 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: the result to some degree of an eagerness on the 33 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,079 Speaker 1: part of the people that lived there to foster positive 34 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 1: relationships with these Europeans that were moving in. So they 35 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: kind of offered them wives who would be able to 36 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,079 Speaker 1: care for them uh and serve in in roles as wives, 37 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,920 Speaker 1: but also that would translate and bridge any cultural confusion 38 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: between the Europeans and these indigenous peoples. The children of 39 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: these negotiated marriages became the foundation of the Western Meti Nation, 40 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: which was centered in the Red River region of what's 41 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: now Manitoba. This became a uniquely blended culture that incorporated 42 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:46,239 Speaker 1: both French, Catholic and Native beliefs and traditions. Yeah, and 43 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: there was even like a language that developed that is unique, 44 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: which I don't get into in this episode, but it's 45 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: quite fascinating. And the mate also had a vast knowledge 46 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: of both European and Native to Canada cultures, and so 47 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 1: they could easily work with both Indigenous and European groups, 48 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: and many as a consequence, became employees of the Northwest 49 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 1: Company and the Hudson's Bay Company, both of which were 50 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,800 Speaker 1: the large fur trade enterprises operating in the Canadian areas 51 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: at the time. There is some irony there because initially 52 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,920 Speaker 1: the Hudson's Bay Company actually discouraged these types of mixed marriages, 53 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: but they soon realized there were some benefits to having 54 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 1: employees with wide ranging skill sets that really helped the 55 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: fur trade grow. Yeah. I mean, among other things, they 56 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: were able to survive in climates that people that came 57 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: here straight from Europe weren't always prepared to deal with 58 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 1: and then they could teach other people, and they ended 59 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: up being just such a knowledge base for these companies. 60 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: Hudson's Bay Company also owned this massive tract of Canada 61 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: known as Rupert's Land, and this land had been given 62 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: to the company by King Charles the Second. It was 63 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 1: named for Prince Rupert of the Rhine, who held governorship 64 00:03:57,400 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: over the land when it was first granted in six 65 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 1: teen seventy. By the early eighteen hundreds, there was an 66 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: influx of European immigrants into the Red River Valley area, 67 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 1: and those immigrants were given land assignments from the Hudson's 68 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:15,200 Speaker 1: Bay Company, but this was done completely ignoring the fact 69 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:19,160 Speaker 1: that the Eight Nation people were already living there. Additionally, 70 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: the Northwest Company had trade routes through the land which 71 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: were disregarded in this process. As a result, the Northwest 72 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: Company was put in a position where they had no 73 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: real option but to merge with the Hudson's Bay Company, 74 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:33,800 Speaker 1: and the combination of the two of them meant that 75 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: a lot of land in Canada was owned by one 76 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: fur trading company. Yeah, if you look at maps that 77 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: overlay like here's Canada, Here's what was owned by the 78 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: Hudson's Bay Company at this time. It's like most of Canada, 79 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: uh which is interesting that it would all be owned 80 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: by a corporate venture. So the Red River Colony was 81 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: founded over the years of eighteen eleven and eighteen twelve 82 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:59,479 Speaker 1: by a Scottish immigrant, Thomas Douglas, fifth Earl of Selkirk, 83 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 1: was granted a one hundred and sixteen thousand square mile 84 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: that's about a three hundred thousand square kilometer land parcel 85 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 1: by the Hudson's Bay Company, and though its initial years 86 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 1: as a settlement were kind of shaky due to fighting 87 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: caused by the rivalry between the then separate Hudson's Bay 88 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: Company in the north West Company, once the two for 89 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: trew one, things really started to stabilize, and in eighteen 90 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: thirty six the Hudson's Bay Company purchased the colony back 91 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:30,799 Speaker 1: from the Selkirk estate. Louis David Riale was born in St. 92 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: Boniface and the Red River Colony on October twenty three, 93 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:38,039 Speaker 1: eighteen forty four. His father was a well respected member 94 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:40,799 Speaker 1: of the Mate community and his mother was French Canadian. 95 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: Louis was their first child and they eventually had ten more. 96 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: At the age of fourteen, Riale traveled to Montreal to 97 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,159 Speaker 1: be trained and educated for the priesthood, and when he 98 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: was thirteen he had actually been hand picked by the 99 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 1: clergy and Red River as a potential priest and to 100 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: go have this education and as a con quence, his 101 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: education was financed entirely through a scholarship, but he never 102 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 1: completed his training and he was never ordained. If he 103 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:11,840 Speaker 1: had been, he would have been Canada's first mate priest. 104 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: And while he was excelling in seminary, he had also 105 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: met a young woman, Marie Julie Gerna, and the two 106 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: of them fell in love and became engaged. Real however, 107 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: was not really welcomed by her family. They were French 108 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: Canadian and they did not really have an interest in 109 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: marrying their daughter off to a mate man. After that, 110 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: he quit his religious studies. During that timult of his 111 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: failed romance, Reel's father died in eighteen sixty four, which 112 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 1: was also a huge blow and part of why he 113 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:44,840 Speaker 1: was sort of willing to make this big sea change 114 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:47,920 Speaker 1: and leave the seminary, and that also left his mother 115 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,640 Speaker 1: and the rest of the family without a provider, and 116 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 1: Louis worked first for a time as a law clerk, 117 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: sending money back to the family, but eventually he returned 118 00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: to St. Boniface in eighteen sixty eight. In eighteen say 119 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 1: ex nine, there was a deal in motion to annexed 120 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: parts of the Red River Settlement to the Dominion of Canada, 121 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: and a sale that would really benefit the Hudson's Bay Company, 122 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,360 Speaker 1: but the Mayti people who lived in the area to 123 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 1: be annexed had no say in the matter, and there 124 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: were approximately nine thousand of those people. The whole deal 125 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: was being handled by the Fur Company, and the Canadian 126 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: government appointed a Lieutenant governor to oversee the survey work 127 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 1: that would re evaluate all this land for future use. Yeah, 128 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:32,679 Speaker 1: they were plotting rent along, kind of ignoring the fact 129 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:34,440 Speaker 1: that there were a whole lot of people that already 130 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:38,400 Speaker 1: called that place home, and the mate were concerned additionally 131 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: that there would be a massive influx of Anglo Protestant 132 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: immigrants crowding out the community that had been building up 133 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,680 Speaker 1: the Red River Settlement for decades. There had already been 134 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: a steadily growing tension among the different cultures and religions 135 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:53,960 Speaker 1: in the region, and the potential arrival of additional immigrants 136 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 1: from Ontario was seen as a real danger to the 137 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: future of the Mate way of life. This conflict led 138 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: to the founding of the Mayti National Committee, which had 139 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:06,800 Speaker 1: a mission to defend Mate culture and to have a 140 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: political voice. Louis Rielle, whose family was prominent among the Mate, 141 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: was elected secretary of the Mayti National Committee and eventually 142 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 1: became its president. In his role and working, he was 143 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: able to stop the survey. It was actually halted on 144 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 1: October eleventh of eighteen sixty nine, but that was far 145 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,360 Speaker 1: from the end of Riel's involvement in working against the 146 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: Canadian government. On behalf of the Mate and November, the 147 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 1: Mayte launched a more aggressive plan. First, the committee set 148 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:40,320 Speaker 1: up a roadblock that would keep William McDougal, the Canadian 149 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:44,520 Speaker 1: government's appointed Lieutenant governor, from entering the Red River Settlement. 150 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,680 Speaker 1: In addition to preventing McDougal's visit, the committee also made 151 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:51,679 Speaker 1: a raid on one of the Hudson's Bay Company posts, 152 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: Upper Fort Gary, and took over that post. Then they 153 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: set up their own government over the Red Middle River Settlement, 154 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: and once they had established their authority, the Mainti National 155 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:06,600 Speaker 1: Committee invited delegates both French and English speakers from the 156 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: Red River Settlement to come to Upper Fort Gary so 157 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 1: they could all discuss the situation and what they were 158 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 1: all willing to accept as terms to allow the Lieutenant 159 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: Governor into the Red River Settlement. This whole sequence of 160 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: events became known as the Red River Rebellion and in 161 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 1: the in early December, the Mainti National Committee formed a 162 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: provisional government. At this point, John Bruce was still president 163 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: of the group and thus of the provisional government, and 164 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: Louis Rielle was a secretary. Eventually, Bruce stepped down due 165 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,920 Speaker 1: to illness and Rielle assumed the leadership role of president. 166 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 1: And coming up next, we're going to talk about how 167 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:45,160 Speaker 1: the issues with the Red River Settlement and the Canadian 168 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: government played out. But first we're gonna pause and have 169 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: a word from one of our sponsors. Bruce and Rielle 170 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 1: together issued the Declaration of the People of Rupert's Land 171 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,840 Speaker 1: and the North West on December eight. This document stated 172 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 1: plainly that the Canadian government did not have any authority 173 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: in the region and offered the opportunity for Canada to 174 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,120 Speaker 1: negotiate with the mate provisional government to reach some sort 175 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:16,079 Speaker 1: of settlement. In response to this declaration, the Canadian government 176 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:20,640 Speaker 1: sent three men Hudson's Bay Company wrapped Donald Smith, Colonel 177 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 1: Charles de Salibarry, and Reverend Jean Baptiste Tebou to negotiate. 178 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,560 Speaker 1: Initial efforts on the part of Canada's trio were focused 179 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 1: on setting up a structure for the discussions where all 180 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,200 Speaker 1: of the stakeholders could be involved. It was decided that 181 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: forty representatives of the settlement, half English speakers half French speakers, 182 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: would meet in a convention with the Canadian government's negotiators 183 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 1: to see if an agreement could be struck so the 184 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,680 Speaker 1: lands under the leadership of the Mati National Committee could 185 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:52,319 Speaker 1: join with Canada. In January seventy the forty men assembled 186 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: as delegates made a list of conditions that had to 187 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:58,080 Speaker 1: be met for them to join the Confederation of Canada. 188 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:00,560 Speaker 1: Over the course of the next two months, the convention 189 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:04,320 Speaker 1: formed into a more structured entity with the legislative branch, 190 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:07,560 Speaker 1: an executive branch, and a judicial branch, and it took 191 00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 1: the name Provisional Government of a Sinebwa. Three delegates were 192 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:15,480 Speaker 1: selected from this new provisional government to be sent to Ottawa, 193 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:19,320 Speaker 1: and there they negotiated with co Premier George Etienne Cartier 194 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:23,480 Speaker 1: to integrate the territory including and surrounding Red River, into 195 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: the confederation. There was not universal support for the efforts 196 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 1: of the MATE National Committee and the provisional government they established, though. 197 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:35,520 Speaker 1: A group of armed Canadians gathered in force and made 198 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: their way to Red River, and the MATE quickly took 199 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,760 Speaker 1: them into custody and confined them at Upper Fort Gary. 200 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:44,600 Speaker 1: One of the men who was captured by the MATE 201 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:48,200 Speaker 1: was Thomas Scott. Scott was a member of the Orange Order, 202 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 1: which was a pro Protestant group in Canada that viewed 203 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:55,720 Speaker 1: French Canadians and Catholics as inferior. For his involvement in 204 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: the attempted attack on Red River, Scott was court martialed 205 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,079 Speaker 1: by the MATE leader ship and sentenced to death. He 206 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:06,079 Speaker 1: was executed by firing squad on March fourth, eighteen seventy 207 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:09,920 Speaker 1: and as a consequence, Louis Rielle was despised by many 208 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: Protestants after that. But this incident did not halt the 209 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:17,440 Speaker 1: negotiations that were taking place in Ottawa. Yeah, and it 210 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,760 Speaker 1: was actually an associate of Louis Rielle that that made 211 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,680 Speaker 1: that decision to have Scott executed. But because Rielle was 212 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:25,959 Speaker 1: kind of the leader of this rebellion. At this point 213 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:29,840 Speaker 1: he was blamed and two months after Scott was executed, 214 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:33,120 Speaker 1: the Manitoba Act, which made the Province of Manitoba a 215 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: part of the confederation, was sanctioned on May twelfth, eighteen 216 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,840 Speaker 1: seventy and according to the terms of the Manitoba Act, 217 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,120 Speaker 1: the province would be bilingual and one point four million 218 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 1: acres that's about five hundred and sixty six thousand hectares 219 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,680 Speaker 1: of land was to be reserved for the children of 220 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,240 Speaker 1: the province's mate residence. One of the first things that 221 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:57,480 Speaker 1: happened after the Manitoba Act was that the Canadian government 222 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,840 Speaker 1: sent military troops and to a red river. This was, 223 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: according to then Lieutenant Governor A. G. Archibald, intended as 224 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,480 Speaker 1: a show of support for him from the federal government 225 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:11,320 Speaker 1: and was peaceful. But no such move had been in 226 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,840 Speaker 1: any way discussed when the Manitoba Act was being hashed out, 227 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:17,839 Speaker 1: and so no one had told the provisional government that 228 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,640 Speaker 1: it was going to happen, let alone ask them if 229 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: they would be okay with it. Yes, it's like you're 230 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:25,640 Speaker 1: going to be part of Canada. We are sending in 231 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 1: the military uh, and it became really clear as well 232 00:13:29,679 --> 00:13:33,520 Speaker 1: that Louis Rielle should be very concerned about this military force. 233 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:36,240 Speaker 1: There was still a great deal of anger over Thomas 234 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:40,040 Speaker 1: Scott's execution, and it was discovered that Rielle was very 235 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 1: much in danger of being lynched by federal troops there 236 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: was a plan to do so, so he fled to 237 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:49,040 Speaker 1: the United States. Rial didn't stay away for long, though, 238 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:52,440 Speaker 1: he returned to Red River a year later in May 239 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: seventy one, but he kept a very low profile and 240 00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: with good reason. He was still very controversial and on 241 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,040 Speaker 1: Harryo to the east of Manitoba, which was still predominantly Protestant, 242 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,760 Speaker 1: he was labeled as a murderer responsible for Thomas Scott's death, 243 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:11,400 Speaker 1: and there was a reward offered for his arrest, but Quebec, 244 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,320 Speaker 1: which is on the eastern side of Ontario, viewed him 245 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:16,720 Speaker 1: as a in a more heroic light because of his 246 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:19,920 Speaker 1: efforts to make sure French language and the Catholic faith 247 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: were part of Manitoba's culture. This clash of opinions about 248 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:28,760 Speaker 1: real concerned Canadian Prime Minister Sir John A. McDonald and 249 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:32,160 Speaker 1: fearing that Riale's presence in Canada would lead to civil unrest. 250 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 1: He actually offered re Real some money. He paid him 251 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 1: to go back to the United States and live in exile. 252 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: And Riale took that deal in part because he was 253 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:43,400 Speaker 1: still taking care of his mother and siblings and he 254 00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: needed the money. But even gone from Canada, Rielle was 255 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 1: a significant figure in Manitoba's culture and politics. After supporters 256 00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:55,680 Speaker 1: urged him to enter federal politics, he won a parliamentary 257 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:58,600 Speaker 1: seat in eighteen seventy three and then again in eighteen 258 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 1: seventy four. After his re election in eighteen seventy four, 259 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: he traveled to Ottawa on March thirtieth of that year, 260 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 1: went into the Parliament building to swear his allegiance and 261 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: signed the House of Commons member register, and then he 262 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 1: had to leave. Emotion had been introduced by an Orange 263 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:18,400 Speaker 1: Order member from the House of Ontario that expelled him. 264 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 1: The following year, a conditional amnesty was offered to Real 265 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: by the Canadian government on the stipulation that he must 266 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: accept five years of banishment, and Rial agreed to these terms. 267 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 1: And this was also tied into some deals that were 268 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 1: going on with other people that had been involved in 269 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: the Red River rebellion, and this would seem like a 270 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:40,440 Speaker 1: really positive moment in his life. Uh. But unfortunately, the 271 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:44,000 Speaker 1: stresses of his leadership role in Manitoba and the ongoing 272 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:46,600 Speaker 1: blame leveled at him for Scott's death really took a 273 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:49,880 Speaker 1: toll and he ended up suffering a nervous breakdown. This 274 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,800 Speaker 1: was after a series of episodes that make it apparent 275 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:56,800 Speaker 1: that Rielle was struggling with mental exhaustion. He had been 276 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:00,120 Speaker 1: staying with an uncle, John Lee, near Montreal. When his 277 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: public outbursts and and manic episodes became too much for 278 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 1: the Lee household to manage. He was taken first to 279 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 1: an asylum in Montreal, where he was admitted under the 280 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 1: name uh Louis R. David on March sixth of eighteen 281 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:18,960 Speaker 1: seventy six. There was concern, however, that real would be 282 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: discovered in the hospital, first clearly against the terms of 283 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 1: his amnesty, but more importantly at a time when he 284 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:28,080 Speaker 1: was vulnerable and could be victimized by political enemies if 285 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: they realized that he was there. And the staff at 286 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,800 Speaker 1: the hospital who knew who he was, consulted with the 287 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: friends and family who had admitted him, and it was 288 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: decided after two months in the Montreal asylum that he 289 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 1: should be moved to another facility, the Beauport Asylum outside 290 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: Quebec City, and the period leading up to his hospitalization 291 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: and while he was convalescing, Real, who had always been religious, 292 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: became obsessed with matters of spirituality. He wrote extensive notes 293 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:58,720 Speaker 1: on religion. He also became convinced that he had been 294 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: chosen by God to serve as a leader or a prophet. Yeah, 295 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 1: that's that's worded in various different ways when you read 296 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:08,359 Speaker 1: about him. Uh, some people think that he kind of 297 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:11,240 Speaker 1: saw himself as a messiah of the Mayti people. He 298 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:15,880 Speaker 1: definitely didn't think God had chosen him to enact huge change. So, 299 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,119 Speaker 1: after a year and a half of rest and treatment, 300 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,560 Speaker 1: Real was discharged from the Beauport Asylum and his doctor 301 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:23,960 Speaker 1: advised Real to find a way to live a quiet, 302 00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:28,920 Speaker 1: peaceful life, and initially Real traveled to Keysville, New York, 303 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:31,120 Speaker 1: in search of work, and then eventually made his way 304 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:34,879 Speaker 1: to the American Midwest. He joined some of the mate 305 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 1: who had moved to the United States in the Montana territory, 306 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: and he applied to be an American citizen. Married a 307 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:45,880 Speaker 1: mate woman named Marguerite Monet de Belle Humur, and settled 308 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:48,800 Speaker 1: down in Montana, where the couple had three children. He 309 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:51,359 Speaker 1: started a new career as a school teacher at St. 310 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:54,680 Speaker 1: Peter's Mission, which sat on a tributary of the Missouri 311 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:58,080 Speaker 1: River known as the Sun River. So at this point 312 00:17:58,080 --> 00:18:00,639 Speaker 1: it seems like real had found that a life that 313 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,440 Speaker 1: he was prescribed by his doctor. But it wasn't long 314 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: before he became embroiled in another conflict. And we're going 315 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 1: to talk about that after we first have a quick 316 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 1: word from one of our fantastic sponsors. So during that 317 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: time that Rielle was in Montana, there were still ongoing 318 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 1: issues between the Mayti and the Canadian government. For one, 319 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:27,080 Speaker 1: the Mate were suffering economically because the fur trade in 320 00:18:27,119 --> 00:18:31,919 Speaker 1: buffalo hunting industries that had employed many Mayti people were declining, 321 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:35,119 Speaker 1: and some, like the Mate that Rielle had connected with 322 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:38,159 Speaker 1: in Montana, had decided to move on to other places, 323 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:42,280 Speaker 1: and that also included Saskatchewan. One of the major Mayti 324 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:47,359 Speaker 1: settlements in Saskatchewan was Batouche. There was no political representation 325 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,480 Speaker 1: for the Mayti in the territorial government, even though they 326 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:53,840 Speaker 1: made up a majority of the population there. There had 327 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:57,240 Speaker 1: been efforts in the eighteen seventies to establish Mayti members 328 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:00,480 Speaker 1: of the Territorial Council, but they had wrapped resented the 329 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:05,840 Speaker 1: Mate of Manitoba, not those in Saskatchewan. When the Mate 330 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,359 Speaker 1: of Saskatchewan did finally get a representative in government, the 331 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: requests that were made by that position never got any attention. 332 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 1: For one, there had been a request to survey the 333 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,360 Speaker 1: land along the South Saskatchewan River so that it could 334 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:21,159 Speaker 1: be best used to suit the needs of the community. 335 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:23,760 Speaker 1: They had also petitioned to have formal titles to their 336 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 1: lands established, fearing that without that, if Batusche experienced an 337 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:31,200 Speaker 1: influx of new settlers, as Manitoba had, they could easily 338 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 1: lose the land that they had been on for years. 339 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,000 Speaker 1: Even with support from the Roman Catholic Church working on 340 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:40,200 Speaker 1: their behalf in this matter, the Canadian government gave only 341 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,399 Speaker 1: the vagus of responses with no plans for action on 342 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:46,280 Speaker 1: any of the matters that had been raised. So by 343 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:49,320 Speaker 1: the eighteen eighties, the Mate and the European settlers in 344 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:52,560 Speaker 1: the area all had problems with the federal government, and 345 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 1: in additions to lack of clear titles, there had been 346 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 1: a land devaluation because the Canadian Pacific Railway had been 347 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:03,600 Speaker 1: relocated to the Southern Prairie region, meaning Batouche was not 348 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 1: on the line anymore. In June of eighty four, the 349 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: plight of the maytee was once again brought to Louis Rielle. 350 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:14,639 Speaker 1: Because he had managed to negotiate with the Canadian government 351 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:17,159 Speaker 1: during the problems in Red River, it was believed that 352 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:21,800 Speaker 1: he could probably help with Saskatchewan's problems too. Gabrielle du Mont, 353 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,720 Speaker 1: president of the Maytee Council of Saint Laurent, which had 354 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 1: formed in Saskatchewan, visited Rielle in Montana and asked him 355 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,439 Speaker 1: to help his people's cause, and Rielle agreed and he 356 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 1: traveled to Batouche with his family. Once they arrived there, 357 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,280 Speaker 1: Rielle and William Henry Jackson, who was Reale's secretary as 358 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:42,160 Speaker 1: well as the secretary of the local farmers union, put 359 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 1: together a petition that listed all of the grievances of 360 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 1: the people in Batouche and send it to Ottawa and 361 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:52,520 Speaker 1: on December sixteenth. This was after more than three dozen 362 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:56,160 Speaker 1: petitions had been sent already, but the federal government replied 363 00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:59,200 Speaker 1: to the one drafted by Rielle and Jackson, promising that 364 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:03,680 Speaker 1: it investigated of commission would be appointed in this response 365 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:06,440 Speaker 1: really did not sit well with the Mayti in Batuche, 366 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:09,760 Speaker 1: who had heard similar assurances before and who had frankly 367 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 1: grow tired of waiting. So on March five five they 368 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:16,600 Speaker 1: held a meeting to discuss an armed effort to force 369 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:20,320 Speaker 1: the government's hand. Rielle suggested a few days later that 370 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: what they should do is set up of provisional governments 371 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 1: for Saskatchewan. Rielle's motion was not enacted. Instead, the group 372 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 1: drafted a revolutionary Bill of Rights. So the document that 373 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:34,440 Speaker 1: consisted of ten demands, and included in the demands is 374 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:37,560 Speaker 1: a stipulation that a government office to be established that 375 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: was closer to them so they didn't have to take 376 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:43,439 Speaker 1: up land disputes with far with far away Ottawa, and 377 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:46,840 Speaker 1: that they had the right to own their farms. In 378 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:50,440 Speaker 1: response to the Revolutionary Bill of Rights, the federal government 379 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,360 Speaker 1: sent in a military force consisting of five hundred men. 380 00:21:54,359 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 1: The mate, hearing about this before those men had arrived, 381 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:00,639 Speaker 1: took possession of the Batouche Church and there established a 382 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:03,840 Speaker 1: provisional government, as Rielle had suggested, and they did that 383 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 1: on March eighteenth. Louis Rielle was the leader. The new 384 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:12,760 Speaker 1: government also sees the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Carlton Post, 385 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:15,879 Speaker 1: and leading up to the taking of Fort Carlton, Rielle 386 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:19,280 Speaker 1: and five dozen men had also looted several stores for supplies, 387 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,639 Speaker 1: and Rielle was heard proclaiming that Rome has fallen. He 388 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:26,959 Speaker 1: also proclaimed that Bishop in nas Bourges was the new pope, 389 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:30,720 Speaker 1: and these odd proclamations were red flags that there was 390 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 1: something amiss in Rielle's mental state. But he was so 391 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,600 Speaker 1: charismatic and so invested in the Mayti cause that the 392 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 1: men with him remained loyal and continued to follow his 393 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,720 Speaker 1: lead for the next several months, which came to be 394 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:47,399 Speaker 1: known as the Northwest Resistance or the Northwest Rebellion. The 395 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:51,719 Speaker 1: Mate and their aboriginal allies fought the Canadian government. In 396 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:54,320 Speaker 1: the early weeks, the Mate were able to score some 397 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:57,520 Speaker 1: victories at the first battle of the rebellion, the Battle 398 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:01,600 Speaker 1: of Duck Lake three d Maytie defeat did one Canadian men, 399 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 1: but as Canada sent in more troops, the Canadian militia 400 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: wound up dominating the fight. On May fifteenth of eight five, 401 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:15,119 Speaker 1: Louis Rielle surrendered to Canadian authorities. He was charged with 402 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 1: high treason and was taken to Regina, Saskatchewan, and his 403 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:21,360 Speaker 1: trial there began on July twentie and in total there 404 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:24,520 Speaker 1: were eighty four trials held for participants in the rebellion, 405 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,679 Speaker 1: but Real, because of his leadership in the conflict, was 406 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:31,720 Speaker 1: the only person tried for high treason. His trial was 407 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:34,399 Speaker 1: almost as much of a conflict between riel and his 408 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: legal counsel as it was between Real and the Canadian government. 409 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:42,760 Speaker 1: Rielle's lawyers wanted to use an insanity defense and use 410 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 1: his year and a half in asylums in Quebec is 411 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,280 Speaker 1: evidence of this, and there was some indication, as we 412 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:52,080 Speaker 1: just mentioned, that he was not entirely in a clear 413 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 1: state of mind when this rebellion started. Rielle hated this idea. 414 00:23:57,160 --> 00:23:59,480 Speaker 1: He felt that if they claimed insanity, it was an 415 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,240 Speaker 1: insult to everything the mate had fought for, and that 416 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: it discredited both the eighteen seventy Manitoba actions at the 417 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:10,800 Speaker 1: Red River Colony and the recent uprising in Saskatchewan. His 418 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:14,040 Speaker 1: plan was to argue self defense. He felt that it 419 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:16,480 Speaker 1: was clear that the mate needed to make the moves 420 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,919 Speaker 1: that they had for self preservation. But the trick was 421 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:22,440 Speaker 1: that his lawyers did not actually answer to him. They 422 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,240 Speaker 1: were paid for by wealthy friends of his and by 423 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:28,720 Speaker 1: people that he was related to, because Rial simply could 424 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: not have afforded that counsel on his own, and the 425 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:35,200 Speaker 1: lawyers employers wanted Riale their friend to go free or 426 00:24:35,280 --> 00:24:38,879 Speaker 1: at least achieve the minimum possible punishment. As the trial 427 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:42,360 Speaker 1: neared its end, Real made a speech. Always having been 428 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,440 Speaker 1: skilled and passionate as an orator, he left no one 429 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:47,919 Speaker 1: in the courtroom and any doubt that he was in 430 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:51,520 Speaker 1: full command of his faculties, leaving his counsel's work at 431 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:56,119 Speaker 1: cleaning a claiming his insanity essentially in the trash, and 432 00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 1: in doing so, he sacrificed himself for the mate cause 433 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:02,920 Speaker 1: because he had convinced the people present that he had 434 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 1: led the mate in doing what they did with just cause. 435 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,440 Speaker 1: He was also basically admitting to the treason that he 436 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:15,040 Speaker 1: was charged with. On August one, five, the verdict was 437 00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:18,680 Speaker 1: handed down. He was found guilty, but the jury, composed 438 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 1: of six men, all of whom were Protestant and who 439 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:26,320 Speaker 1: were English speakers, recommended mercy in Real's sentencing. Allegedly, the 440 00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:30,600 Speaker 1: foreman cried as he read the verdict. The judge, Hugh Richardson, 441 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:34,600 Speaker 1: sentenced Louis Reale to death is sometimes framed as though 442 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:38,160 Speaker 1: the judge disregarded the jury's plea for leniency, but at 443 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:41,200 Speaker 1: the time, a guilty verdict in a high treason case 444 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:46,200 Speaker 1: in Canada meant a mandatory death penalty. There were two 445 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,240 Speaker 1: appeals to higher courts, but both of those were dismissed. 446 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 1: Riale was examined by three different doctors, each of whom 447 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,119 Speaker 1: gave their opinions on the state of his mental health, 448 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,120 Speaker 1: and one actually felt that he could probably be diagnosed 449 00:25:58,119 --> 00:26:00,560 Speaker 1: as insane, but the other two did, and so it 450 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 1: got written up that the thing he was just fine. 451 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,479 Speaker 1: He could he was in his right mind, so to speak, 452 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:09,440 Speaker 1: and could accept the punishment that had been sentenced to him, 453 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:13,159 Speaker 1: and so his execution order stood as he waited for 454 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:16,120 Speaker 1: his sentence to be carried out. Rielle, who had written 455 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 1: throughout his whole life, wrote poetry in his cell and 456 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:21,480 Speaker 1: in one of these poems he wrote, let us have 457 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:26,400 Speaker 1: peaceful hearts and the infinite will open a little over 458 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:30,000 Speaker 1: three months after his trial for treason concluded, Louis Rielle 459 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:33,879 Speaker 1: was executed by hanging on November sixteenth of eighty five. 460 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 1: Among his last words, he said, I have nothing but 461 00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:39,359 Speaker 1: my heart, and I have given it long ago to 462 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:44,000 Speaker 1: my country. His body was transported to his birthplace St. Boniface, 463 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:47,400 Speaker 1: where he was laid to rest in the cathedral cemetery, 464 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,960 Speaker 1: and his death, Riale became a martyr to the Matti 465 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,640 Speaker 1: and galvanized the French Canadian population. His reputation in other 466 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 1: parts of Canada, however, has been that he was a 467 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:02,000 Speaker 1: madman or a trader, so in the last half century 468 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:07,359 Speaker 1: that view has softened pretty considerably. Pat Martin, new Democratic 469 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,639 Speaker 1: Party of Canada member of Parliament, has introduced several bills 470 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 1: in parliament to reverse Riel's conviction. In interview with Canada's 471 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:20,119 Speaker 1: Cable Public Affairs channel, he said, quote exonerating Louis Rielle 472 00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:22,720 Speaker 1: would go a long way to healing the relationship between 473 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:25,760 Speaker 1: the Crown and the mate Nation, and other members of 474 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:30,280 Speaker 1: parliament have also tried to exonerate real via legislative measures. 475 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:34,240 Speaker 1: Since two thousand seven, Manitoba has celebrated an annual Louis 476 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:38,520 Speaker 1: Riale Day every February. The mate Nation honors him with 477 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,840 Speaker 1: a day of Remembrance each November sixteenth, on the anniversary 478 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:45,679 Speaker 1: of his execution, and the Mate nations relationship with the 479 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:50,200 Speaker 1: Canadian government continues to evolve. Even in the last several 480 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:53,159 Speaker 1: months prior to when we were recording this, there have 481 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:57,360 Speaker 1: been a lot of um legal measures as well as 482 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,280 Speaker 1: kind of government gestures that have been made trying to 483 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:05,320 Speaker 1: repair some pretty uh poor relations based on really bad 484 00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:08,440 Speaker 1: treatment that that members of the Mate nation have received 485 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:12,479 Speaker 1: in various different ways, some related to a whole separate 486 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:16,040 Speaker 1: thing that could be another podcast, related to very poor 487 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:19,200 Speaker 1: and really terrible treatment of children, as well as being 488 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:21,679 Speaker 1: denied access to certain hunting lands. There have been a 489 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:23,320 Speaker 1: lot of different things that have gone on that are 490 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:26,800 Speaker 1: all kind of uh in in the course of hopefully 491 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,520 Speaker 1: having reparations made. So it's an ongoing discussion that will 492 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:34,359 Speaker 1: continue to to blossom and develop. Do you also have 493 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:37,080 Speaker 1: some listener mail for us? I do, and it's I'm 494 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:39,120 Speaker 1: keeping it short since this episode is a little on 495 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:42,360 Speaker 1: the long side. Uh. It is a lovely, lovely thank 496 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:46,280 Speaker 1: you card from two of our listeners, Amy and mary Anna, 497 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 1: and I won't read it because it's all very kind 498 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 1: and really crazy. But they didn't think they like podcasts, 499 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:53,120 Speaker 1: and now they listen to ours, and I love it 500 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:54,640 Speaker 1: and I'm glad that they do. And I hope they 501 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 1: find others that they love just as much, because there 502 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:00,880 Speaker 1: is a world of podcasts out there that are fascinating 503 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: and there's so much good content that everyone should everyone 504 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:06,520 Speaker 1: can pretty much find something that they like. They also 505 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:11,240 Speaker 1: sent this um my Little Pony stickers, which I love, uh, 506 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:15,040 Speaker 1: And they mentioned that, um, the history Wonder Woman might 507 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:18,040 Speaker 1: be a good topic. Which might. It's been very prominent 508 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:20,880 Speaker 1: lately Wonder Woman being discussed a lot, but I think 509 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:26,080 Speaker 1: it's getting covered plenty. Yeah. I also the man who 510 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:32,480 Speaker 1: created her as a character is fascinating. Yeah. But we 511 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:37,120 Speaker 1: definitely could not have either of those potential things be 512 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:42,120 Speaker 1: done before the movie. That we would have to run 513 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:45,760 Speaker 1: right out right now, not sleep for the next two days, record, 514 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:48,560 Speaker 1: and then move around our schedule to make it happen. 515 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:50,680 Speaker 1: And that's not We would need a time turner. I 516 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:54,280 Speaker 1: think you don't like my idea of not sleeping for 517 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:58,040 Speaker 1: three days. No. I like to sleep. Sleep is sleep, 518 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,680 Speaker 1: sleep soothe and console me. You know, I have a 519 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: love hate thing with sleep. So I know if you 520 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:07,440 Speaker 1: can't sleep and would like to write to us, you 521 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:10,640 Speaker 1: can do so at History Podcast at how stuff works 522 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 1: dot com. You can also find us across the spectrum 523 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:17,840 Speaker 1: of social media as at missed in History that includes Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, 524 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:22,000 Speaker 1: uh Tumbler, and pinterest. And you can also come and 525 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:24,880 Speaker 1: visit our website, which is missed in History dot com, 526 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:28,360 Speaker 1: where we have show notes and episodes going all the 527 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:30,480 Speaker 1: way back to way before Tracy and I were ever 528 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:33,920 Speaker 1: on the podcast, as well as occasionally other goodies. You 529 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:36,280 Speaker 1: can go to our parents site, how stuff Works. Type 530 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:38,560 Speaker 1: in almost anything you're interested in in the search bar 531 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:40,760 Speaker 1: and you will find a wealth of information. So kind 532 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:42,880 Speaker 1: of visit us at missed in History dot com and 533 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:48,400 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. For more on this and 534 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 1: thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com.