November 16th is Louis Riel Day

 

Why do we celebrate Louis Riel Day?

 

“Louis Riel Day is held every year on November 16 across the Métis homelands. November 16 is the anniversary of Riel's execution in 1885. During that year, Riel led Métis people in the Northwest Resistance, which was a stand against the Government of Canada because it was encroaching on Metis rights and our way-of-life… Although Louis Riel Day commemorates one of the great tragedies of Canadian history, it is also a day to celebrate Métis culture and the continuing progress that Métis people are making in fulfilling Riel’s dream of Métis taking their rightful place within Confederation” (Metis Nation of Ontario, n.d.).

 

The library has various resources to help you learn more about Louis Riel and the importance of this day.

Louis Riel

• The Riel Rebellion - Newspaper article from Montreal "Witness" publication date uncertain (maybe 1885)
• Riel was the government's scapegoat: Series: The Retrial of Louis Riel (newspaper article) National Post  - 2002
• Louis Riel: Firebrand (2007) by Sharon Stewart
• The audacity of his enterprise : Louis Riel and the Métis nation that Canada never was (2019) by Max M. Hamon
•  Louis Riel : a comic-strip biography (2013) by Chester Brown
• The Selected Poetry of Louis Riel (2000) by Glen Campbell and Paul Savoie
• Riel: A Life of Revolution (1994) by Maggie Siggins
• This Riel Business (1974) online video​

 

The Metis Nation

• Métis legacy: A Metis historiography and annotated bibliography (2001) by Lawrence J Barkwell, Leah Dorion, and Darren R. Prefontaine
• Métis legacy : Michif culture, heritage, and folkways (2006) by Lawrence Barkwell, Leah Dorion, and Audreen Hourie

 

Truth and Reconcilaition Resources

• Truth & Reconciliation Research Guide

 

References

Metis Nation of Ontario. (n.d.). Louis Riel Day. https://www.metisnation.org/culture-heritage/louis-riel-day/