Louis Riel Sr. (''père'') (July 7, 1817 – January 21, 1864) was a farmer, miller,

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

leader, and the father of

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis in Canada, Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of ...

Life

Born in

Île-à-la-Crosse Île-à-la-Crosse () is a northern village in Division No. 18, northwestern Saskatchewan, and was the site of historic trading posts first established in 1778. Île-à-la-Crosse is the second oldest community in Saskatchewan, Canada, followin ...

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (), or Prince Rupert's Land (), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The right to "sole trade and commerce" over Rupert's Land was granted to Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), based a ...

, Riel was the eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Riel, '' dit'' L’Irlande, a

voyageur Voyageurs (; ) were 18th- and 19th-century French people, French and later French Canadians and others who transported furs by canoe at the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, i ...

, and Marguerite Boucher, a Franco-

Chipewyan The Chipewyan ( , also called ''Denésoliné'' or ''Dënesųłı̨né'' or ''Dënë Sųłınë́'', meaning "the original/real people") are a Dene group of Indigenous Canadian people belonging to the Athabaskan language family, whose ancest ...

Métis. The Riel family moved back to

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

while Louis was a child. He was educated in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, learning the trade of

carding In Textile manufacturing, textile production, carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passi ...

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

. He joined the fur trade with the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

in 1838 and was stationed at Rainy River,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, where he fathered a daughter named Marguerite in 1840. He left the HBC in 1842 and returned to Quebec with the intention of joining the priesthood at the

Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest later recognized as a Catholic saint. The congregation was ...

at Saint-Hilaire, but withdrew a year later.Goldsborough. "Memorable Manitobans: Louis Riel Sr. (1817-1864)", Manitoba Historical society
/ref> He returned to the

Canadian West Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada–Unit ...

, settling in the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assiniboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hudson's Bay ...

on a river lot in Saint-Boniface (now a district of modern

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

). He married Julie Lagimodière, daughter of voyageur

Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière (25 December 1778 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec – 7 September 1855 in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba) was a French-Canadian trapper employed in the fur trade by the Hudson's Bay Company in Rupert's Land. Lagimodière i ...

and

Marie-Anne Gaboury Marie-Anne Lagimodière (née Gaboury; 15 August 1780 – 14 December 1875) was a French-Canadian woman noted as both the grandmother of Louis Riel, and as the first woman of European descent to travel to and settle in what is now Western Canad ...

in January, 1844. Together they had eleven children, and by all accounts formed a devout and close-knit family. Riel established a number of businesses in the Red River Colony. In 1847, he opened a small mill on his farm with the support of chief factor

John Ballenden John Ballenden ( – 7 December 1856) was one of the Scottish fur traders that the Hudson's Bay Company recruited to administer that trade in North America. Ballenden started as an apprentice at York Factory, Rupert's Land in 1829 and was n ...

with the hope of establishing a

fulling Fulling, also known as tucking or walking ( Scots: ''waukin'', hence often spelt waulking in Scottish English), is a step in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of woven cloth (particularly wool) to eliminate ( lanolin) oils, ...

mill operation in the settlement. However, Riel had little success with his fulling mill. He also attempted to open and operate a carding and grist mill to grind grain and card wool for the Grey Nuns of St. Boniface,"Grey Nuns", ''Canadian Encyclopedia''
/ref> hence his title of "miller of the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

", but to little success. Finally, in 1857, Riel attempted to establish a textile industry in the settlement, but the venture failed. Although he was not a successful businessman, he showed great leadership within the Métis community. Louis Riel Sr. was an active participant in the Red River Métis community. Riel emerged as a Métis leader in the defence of

Guillaume Sayer Pierre Guillaume Sayer (October 18, 1799 – August 7, 1868) was a Métis fur trader who challenged the monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) of the fur trade in the Red River region. Ultimately this led to its end. After leaving the HBC, ...

in his trial in May 1849. This trial was a defining moment in the fall of the

's monopoly of the fur trade at Red River. Riel continued to fight for the rights of the Métis and was instrumental in them gaining representation on the

Council of Assiniboia The Council of Assiniboia () was the first appointed administrative body of the District of Assiniboia, operating from 1821 until 1870. It was this council who is credited for the arrival of a functioning legal system, a local police force, and a m ...

and for French to be used in the

Assiniboia Assiniboia District refers to two historical districts of Canada's Northwest Territories. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation. Historical usage ''For more information on the history of the provisional districts, see also Distric ...

courts as well as English. His son Louis was likely influenced greatly by his father's actions. Louis Jr. continued in his father's steps to become the most famous Métis leader and the "

Father of Manitoba A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fathe ...

". When Louis Riel Sr. died January 21, 1864, his death was mourned by the entire settlement.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riel Sr., Louis 1817 births 1864 deaths People from Rupert's Land Métis politicians Canadian Métis people Louis Sr

Life

See also

References

External links