Both these statues represent the same person. How could one man be seen so differently by different eyes? Louis Riel is a perfect example of re-visioning history. Moving far enough away in time from a person or an event permits new interpretations of deeds and their significance.
Competing parties have always interpreted Riel in different ways. The non-Metis non-French-speaking majority in Canada had for many generations a vested interest in portraying Riel as twisted, tormented, insane, a criminal, a rebel, or as a misguided victim. To the Metis people, he is a talented educated leader with foresight and vision who was the Father of Manitoba. The earlier naked bound pained statue was removed from the riverbank behind the Manitoba Legislative Building and now stands in a corner of a parking lot at the back of an obscure building in St. Boniface. A re-visioned Louis Riel has replaced it. Sculpted by Miguel Joyal, the new Riel looks every bit the equal to his rival, Sir John A Macdonald, proudly sashed with the ceinture flechee, shod in moccasins, gripping the scrolled Manitoba Act. Yet, on November 16, 1885, Louis Riel was hanged by the Canadian Justice System in Regina, North West Territory. How could this happen--a Father of Confederation hanged? Only in Canada, you say? And you hang your head in shame.
Facts about Riel are readily available on the Internet. I've added a Timeline at My Home Page http://www.suite101.com/mypage.cfm/bridg... or you can go to the Louis Riel Home Page http://infoweb.magi.com/~shuttle/riel-in... for 27 pages of facts in point form with hundreds of Links, often to original documents. Research for yourself, and then see whether you agree with my opinions about this great man's Historical Significance.
Louis Riel is one of the most important figures in Canadian History. 1. Riel was a freedom fighter, chosen by his people to speak for them, to lead them, in recurring battles against absentee overlords (HBC) and wannabee imperialists (Canada) who refused to recognize the Metis as human beings with a land, a culture, a voice of their own, deserving of respect, worthy of being included in the plans that were being made for their future. 2. Riel was the first official voice of Western alienation, defending his homeland against decisions made in and imposed from Central Canada where the west was seen merely as a hinterland treasure chest which would make others rich. 3. Riel was the first defender of the bi-lingual and bi-cultural rights of French-speaking Catholic citizens supposedly guaranteed in the Canadian Constitution (the British North America Act of 1867). Because of his leadership, the first new province into Confederation was also bi-lingual and bi-cultural, and the Franco-Manitoban culture still thrives today.
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