Louis Riel

        Louis Riel was a man who lived between the years of  1844-1885. Many people think that he was a villain or a traitor, however, I believe that he was doing what he could to help his people. He may not have made the best decisions according to the settlers or our standard today, but did not know that there were any other options.
        Riel realized that the Metis were not very organized so  he took leadership of the movement in efforts to protect and preserve the rights of his people. He organized bands of Metis to observe and confront he surveyors. Louis formed the Metis National Committee to fight for concerns about their land. He commanded  the group of Metis to occupy Fort Garry and seize its munitions. He wanted to retain their rights and traditions so on December 8th, 1869 he established a provisional government to manage the settler's lives and protect their material goods. Riel feared that if McDougall was allowed to take charge of the area, he would give all the power to the Canadian Party and ignore the Metis. He also feared of civil war because the Canadian Party was already armed and ready to fight the Metis. Riel did what he thought was the only possible solution to save his people; executing Thomas Scott. He proclaimed that the crisis had passed.
       In 1869, a series of articles were published insulting the Metis people.Riel wrote a reply in the "Le nouveau monde" magazine of Montreal to defend the Metis. This was one of the situations that lead to him taking leadership the Metis' movement. In August of that year, from them top steps of St. Boniface Cathedral, he declared that surveying the land was a threat to its existence. Riel created the four "Lists of Rights" which constituted the basis of the negotiations leading to the entry of Manitoba to the Canadian Confederation.
       Although he tried to do the right thing, many people opposed to what Louis Riel did and thought that he was cruel and villainous. When Schultz and 48 of his followers were imprisoned, Thomas Scott was extremely belligerent. He loudly publicized his anti-Metis views, physically abused the guards and threatened Riel's life. For this and to prove his point, Scott was put to death. Many people said that he had been brutally murdered by the Metis because Scott was not killed instantaneously  Though the guards were lined up and fired at once, Riel had to shoot him once more to kill him.
       Louis Riel thought that there was only one option to save his people and took a brave step to lead the movement. He helped to get  his people out of a tight situation and give them land of their own. Many other people believe that killing Thomas Scott was wrong no matter what the outcome or other possible options. But, everybody mistakes and Riel did other things that made him a hero.