This book takes a look at Louis Riel from a historical perspective, examining the political and cultural ramifications of Riel's life for the citizens of Western Canada. As a revolutionary, as a religious prophet, and as a spokesman for the Metis people, Louis Riel changed the course of Canadian history.

The transcript of Louis Riel's trial has never been readily accessible to the general reader interested in the 1885 Rebellion and related events. This work will promote knowledge of the facts, and illustrate a social phenomenon of nineteenth-century Canada. In that age litigation was a prime public spectacle, and the trial of Louis Riel in 1885 was followed intently across the country. The crowded, stuffy courtroom in Regina was the stage for the most dramatic and perhaps the most important state trial in Canadian history. In his introduction, Desmond Morton has sought to banish many of the myths which surround both Riel and the trial, doing justice to Madconald and the government as well as to the prisoner of Regina. In the process, he has restated the issues of the trial in the terms understood by his contemporaries.

In 1885, Louis Riel was charged with high treason, found guilty, and consequently executed for his role in Saskatchewan's North-West Rebellion. During his trial, the Métis leader gave two speeches, passionately defending the interests of the Métis in western Canada as well as his own life. Riel's Defence studies these speeches, demonstrating the range of Riel's political and personal concerns. The first and better known of the two speeches addresses the jury, while Riel's second speech - rarely reprinted - addresses the court following his guilty verdict. Both orations have been edited, annotated, and reprinted, and are followed by essays from diverse perspectives including philosophy, law, history, political science, religion, and communication studies. Through the course of their inquiry, contributors come to understand more about Riel's personal character and political thought, as well as his arguments supporting Métis land claims, grievances against the federal government, and his immigration plan for the North-West. Evaluating the rhetorical quality, legal merit, and cultural stakes of his speeches, Riel's Defence reveals the significance of the last public statements made by a man who indelibly shaped Canada’s history by combining his personal vision with a national vision.

The transcript of Louis Riel's trial has never been readily accessible to the general reader interested in the 1885 Rebellion and related events. This work will promote knowledge of the facts, and illustrate a social phenomenon of nineteenth-century Canada.In that age litigation was a prime public spectacle and the trial of Louis Riel in 1885 was followed intently across the country. The crowded, stuffy courtroom in Regina was the stage for the most dramatic and perhaps the most important state trial in Canadian history.Riel had decided never to return to the dreary, hopeless life of an exile. Guided by his own private vision of reality, he tried to carry his revolutionary struggle from the field into a new arena, because he was not a man of action but a man of words. He went to his enemies to demand the great public trail which he had never received - a trial that was the deliberately chosen climax of his political life and an opportunity to vindicate himself. Much of the drama of the courtroom was created by his struggles with his own lawyers to be able to present his own case. In the background were the almost insoluble dilemmas created by a conflict of cultures.In his introduction, Desmond Morton has sought to banish many of the myths which surround both Riel and the trial, doing justice to Macdonald and the government as well as to the prisoner of Regina. In the process, he has restated the issues of the trail in the terms understood by his contemporaries.

This book sparked national controversy when it was first published in 1983. Updated to include recent developments, such as native rights and land claims, the cultural mythology that surrounds Riel, and the recent campaign to have him pardoned.

"Jennifer Reid looks at the man known today as the founder of Manitoba. Not just a traditional biography, Reid examines Riel's education and religious beliefs."--[book jacket].