Louis Riel: Firebrand.

Frits Pannekoek is an associate professor of heritage studies, director
of information resources at the University of Calgary, and the author of
A Snug Little Flock: The Social Origins of the Riel Resistance of
1869–70.

Sharon Stewart has written Louis Riel as a biography with narrative elements for young adults. The question is, does it work?

In taking the voice of Riel from time to time, she attempts to second guess what makes him “tick.” He is painted as an individual with real commitment to family and his people. And he well might have been the saint that Stewart makes him out to be. However, Stewart misses several opportunities to deal with human complexities that have puzzled historians and would puzzle Canada’s youth. What was the nature of Riel’s mental afflictions? At one point she suggests that, had he been accepted by his First Nations cousins, he would have been considered a shaman rather than someone to be institutionalized. Is she suggesting that all shamans were “mad”? At another moment she suggests that the revelations made to Riel were really no different than those made to Joseph Smith. Given the status of Aboriginal people within the Mormon revelation, that is hardly a thoughtful comment, unless it is intended to provoke.

Other than these rather bizarre suggestions, Stewart has trouble making Riel out to be the flawless hero that she believes young people expect. His treatment of his first love, the killing of Scott, or his use of William McDougall’s furniture are explained away. Here was an opportunity to paint a picture of a more complex hero who had multiple passions and motivations. Recommended with reservations.