Historiography of Louis Riel

The first history, entitled A critical history of the Red River Insurrection, after official documents and non-Catholic sources by the Reverend A. G. Morice, was published in 1935, the main purpose of which was the defence of Bishop Taché. In 1936 also, George Stanley published The Birth of Western Canada: A History of the Riel Rebellions, which rebellions were not manifestations of the "western battle ground of the traditional hostilities of French Catholic Quebec and English Protestant Ontario" but of the problem of the frontier, of the primitive versus the civilized, of Riel versus the West. In 1945, the French author Marcel Giraud published the massive brilliantly researched ''Le Métis canadien, son rôle dans l'histoire des prairies de l'Ouest'', which "further cemented the idea that the Métis nation was born of conflict and war". It was especially when historians de-emphasized representing him as a French Catholic Canadian that Riel gained prestige among anglophones. Published in 1957, W.L. Morton's Manitoba: A History portrays the Red River Colony as "a microcosm of the struggle for Canada" with "a balance between French-Catholic Métis and British-Protestant settlers". Stanley's Louis Riel published in 1963 is considered to be the benchmark among Riel studies and sets Riel "up to fight a losing battle against the Canadian state." ==Regional studies==

In the 1960s and 1970s, regional studies increasingly displaced and fragmented the earlier generation of sweeping studies with authors such as Flanagan and Martel arguing, for example, that Riel should be "understood as a messianic prophet struggling against modernity". ==Contemporary studies==

In the 1980s, historians appeared to be less interested in 'great man' aspects of Riel and more interested in Métis history, probing the "Red River myopia", and viewing Riel "as the leader of a much broader social movement across Canada". In 1988, Stanley referred to Riel as a "Canadian legend" and “our Hamlet, the personification of the great themes of our human history.” ==Mental health and trial studies==

In his 2008 paper ''Non Compos Mentis: A Meta-Historical Survey of the Historiographic Narratives of Louis Riel's 'Insanity'', Gregory Betts's analyzes Riel's high treason trial and related mental health issue in the context of Stanley's four proposed Riel critical perspective categories, "Defender of French language and religious rights, Half-breed patriot, Riel, First western Canadian leader, and Prophet and visionary", these four ideological boundaries representing "one of the first meta-historical gestures at elevating Riel histories to a self-conscious awareness of how historians participate in determining the meaning of events". Betts concludes that two constants persist in all interpretations of Louis Riel's insanity, his insanity is morally repugnant and had he been conclusively proven insane, the moral integrity of his life and politics would have suffered. Betts cites Siggins and Stanley to the effect that Riel was not insane. Betts ends his paper's conclusion thus: A harrowing silence intermingled with doubt pervades all those touched by the asylum: regardless of the people they might have been or heroes they might become. Published in 1975, Brown's article The Meaning of Treason in 1885 raises a number of probing questions. ''Was the charge of treason properly applicable to Riel's crime? Was it legal to lay such a charge against a citizen of the United States? Was the 1352 Statute of Treason's the law in the Northwest Territories at the time of Riel's trial?'' He concludes that "at law it was a proper charge to lay against Riel", that Riel's U. S. citizenship did not matter since "he was a British subject till his death", and "he was legally chargeable as alien under the doctrine of local allegiance". ==Riel and historical practice ==

According to Hamon:Linked to national crises, particularly the Resistances (previously called Rebellions) of 1869 and 1885, Riel is probably the most written about person in Canadian history. As a result, he has been presented and re-presented for different interests: Catholic martyr to Protestant violence, a French patriot crushed by English fanatics, a spiritual leader, a deranged lunatic, the father of a nation, and an Indigenous hero. This introduction reflects on the significance of Riel for Canadian historical research and writing over the hundred years of existence of the Canadian Historical Review (CHR). It argues that the CHR has been an important vehicle for the professionalization of historical practice in Canada, and Riel has played an important part in that process. This introductory essay provides context and a discussion of the shifting approaches and interpretations of Riel in the CHR, identifying four phases: Civilizing and un-Civilizing Riel; Americanizing and un-Americanizing Riel; Mystifying and De-Mystifying Riel; and Provincializing Canada. It concludes that the history of Louis Riel is entwined with the emergence of professional history in Canada. ==Notes==