The Riel Problem: Canada, the Métis, and a Resistant Hero

By Albert Braz

Tracing Louis Riel's metamorphosis from traitor to hero, Braz argues that, through his writing, Riel resists his portrayal as both a Canadian patriot and a pan-Indigenous leader. After being hanged for high treason in 1885, the M tis politician, poet, and mystic has emerged as a quintessential Canadian champion. The Riel Problem maps this representational shift by examining a series of cultural and scholarly commemorations of Riel since 1967, from a large-scale opera about his life, through the publication of his extant writings, to statues erected in his honour. Braz also probes how aspects of Riel's life and writing can be problematic for many contemporary M tis artists, scholars, and civic leaders. Analyzing representations of Riel in light of his own writings, the author exposes both the constructedness of the Canadian nation-state and the magnitude of the current historical revisionism when dealing with Riel.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1772127337
• ISBN13: 9781772127331
• Release Date: April 2024
• Publisher: University of Alberta Press
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.9"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher