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Definition of louis riel in English English dictionary
- {i} (1844-1885) Canadian rebel and leader who assisted his metis people in a rebellion over their land rights in 1885 against the Canadian authorities in the west (the Canadian authorities captured him, he was tried for betrayal and then executed him by hanging)
- born Oct. 23, 1844, St. Boniface, Assiniboia, Can. died Nov. 16, 1885, Regina, District of Assinibois, Can. Canadian leader of the Métis people in western Canada. In 1869 Riel headed a revolt against Canadian expansion in the west that resulted in the establishment of the province of Manitoba (1870). Intermittent hostilities continued for several years thereafter, and Riel was officially outlawed. In 1885 he led a Métis uprising in Saskatchewan that was crushed by the Canadians. Riel was found guilty of treason and hanged. His death led to ethnic conflicts in Quebec and Ontario and marked the beginning of the nationalist movement