Louis Riel

Riel, Louis (1844–85), Canadian rebel leader. In 1869 he organized the métis (people of mixed native Canadian and French descent) of Red River, now in Manitoba, to oppose Canada's annexation of the Northwest Territories. He fled to the United States after government troops moved in (1870). In 1884 he led another Indian uprising in Saskatchewan but was captured. His execution for treason was a cause of friction between English and French Canadians.

See also: Canada.