Key players in Louis Riel's life
Crowfoot
Crowfoot was a chief of the Siksika First Nation tribe. Crowfoot was a warrior but despite this, he tried to alway keep peace instead of tribal warfare. Crowfoot chose to remove himself and his people from the fighting that took place for as long as possible. He knew that the rebel fighters were fighting a losing battle, but his adopted son Poundmaker was deeply involved in the conflict. Crowfoot was also aware of the fact that the Blackfoot were not treated much better by the Métis and Louis Riel, which means that even though it’s an upgrade from their previous treatment it’s still not what they wanted and as a result. Crowfoot wanted to stay safe and loyal to Canada. After much debate Crowfoot did choose to back the crown instead of Louis Riel and his Metis, but he continued to remain as removed as he could. If Louis Riel had received Crowfoot help the outcome of the rebellions would have changed.
Poundmaker​
Big Bear
Poundmaker was the adopted son of Crowfoot, and gained influence because of this. Later on, when the Northwest Rebellion had begun, Poundmaker’s followers raided an abandoned village of Battleford and put it under siege. Soon after the event, Col W.D. Otter led his forces against the Indians on Cut Knife Hill, near Poundmaker's camp. The colonel had soon retreated due to heavy fire. Although Poundmaker was not involved during the fight, he convinced his forces not to pursue the retreating army. During his trial for treason, Poundmaker protested for his innocence, but received 3 years. After serving 1 year, his health and spirit fell drastically, and later died several weeks later while visiting his father, Crowfoot.
Big Bear
Big Bear was the Plains Cree Chief and was the head of roughly 65 lodges. Big Bear had become the last Plains chief to sign a treaty with the Canadian government. But in 1885, Big Bear resisted in moving his people onto a reserve, still wanting a better deal. This resulted in Big Bear’s band including some of the more militant Plains Cree, which the government did not take likely. The government began to cut off rations, attempting to force Big Bear and the Cree to settle. But on April 1, Big Bear’s band took several Metis and non-metis settlers hostage. This lead to the next day where war chief, Wandering Spirit, shot federal agent Thomas Quinn. Big Bear attempted to stop the violence, but the warriors followed their war chief and killed 2 priests, the government farming instructor, a miller, an independent trader, and 3 other men. Later, at the end of May, Big Bear became the only important rebel still at large. But on June 21 the hostages were released, and on July 2 Big Bear surrendered to the Mounted Police. Big Bear was tried for treason and received 3 years of prison, but ended up only serving 2, due to failing health conditions. Big Bear died shortly after he was released on the Poundmaker Reserve.
C.P.R
The CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) was a company tasked with building a transcontinental railway that was a promise to British Columbia when it had joined Canada during the Confederation. Furthermore, when the Northwest Rebellion erupted into chaos, the CPR proved its worth by being able to mobilize troops quickly into what is now known as Manitoba. This was very significant in stoping the rebellion led by Louis Riel for that reason.
John A.Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald was a Canadian politician and Father of Confederation. He was the first Prime Minister of Canada from 1867–1873, 1878–1891. Macdonald was born in Scotland; when he was a boy his family immigrated to Kingston in the colony of Upper Canada.The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a very successful political career. He drank heavily, and in 1873 was voted out during the Pacific Scandal, in which his party took bribes from businessmen seeking the contract to build the Pacific Railway. In what is now Saskatchewan, the local people the Métis, were fearful that rule would be imposed on them when he did not take into account their interests, and the result was the Red River Rebellion led by Louis Riel. Unwilling to pay for a territory in insurrection, Macdonald had troops put down the uprising swiftly but as a result of the unrest, the Red River Colony joined Confederation as the province of Manitoba while the rest of the purchased lands became the Northwest Territories.Following the North-West Rebellion of 1885 Macdonald implemented restrictions upon the movement of indigenous groups, requiring them to receive formal permission from an Indian Department Official in order to go off reserve.The Northwest again saw unrest. Many of the Manitoban Métis had moved into the territories. Negotiations between the Métis and the Government to settle grievances over land rights proved difficult, Riel had lived in exile in the United States since 1870, he journeyed to Regina with the connivance of Macdonald's government, who believed he would prove a leader they could deal with.Instead, the Métis rose the following year under Riel in the North-West Rebellion. Macdonald put down the rebellion with militia troops transported by rail, and Riel was captured, tried for treason, convicted, and did his most controversial move to approve the execution of Métis leader Louis Riel for treason in 1885.
Gabriel Dumont
Gabriel Dumont was a Leader of the Metis. He played a critical role in bringing Louis Riel back to Canada, in order to pressure the Canadian authorities to pay attention to the Métis people. He was the army general in the provisional Métis government declared in 1885, and commanded the Métis forces in the North-West Rebellion. Despite morale problems, he can be credited with a victory at the Battle of Fish Creek and managed to hold off a much larger force at the Battle of Batoche for several days. Despite this success Riel refused to let him make vital strategic actions such as damaging railway lines to hinder the enemy's movement, providing the Canadian government with an advantage. Following the defeat at Batoche, Dumont made his way via the Cypress Hills to the Montana Territory, where he surrendered to the U.S. Cavalry. However, the U.S. government determined that he was a political refugee and he was shortly released
