There was a period of rapid change in western Canada in the 1870s and 1880s: buffalo herds were exterminated, treaties were signed with the Indians, the Canadian Pacific Railway was built and a wave of immigrants flooded the prairies. Indian and Metis people found it hard to give up their freedom and settle into a lifestyle dependent on agriculture when they had been accustomed to a semi-nomadic lifestyle. The Canadian government seemed unresponsive to the pleas of the Metis people for help. Metis people were not heard in their struggle for the right to their land. Treaty promises were not fully carried out and the Indian agents sent to help the Indians sometimes were arrogant. And their loyal and devoted leader was Louis Riel. His passion for politics burned brightly and that is what made him a natural leader among the Metis.
             Louis Riel, a leader of his people in their resistance against the Canadian government in the Canadian Northwest, is perhaps the most controversial figure in Canadian historiography. His life and deeds have spawned a massive and diverse literature. Riel's leadership in the agitation, especially his decision to execute a Canadian named Thomas Scott, enraged anti-Catholic and anti-French sentiment in Ontario. Riel was the undisputed spiritual and political head of the short-lived 1885 Rebellion. In all this, the Metis and the Indians saw Riel as the "spiritual leader". And the government of Canada saw Riel as a troublemaker, a zealot and a traitor. Riel was increasingly influenced by his belief that he was chosen to lead the Métis people. On May 15, shortly after the fall of Batoche, Riel surrendered to Canadian forces and was taken to Regina to stand trial for treason. At his trial Riel gave two long speeches which demonstrated his powerful rhetorical abilities. During his tria!
             l, Riel's lawyer thought the only way to get Riel out of this mess was for him to plead insanity. He personally rejected ...