Louis Riel's Rebellion Trivia Quiz

Answer: Manitoba

Louis Riel formed a provisional government and presented Canada with a Bill of Rights that on May 12, 1870 became the Manitoba Act. Riel's provisional government approved it on June 24 and the act came into effect on July 15. He is considered the 'Father of Manitoba'.

Answer: Metis

Louis Riel was the eldest son of a prominent Métis family in St. Boniface. Seen as gifted, he began training for the priesthood but he never completed the course. An attempt at training as a lawyer ended similarly, and by 1868 Riel was back in the Red River area. Ambitious, well educated and bilingual, Riel quickly emerged as a leader among the Métis of the Red River.

Answer: 2

Riel led two rebellions to preserve Métis rights and culture.

Answer: The Red River Rebellion

The Red River Rebellion was initiated to preserve Metis' and First Nations' rights and culture from an influx of English-speaking protestant settlers from Ontario.

Answer: The North-West Rebellion

After the Red River Rebellion, the Metis travelled west and settled in Saskatchewan. Again Riel championed the rights of the Metis after they almost starved due to the lack of buffalo. This was exacerbated by a reduction in government assistance in 1883, and by a general failure of Ottawa to live up to its treaty obligations.

The Metis were likewise obliged to give up hunting and take up agriculture, which also caused land claim problems with the European settlers.

Answer: The Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company was created by an English royal charter in 1670 as 'The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay' and functioned as the government of parts of North America before European states and the United States laid claim to those territories.

Answer: Sir John A. Macdonald

Sir John A. Macdonald is famously quoted as saying: "He shall die though every dog in Quebec bark in his favour".

Answer: He was elected three times to the Canadian House of Commons.

Although Riel was elected, he never took his seat in the House.

Answer: Native and European mixed ethnicity

At the height of the North American fur trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, many British and French-Canadian fur traders married First Nation and Inuit women, mainly Cree, Ojibwa, or Saulteaux. The majority of these fur traders were Scottish, French and Catholic. Therefore, their children, the Métis, were exposed to both the Catholic and indigenous belief systems.

Answer: He was hanged

Louis Riel was hanged for treason on 16 November 1885.