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The Riel Problem
Canada, the MĂ©tis, and a Resistant Hero
Albert Braz
- 336 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
The Riel Problem
Canada, the MĂ©tis, and a Resistant Hero
Albert Braz
About This Book
Tracing Louis Riel's metamorphosis from traitor to hero, Braz argues that, through his writing, Riel resists his portrayal as both a Canadian patriot and a pan-Indigenous leader. After being hanged for high treason in 1885, the MĂ©tis politician, poet, and mystic has emerged as a quintessential Canadian champion. The Riel Problem maps this representational shift by examining a series of cultural and scholarly commemorations of Riel since 1967, from a large-scale opera about his life, through the publication of his extant writings, to statues erected in his honour. Braz also probes how aspects of Riel's life and writing can be problematic for many contemporary MĂ©tis artists, scholars, and civic leaders. Analyzing representations of Riel in light of his own writings, the author exposes both the constructedness of the Canadian nation-state and the magnitude of the current historical revisionism when dealing with Riel.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Map
- Introduction: The National Metamorphosis of Louis Riel
- 1 | I, the Prophet: Rielâs Image and His Self-Fashioning
- 2 | The Precursors: John Coulter, Joseph Kinsey Howard, and the New Riel
- 3 | Singing Louis Riel: The Centennial Quest for Representative Canadian Heroes
- 4 | The Bardâs Apocryphal Song: Rudy Wiebe, Pierre Falcon, and Riel
- 5 | Consecrating Canadaâs Icon: The Projet Riel Project
- 6 | The Naked Martyr: Sculpture and the Shifting Image of Riel
- 7 | The Problematic Patriot: Chester Brownâs Louis Riel and Canadian Nationalism
- 8 | Confronting the Hero: Contemporary MĂ©tis Engagements with Riel
- Conclusion: Louis Riel in the Twenty-First Century
- Appendix: Variations on the âRielâ Artistic Prophecy
- Works Cited
- Index
- About the Author