There's probably no other Manitoban -- not musician Burton Cummings or former premier Duff Roblin or activist Nellie McClung -- whose likeness has been reproduced as much as Louis Riel's.
The Mettis leader and father of Manitoba has his name on a downtown hotel, a February holiday, a school division and a bridge, plus murals and streets and a city hall committee.
But that's nothing compared to the plethora of three-dimensional renderings. Riel is honoured with no fewer than four statues in Winnipeg alone.
Thanks to a controversy that raged in the 1970s and 1980s, you probably know of two -- the statesmanlike statue behind the Manitoba Legislature and the so-called "twisted and tortured" one designed by Marcien Lemay that's now at St. Boniface College.
There's also a small statue in St. Norbert south of the Perimeter Highway, the early home of the Red River resistance that ultimately made Manitoba a province.
Unlike the two big statues, the St. Norbert one is a quiet rendering of a somber Riel beside his spiritual mentor, Father N el-Joseph Ritchot. It comes with a detailed history lesson on how the rebellion was sparked just a short distance away when M ©tis farmers stopped surveyors from the Canadian government.
Finally, there's a big bust outside the St. Boniface Museum on Tach © Avenue that went up in the mid-1980s as an olive-branch compromise while the debate over the Lemay statue simmered.
The 24-year debate divided the M ©tis community and plagued several provincial governments, but did much to spur a public re-evaluation of Riel's legacy.
At the time, one critic called the Lemay statue a "brutally misshapen blob" but it is unquestionably more sympathetic, capturing all the passion and complexity of Riel and his struggle.
"Here's a brilliant guy who should have been premier of Manitoba or at least Manitoba's top MP. He was elected three times, but could never serve," said Phillipe Mailhot, director of the St. Boniface museum and a Riel scholar. "But instead he's been abused and mistreated and driven into exile."
Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand's predecessors spent years railing against the statue before it was finally transplanted to St. Boniface to make way for the more dignified and conventional statue of Riel.
"Given that there was such a hard line in this country against Riel as a traitor and sell-out, it's fitting to have a more statesman-like style," Chartrand said. "We don't know if the provinces in Western Canada would have been formed without him. We could be a territory still, or part of the United States."
At the time, Jean Allard, a former NDP MLA from Northern Manitoba, chained himself to the statue to prevent it from being removed. The statue controversy drew national attention and provoked a public debate about Riel's life, his role in the province's founding and his role in the death of anti-Metis agitator Thomas Scott.
Joseph Riel, Louis's great-grand nephew, said he'd like to see the two statues stand side-by-side at the legislature. He recalled how hurt and upset many M ©tis were, especially the older generation, when the "twisted and tortured" statue was unveiled in 1971, especially because Riel was depicted in the nude. "You wouldn't do it to Diefenbaker. You wouldn't do it to Filmon," Riel said. "But you can't deny history or obliterate it. It makes sense to have them side by side"
maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca
Riel written in stone
Twisted and tormented Riel
Location: Behind the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface on avenue de la Cathédrale.
Created: In 1971 by architect Étienne Gaboury and sculptor Marcien Lemay.
Why it's interesting: It spawned huge controversy when it was erected first at the Manitoba legislature, controversy that ultimately provoked its move to St. Boniface in 1994. It's an abstract and almost horrific depiction of Riel's mental anguish -- the hollowed-out spine and chest and the gaunt face of a tortured soul.
Riel the statesman
Location: Manitoba legislature, on the south side facing the Red River.
Created: In 1996 by sculptor Miguel Joyal.
Why it's interesting: Looking every inch the dignified statesman (one critic said he looks more like a London bank clerk), Riel still sports his Métis sash and moccasins. He towers over the Red River and in his hand, he's brandishing the list of rights drawn up during the rebellion. The Golden Boy and the legislature's dome are perched just behind him, a symbol of the government that followed.
Riel and Ritchot
Location: Deep in south St. Norbert in front of the parish church at Avenue de l'Église and Rue St. Pierre.
Created: In 1986.
Why it's interesting: Located on the site of the first headquarters of the Red River rebellion, Father Nöel-Joseph Ritchot's parish church, the monument tells the story of the barricade erected early in the rebellion by the Métis just a short jaunt away near Pembina Highway. The barrier was meant to keep any Canadian troops or emissaries at bay. It also honours Ritchot, who Riel sent to Ottawa to negotiate Manitoba's entry into Confederation.
Riel's bust
Location: Outside the St. Boniface Museum on rue Taché.
Created: In the late 1980s by noted francophone artist Réal Bérard.
Why it's interesting: It's not nearly as interesting as the artifacts in the museum, such as the cap Riel wore when he was hanged or the Heritage Minute depicting Riel at the gallows that was deemed too disturbing for television.
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