Women and Louis Riel
Women of the Red River
Posted February 17, 2020
How can we expand our teaching of Louis Riel?
My article on the topic
"Drawn out of History: The representation of women in Chester Brown’s Louis Riel: A comic strip biography." Graphic Novels and History. Rick Iadonisi, Ed. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012. (You can also email for more information)
Online Resources Mentioned in the Video
“Women of the 1885 Resistance.” The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture.
“Fiddler, Mary, Interview." The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture.
“Annie Mcdermot, (Bannatyne). (C.1830-1908).” The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture.
Check Out These Books
W. J. Healy with Women’s Canadian Club. Women of Red River: Being a Book Written from the Recollections of Women Surviving from the Red River Era. Winnipeg, 1923. (reprint 1977)
Irene Ternier Gordon. Marie-Anne Lagimodière: The Incredible Story of Louis Riel's Grandmother. Altitude, 2003.
Maggie Siggins. Riel: A Life of Revolution. HarperCollins, 1995.
Maggie Siggins. Marie-Anne: The Extraordinary Life of Louis Riel's Grandmother. McClelland & Stewart, 2009.
The primary source* I discussed in the video
See below for screenshots of the account I refereed to in the video.
Note that Anne Schultz and her husband were imprisoned by Riel - I don't think I was clear about that in the video.
However, see in the account that women in the past like Anne Schultz were not the shrinking violets we often assume them to be. How can we bring this into our teaching?
(*Is it a primary source if it was published 50 years after the fact? Even if it was based on people's recollections of the time?)
Archival Images Featured in the Video
Image 1
Unidentified Family, Probably at Osnaburgh House, Ontario. (1886). Creator: Robert Bell. Library and Archives Canada, e011156727_s1.
Image 2
Unidentified Métis at Fort Dufferin, Manitoba. (1873-1874). Creator: George M. Dawson. Library and Archives Canada, e011156521.
Image 3
Unidentified Métis family, Grand Rapids. (1907). Charles Hall Family Collection. Archives of Manitoba, Item Number 91.