On this day in 1844, my fifth cousin, twice removed, Louis Riel, was born in the Red River Colony, where Winnipeg now stands. As a political and spiritual leader of the Metis people of the Canadian prairies, he led two resistance movements against the Canadian government, seeking to preserve Metis rights and culture.

He was arrested and charged with treason before being executed in 1885. Read about him in my novel Manitoba: Ancestors Book 15.

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