The Audacity of His Enterprise: Louis Riel and the Métis Nation That Canada Never Was, 1840–1875

by M. Max Hamon

Louis Riel (1844-1885) was an iconic figure in Canadian history best known for his roles in the Red River Resistance of 1869 and the Northwest Resistance of 1885. A political leader of the Métis people of the Canadian Prairies, Riel is often portrayed as a rebel. Reconstructing his experiences in the Northwest, Quebec, and the worlds in between, Max Hamon revisits Riel's life through his own eyes, illuminating how he and the Métis were much more involved in state-making than historians have previously acknowledged. Questioning the drama of resistance, The Audacity of His Enterprise highlights Riel's part in the negotiations, petition claims, and legal battles that led to the formation of the state from the bottom up. Hamon examines Riel's early successes and his participation in the crafting of a new political environment in the Northwest and Canada. Arguing that Riel viewed the Métis as a distinct people, not caught between worlds, the book demonstrates Riel's attempts to integrate multiple perspectives - Indigenous, French-Canadian, American, and British - into a new political environment. Choosing to end the book in 1875, at the pinnacle of Riel's successful career as a political leader, rather than at his death in 1885, Hamon sets out to recover Riel's agency, intentions, and imagination, all of which have until now been displaced by colonial narratives and the shadow of his execution. Revisiting the Red River Resistance on its 150th anniversary, The Audacity of His Enterprise offers a new view of Riel's life and a rethinking of the history of colonialism.

Genres: History, Canada, Politics, Nonfiction, Biography

432 pages, Hardcover

Published January 9, 2020

Reviews

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t get the author’s point. It boggles my mind that one would choose to write about such an important topic, one that is still vital to this day, without making a clear point. I also found it arbitrary to not discuss the resistance of 1885 or Riel’s execution for treason by the Canadian government. Sure Riel’s “Sine Qua Non” of Canadian confederation is important to learn about, but it's hardly a point that moves us forward especially when it comes to the indigenous struggle today. After all, the essential thing about the future of the Canadian Confederation is, in my opinion, socialism.

The true value of the book is the way in which the author pushes back against reactionary historians, specifically Thomas Flanagan. But also he pushes back on the concept of Metissage as applied to Canadian national identity and championed by John Ralston Saul. It's also refreshing to read academic writing that pushes back on the cornerstone of existing historiography on western Canada, typified by the writing of George Stanley. The author reclaims the topic of Riel and the resistance he led from the clutches of Flanagan who wants us to believe that because Riel spent time in an insane asylum the resistance was led by an insane man. He skewers the idea that the Canadian state is one which blends the European and the Indigenous to come up with a distinctly Canadian identity. And he includes the metis of Red River, which historiography about Canada’s western expansion hasn’t really done to this point.

This book deserves accolades for its pushback. Finally something is being written that attempts to elevate Riel rather than cast him as some sort of nut job or Napoleon of the prairies. But it’s over-written. The author has researched his topic deeply but perhaps fails to lift his head out of the hole long enough to realize that his readers aren’t just him or his colleagues. Often the author will quote passages from letters in French without providing a translation, or will translate a French passage into English, footnote it, and provide the original French at the back of the book. Or he will refer to other academics in order to justify his perspectives. I haven’t read Jurgen Habermas, don’t want to, and don’t think I need to in order to understand Riel, or why Canadian westward expansion was resisted. I found the style of the author arrogant towards the reader.

I don’t get the point of the book. It should have just been a rebuttal of people like Flanagan, Saul, and Stanley. But it's not. And if the author’s point is that Canada is “the Metis nation that never was” then I disagree. Though Riel can be considered a “father of Confederation” it seems to make more sense to understand Canada as the Metis nation that was never going to be. History shows this. The occupation of Red River by Canada, the smashing of the nascent Metis nation at Batoche (where independence was declared, as opposed to Red River where independence was never declared, fought for, or even desired) shows this. The west was going to be Canadian on Canadian terms.

By leaving out significant context, like ignoring that the Lagimodiere family, and the Riel family were part of, and not responsible for, the growth of the settlement leads the author towards elitism. An essential bit of context not touched upon is the incompleteness of the CPR line at the time. This meant that the PM of Canada needed to buy time before he could get troops to Red River. Ignoring this last point alone distorts the authors understanding of the reasons why the Canadian government acceded to the Metis Bill of Rights (also known as “The Manitoba Act”), and why troops were sent by the British Empire and Canada to occupy Red River (it took over two months to get them there), or why those troops launched a “Reign of Terror” regardless of the Manitoba Act. And why, along with the amnesty campaign after the rebellion at Red River, Riel also worked to have the terms of the Manitoba Act honoured by the Canadian government (the author also makes a valuable point when he notes that Riel viewed the act as a treaty, making it the first treaty Canada broke.) In my opinion Macdonald (the PM of Canada at the time) considered agreeing to “the Manitoba Act” as simply a measure to buy time, and at Red River the Metis had armed and organized themselves, but hadn’t the time or inclination to prepare for war. That wouldn’t come until 1885.

All in all I’m glad to read a history that reclaims Riel, though I don’t believe the author really does justice to his subject, or the resistance he led.

[Myah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is this niche

[Ian Fife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louis Riel was a well-educated advocate, a gifted debater, a poetic writer, and a devoted family man and Catholic. He was well-suited as the dedicated Métis leader he took on in Northwest Canada in the mid to late 19th century. His father and mother were successful business and community leaders and his Montreal private school education was unique for a young Métis boy from Northwest Canada. He would use his extensive college and religious social networks throughout British North America canvassing for the Métis cause and aiding in the formation of Manitoba. Riel had made great political achievements, but struggled to accomplish having the first Canadian government to properly recognize the Métis Nation as Indigenous people.

Max Hamon is up-front immediately that this account is not your typical biography. If you are looking for an account of Louis Riel’s end of life actions such as the Red River Resistance or being tried and hung for treason, then this isn’t the biography you want to read. Mr. Hamon justifies this decision by noting these historical events have been written to no end and most books about Riel are heavily skewed towards these important periods in Canada’s history. Rather, Mr. Hamon focuses the biography on Riel’s earlier life and 3 important foundations that helped develop the person responsible for the Red River Resistance. Mr. Hamon categorizes Riel’s family, his public sphere, and his social networks as the foundation of the Métis “resistance to colonization and dispossession”.

The Audacity of His Enterprise is a very well-written and very well researched book (Mr. Hamon discovers some unknown historical evidence of Louis Riel’s life in Minnesota), the only drawback is its lack of accessibility to readers that are not familiar with general Canadian history or the people involved in the formation of Canada. Despite this, I very much enjoyed Mr. Hamon’s decision to tell Riel’s early story. It read more historical than biographical and it painted a much different picture than the historical figure understood as a traitor. Rather, the reader begins to understand the effort and passion Louis Riel was putting in for the Métis cause, even when he was forced to live as a fugitive in the United States. Riel was a brilliant, well-liked, and respected man. Mr. Hamon characterizes Riel’s values, evidenced through written letters, by the trust and loyalty his social networks showed towards him and his cause.

Final Impressions:
This book is not for readers wanting to first learn about Canadian history. Max Hamon assumes the reader is already familiar with Canadian history and the figures involved with shaping Canada around Confederation. He also assumes we know Métis history and why there was so much contention about their restriction to be recognized by the Canadian government as an Indigenous Nation. Mr. Hamon also assumes the reader is familiar with events such as the Hudson’s Bay Company’s sale of Rupert’s Land to Canada and how that directly affected the Métis Nation and settlers in pre-provincial Manitoba. To be fair, a reader picking up a book about Louis Riel likely already has some familiarity with Canadian history.

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid, academic work examining the cultural forces around Riel, such that he becomes the lodestone around which all these other patterns circulate.

It's dry and high-toned, but well-researched and earnest, contextualizing the amazing work of organozing and institutionalizing that Riel did. You get a sense of him as a political figure rather than a revolutionary mystic.

A valuable contribution of scholarship of early Canada and a terrible indictment of the conservative blight the province has fallen into.

[Donna Finch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the man and his times.

[Art Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting analysis of Riel and his efforts, but too much of a PhD thesis for the average reader. At least this average reader.

[Jamie Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting take on writing about Louis Riel. Diverges from the usual narrative of the life of Riel.