What if the longed-for amnesty had come sooner, as had been promised? Riel would have been spared years of exile, and might never have experienced the religious revelations sparked by his suffering. Canada might have gained a politician and lost a prophet. In the North-West Rebellion of 1885, what if Riel had allowed Gabriel Dumont to fight an effective guerrilla war against the Canadian forces? The Métis were masters of the countryside, and had many links with other Aboriginal Peoples. They might have held out longer, and the Canadian government might have come to terms with them. Then there would have been no trial, no gibbet, and, of course, no martyr.

But it was Riel’s fate to be an outlaw. His political hopes dashed, he plunged into a spiritual and emotional crisis that led to a vocation as a visionary and prophet. In some aboriginal cultures such a personal upheaval was believed to indicate the emergence of a shaman, a person whose spiritual vocation serves the people. For this reason, the emerging shaman was supported by the community and often found guidance from a mentor. But Louis had to face his crisis without such support. Fusing his visions and prophesies with the Catholic faith, he tried to forge a new religion to express the political and spiritual destiny of his people, the Métis.

Riel’s Catholic, Apostolic, and Vital Church of the Shining Mountains did not survive him. But other nineteenth-century religious reformers, like Joseph Smith, had better luck. Today Smith’s Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints - the Mormon faith - is one of the world’s fastest-growing religions. Was Riel necessarily less inspired than Smith? Like him, Louis wanted to found a new faith joining elements of the Old World with the New. Because he failed does not make his religious visions any less remarkable than those of one who succeeded.

Riel’s life and especially his death shook the fault lines of Canadian society. His fate contributed to tensions between francophones and anglophones and the struggle between Quebec and Ontario. Many Québécois believed at the time - and some still believe - that Riel was executed not so much for leading a rebellion as for being a French and Catholic opponent of the Canadian government. That belief has had long-lasting consequences. The Parti national, Quebec’s first truly nationalist party and a forerunner of today’s Parti Québécois, was formed by Henri Mercier, a Riel supporter, as a direct response to his execution. Riel was also a pioneer in the field of aboriginal rights and land claims, and he has his place in histories that express the alienation of the West from the rest of Canada. Some western historians see Riel as the victim of capitalism - of eastern Canada’s plan to exploit and develop the West purely for its own benefit.

In 1992, the House of Commons declared Riel to be one of the founders of Manitoba. Today, on November 16, the anniversary of his execution, Louis Riel Day is celebrated in communities across Canada. Over the years, many people have also urged that he should be pardoned posthumously. But, pardon or no pardon, he is without doubt the last thing he would ever have expected to be - a genuine Canadian hero.