Riel was a complicated character, to put it mildly. To see him only as a hero or only as a villain is to be blind to - or (wilfully?) ignorant of - much of what he was, and much of what he did.

Riel became the spokesman and leader of the Metis in their struggles with the Canadian government ca 1870 and again in the early 1880s. In both time periods, his leadership led to as much misfortune as satisfaction for the Metis. In the first instance (Manitoba 1870-71), his unnecessary and unjustified execution of Thomas Scott prompted a vengeful, militaristic response from the Canadians, which drove a great many Metis out of Manitoba - while the point of the resistance in the first place had been to secure them land rights and political rights in Manitoba. In the second instance (1885) - well, Gabriel Dumont said it best, his last words to Riel being, reportedly (in paraphrase), "Why did you lead us into this? You knew we couldn't win" (The implication being that Riel, having spent time in central Canada, would have known the kind of military force the federal government could bring against them).