Sara Riel

Sara Riel (October 11, 1848 – December 27, 1883) was the first Métis Grey Nun from Red River. She is best known as the sister of Métis leader Louis Riel. Born in 1848 in the Red River settlement to parents Jean-Louis Riel and Julie Lagimodière, she was raised in a religious household. She was educated by the Sisters of Charity of Montreal but also by her mother, who was a devoted Catholic. Her family were active members in the Red River community right up to the Métis resistance. Although separated from her family, her writings showed a sympathetic view towards the resistance. Given that her brother was leading the rebellion against the government, the congregation feared for her safety and she was moved several times within a few years. This left a bond between Louis and Sara as the two eldest children of the family. Altogether the Riel family consisted of 11 children but only 8 lived to adulthood. The Riel family were respected members of Red River, and the children lived a more privileged life which was tied to the Catholic Church.

She attended school in St. Boniface from 1858 until 1866 when she was chosen to join the Grey Nuns. She entered the congregation in 1866. In 1868, she became the first Métis Grey Nun from the Red River. She was skilled in many languages including French, English, Michif, and Cree. The church were interested for her to become a teacher but also a mediator between missionaries and the indigenous. Two years later in 1868, Sara Riel took her vows and joined the Catholic community. many of whom came from Quebec, who helped provide a better education for the country-born children and Métis. The Hudson Bay Company sold Rupert's Land to the Canadian Government without thinking about the people who occupied it or had claims over it. With determination to preserve their way of life the Métis people took arms. After stopping surveyors, the Métis of Red River formed a provisional government. At the head of the provisional government was Louis Riel.

During the conflict, the Métis took Fort Gary and executed Thomas Scott.

With all the stress and chaos that the rebellion brought at home, Sister Riel still wrote actively to her brother. In the many letters sent, Sara Riel repeatedly told her brother to stay strong and fight for what they both believed in. In September 1868, she wrote: “Louis, chase away the sad and troubling thoughts to which our last meeting gave birth. Which time and the grace of God, the darkness of the present will disappear. Be confident! until then, we must do out duties. You as a fervent Christian and me as a sister of charity”

When Louis Riel was in exile to Saint-Joseph, Detroit after the first uprising, Sara Riel wrote several letters to Louis showing confidence, love and vital information that may have played a role in the future of the cause. She wrote; “truthfully I believe it would be an insult to God if I doubted for only a second the complete success of our cause... remember last winter when everything seemed over. It was God’s will that you should be overthrown, it overthrew in order to better your success.” In another letter she sent she described the heartache felt by the Métis following his departure. She wrote: Louis let us bury our sorrows in the wounds of his (God

Throughout the exile, Sister Riel and Mgr Taché knew of Louis Riel's whereabouts and helped him with news and information of Canadian politics. This is about the same time that Sara Riel chose to exile herself. But like the letters to Louis Riel, they both had to wait until the time was right. Sara Riel prayed for her brother's health and safety.

In the 1880s her health began to decline. Sara Riel suffered from tuberculosis for many years. When her health became very serious she was given permission to return to the Red River, to be with her family in her final days. Sister Riel refused the offer. She was determined that her mission was to Île-à-la-Cross and would stay until the end.

Sara Riel died December 27, 1883, at the age of 35. She served the Catholic Church as a nun for just over 17 years, either as a teacher, a translator or a missionary.

On April 27, 1885, the day after the Green Lake Post was looted during the North-West Rebellion, the Grey Nuns of Île-à-la-Crosse were terrified that Louis Riel, who had accused them of letting his younger sister die in misery would seek revenge. They fled the village along with most of the personnel and dependents of the Hudson's Bay Company Post and the Roman Catholic Mission. The large group camped on a small wooded island north of Patuanak until the crisis was over and returned to Île-à-la-Crosse on May 29, 1885.

Legacy Today, Sara Riel is not as well known nor has she had the same amount of attention from scholars as her brother.

The Riel family home still stands in Red River and has become a historical site in the province of Manitoba. It is referred to as the birthplace of the Métis resistance.

Sara Riel is seen as an important figure in the history of the Métis woman, of the Red River and in the Catholic missions in the Canadian north-west. She was an active writer, which left a larger paper trail allowing historians and scholars an insight into her life, family and the people at the time of the resistance. Until recently, her legacy had been overlooked and marginalised, with one scholar calling her "a pale representation of her brother." Nonetheless, her letters left important information on Canadian and Métis history, allowing an alternate perspective on many aspects of life of the North-West in the late nineteenth century.