Riel, Métis story retold through woman’s view
Few are the characters in Canadian history more fascinating and controversial than Louis Riel. Ultimately hanged as a traitor, the Métis politician is either a visionary, criminal, madman or saint, depending on who is doing the telling.
Fertile ground, indeed, for this debut novel from Métis writer Maia Caron.
“Song of Batoche” is the fictionalized account of a formative moment in our country’s history. Beginning with the return of Riel to Canada in 1884 following the Red River uprising and Riel’s ensuing exile to the United States, the story follows Riel and a handful of the residents who summoned him to their aid in the small Métis community of Batoche, Sask.
Culminating in the 1885 Battle of Batoche, Caron blends fictional and fictionalized historic characters in the months ahead of the failed Northwest Rebellion.
Seen largely through the eyes of the women in the settlement — a perspective ignored in historic accounts — Caron weaves a tale of love, betrayal and obsession, and not Riel’s alone.
Josette Lavoie is a wise but longsuffering wife who becomes Riel’s collaborator and confessor against her own instinct. Her neighbour is famed Métis soldier and Riel supporter Gabriel Dumont and his wife. The local clergy progress from polite suspicion to outright betrayal as events unfold, while Riel attempts to woo famous First Nations leaders such as Poundmaker and Big Bear to his cause.
All the while, les anglais lurk in the background, a not-so-silent threat to the Métis and their way of life on the edge of the wilderness. What is ultimately a vivid and fast-paced retelling of this wellknown moment in Canadian history is, at the outset, buried under a generous layer of historical research. Once the scene-setting Red River carts, fiddles and ceintures fléchées retreat, however, Caron crafts a dramatic story.
Demonized as a madman by his enemies, Riel has come to be viewed by many as a folk hero who fought to protect the rights of persecuted Métis and paid the ultimate price for it. Manitoba has a statutory holiday in his honour.
During his 1885 trial, his lawyers argued Riel was insane and he had, indeed, been institutionalized following a mental breakdown. Yet his eloquent remarks in his own defence at his trial largely dispelled their argument.
The English soldiers and the clergy suffer at times from a similar lack of character depth but, despite its flaws, “Song of Batoche” delivers a thoroughly enjoyable and imaginative story that brings to life this historic event.