Events in Manitoba History: Louis Riel and his Councillors (June 1870)
On 3 June 1870, photographer Joseph Langevin entered Hugh F. O’Lone’s Red Saloon, a bar near the intersection of Portage Avenue and Main Street in Winnipeg (the site now buried under a widened Portage Avenue), and took a photograph of Louis Riel surrounded by several men, said to be his “councillors.” Some sources have drawn the conclusion that the men were members of Riel’s Provisional Government. However, research indicates that some of the men were indeed supporters of Louis Riel but others were opponents and the photo may be simply a group of men in the bar at the time.
“Louis Riel and his Councillors” (June 1870)
Source: University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, A13-5.Back row (L-R): François Guillemette (misidentified in some sources as Bonnet Tromage), Pierre Delorme, Thomas Bunn, Xavier Pagé, Andre Beauchemin, Baptiste Tourond, Thomas Spence (standing in profile). Middle row (L-R): Pierre Poitras, John Bruce, Louis Riel, William O’Donoghue, François Dauphinais. Front row (L-R): Hugh F. (Bob) O’Lone, Paul Proulx.
See also:
Manitoba Photographers: Joseph Langevin (1830s-1882)
Memorable Manitobans: Louis “David” Riel (1844-1885)
Memorable Manitobans: Provisional Government of Manitoba, 1870
A Misleading Portrait: The Provisional Government of Assiniboia and the Creation of Manitoba by Derrick M. Nault
Prairie History, Number 3, Fall 2020
Sources:
“A ghastly find. Are they the remains of Thomas Scott?,” Manitoba Free Press, 18 September 1896, page 1.
“Joseph Langevin photographed Louis Riel“ by Richard Huyda, Canadian Photography, June 1976, pages 29-30.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 16 January 2021
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