The Man, the Myth, the T‑shirts

In December 1885, John A. Macdonald predicted, “The Riel fever will I think die out. If not it will be the worse for those who keep the fever alive.” Of course, the Riel fever did not die out. The website Way Back Winnipeg recently stocked the classic “Keepin’ It Riel” T‑shirt with Louis’s portrait — monochrome black on red. The print-on-demand marketplace Redbubble offers a pop art T‑shirt (six coloured Louis panels in the Andy Warhol style), cartoon stickers, and socks with Riel’s face and the Métis infinity symbol. There are two operas (I’ve seen both), the more recent one sung in five languages, including Southern Michif, French-Michif, and Anishinaabemowin; two statues in Winnipeg, including the controversial Marcien Lemay depiction of a naked Riel in ecstasy or pain (I’ve seen both); poetry and fiction aplenty, including Rudy Wiebe’s The Scorched-Wood People, from 1977, and Chester Brown’s graphic novel from 2003 (honoured with a stamp last year); and, of...