THE LOUIS RIEL COLLECTION
The University of Calgary digital archives houses the Louis Riel Collection. This collection consists of letters, papers, notebooks, and a single glass plate negative, and it was contributed by the descendant family members of Louis Riel.
This collection includes:
- fifteen letters written by Louis Riel (1844 – 1885) to his mother and siblings in Red River
- a slim, worn notebook kept by Riel beginning in the 1870s
- letters written by Riel family members and their close associates
- a notebook with a transcription in French of the courtroom address made by one of Riel’s defense lawyers (Charles Fitzpatrick) and Louis Riel’s own defense
All materials in the collection were transcribed and translated by Joëlle Y. Sevigny.
The Louis Riel collection consists of textual materials, and one photograph of Octavie and Marie Riel. Additional Riel-related photographs included are from the Glenbow Archives.