Louis Riel: Hero OR Villain? (a letter from different point of views)

My teacher is making us write a letter from the point of view of a Metis, a French Canadien, or an English Canadian. I know there is lots of reasons that he could be either a hero, or a villain.

I'm just not too sure about how each of the groups (above) viewed Louis Riel. So i have a couple of reasons of why he is either a hero or villain.

HERO
*He was named the Secretary for the National Committee of the Red River Metis.
*People came to him for advice instead of the President.
*He was the reason Canada has Manitoba and Saskatchewan
*He stood up for Native rights and defended the Metis
*He wrote up the List of Rights
*Led the Northwest Rebellion of 1885, which showcased the capabilities of the Canadian Pacific Railway

VILLAIN
* He executed Thomas Scott, an Orange Lodge member
* Challenged the government and wrongly viewed their ideas
* Led rebellions against the government
*Ran away to the US after he killed Scott
*He betrayed his country when his rebellion failed

If you can tell me which point of view (Metis, a French Canadien, or an English Canadian.) would be the easiest, and why, that would be great! :)

With all due respect, your choice when writing this essay shouldn't really be about "What is easiest?" but rather, "What do I believe in?"

Not only will it make your essay all the more convincing, but it will also serve as good practice for when college applications roll around. :)

With that being said, I would imagine that an English Canadian saw Louis Riel as a menace for the reasons you listed above. The Metis saw him as a hero for the opposite reasons you listed above.

I hope this helps in some way. Keep in mind that I am not an expert on 19th century Canadian history.

Hey, a lot of good points are listed here. Each of these points can be made into a paragraph if you add sentences of explanation or example, etc. It will be easy to turn each of these sentences into a paragraph.

Now, as for choosing the perspective to use, I think it just depends on what sources you have. If you have a few good quotes from French Canadians, take that perspective. This stuff is easy! But I cannot say which perspective would be easiest for you to write from. Just look at the sources you are using, and it is probably easy to see which one your sources provide good info for.

:-)