At the time, the Métis were certainly a separate ethnic group from the indigenous tribes.

Today we use “Aboriginal” as an umbrella term to mean First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.

But they were very separate peoples at the time of Louis Riel, and disputed over land with them and had different ideals.

Louis Riel saw the Métis as a sort of “hybrid” of Europeans and Indigenous (which they were to an extent) - but superior to both. The Métis spoke French, practiced Catholicism and had knowledge of European farming and engineering techniques. While also believing they possessed the superior hunting and knowledge of nature skills that the Indigneous had.

Which would be considered racist today, but those were the times.

Riel did not have indigenous supporters at the time, and definitely did not have Settler-Canadian settlers.

He had American supporters because they were hoping for some sort of Métis uprising or civil war in British-Canada that would split up the British control of the territory.

Riel obviously had a lot of Métis support, however even some questioned him as his mental health was at times disputed. He claimed to be a religious prophet who could speak to God.

So he is a complicated figure who is admired more today than he was at the time.

It’s true he started the beginning of negotiations for Manitoba to be a real province - however the province we have is not the one he envisioned. Riel wanted a separate ethnic country that was run by the Métis, who he believed were the superior race of people on earth. Most of this is not really discussed in school lol.