The Royal Canadian Mint has issued a new coin featuring a portrait of Louis Riel, an important Métis leader and the founder of Manitoba.
The coin was launched on the 175th anniversary of Riel’s birth.
It is also the first coin to be engraved with Michif, the official language of the Métis Nation.
Riel was central to the Red River and North-West resistances to assert Indigenous rights and stop the Canadian encroachment on Métis land.
He was executed in 1885.
The coin features a portrait of Riel wearing a fur-trimmed buckskin jacket covered with floral beadwork.
Riel is encircled by a traditional Coventry sash in the shape of an infinity sign, which represents the Métis Nation.
“Louis Riel is both an iconic figure and an aspirational role model not only for the Métis Nation, but for all Canadians. He protected Métis self-determination, stood strong for language, religious, and Indigenous rights, and resisted injustice,” said Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand in a news release.
