THUNDER BAY — A First World War sniper believed for decades to be the nephew of Louis Riel is the subject of an intriguing docu-drama by a Thunder Bay film production company.
Le tireur d'élite/The Sniper tells the story of Patrick Riel who died in action in Belgium in 1916.
Originally from Quebec, the Métis man had moved to the Lakehead at some point and found work as a lumberjack in the Shabaqua area.
When war broke out in Europe and the Winnipeg Rifles came through on an eastbound train, Riel decided to sign up.
Somehow, his surname and his Métis heritage led wrongly to the belief that he was the nephew of the man who was hanged in 1885 for leading the North-West Rebellion.
They were related, in fact, but only distantly.
Ironically, the Winnipeg Rifles was also the battalion that captured Louis Riel and brought him to Regina where he was executed after a controversial trial.
Ron Harpelle, president of Film Riel Inc., says the docu-drama tells Patrick Riel's story through letters written by fellow sniper Glenn Iriam of Kenora who authored the book In The Trenches 1914-1918.
Those letters ended up in archives that the producers were able to study as part of their painstaking research.
"He was just sort of mysterious. We found his grave and everything," Harpelle told TBNewswatch. "His story is buried in documents. He was just one of these guys who never came back."
Riel served for a year as one of the best Canadian snipers before dying under German artillery fire.
The records listed him as a casualty from the Thunder Bay area and the nephew of Louis Riel.
His death made headlines across the country.
Through his will, the film producers were able to track down family members in the Maniwaki area of Quebec.
"They didn't really know anything about him. They didn't even have a photo," Harpelle said. "We were surprised."
The family will be consulted about arrangements to release the film, which is a few weeks away from completion.
Harpelle said "We want to be respectful. It's their story as much as anybody else's."
Le tireur d'élite/The Sniper received about $62,000 in funding assistance from the Northern Ontario Heritage Corporation.
Harpelle said he's grateful for the support, saying the funding is important because "it allows us to keep people in this town, young filmmakers and others, to make a career of it."
He added that even though Riel wasn't from Thunder Bay originally, "it's a story that begins here. It's one of our stories, and if we weren't telling it, who else would be telling it?"
