Louis Riel did not enjoy the universal support of Métis in Saskatchewan in the 1880s, and may not have been the best choice of subject for the purposes of celebrating their history, according to Nugent, who later said that Thatcher made a mistake by not consulting with the Métis community, and for his own part, took the view that a majority of contemporary Métis in Saskatchewan would have preferred a sculpture of Gabriel Dumont, Riel's military assistant during the Resistance of 1885, Riel being more of a symbol to Whites.