Gabriel Dumont
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Gabriel Dumont (December, 1837 – May 19, 1906) was a leader of the Métis people of what is now western Canada. In 1873 Dumont was elected to the presidency of the short-lived commune of St-Laurent; afterward he continued to play a leading role among the Métis of the South Saskatchewan River. He played a critical role in bringing Louis Riel back to Canada, in order to pressure the Canadian authorities to pay attention to the troubles of the Métis people. He was adjutant general in the provisional Métis government declared in Saskatchewan in 1885, and commanded the Métis forces in the North-West Rebellion or North West Resistance of 1885.
Dumont was a grandson of the French Canadian Jean-Baptiste Dumont and his Sarcee-Crow wife, Josette. He was the second son of Isidore Dumont and Louise Laframboise. The family were at various times involved in farming, trading, hunting and trapping in what is now the province of Saskatchewan. Gabriel was raised a Métis, learning both French Catholic and Cree customs. By the time he was 12, he was considered an accomplished shot with both gun and bow, and was well known as a master horseman. In 1848, the Dumont family moved south to the area of Regina, Saskatchewan. Dumont, and his older brother Isidore, became buffalo hunters. Over time, Dumont learned six languages, and established a reputation as a guide, hunter and interpreter. He was also famed for his drinking and gambling. Dumont participated in skirmishes with Indian tribes, including the Blackfoot and Sioux.
Dumont married Madeleine Welkie, the daughter of an Anglo-Metis trader in 1858, and in 1862 was elected chief of his Métis band. He led the band to the North Saskatchewan River, where they briefly settled near Fort Carlton. By 1868, the band established a permanent settlement near Batoche on the South Saskatchewan River. In 1872 Gabriel established a ferry service near Batoche and also farmed near there.
Dumont's enemies in 1885, including General Frederick Middleton of the Northwest Field Force, heaped praise on his generalship and martial abilities. Despite huge logistic and morale problems he can be credited with a great victory at the battle of Fish Creek and managed to hold off a much larger force at the battle of Batoche for several days.
Following the defeat at Batoche Dumont made his way via the Cypress Hills to Montana where he surrendered to the U.S. Cavalry. However, the U.S. Government determined that he was a political refugee and he was shortly released. [[1]]
In 1886, Dumont joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West where he received top billing as a rebel leader and crack marksman. Although the Canadian Government granted a general amnesty in the summer of 1886, Dumont did not return to Canada until 1888, in order to lecture in Montreal. He retired to Batoche in 1893 eventually obtaining title to the lands he had settled in 1872. He returned to his former life as a farmer, hunter and trapper, and dictated two memoirs of his experiences in the rebellion. He passed away from natural causes in 1906. [2]
The Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research in Saskatchewan was named in his honour. The Dumont Bridge over the South Saskatchewan River west of Rosthern, Saskatchewan is also named for him. It crosses the site where he ran a small store, billiards hall and ferry service in the late 1870s and early 1880s. There is also a park along the South Saskatchewan in Saskatoon named for him, as well as an equestrian statue depicting him along the river by the Broadway Bridge.
In 1998, the public French first language high school in London, Ontario was re-named École secondaire Gabriel-Dumont in his honour.
