Other Historical Métis Figures
Gabriel Dumont
Often heralded as a brilliant strategist, Gabriel Dumont spent
much of his life as a Métis traditionalist. He spoke
6 First Nations languages and survived through his skill in
trapping, hunting, fishing and farming. He was known as 'the
prince of the prairie'. Dumont orchestrated many of the battles
of the Rebellions and was Riel's 'right hand man'. Dumont
was a skilled hunter, a trait that carried over into military
manoeuvres and won him a victory at Fish Creek. Dumont fled
Canada after the Battle of Batoche and received asylum in
the United States, where he furthered the Métis cause
by organizing the southern communities.
Ambroise Lepine
Adjutant-General of the first Provisional Government in Manitoba,
Lepine was instrumental in the sentencing of Orangeman Thomas
Scott. Lepine was a staunch follower of Riel and a strong
Métis activist. In 1874, he was tried and convicted
for the murder of Scott, but after the Governor General intervened,
his sentence was lessened. Lepine was commuted to 2 years
imprisonment and lost his civil rights. It wasn't until 1915
that those rights were restored.
Marguerite Riel
While exiled and teaching school in Montana Riel met and married
Marguerite Bellehumeur, an American Métisse. When Riel
returned to Saskatchewan in 1885 to help the Métis,
Marguerite accompanied him. Marguerite died just a few months
after Riel's execution.
Riel and Marguerite had two children together both of whom
died in young adulthood.
Louis Schmidt
Louis Schmidt was born in the Red River settlement and was
schooled in Montreal with Riel. There, the two forged a friendship
that would carry through their lives until Riel broke from
the church. Schmidt was a member of the 1869 Provisional Government
and helped to draft the List of Rights, a bill that helped
form the basis of the Manitoba Act. Schmidt later testified
to Riel's insanity at his treason trial after the 1885 rebellion.
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