When was gabriel dumont born

Dumont could converse in seven languages, including Michif, Blackfoot, Sioux, Cree, Crow, and French, although he never learned more than a few words of English. Dumont was a visionary leader who recognized that the decline of the buffalo alongside increased Canadian agricultural settlement would result in great change on the prairies.

Laurent on the South Saskatchewan River. He was immediately elected president of the new Council of St. As president, Dumont oversaw a committee of elected councillors and assumed the role of mediator, working out disputes among the people of St.

Laurent faced political interference from its inception. Dumont had made clear to Canadian officials that the community was simply forming a local government and not a secessionist movement, and many colonial officials saw little cause for alarm.

Sir John A. Dumont and his council sent several petitions to Ottawa in the early s, insisting that Parliament recognize their land holdings and include river lots in the Dominion survey of the West. Laurent felt compelled to protect their land on their own terms. A delegation was dispatched two months later to request that Riel travel to Saskatchewan to advise the people there on how to protect their lands and their freedoms.

Dumont travelled with three others to St. Riel and Dumont would develop a close friendship from that point on. Dumont offered to lead the St. Laurent defence if the people were committed to it. While Riel was officially the president of the provisional government, Dumont remained a central leader in the community and responsible for many political and military decisions.

Dumont was shot in the head during the battle, the bullet glancing off his skull. He nursed this injury during the rest of the North-West Resistance , but it did not prevent him from leading his soldiers. Aware that more Canadian troops, organized by General Frederick Middleton , were heading towards them, Dumont proposed a clandestine guerilla campaign that would target railroads and Canadian soldiers.

The Provisional Government decided against the campaign. Riel preferred a peaceful resolution to hostilities, choosing to confront Canadian soldiers only when no other options were available.

At Batoche, Dumont led a spirited four-day defence of the community between 9 and 12 May Joseph Walhalla , in present-day North Dakota. They had a warm, loving relationship, although they had no children of their own.

Laurent Council in However, being unlettered and uncomfortable with Euro-Canadian politics, Dumont knew his limitations: therefore he, Michel Dumas, and Alexander Isbister brought Louis Riel back to Canada from Montana in order to negotiate with the federal government.

Riel then became the undisputed political leader, and Dumont the military commander. For his people, the Metis, there was a huge change in their lifestyle coming. Known for their immense bison hunts, the animal was going to be gone from the prairies within decades due to overhunting by Canadians and Americans. The Dumonts were well-known in the area for their bison hunting abilities. Dumont would be introduced to bison hunting at an early age and he quickly proved himself to be skilled in the hunt and as a master of prairie life skills.

An excellent marksman with both a rifle and bow, he was also skilled on a horse and knew the land better than most people. He would break his first horse at 10, and quickly mastered canoeing on the most dangerous white waters. Many would say that he could find his way across the prairies blindfolded. By the age of 20, Dumont could apparently shoot a duck through the head at paces. On top of all of that, he would learn to speak seven languages, including Cree, Blackfoot, Crow and French.

In the s, Dumont moved with his family to Fort Pitt, remaining until when they moved back to the Red River area. Just over a decade later in , he travelled with his father to conclude a treaty between the Dakota and Metis. During this same time, in , he married Madeline Welke, a Metis woman, who would accompany Dumont on his travels as at trader. This year was also the same year his own mother would pass away. The stature of Dumont would continue to rise in when he was named the hunt chief of the Saskatchewan Metis due to his skills.

Effectively, he would be the last of the hunt chiefs as by , the bison herds had mostly disappeared from the land. During these hunts, he used his famed rifle that would become part of his legend, le petit.

When the Red River Resistance occurred in , Dumont did offer to help at Fort Garry to resist the Wolseley Expedition that was coming to put the resistance down. The offer was turned down and Dumont would spend the next decade farming and operating a ferry on the South Saskatchewan River. By the early s, Dumont was seeing that change was coming to the prairies.

The bison were gone, and the prairies were opening up to agriculture. British Columbia had been promised a railroad, and that would go straight through the prairies and bring with it, settlers. To that end, on Dec. Laurent, which was along the South Saskatchewan River. Chosen as the president of the council, Dumont and the government installed a Metis system of landholding and created a legal code.

A constitution was even created by Dumont for the new government. The council also stated its loyalty to Canada and promised to disband as soon as a territorial government was created.

The year the council was created, Dumont had built his first log cabin in the area and began to state that his profession was that of a farmer.

Almost as soon as the council was created, the Canadian government began to state that it was the sole governing authority for the region.

Dumont would respond that he was simply forming a local government, not trying to form an independent nation. For the most part, the government accepted this. Laurent, stated quote:. In early , the council government-imposed fines on several Metis who violated the rules of the bison hunt. Governor Alexander Morris, stating the Metis were trying to establish a provisional government and revolt against Canadian authority.

The North West Mounted Police were dispatched to investigate but found the charges were without foundation. While Dumont was not attempting to form a separate country, he was not going to allow the territory of the council to be relinquished to the Canadian government.

The Canadian government would not accept any thought of the Metis being a self-governing people, and they started to send surveyors into the St. Laurent land, refusing to respect the land tenure system of the Metis.

Dumont would attempt to work with the Canadian government, sending several petitions to Ottawa by the s asking that Parliament recognize the Metis land holdings.

At no point did the Canadian government respond, and Dumont decided the Metis had to protect their land. In March of , Dumont and several of his councilors decided to approach a man who had become an icon to the Metis, Louis Riel. Dumont would convince Riel to come to St.

Laurent area and the two men would form a close friendship as they worked together to protect Metis land claims. By the time March rolled around, the Metis had received no answer from the Dominion government. A meeting of the Metis was called at Batoche and several suggested defending their lands by taking up arms. Dumont stated that he would lead the defence of St.