Gabriel Dumont, The Canadians

Born in St Boniface in 1837 of French and Indian parentage, Gabriel Dumont’s childhood was spent in the Saskatchewan country, where he grew accustomed to the semi-nomadic existence of the Metis. These were the proud days of the Metis nation, when its people roamed freely throughout the Prairies. The most stable social institution was the annual buffalo hunt with its rules. When Gabriel Dumont became head of the Great Saskatchewan Hunt in 1862 the end of the nomadic lifestyle was already in sight.  By George Woodcock