On the "about this project" section of this site, I originally included a link to a very brief biography on Gabriel Dumont from the University of Saskatchewan Library. That link has since been removed from that section due to inconsistencies among sources regarding Dumont's birthplace.
My first task in researching the genealogy of Gabriel Dumont was to look for information on where he may have been born. Gail Morin (Métis Families Vol. 4) claims that he was born in St. Boniface, a community near Winnipeg. Most online biographies, including USask Library's and The Canadian Encyclopedia, claim he was born near the Red River region, southern Manitoba.
Red Sun presents some theories from Indigenous Elders. Some suggest he was born in Fort Garry, a suburb south of Winnipeg, because Dumont's father, Isidore Dumont (also known as Ecapow), had a farm. He Tapa, the former president of the North Dakota Historical Society, says Indigenous peoples in North Dakota believe Dumont was born in St. Joseph (now Walhalla, North Dakota). This claim is based on the belief that Dumont's parents, Isidore Dumont and Louise Laframboise (Nakota-Métis), spent winters down south in the United States near Buffalo Lodge Lake for a winter food supply and to trade. Interestingly enough, it is said that Dumont's parents camped with Jean Baptiste Wilkie, father of Madeleine Wilkie, Gabriel's future wife.
When Brenda first introduced me to Dumont, she told me there is currently no evidence of Dumont's birthplace in any of the Métis genealogical databases. It has generally been assumed that Dumont was born in the Red River area because that region is the homeland of most Métis people, however this has never been confirmed.
What we do know is that he spent the majority of his life in Saskatchewan as a highly respected, highly skilled buffalo hunter. In the Northwest Resistance of 1885, Dumont led an army of Métis against the Canadian state, and was a member of the delegation that convinced Louis Riel to return to Canada (after Riel was exiled to the US).
This barely scratches the surface of Gabriel Dumont's story, but to be fair, I have just barely scratched the surface of what there is to know about him.
I'm a big fan of Christi Belcourt's rendering of Dumont in this art piece. Brenda has a framed copy in her office and showed it to me on my first day. Belcourt has said she wanted to portray Dumont as an elder, a man reflecting on his many accomplishments and mistakes throughout his life - a man of wisdom, confidence, and determination.