BU prof’s book offers new look at Métis leader Dumont
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/03/2018 (2972 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A professor from Brandon University has penned a new book that offers a fresh perspective on the life of Métis leader Gabriel Dumont.
Published in February, the book, “Gabriel Dumont, Mémoires et Récits de vie,” by Denis Combet, an associate professor in the department of classical and modern languages at BU, draws from the unpublished journals of Quebec priest Gabriel Cloutier.
Housed in the archives of La Société historique de Saint-Boniface, Cloutier’s writings provide first-hand accounts from Métis families who lived through the Northwest Resistance of 1885.
“The spirit of the Métis, as far as I’m concerned, as far as I understand it as an outsider, because I am not Métis, is that they were courageous enough to keep going,” Combet said.
“And today, they are an integral and very important part of Canadian society, because of their pride, their spirit and their history.”
Combet specializes in French and New France literature from the 17th and 18th centuries, and has researched the Métis for the past 12 years.
His latest publication is written all in French and builds on his 2006 book of Dumont’s memoirs.
Dumont was a key general in the Métis forces commanded by Louis Riel during the Northwest Resistance, which took place from March 26 to June 3, 1885.
The role that Dumont and others played in the struggle for Métis rights is something Combet said is important to recognize now.
But as he read through the accounts from Cloutier, Combet said it made him sad.
“It was a tragic event, because the Métis were fighting for their right, their freedom, but they were considered as rebels and criminals by the Canadian government and that’s very sad,” he said.
A Canadian citizen born in Marseilles, France, Combet has taught at the University of Manitoba, College universitaire de Saint-Boniface and the University of Victoria.
He has been interviewed by the publication Prairie Books Now and recently appeared on Radio-Canada’s show “Les samedis du monde.”
On Monday, Combet served as a guest speaker at the University of Manitoba, where he talked about his book and Dumont’s life.
Combet joined BU in 2001 and later that year, The Globe and Mail named his book, “In Search of the Western Sea: Selected Journals of La Verendrye,” in its list of top 100 books of the year.
The book for the first time, and in a bilingual format, offered the personal writings of the 18th-century explorer.
Combet hopes to follow up his latest work with two more books and plans to hold a conference in the fall of 2020 on the Métis to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of Manitoba.
» mlee@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @mtaylorlee