Chapter 13 Key Terms, Figures, or Sites

Batoche: The headquarters of Louis Riel’s second provisional government and the site of the last battle of the Northwest Resistance, 1885, in present-day central Saskatchewan; named after François-Xavier Letendre dit Batoche (c. 1841–1901), the founder of the community.

Duck Lake: Town in Saskatchewan, 88 km north of Saskatoon; site of a battle on 26 March 1885 wherein Métis provisional government forces led by Gabriel Dumont routed ­government forces.

Dumont, Gabriel: (1837–1906) Bison hunter, Métis chief, and military strategist who spoke six languages who founded the settlement at St Laurent. Dumont was Louis Riel’s military commander during the Northwest Resistance, 1885.

Northwest Resistance: Armed uprising in present-day Saskatchewan in 1885 of Métis, First Nations, and some newcomers, who were concerned about encroachment of European settlers and for their own future with the demise of the vast bison herds of the western Plains. The Resistance, led by Louis Riel, was quelled by troops sent from eastern Canada.

St Laurent: Oblate mission founded in 1871, and the site of a settlement on the South Saskatchewan River founded by Gabriel Dumont and other Métis in 1872; one of the cluster of Métis settlements known collectively as the South Branch.

Back to top