Elzéar Goulet facts for kids
Elzéar Goulet (born November 18, 1836 – died September 13, 1870) was a Métis leader in the Red River Colony. This area later became the province of Manitoba, Canada. He supported Louis Riel's temporary government during a time of big changes. Sadly, he was killed by Canadian soldiers after the Red River Resistance ended.
Elzéar was part of the well-known Goulet family, who were important in the fur trade. His brothers, Maxime and Roger Goulet, also played roles in Manitoba's early government. Leonide Goulet, another brother, was a scout with the British-American Boundary Commission.
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Early Life and Family
Elzéar Goulet was born in St. Boniface, in the Red River Colony. He was the third of six sons born to Alexis Goulet and Josephte Siveright. We don't know much about his very early childhood, but it's thought he went on buffalo hunts with his father. He also received some education in St. Boniface.
When he was 25, Elzéar took over the mail route from Pembina to Upper Fort Garry. These weekly trips, lasting three to four days, made him well-known and respected in both communities. During these travels, he became friends with Joseph Rolette, an important person in Pembina who was a postmaster, merchant, and politician.
Through this friendship, Elzéar met Hélène Jérôme, Joseph Rolette's niece. They got married on March 8, 1859, in Pembina, Dakota Territory. At this time, Elzéar became an American citizen. Elzéar and Hélène had six children together.
Family's Fight for Rights
Elzéar Goulet learned about fighting for Métis rights from his father, Alexis Goulet. Alexis was known for standing up for Métis people. In 1845, Alexis helped gather 24 buffalo hunters, traders, and freighters. They wrote letters demanding rights for the Métis. They wanted the right to hunt furs in Hudson's Bay Company lands and to sell those furs freely.
Elzéar's older brother, Roger Goulet (1834–1902), also brought fame to the Goulet name. Roger was a surveyor, a judge, and a member of the Council of Assiniboia. He had connections with the church and the government. The Canadian government even gave him the title "The Honourable Roger Goulet." This allowed him to talk with Louis Riel and other Métis leaders about land claims during the time of the barricade at La Barrière. Because of Roger's important social standing, Riel promoted Elzéar to the rank of captain in his temporary government. Elzéar served under Ambroise-Dydime Lépine.
Eight years after Elzéar's death, his younger brother Maxime Goulet (1855–1932) was elected to represent St. Vital in the Manitoba Legislature. He also became the Minister of Agriculture in John Norquay's government.
Role in the Red River Resistance
In 1869, Elzéar Goulet joined Louis Riel's forces at Upper Fort Garry. He became the second-in-command of the Métis militia, working under Ambroise-Dydime Lépine. In the fall of 1869, Goulet, Riel, and other Métis built a barricade at the La Salle River bridge. This barricade, called "La Barrière," blocked the main route from Upper Fort Garry to Pembina. This stopped Canadian government officials from reaching lands that the Métis already lived on. (You can still visit the place where La Barrière was built; it's now a park near Winnipeg.) While this was happening, Roger Goulet was allowed to talk with Riel and the Métis on behalf of the Canadian Government.
On March 3, 1870, Elzéar Goulet was part of a group that made a decision about Thomas Scott. Scott was a man from Upper Canada who supported the Canadian government's claim to Métis land. He was accused of opposing the Métis government. Goulet voted with the majority to sentence Scott. On March 4, 1870, Elzéar escorted Scott to a firing squad, where Scott was executed. After the execution, Elzéar Goulet and Elzéar Lagimodière were asked to dispose of Scott's body. It is believed the body was dressed in Métis clothes and placed on a sled, then put into the Red River.
This execution made many people in Ontario very angry. It also contributed to the eventual collapse of Riel's government later that year, when a military group led by Garnet Joseph Wolseley arrived in the settlement.
After the Resistance
Elzéar Goulet stayed in the Red River area after Riel's government ended. On September 13, 1870, he was recognized in Winnipeg after walking into a saloon.
Goulet tried to escape by running and then swimming across the Red River to St. Boniface. Three men chased him, two of whom were soldiers from the Wolseley expedition. They threw rocks at him. One rock hit him in the head, and he sadly drowned in the river.
Legacy
In 2007, Winnipeg City Councillor Dan Vandal worked to create an Elzéar Goulet Memorial Park near where Goulet was killed. The park officially opened on September 13, 2008. Author George R. D. Goulet, who is Elzéar's great-grandnephew, was at the ceremony. He called his ancestor a Métis hero. Elzéar's great-grandson, Dan McDonald, is now president of the Mid-Island Métis Nation on Vancouver Island.
The Manitoba Métis Federation has a local group named Le Conseil Elzear-Goulet in his honor.
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