Ambroise-Didyme Lépine

Born in the Red River Settlement, Ambroise-Didyme Lépine lived by river-lot agriculture along with hunting and trading, as many Métis did. In the autumn of 1869 he became Adjutant General to Louis Riel and played a prominent role in the Red River Resistance. As a member of Riel's Provisional Government, he presided over the court martial that condemned prisoner Thomas Scott to be shot on 4 March 1870, and Scott was executed here before the wall of Fort Garry. Lépine was later arrested, tried, and sentenced to be hanged on 29 January 1875, but the sentence was commuted to two years imprisonment and forfeiture of political rights. Although he remained sympathetic to the Métis cause, he withdrew from active public life, and his dictated recollections contributed to the publication of a history of Métis people.

Manitoba · Canada