Elzéar Goulet Memorial Park
Commemorates Prominent Métis
Commemorates Prominent Métis
Monuments and plaques commemorating
Elzéar Goulet (1836–1870) were unveiled during the summer of 2008 in the park on Taché Avenue that bears his name. Goulet was part
of a prominent Métis family. As a young man, he relocated to
Pembina in what is now North Dakota and became an
American citizen. There he began to raise a family
with his wife, Héléne Jerome. Goulet was appointed in 1861
to replace his brother Roger as the mail carrier
between Pembina and the Red River Settlement.
Whether by horse in the summer or dog sled in the winter his weekly trips between the two settlements made him well known and respected.
Goulet was a military leader with
Louis Riel’s provisional government in 1870. He
was involved in the conviction of Thomas Scott who
was executed for treason by the provisional
government. For his part in the execution, Goulet on 13
September 1870 was chased by an angry mob on the
streets of Winnipeg in broad daylight and pelted with
rocks from the shore and he drowned as he attempted
to swim across the Red River to St. Boniface not far from the memorial site.
Investigation of his murder identified the principal
perpetrators but charges were never laid for fear
that attempted prosecutions would be unenforceable.
Goulet was buried in his family plot under a
simple tombstone in the St. Boniface Cathedral
Cemetery.
