Derrick M. Nault

[Coming soon — André on the moment the Canadian surveyors crossed onto his land in October 1869, and the decision to act.]

Historical Context

On October 11, 1869, André Nault and a group of Métis men stopped a Canadian government survey party on his River Lot 12 — the first act of the Red River Resistance. This is not an official historic site, but it is the ground where resistance began.

[Coming soon — André on the seizure of Upper Fort Garry, the establishment of the Provisional Government, and his role in the execution of Thomas Scott.]

Historical Context

The last remaining gate of Upper Fort Garry — the Hudson's Bay Company post at the heart of the Red River Settlement. On November 2, 1869, André Nault and his brother Romain led a group of Métis who seized the fort. It was here that Louis Riel established the Provisional Government of Assiniboia. The fort was also the site of the execution of Thomas Scott on March 4, 1870. André Nault participated in the execution, waving the handkerchief that signalled the firing squad.

[Coming soon — André on his role overseeing the construction of La Barrière and guarding it alongside Métis community members to assert sovereignty over their territory.]

Historical Context

In November 1869, André Nault was instructed by the National Committee of the Red River Métis to oversee the construction of a barrier at St. Norbert. He guarded it alongside Métis community members to block Lieutenant-Governor William McDougall from entering Red River territory — a defining assertion of sovereignty over the land Canada presumed to have purchased.

[Coming soon — André on the Reign of Terror; his bayoneting near Pembina; the Nault family's warning to Elzéar Goulet; and the fate of his comrade from the military tribunal, chased down Post Office Street to his death in the Red River.]

Historical Context

Following the entry of Wolseley's troops into Red River in August 1870, Métis who had participated in the Resistance faced violent reprisals in what became known as the Reign of Terror. André Nault was bayoneted near Pembina while escorting Riel's mother to visit her son Louis, who was ill and in exile. Nault survived.

Elzéar Goulet had served alongside Nault on the military tribunal that voted for the execution of Thomas Scott. On the day he was killed, the Nault family — who had seen him at a social gathering earlier that day — warned him not to venture near the downtown area. He did not heed the warning. A mob of supporters of the anti-Métis Orange Order chased him down Post Office Street (now Logan Avenue) to the banks of the Red River, where he drowned attempting to swim across. A park in St. Boniface now bears his name.

[Coming soon — André on his father Amable's role building this convent; on the graves of Riel, Lépine, and Amable in the adjacent cemetery; and on the Mathilde Carrière-Nault beadwork collection inside the museum, which connects the Red River Resistance to the Northwest Resistance of 1885.]

Historical Context

Built in 1846 by the Grey Nuns, this is the oldest building in western Canada still standing on its original site. André Nault's father, Amable Nault, is confirmed by Parks Canada as one of the principal builders of this structure. In the cemetery beside the adjacent St. Boniface Basilica lies Louis Riel — and nearby, Ambroise Lépine, Adjutant-General of the Provisional Government and André Nault's comrade in the Resistance, as well as Amable Nault himself, the builder of this very convent.

Inside the museum is the Mathilde Carrière-Nault beadwork collection. Mathilde was the wife of André's son Alexandre. Her father, Damase Carrière, was killed at the Battle of Batoche in 1885, after which Mathilde and her siblings were sent to live in Manitoba with an uncle while their mother remained in Saskatchewan. Before they parted, her mother gifted her the beadwork collection as a keepsake. The collection connects the Red River Resistance of 1869 to the Northwest Resistance of 1885, and stands as a testament to Métis survivance across both.