Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques

Ambroise-Didyme Lépine

Born in the Red River Settlement, Ambroise-Didyme Lépine engaged in river-lot agriculture, combining this with hunting and trading as did many other Métis. In the autumn of 1869 he became Adjutant General to Louis Riel and played a prominent role in the Red River Resistance.

Lépine was a member of Riel's Provisional Government, and presided over the court martial which condemned prisoner Thomas Scott to be shot on 4 March 1870. Here, before the wall of Fort Garry, Scott was executed. Lépine was arrested, tried and was to be hanged on 29 January 1875. The sentence was subsequently commuted to two years imprisonment and forfeiture of political rights. Although he remained sympathetic to the Métis cause, Lépine withdrew from public life. His dictated recollections contributed to the publication of a history of Métis people.