George Richard Donald Goulet is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

role model, best-selling author, historian, Métis Scholar, activist, public speaker, retired

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

survivor and recipient of the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

Life

George was born on September 27, 1933 in

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, as the fifth of 8 children to George Wilfrid Goulet and Marie Alexina Laura McDougall, a granddaughter of

Pierre Delorme Pierre Delorme (de L'Orme) (ca October 1, 1832 – November 10, 1912) was a Métis fur trader, businessman, farmer and political figure. He represented Provencher in the House of Commons of Canada during the 1st Canadian Parliament as a Con ...

. He counts amongst his ancestors early

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

settlers

Louis Hébert Louis Hébert (c. 1575 – 25 January 1627) is widely considered the first European apothecary in the region that would later become Canada, as well as the first European to farm in said region. He was born around 1575 at 129 de la rue Saint ...

Jean Guyon Jean Guyon ''du Buisson'' (Bapt. September 18, 1592 – May 30, 1663) was the patriarch of one of the earliest families to settle on the North shore of New France's St. Lawrence River. Guyon made his living as a master mason and, according ...

du Buisson, and

Zacharie Cloutier Zacharie Cloutier (c. 1590 – September 17, 1677) was a French carpenter who immigrated to New France in 1634 in the first wave of the Percheron immigration from the former province of Perche, to an area that is today part of Quebec, Canada ...

, in addition to political figure Alexander MacDonell of Greenefield and

John Siveright John Siveright was a fur trader and later became Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company. Born 2 December 1779 in Drumdelgy, Cairnie, Scotland, he was the son of John Siveright I and Jannet Glass. Siveright began in the fur trade with the New N ...

, Chief Factor of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

. He is the father of five children including

Tag Goulet Tag Goulet, also known as Theresa Goulet or Therese Goulet, is an author, publishing entrepreneur, and film producer from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Alongside her sister Catherine, she is co-founder of FabJob, a company that publishes career books fr ...

Laura de Jonge Laura Anne "Lolly" de Jonge (''née'' Goulet; born September 2, 1960) is a Métis family advocate, corporate social responsibility practitioner, Film maker, filmmaker and magazine founder from Canada. Early life Laura is a 13th-generation descend ...

Catherine Goulet Catherine Goulet is an author, publishing entrepreneur, and careers expert from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is co-founder of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, a literary awards program for independently-published books, co-founder ...

and John McDougall-Goulet. George attended St. Paul's High School in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.University of Manitoba Law School, and a Master of Laws degree from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. The admissions guide for the University of Toronto lists George as one of four distinguished alumni along with Astronaut

Roberta Bondar Roberta Lynn Bondar (; born December 4, 1945) is a Canadian astronaut, neurologist and consultant. She is Canada's first female astronaut and the first neurologist in space. After more than a decade as head of an international space medicine r ...

, Sociologist Daniel G Hill and Simon Cooper, former President and COO of the

Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates the Hotel#Luxury, luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 conference and resort hotels, luxury hotels a ...

Career

George is the author of several historical books including ''The Trial of Louis Riel: Justice and Mercy Denied'', ''The Metis: Memorable Events and Memorable Personalities'', and ''Louis Hebert and Marie Rollet: Canada's Premier Pioneers'', the latter two with his wife

Terry Goulet Marie Therese “Terry” Goulet is a Canadian historian who has written and spoken extensively on the subject of the Canadian Indigenous peoples in Canada, aboriginal group the Métis. With her husband George R. D. Goulet, George who is Métis, Go ...

as co-author. Together, they have spoken at numerous schools, universities, libraries, and public events, including at the Manitoba Pavilion during the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. In the spring of 2012, they spoke at the Centre of Canadian Studies at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and at the

British Association of Canadian Studies The British Association for Canadian Studies (BACS) was established by a constitution adopted in 1975 and is a membership-based academic association that is also a registered UK charity (#272144). BACS is a member of the International Council for ...

conference on Sustaining Canada at

Murray Edwards College Murray Edwards College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1954 as New Hall. In 2008, following a donation of £30 million by alumna Ros Edwards and her husband Steve, it was renamed Murray Edwar ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

where they gave a talk on the Aboriginal rights of the Métis in relation to the

Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines were a project to build a twin pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. The eastbound pipeline would have imported natural gas condensate and the westbound pipeline would have exporte ...

. In 2007, George and his wife Terry were commissioned by the Metis Nation of British Columbia to write a book about the history of the Métis people within

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

in honour of the

BC 150 BC150 is the name given by the government of the Province of British Columbia, Canada, to a programme of events and celebrations that were held in 2008. The motive for the commemoration, as cited by the provincial government, is the founding of t ...

celebration. The book, ''The Metis in British Columbia: From Fur Trade Outposts to Colony'', was officially released at the Annual General Meeting of the Métis Nation of British Columbia in September 2008. The two were also the Historical Consultants to the BC Metis Federation. Also in September 2008, George was one of the featured speakers at the commemoration of the Elzéar Goulet Memorial Park in

, as George is a great-grand-nephew of the eponymous Métis martyr. An annual scholarship, the George and Terry Goulet Bursary in Canadian History, was established at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

in their honor.

Advocacy

The ''Okotoks Western Wheel'' newspaper has referred to George and Terry Goulet as "Experts on Louis Riel". The two are strong supporters of the

exoneration Exoneration occurs when the conviction for a crime is reversed, either through demonstration of innocence, a flaw in the conviction, or otherwise. Attempts to exonerate convicts are particularly controversial in death penalty cases, especially wh ...

of Louis Riel; George has been quoted on his support of the

Private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

introduced by

Pat Martin Patrick D. "Pat" Martin (born December 13, 1955, in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a Canadian politician. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2015, representing the riding of Winnipeg Centre for the New Democratic Party. Ca ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. In May 2011 in a ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' article, in which Martin argues that Riel was a hero and not a traitor, Martin refers to Goulet's book title in that Riel's execution was "a case of both justice and mercy denied." In October, 2012 George and Terry spoke before a

Standing Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

to examine and report on the legal and political recognition of Métis identity in Canada. George and Terry are also staunch supporters of the

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007. It delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, including th ...

and published a paper in April 2018 titled: “Requirements for Recognition and Implementation of Indigenous Rights Framework” arguing for the Canadian government to uphold the declaration.

Select bibliography

*1994. ''Public share offerings and stock exchange listings in Canada: going public, staying public, getting listed, staying listed''.

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a popu ...

: CCH. *1999. ''The Trial of Louis Riel: Justice and Mercy Denied''. Calgary: Tellwell. *2005. ''Prostate Cancer Treatment and Healing''.

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

FabJob FabJob is a book publisher based in Calgary, Canada, and Seattle, the United States. It was founded in 1999 by sisters Tag and Catherine Goulet. History The company's guide books initially began as electronic titles in e-Book and CD-ROM form ...

. *2006. ''The Métis: Memorable Events and Memorable Personalities''. Calgary: FabJob. *2007. ''Louis Hébert and Marie Rollet: Canada's Premier Pioneers''. Calgary: FabJob. *2008. ''The Métis in British Columbia: From Fur Trade Outposts to Colony''. Calgary: FabJob. *2022. ''Along the Métis Trail: Métis history, heritage, and culture''. Calgary: IAPCC.

References

External links