Famous Canadian Authors from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut

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Northwest Territories and Nunavut

Rene Fumoleau was born in Vendée, France, on August 6, 1926. He studied to be a priest and came to Canada in 1953. He made his way to the Northwest Territories (Denendeh) and settled in Fort Good Hope (Radeli Koe) after a long boat journey down the Mackenzie River (Dehcho).  

Father Fumoleau quickly became attached to the Dene peoples of the area, loving how generous they were and how they interacted with each other. He supported them in their struggle over land claims. He published As Long as This Land Shall Last about the history of Treaties 8 and 11 that were signed between the Dene peoples and the Government of Canada in the early 1900s.

     In 1988, René began writing about his experiences in the north, putting them in two books of poetry and short stories, Here I Sit, and The Secret. After they were published he did readings and book signing at events and festivals across the land. He was also a prolific photographer taking thousands of pictures over his sixty-six years in the Northwest Territories. His table top books – Denendeh: A Dene Celebration (1984) and Way Down North: Dene Life, Dene Land (2010) – share highlights from his photos showing the people and land of Denendeh. Over 15,000 of his photographs are archived at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre in Yellowknife.

     To add to his accomplishments, Rene Fumoleau was also a filmmaker. His first short film, I Was Born Here came out in 1977 and he partnered with Herb Norwegian, a former Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief, to direct and produce the short film Dene Nation in 1979.

     Father Fumoleau lived in Fort Good Hope from 1953 to 1959, Fort Franklin, 1960 to 1968 then returned to Fort Good Hope for a year. He moved to Yellowknife in 1970 and lived there for the next twenty-four years. In 1994, he moved to Lutsel K’e a small settlement on the beautiful East Arm of Great Slave Lake.

     In his later years Father Rumoleau developed dementia and moved into a dementia facility in Yellowknife. He died on his ninety-third birthday August 6, 2019.