02-025: Discoveries of the Monkman Pass

By Dorthea CalverleyUntil 1982 the discovery of the Monkman Pass was usually credited in publications to a Metis, Alex Monkman. The original settlers at Kelly Lake have always disputed this view and their claim has now been recognized in the publication, The Monkman Pass and Trail: a Brief History by Mike Robinson and Dave Hocking [Petro-Canada Coal Division, P.O. Box 2844, Calgary, Alta, page 22.]

In 1922 Mr. Gerry S. Andrews became the first school teacher in the Kelly Lake settlement. The settlement was first established by two Metis families about the year 1900 with the first to arrive and start trapping being St. Pierre Gauthier. The Kelly Lake people alleged as early as 1923 that Gauthier “led” Alex Monkman to the Pass, although William Calliou and John Belcourt “were knowledgeable about the area in the early 1900’s, and may have actually been the first to penetrate the pass”.

St. Pierre Gauthier’s part in locating the pass has been recognized by the Provincial Surveys and Mapping Branch who named a 7100 foot mountain peak in his honour.