Seasons of Beauty: Photographs by René Fumoleau
There is beauty in the wind, in the sunset, in children, in creation, in the peaceful face of the old, in the hope in children’s eyes. We will see it if we are very attentive to the present moment.
- René Fumoleau
René Fumoleau is a photographer, storyteller, poet and priest who has lived in the North for over 50 years. During this time, he has documented Dene life in the Northwest Territories.
In this online exhibit, René wants to show the beauty of the people and of the four seasons of life and land.
This exhibit also parallels René’s new photo book Way Down North: Dene Life – Dene Land, in which he recounts the changing seasons and changing times of Denendeh, the land of the people. Way Down North is a celebration of beauty, highlighting a select few of the thousands of photographs René took while living and learning among the Dene.
Photos of the fall season are currently featured in the image gallery. Photos from the winter, spring and summer will be added to the gallery as we approach those seasons.
Launch the Seasons of Beauty Image Gallery...
About René Fumoleau
René Fumoleau was born in France in 1926. He travelled to the Canadian North as an Oblate priest in 1953 and lived and worked in many northern communities. These communities included Fort
Good Hope (1953-60), Deline (1960-68), Fort Good Hope (1968-1969), Fort Liard (part of 1970), and Yellowknife (1970-1994) before retiring in Lutselk’e in 1994. He continues to catalogue his photos by identifying people and places.
His critically acclaimed study of native treaties in Canada, As Long as This Land Shall Last, brought René national attention in 1975. René produced the film I Was Born Here (released in French as Mon Pays est Ma Vie) in 1977 and directed the film Dene Nation in 1979. His first book of photographs titled Denendeh: A Dene Celebration, was published in 1984. He is also the author of two books of poetry, The Secret and Here I Sit, collections of prose poems that tell thought-provoking stories of his life among the Dene Nation.
The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre would like to thank René Fumoleau for the generous donation of his photographs and records to the NWT Archives. Over 15,000 of René’s images are now preserved and are available for use by researchers of all ages on the PWNHC website. His collection documents an important period in the history of the NWT.
View all of René Fumoleau's photos through our online photo database.
