Complex sentence: The role and importance of the coureurs des bois has been exaggerated over the course of history, and the character has become mythicized, leading to many false accounts and to the coureurs des bois being assimilated with "Canadiens" (Canadians).
Split into simpler sentences: The role and importance of the coureurs des bois has been exaggerated over the course of history. This figure has achieved mythological status, leading to many false accounts, and to the coureurs des bois being assimilated with "Canadiens" (Canadians).