Heritage Community Foundation Presents
Alberta Online Encyclopedia
spacer spacer spacer spacer spacer
spacer

Home    |    Info    |    Contact Us    |    Partners    |    Sitemap    |    Archives    

spacer
Alberta's Francophone Heritage
Background, People, Culture, Heritage Community Foundation, Albertasource and Alberta Lottery Fund

 

Francophone Edukit

Angel Spacer
Mission Communities
Quicklinks
Lac Ste. Anne

Fort Edmonton

Lac La Biche

St. Paul de Métis

Quicklinks

Esther DumontCanada’s North-West at the beginning of the 19th century was a region exploited solely for its wealth in furs; the merchants who profited from it had no interest in having any settlers. But the fur trade voyageurs in their unions with the native women had children; in 1806, the North-West Company had 1200 men in the field. Sixty years later, there was a mixed blood population of 15,0001. The aboriginal population is estimated to have been around 55,000 people.

A goodly number of the voyageurs who stayed on in the North-West were bonded men, but those who did do not renew their contracts called themselves "free men". These men were not always easy to control and the fur trade companies agreed that the presence of catholic clergy might have a mitigating effect on their independent character. The religious orders who accept to come seek to evangelise and bring all of these people to Christianity; they are imbued with zeal. They will also provide all manner of social services, including health care and education. We will look at four Métis communities, of which three are well established before the arrival of the missionaries.

Bottom


Albertasource.ca | Contact Us | Partnerships
            For more on Francophone Alberta, visit Peel’s Prairie Provinces.
Copyright © Heritage Community Foundation All Rights Reserved