History of the Metis people in our area
Stephen Petrie, Chairman of the Pembina Valley Metis Local, was raised in Neelin, Manitoba, an area deeply rooted in the rich history of the Metis people.
Listening to multi-generational stories from as early as he can remember has enabled him to retell them to future generations.
“Some history has been lost over the years and memories fade, but there are still records available for those looking for the history,” said Stephen, a local historian.
The Metis people living in the Red River Valley, which extended from Winnipeg south to the United States, were pushed out of that area when the Hudson’s Bay Company sold the land to the Federal government and property surveying began, forcing the Metis to relocate to other areas.
“In 1870, my great-grandmother and her mother with their families all left, and headed to Rock Lake, choosing to take the $160 instead of the promised 160 of script land that turned out to be of very poor quality,” said Stephen. “Our people dispersed in all directions, with most of my family heading for southwestern Manitoba. Some families settled in Haywood, Pilot Mound, and Rock Lake, with others going to Belcourt, Birch River, and Boggy Creek in the north. Fortunately, the Rock Lake area was abundant with everything needed to sustain our lives: trees to build cabins and a ready supply of firewood, fresh fruit, fresh water, fishing, rich soil for planting, and wildlife that provided food, clothing, and other essentials. Farming was a sideline, with our people remaining nomadic, allowing hunting and trapping to be our main form of sustaining everyone; nothing went to waste from trapping and hunting.”
The RM of Argyle’s history book, Come into our Heritage, recounts the following:
“Some of the Metis families followed established procedure and homesteaded; others followed their traditional practices and built their cabins on unused land or road allowances. The Joe Dacotah family, who homesteaded all of section 20 west of Rock Lake, was a respected man with large herds of cattle and horses. The Gosselin family, headed by Marie Gosselin, a sister of Joe Dacotah, settled NW22. Families like the Montroys, Rickers, and McKays all formed a community around the lake.
There is a second record that Norbert Dakotah won a 10-mile foot race against F. Stevens at a picnic at Neelin’s on July 1, 1901. However, by 1920, the Dakotahs, along with many other Metis families, had left the Rock Lake region, probably to settle around St. John, North Dakota.”
Stephen went on, “the Rock Lake settlement had everything that was needed to maintain the settlement, including a private Trading Post where other essentials could be purchased, a saw mill, and a grist mill. The Trading Post would receive its stock by Red River Cart, these carts could be heard from miles around as they screeched and squawked their way down the bumpy trails. Once the town of Neelin was established by the Neelin family, a slow shift began. Everything started to gravitate toward Neelin, which was much easier to access by actual roads and the Wakopa Rail Line. As Neelin grew in wealth and population, Rock Lake became a tourist destination. Cabins started popping up on small plots of land around Rock Lake, and fishing became a popular day trip. As the popularity of Rock Lake as a vacation destination grew, the trails soon became passable roads, and hunting and fishing in the area became even more popular, and they have remained popular even to this day.”
We will be sharing more of the Metis history of the area with our guide and area historian Stephen Petrie in upcoming editions.
PHOTO CAPTION: Stephen Petrie, Chairman of the Pembina Valley Metis Local. PHOTO BY SUZANNE PADDOCK
