French Voyageur Club - On y va! (Let’s go!)
The French Voyageurs have set up camp on the shores of Big Pond at Johnson Nature Center! One can only imagine how they arrived either via La Rivière Rouge while portaging or in a “Chasse Galerie” (Flying Canoe) which is a whole other “histoire” (story) altogether! Nevertheless, the “joie de vivre” is alive and students in BHS middle schools are experiencing bilingual activities that pay tribute to our first settlers.
The club evolved from a traditional Carnaval de Québec canoe race (course en canots) from Québec to Lévis (soccer goals) across the partially frozen St. Lawrence (soccer field) which Madame Potier and her French students re-enacted each year at West Hills. The French Voyageur Club became a means for students to continue their zest for inquiry, intercultural awareness and experiential learning after school and in the community and now we have included students from Bloomfield Hills Middle and East Hills, as well.
As a part-time community guide for Johnson Nature Center and with her fondness for nature and especially the maple sugaring process, Madame Potier thought it would be sweet to have a natural setting and a common rendez-vous (meet) location to immerse the students in French Voyageur experiences and in addition, add some family events, as well. She also appreciates the open-mindedness and adventurous spirit of her colleagues at the Nature Center who have been supportive and onboard.
Who were the Voyageurs?
The “Voyageurs” were French fur transporters who were sent along with the famous explorer Samuel De Champlain to Nouvelle France by wealthy merchants La Compagnie des Cent Associés, and later Louis XIV, (le roi) the king of France, himself. They were expected to ensure safe transportation of rich furs traded with the Native Americans back to French ships at the mouth of the St. Lawrence. Champlain and the Voyageurs experienced many trials and tribulations but persevered with grit and determination in creating a French Settlement. Their alliance with the Native Americans was essential to their survival. The French supplied the Native American People with European merchandise in exchange for valuable furs which were sent back to France. Beaver hats were especially in fashion at the time in France and beaver pelts from New France were a great commodity.
Voyageurs were licensed “engagés” who went wherever they were obliged to go in search of furs. They transported their furs by canoe and as they were paddling and portaging the lakes and rivers they spent their time singing, dancing, storytelling, carving, building campfires, sharing meals and making music. In the winter, snowshoeing was a necessary means of travel. It was the voyageurs along with “les coureurs du bois”(unlicensed fur traders), les bûcherons (lumberjacks), les autochtones (The Native People), les Métis, les Jésuites and French explorers Étienne Brûlé, René-Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle, Louis Joliet and Père Jacques Marquette who mapped and explored Michigan long before our very own footprints appeared on this land.
“I think it’s an exciting opportunity for middle school students in our district to celebrate the achievements of the first French settlers, explore and appreciate nature and to acknowledge with gratitude the contributions of the Native Americans. Becoming caretakers alongside the Anishinaabe People on the land in which Johnson Nature Center sits is a privilege and an honor. On y va, les Voyageurs! (Let’s go, Voyageurs!)”
Quote and article from Stephanie Potier, Bloomfield Hills French teacher and Johnson Nature Interpretive Guide, November 2021