Southwest Saskatchewan
THE COMMUNITY OF
the Prairie Dog Métis
One of the common requests that we get from descendants of the Métis people is, ‘Where did my ancestor live?’. The Métis came to this area before the province of Saskatchewan was established in 1905, so the records are difficult to find or non-existent.
Elder Cecile Blanke was born in 1934 and remembers where some families lived when she was young. We have relied on her memory and estimated the locations of family farms or ranches. There are some families that lived in the area, but we don’t know a location for Pritchard, Leveille, Lasante, and Rouzault families.
We can track where some of the Métis originated. We do not have information on why they chose Swift Current or Lac Pelletier as a place to live. One example was the LaRocque family. Antoine LaRocque moved from Red River, in now Manitoba, to Lebret, Saskatchewan. Leon LaRocque was a son of Antoine, and he moved to the Saskatchewan Landing north of Swift Current. Xavier Lemire was also in Lebret and moved to Lac Pelletier. Xavier and his wife were First Nations from Muskowekan First Nation and received a Discharge from Treaty so that they became eligible for Métis Scrip. It is believed that Xavier hunted in the area in years past. One source says that he killed a buffalo in the valley before the buffalo were all exterminated. Xavier’s son, Alex Lemire, applied for Scrip in Swift Current in 1900, but it was determined that he was only 15 years old and not eligible for Scrip (18 years old was the requirement).
The Half-Breed Commission met in Swift Current twice. The first in 1886. Jean Baptiste Trottier received Scrip for the Commission at this time. Jean Baptiste lived in St. Francoise Xavier (part of the Red River) and then lived at the south end of Lac Pelletier, but eventually moving to the Ponteix and Val Marie district. The Commission met again in 1900 in Swift Current and Leon LaRocque received Scrip as well as his sister Philomene Brabant. Leon and Philomene were at Saskatchewan Landing when they received Scrip, along with Jean Louis Fagnant and LaPlante.
From the Scrip information and Cecile’s memory, we have been able to identify some of the Métis families and where they lived. The Métis moved into the area in the 1880s. Changes came in the early 1900s as the settlers moved in. The Métis were not displaced, but the changes to the land were significant, with fences and changes to the wildlife. Many of the Métis volunteered to fight in World War I and II, with some actually serving in both. Most of the Métis had moved out of the valley by 1950.
You will note that the Métis were scattered throughout the maps. They built their houses near the springs that flowed in the hills. Most made a garden and used the springs to irrigate their gardens as needed. They lived a life close to nature and maintained their hunter/gatherer lifestyle. They lived close enough that they could visit one another but far enough apart that they didn’t strain the environment in providing for their needs.
The information about Scrip was found in the Library and Archives Canada.
This map shows a few of the Métis that lived at Saskatchewan Landing. There were others, but
we have been unable to confirm the names and locations of them.
The landscape of the Landing has changed. The Métis lived close to the water's edge. With the
building of the Diefenbaker Dam upstream, the South Saskatchewan River has widened, and
most of the places where Métis lived are now underwater.
A letter dated March 5, 1887, is available from the Library and Archives Canada that states:
“I having heard rumours lately that the Half-breeds at the Saskatchewan Landing were in a very unsettled state, I went to Swift Current to try and learn something definite… A few days previous to my visit a half-breed woman in whom he has every confidence told him that the Breeds at the Landing were sending and receiving a great many letters, principally to and from Turtle Mountain, that they were constantly talking about giving further trouble to be in about a couple of months and that he (Tims – an RCMP officer) had better go away as the Breeds did not like him… The woman said that Interpreter Paul Leveilles did not know anything about it, as they were afraid he would tell. I took Constable Dumas away from the Landing as he has been acting in a strange manner and he was
reported to me to be crazy. I have sent Provost in his place and instructed him to mix amongst the Breeds as much as possible and learn all he could. I cannot at present vouch for the truth of these reports as I know the Breeds ever since the rebellion have been doing more or less Big talk, and I am equally well aware they are not to be trusted.”
- Sargeant J. M. McIllree
[After the Riel Resistance in 1885, the police and others kept close tabs on the Métis. I’m sure they were concerned if there was unrest in any area and unsure of what might happen. Turtle Mountain is in the USA, south of the Red River in now North Dakota. There is a reservation
there, and many Métis have membership there.]
The Métis built most of the Goodwin House, which is still standing today. One of the family stories is that they moved away due to several plagues or pandemics came through, and some of the children died as a result. Some moved to Lac Pelletier, some to Swift Current, and some moved out of the area.
A gentle reminder – most of the locations identified in the films and maps have since been settled by others and are private property. Other than the monuments and graveyard that remain; it is not possible to have access to all of these locations.