by Nikki Rajala | Jun 2, 2022 | Voyageur
Until a few hundred years ago, all purchases were cash-only. You couldn’t take home that horse (or beaver hat or pair of silver shoe buckles) if you didn’t have enough coins — or barter-able goods. That system of commerce prevailed all over the world.,...
by Nikki Rajala | Mar 15, 2022 | Voyageur
Have you been stymied in trying to figure out correct terminology to refer to our Native American brothers and sisters? In trying to be more respectful, we may not know which words to use. Among those in common usage are: first American, Native American, American...
by Nikki Rajala | Feb 15, 2022 | Voyageur
What if — as a voyageur — you didn’t love pea soup, the only food provisioned by the French-Canadian fur companies, your twice-a day meal for 6 weeks on the Ottawa and Mattawa Rivers? After 94 meals, your brigade would have been down to its last cup of dried...
by Nikki Rajala | Jan 26, 2022 | Voyageur
What voyageurs ate depended mostly on where they were — along the rivers, in the Great Lakes, at their wintering post or back home. In the earliest days, Radisson, Champlain, Pond and other French-Canadian explorers and adventurers hunted and fished — and traded with...
by Nikki Rajala | Dec 11, 2021 | Voyageur
Q: How did voyageurs celebrate Christmas ? A: Not like we do. Our favorite holiday traditions hadn’t been invented yet, so no Ho-Ho-Hos, no Santa, no tree or decorations, no cookies or concerts, no Nutcracker or Christmas Carol performances, no Grinch or...
