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 | 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...
by Nikki Rajala | Oct 31, 2021 | Voyageur
My novels focus on the voyageurs as they paddled from Canada. But what were French-Canadian villages like? At Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, we spent three days experiencing what one may have felt like. There were hundreds of take-aways. To give you a flavor, Jean Day...
by Nikki Rajala | Sep 25, 2021 | Voyageur
Beads were the smallest of the trade goods that the French-Canadian voyageurs carried. Tiny as they were, they packed a punch with color, sparkle and the myriad unique ways they could be combined. (I know — I love earrings and their pop of color and style.) Native...
