by Nikki Rajala | Dec 9, 2025 | 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 Charlie...
by Nikki Rajala | Nov 13, 2025 | Voyageur
I met Brian Hardy at the Huot Chautauqua where he was portraying a fur trader. Interestingly, he gets paid to dress up in historical costumes — he’s the outreach coordinator for the Pembina State Museum, a part of the State Historical Society of North Dakota, in...
by Nikki Rajala | Nov 6, 2025 | Voyageur
A few years ago at a presentation, someone asked me: Why were French-Canadian voyageurs’ paddles red? We considered a few possibilities: Was it to show them how deep they should paddle? Not really — within a few hours of paddling, even newbie voyageurs would...
by Nikki Rajala | Aug 15, 2025 | Voyageur
Could a voyageur climb the fur trade ladder and get a powerful job? Non, c’est impossible. A glass ceiling existed. There were strong class and caste restrictions in place, and it was impossible to transcend them. Reading, writing and mathematics skills were...
by Nikki Rajala | Jul 13, 2025 | Voyageur
“A Canadian, if born to be a labourer, deems himself to be very unfortunate if he … shall reach five feet ten or eleven, it forever excludes him from the privilege of becoming voyageur. There is no room for the legs of such people in these canoes, But if he shall stop...
