by Nikki Rajala | Dec 5, 2024 | Voyageur
With snow flurries teasing us, and Christmas carols playing, and wreaths and decorations everywhere, I wonder about the voyageurs during this season. Mostly, they celebrated New Year’s with a dram or two, occasionally with a rival post (as I wrote about in a...
by Nikki Rajala | Sep 2, 2024 | Voyageur
I meet the most interesting people whose passion is the fur trade. Greg Ingram is one, a member of the Fur Traders and Explorers, centered around Alberta, Canada. As a re-enactor, Greg has developed several first-person characters named “Gregoire” — from voyageur to...
by Nikki Rajala | Aug 1, 2024 | Featured, Voyageur
“Je suis un homme du nord.” Not just any paddler could make that boast of being “a man of the north,” or full-fledged voyageur. He had to be baptized by a veteran canoeman. In “The Voyageur’s Highway,” Grace Lee Nute says that after the annual rendezvous, large...
by Nikki Rajala | Apr 28, 2024 | Voyageur
Q: How DO you pronounce Michilimackinac? A: Here’s the short answer [so you won’t embarrass yourself in front of people who know]: (MISH-ə-lə-MACK-ə-naw) The area known to the Odawa Indians as Michilimackinac means “Big Turtle.” For...
by Nikki Rajala | Mar 29, 2024 | Voyageur
Q: Where do you get accurate information? (Or do you just make this up?) Q: How do you know it’s true? I’m always on the lookout for new info. During the pandemic, I attended Zoom seminars, like on how voyageur sashes were made (George Washington wore one...
