Moccasin Workshop
Winter was giving way to spring as more than a dozen members of La Compagnie gathered in Minneapolis for a moccasin making workshop. Since many of our events take place in traditional Ojibwe country and some of our members wear this style for work, we opted to make...
Getting started: My recommended book list to learn about the fur trade
Recently, I had a friend who was just getting started in historical reenacting ask about some books to read about the fur trade in Minnesota. I looked at my book shelf and came up with some ideas. Some classic, some basic, some scholarly. Lots of journals AND...
Tales of Scarcity and Plenty: provisioning the wintering men in the Folle Avoine
Thousands of years ago, according to oral histories, the Anishinaabeg, or Ojibwe, followed a shell in the sky from the great waters of the East to “the place where the food grows on the water.” That food was wild rice, the only grain indigenous to North...
A Beautiful Day at Bottineau House
On Saturday, July 25th, we had the pleasure of participating in the "Voyageur for a Day" special event at the Pierre Bottineau House, Elm Creek Park Reserve, Maple Grove, Minnesota. While waiting for visitors, the wonderful shade produced from the canoe tarpaulins...
Voyageurs couldn’t swim, or did they?
The fur trade has developed more than its fair share of mythology, either from false accounts during the era or bad guesses by modern researchers. Unfortunately, many of these colorful myths are often repeated as fact. One such myth that I continue to hear is that the...
Cooking for the Gentlemen: Recipes for the Rendezvous
Just as very few eyewitness accounts of Grand Portage have survived, there are scarce records of what the partners of the North West Company actually ate at their rendezvous. A few brief reminiscences about the chief partners venturing forth in suitable style from...
Dining like the Gentlemen: Provisions for the Rendezvous
For more than 20 years, La Compagnie has cooked in the great kitchen at Grand Portage during the annual rendezvous and pow-wow days. For much of that time, members and friends prepared a grand meal for all participants . . . turkeys were roasted, great vats of pickles...
The Landing and Faribault Heritage Days
Just as there are different kinds of re-enactors, there are different kinds of events to attend as re-enactors. For La Compagnie, many of our summer events fall into the category of community celebrations, heritage days or festivals with us and out “portable fur trade...
Welcome!
Welcome to the La Compagnie Blog . . . the best way to learn about the history of the fur trade in the Upper Midwest! La Compagnie des Hivernants de la Riviere Saint Pierre is an educational nonprofit group that collects, preserves and shares knowledge about the...