Our great American history!
There is so much to teach and so much to learn...as historical reenactors, we can only do so much. That's why I like to help teach the kids in the classroom. Yes, I am a paraprofessional - a teacher's aid. But, I do also help to teach nearly as much as any educator. The head teacher I am with and I are almost - I said "almost" - like co-teaching partners. But when it comes to history, oftentimes she will defer to me.
You see, we don't just teach history as is written in the history books. We expand on what is written; we'll take a paragraph about, for instance, the 1920s and, rather than just read the few sentences about the decade, we'll pull up silent movies for the kids to watch, and they laugh at the comedies just as hard as those from a hundred years ago. This way they get a deeper understanding of the period - we try and make it into something the students can relate to on a more personal level.
And when we speak of early Michigan history, we'll teach the kids about the founding of Detroit and Mackinac, but then we'll get into the interaction between the French inhabitants & fur traders and the local Indian tribes and of their intermingling between the two groups. To get that information I will hit the few books available on that subject...but also visit those who study the period much deeper than I: the Lac Ste. Claire Habitants et Voyageurs de Detroit~
~
"The river that runs from lake St. Claire to Lake Erie (or rather the Straight, for thus might be termed from its name) is called Detroit, which is in French, the Straight. It runs nearly south, has a gentle current, and depth of water sufficient for ships of considerable burthen. The town of Detroit is situated on the western banks of this river, about nine miles below Lake St. Claire.
Almost opposite, on the eastern shore, is the village of the ancient Hurons; a tribe of Indians…
The banks of the River Detroit…are covered with settlements that extend more than twenty miles; the country being exceedingly fruitful, and proper for the cultivation of wheat, Indian corn, oats, and peas. It has also many spots of fine pasturage; but as the inhabitants, who are chiefly French that submitted to the English government after the conquest of these parts by General Amherst, are more attentive to the Indian trade than to farming..."
Written by Jonathan Carver in 1768: "Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America."
(General Amherst is credited as the "architect" of Britain's successful campaign to conquer the territory of New France during the Seven Years' War. Up until 1763 - the end of the Seven Years War/French & Indian War - Michigan was part of an area known as "New France")
 |
| ~ Ste. Claire Voyageurs - Habitants of Detroit ~ I want to recreate this painting as a living photograph. Are you game, my Voyageur friends? |
So, just what are Voyageurs?
Well, the living historians known as the Lac Ste. Claire Voyageurs do an excellent job at replicating the actual Great Lakes fur traders, missionaries, natives, settlers, and explorers that came to the Great Lakes region in the early 1600s and remained through the early part of the 19th century.
 |
| Easterner Ken visiting the Old Northwest Territory. No, I am not a Voyageur, though my Voyageur friends are some fine people indeed. Perhaps there is land available for me here, should I choose to move from the east coast. |
And now here is a very quick piece of settlement history of Michigan:
before the European explorers and settlers arrived in "Meicigama" (Ojibwa for "large water" or "great water"), there were numerous Indian tribes who called the area their home, including the Chippewa (Ojibwa), Miami, Sauk, Wyandotte, Ottawa, Huron, Potawatomi, and a number of others who were spread out across the land. It was in the early 1600s that the waterways - the Great Lakes - were first explored by the Europeans who came here. And it was in 1701 when Antoine Cadillac founded Fort Detroit.
Yet, aside from a few areas such as Detroit, Mackinac, Monroe, and Sault Ste. Marie, most east coast settlers were not finding their way to this region.
However, a few did - - - -but you'll notice that my clothing does not necessarily match the style of the folk I am with at this reenactment - -
The area we now call Michigan was part of Canada (New France) from 1668 to 1763. When New France was defeated in the French and Indian War, it ceded the region to Britain in 1763. After the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War, the Treaty of Paris (1783) expanded the United States' boundaries to include nearly all land east of the Mississippi River and south of Canada. Michigan was then part of the "Old Northwest," and from 1787 to 1800, it was part of the Northwest Territory.
 | ||||
The building in the top and bottom picture was built in 1789 by Utreau Navarre (in Monroe / Frenchtown, just south of Detroit) and is the oldest wooden structure still standing in Michigan, according to its historical marker. It is the most complete example of French-Canadian piece-sur-piece construction in the Old Northwest.
|
The original Voyageurs befriended, learned from and intermarried with the local Indians who were already here when they arrived. In our general area of Michigan, they built earthen huts and farmed "strip farms," which were long pieces of land beginning at the narrow end near the lake and extended inland for about a half mile with a width of about 500 feet. In this way they were able to take full advantage of the natural waterways of the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers as well as Lake St. Clair itself.
The Voyageurs were also known for buying, selling and trading animal fur and pelts.
 |
| Dale and Tim. |
Reenacting with the Voyageurs is a wonderful experience, for their history is a sort of timeline on its own; as I mentioned, they go back to the 1600s up through the mid-1800s - a good 200 years. With so many doing a variety of different period crafts, the visitors really get "their money's worth." It's great to be able to step up to any camp site and see & learn something new, as these great living historians teach about their lives as fur-traders and trappers.
And so I found myself intermingling with this group of Voyageurs in the Lake Huron village of Port Sanilac, about 30 miles or so north of Port Huron.
Remember when I mentioned about studying and researching the deeper history?
Well, when you find the right books, such as "Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America" by Jonathan Carver I mentioned a bit earlier, it's not hard to imagine what real life was like and what the general area looked like during the time the Voyageurs are emulating:
"In June 1768 I left Michillimackinac, and returned in the Gladwyn Schooner, a vessel of about eighty tons burthen (archaic for “burden”), over Lake Huron to Lake St. Claire, where we left the ship, and proceeded in boats to Detroit.
The fish in Lake Huron are much the same as those in Lake Superior. Some of the land on its banks is very fertile, and proper for cultivation, but in other parts it is sandy and barren. On its banks are found an amazing quantity of the sand cherries, and in the adjacent country are the same fruits as those that grow about the other lakes.
A great number of the Chipeway Indians live scattered around this lake, particularly near Saganaum (Saginaw) Bay. On its banks are found an amazing quantity of the sand cherries, and in the adjacent country nearly the same fruits as those that grow about the other lakes.
This year's event was a bit smaller than usual for the group, most likely due to the very high gas prices, but those who participated did certainly have a great time and showed the visiting public a view of the Great Lakes region's past not seen too often.
 |
| Ron has captured the historical imagination of these kids. |
Then there's me...the easterner...a colonial from Boston...who doesn't necessarily fit in with the fashions or lifestyle of the Voyageurs, though I do fit roughly in the same time period.
Why do I portray a colonial easterner rather than the people of my home-state of Michigan area?
Although I love seeing the reenactments and hearing the history, my personal 18th century interest lies on the east coast. It doesn't mean I do not care for the history of my area - - - - - - I do. But my historical heart lies elsewhere...still, I am thankful to be welcomed by this group and I greatly enjoy coming out with them.
 |
| Father Marquette was at the event as well. |
Jacques Marquette (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Ignace. In two canoes paddled by five voyageurs, Marquette and Louis Jolliet, an explorer born near Quebec City, left St. Ignace, at the head of Lake Michigan, on May 17, 1673. In 1673, Marquette and Joliet were the first Europeans to explore and map the northern portion of the Mississippi River Valley.
 |
| Marko there on the right kept asking the visitors if they had rum to trade for the furs he had hanging there. |
 |
| Various crafts occurred throughout the day. That's my favorite thing about the Voyageur reenacting group: they always keep busy doing traditional activities. |
 |
| The musical group here were pretty darn awesome and played many wonderful period tunes ranging from the 18th through the 19th centuries. |
When my friend (and Citizens of the American Colonies member) Jennifer showed up in the early afternoon, she and I hung around together for a while, talking about upcoming events and getting a few nice shots near the cabin situated there. Yes, there is a historic cabin amongst the buildings on the property owned by the Sanilac County Historical Village & Museum. After the Great Fire that took place here in the "thumb" of Michigan in 1881, which destroyed a good portion of the remaining timber in the area, many stalwart residents were quick to rebuild. Henry Patten and his sons, James and Elias, built this little cabin from the trees left standing on their land near the long-forgotten settlement of Banner. Some of those trees exhibited charring from the inferno.
The cabin was donated to the Sanilac County Historical Village & Museum in the 1970s.
 |
| Jennifer, knowing her station, dressed for frontier living/farming. The cabin may have been built in the 1880s, it looked no different from those built over a hundred years earlier. |
 |
| Though there were water pumps around in the 18th century, I'm not sure what they looked like. Did they look like this? I honestly don't know. Still, it is kind of a neat picture. |
If you are a regular Passion for the Past reader, you will have probably seen my series on 18th century cabin living entitled "A Day In The Life." In each of the excursions I've taken part in - eight, so far - I've written a personal account of what it was like being immersed in the 18th century while at the Waterloo Frontier Cabin, with no outside public and no modernisms to bring one back to the present time. For what each of us - myself, Larissa, Jackie, Charlotte, and a couple of others here and there - who took part in this living history excursion accomplished has allowed us to feel as if we became a part of the 1770s past in ways other forms of reenacting cannot replicate.
 |
| Jennifer and I. Jennifer has yet to come out with us to the Waterloo Frontier Cabin, but she hopes to one day soon. However, here at Port Sanilac we also portray rural colonials from the east coast rather than colonists of a more French flavor like the Voyageurs. Yeah...our clothing gives us away... |
For each of our Waterloo Cabin visits I wrote a personal account of what it was like being immersed in the 18th century, with no outside public and no modernisms to bring one back to the present. For what we as living historians accomplished here has allowed us to feel as if we became a part of the past in ways other forms of reenacting cannot replicate. Of course, each post includes loads of photos:
To read about our 2020 autumn excursion at the cabin, click HERE
To read about our 2021 wintertime excursion at the cabin, click HERE
To read about our 2021 springtime excursion at the cabin, click HERETo read about our 2021 summertime excursion at the cabin, click HERE
To read about our 2021 harvesting of the flax at the cabin, please click HERE
To read about our 2021 autumn excursion making candles at the cabin, click HERE
To read about our 2022 winter excursion at the cabin, please click HERE
To read about our 2022 spring excursion at the cabin, please click HERE
So this day spent up in Port Sanilac was a very good one. I enjoy American history in general, so all of this fits right into us leading up to the sestercentennial (250th) of our Nation's anniversary coming up in four years. There's so much history to learn and research...and the Voyageur era is another aspect that helps complete the great American picture!
Posting about the reenactments I participate in allows me to relive the event as well as become a sort of photographic record of my time spent in the past. That's why I usually include so many of my pictures. And today's posting is no different, and I even included pictures not from this event to help fill in the story a bit more.
No matter which reenactment I participate in, I always try to make it a good one. And the Lac Ste. Claire Voyageurs Encampment is always a fine event indeed, especially this year, hearing that the big encampment, which normally takes place during the last weekend in August, will not be happening, so I'm not sure when or if I will see most here again this year.
 |
| Micki has her wares with her during her travels. |
Well, at least there are plenty of reenactments on the horizon:
Blacksmiths, Soldiers, and Cabins (1860s)
Celebrating a 1776 4th of July (um...RevWar/Colonial)
Charlton Park (Civil War)
Frankenmuth (Revolutionary War)
Port Sanilac (Civil War)
Colonial Kensington (Revolutionary War)
Armada Living History (1860s)
Jackson (it's back!) (Civil War)
The 150th anniversary of the Eastpointe school house (later 19th century)
Vermillion Creek (Revolutionary War)
Plus two or three more Waterloo Cabin visits (colonial period---1772)
and
possibly one or two events at the Selinski-Green Farm House (1860s)
Yep, God-willing, I will have a fine summer spent in the past. I plan to share my experiences right here on Passion for the Past, so stay tuned.
Until next time, see you in time.
To read about the adventures of explorer Jon Carver's 1760s travels through Michigan in his own words, click HERE
To read about Detroit's early past, please click HERE
To read more on the structures still standing from when Michigan was still a territory, please click HERE
To read more about Michigan in the 18th century, please click HERE
To read about Michigan's involvement in the War of 1812, please click HERE
~ ~ ~
No comments:
Post a Comment