Southbranch Settlement (french: Communautés métisses de la rivière Saskatchewan Sud) was the name ascribed to a series of French Métis settlements on the

Canadian prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

in the 19th Century, in what is today the province of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

. Métis settlers began making homes here in the 1860s and 1870s, many of them fleeing economic and social dislocation from Red River, Manitoba. The settlements became the centre of Métis resistance during the North-West Rebellion when in March 1885,

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...

, Gabriel Dumont,

Honoré Jackson William Henry Jackson (May 3, 1861 – January 10, 1952), also known as Honoré Jackson or Jaxon, was secretary to Louis Riel during the North-West Rebellion in Canada in 1885. He was married to Aimée, a former teacher in Chicago. He was ...

, and others set up the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan with their headquarters at Batoche.

History

The Settlements stretched along both sides of the

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ...

in river lot style from Fish Creek north through Batoche and St. Laurent to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

which was its northern boundary. They included Duck Lake 12 kilometers from St. Laurent accessed by the

St. Laurent Ferry The St. Laurent Ferry is a cable ferry in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The ferry crosses the South Saskatchewan River, linking Grid Road 783 on the river's west bank with Grid Road 782 on the east bank, near St. Laurent de Grandin. Th ...

. The distance from Fish Creek to St. Louis was less than 50 kilometres. They were proximal to several Cree reserves, as well as Anglo-Metis settlements to the north around Prince Albert. Batoche and St. Laurent de Grandin were founded by French Métis hivernants from the Red River settlement. ''Hivernants'' were hunters and trappers who spent the winter on the prairies and returned to the Red River settlement in the spring with their winter catch. Gabriel Dumont was the leader of the buffalo hunt for his group of 200 hunters living in the Southbranch settlements from 1863 to the end of the

Métis buffalo hunt The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

s in about 1875. In 1873 the Southbranch settlements organized a form of local government, under Gabriel Dumont, based on the laws of the buffalo hunt. In the 1880s the population of the Southbranch settlements may have been as high as 1300 with 40 to 60 families living in each of the four largest communities. The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a traumatic event for all the Southbranch communities, and they had passed their prime by the 1890s when the railway brought in increasing numbers of new immigrant settlers. Some of the settlements, such as St. Louis still remain however.

Missions

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...

established missions in the settlements during the 1870s and 1880s. * St. Laurent, the oldest of the settlements, was originally the wintering home of Métis plains buffalo hunters. A mission was established in 1873 by Father Andre o.m.i.. * Duck Lake Mission (''St. Sacrement'') was also established by Father Andre o.m.i. in 1874. * Batoche Mission (St. Antoine) was established in 1882 by Father Vegreville o.m.i.. * St. Louis de Langevin Mission was established in 1886 by Father Lecoque o.m.i. * Fish Creek Mission was also established by Father Lecoque o.m.i.. By 1888 all the Missions except Fish Creek had schools. St. Laurent had a post office, a telegraph office and a store. Duck Lake had a post office (called Stobart) a flour mill and a trading post. Batoche had three stores, a post office and a saloon. St. Louis had a store (at McDougall's crossing) and a post office (called Boucher).

References

External links

Batoche National Historic Site of Canada

Detailed report upon all claims to land and right to participate in the North-West Half-Breed Grant by settlers along the South Saskatchewan and vicinity, west of Range 26, W. 2nd Meridian, being the settlements commonly known as St. Louis de Langevin, St. Laurent or Batoche, and Duck Lake
{{Coord, 52, 50, 00, N, 106, 05, 02, W, display=title Fransaskois culture French communities History of Saskatchewan by location Métis in Saskatchewan Unincorporated communities in Saskatchewan

History

Missions

See also

References

External links