The Historical Museum of St. James-Assiniboia presents Pioneer Heritage Day!

We thank Elders Clarence and Barbara Nepinak for joining us and opening our event today. Clarence Nepinak serves on the Board of the Historical Museum of St. James-Assiniboia and both Barbara and Clarence are recipients of the Order of Manitoba and local community Elders.

And now for a welcome from our local government representatives.

We would like to thank Councillor Kevin Klein and Assiniboine Credit Union for their contribution towards Pioneer Heritage Day. This event would not be possible without your support.

We would also like to thank Councillor Kevin Klein, Marty Morantz, M.P., Hon. Scott Fielding, M.L.A., Scott Johnston, M.L.A., and Councillor Scott Gillingham for their participation in Pioneer Heritage Day and interest in helping us to preserve our past.

First up in our line-up is Erin Okrainec. Erin is a fiddler from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She performed at Pioneer Heritage Day last year and is back again with more music for us.

Sarah Crellin is a local singer who has performed in various spots across the city of Winnipeg. She currently studies Music Education.

We are so excited to have Jason Eastwood performing at our Pioneer Heritage Day. Jason was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has performed professionally across Canada and taught at Dalhousie University. Here is Jason Eastwood inside our 1911 Municipal Hall.

Re-watch our LIVE tour of our 1890s Interpretive Centre:

Let’s take a peek in the 1856 Red River Frame House’s nursery to see what fun activities are happening.

Jump over to our craft section for instructions on how to make these adorable pioneer clothespin dolls.

Join our friends Lilly and Poppy in learning how to make paper patchwork quilts. Find written instructions here.

Here is Jason Eastwood performing in our 1856 Red River Frame House.

Emily Bergen grew up dancing in Winnipeg. After completing her BA in Dance, Emily formerly taught at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. We want to thank Emily for sharing this piece with us. Here is Emily Bergen in PDLIF.

Once again, here is Jason Eastwood.

We’re so grateful that our next performers could join us once again this year for Pioneer Heritage Day. These French Canadian Jiggers have performed across the globe. Here is Kadance.

Re-watch our LIVE historical theatre inside the 1856 Red River Frame House:

We are so grateful to Jason Eastwood for coming down to the museum to perform for us. Here, for his last song today, is Jason Eastwood.

Thank you so much to Erin Okrainec for performing at our Pioneer Heritage Day. Here is Erin in the final performances of the day.

Thank you to all of our volunteers and staff who made today possible. And thank you to all of you who tuned in online and came to visit us!

Welcome to a Night at the Museum.

Here to open the night is Jason Eastwood. Jason Eastwood is a classical guitarist and composer. He has taught at Dalhousie University and performed across the country. Thank you Jason for being our musical guest this evening.

Let’s start the evening out with some activities for the kids. Join our friends Lilly and Poppy as they learn how to make Patchwork Quilts. Find more crafts and instructions here.

Our first speaker of the evening is Barry Hillman. Barry Hillman has photographed and held shows in Europe, Hawaii and Canada. He is currently a private consultant and publisher for Village Publishing. He worked at the Manitoba Museum for 28 years, and as Coordinator of the Museum Advisory and Training Service and Museum Internship Programs. Barry has visited over 162 museums across Manitoba.

Once again, here is Jason Eastwood.

Dorothy Rohne is a local artisan who has designed many of the quilts on display at the Historical Museum of St. James-Assiniboia. Learn about her inspiration for these beautiful quilts.

After 35 years of working in the communications and information technology industry, Jeff retired and took up woodworking. He has taken several woodworking training certifications and seminars in Canada and the United States. Jeff makes furniture pieces of various styles including his own designs. He uses a variety of wood species including walnut, white oak, cherry, red oak, and maple.

Most recently, Jeff built a platform to host the Historical Museum of St. James-Assiniboia’s newest display on Lady Strathcona. Come listen to Jeff explain the history behind the wood hosting the museum’s newest display.

Enjoy this exclusive tour of the fire escape slide on our 1911 Municipal Hall.

Check out this never-before-seen tour of the jail cell in our Municipal Hall basement, not available to the public.

Bonita has worked at several Museum and Archives over her career and holds graduate degrees in public administration and museum management with under graduate degrees in cultural anthropology and museum studies. She is a published author and is best known for the children’s book ” A Magical Story of the Gimli Trolls”. Bonita is currently the Executive Director/Curator at the Historical Museum of St. James-Assiniboia.

Thank you for watching a Night at the Museum with the Historical Museum of St. James-Assiniboia. If you enjoyed our event this evening please consider donating to the museum to help us continue to provide free community events and programs for years to come. Click here to donate online.

Today in honour of 150 years of Manitoba, we are highlighting two residents of St. James-Assiniboia who made an important impact on the early years of Manitoba’s development.

Although Manitoba celebrated its 150th birthday on May 12, 2020, the official day Manitoba joined confederation was July 15, 1870.

Following the Red River Resistance, led by Métis leader Louis Riel, the Métis People and the Canadian government came to an agreement of the terms for the creation of the new province, Manitoba. These terms called the Manitoba Act received Royal Assent on May 12, 1870, which is the day we now celebrate as Manitoba Day. However, the Manitoba Act was not officially enacted until July 15, 1870.

It was this day in July in 1870 that Manitoba officially became part of Canada.

Today in honour of 150 years of Manitoba, we are highlighting two residents of St. James-Assiniboia who made an important impact on the early years of Manitoba’s development.

John Taylor

John Taylor was an English Métis who spoke French, English, and Cree. After moving to Headingley in 1855 to establish a school, he successfully operated a large farm, trading post, blacksmith shop, Royal Exchange Hotel, livery stable, and a barber shop. He bought his first land in 1856, a lot on the Assiniboine River at Headingley. 

After the death of his wife Flora Campbell, John Taylor married his second wife Francis Brown, daughter of William Brown and Charlotte Omand (the original owners of the museum’s historically designated 1856 Red River Frame House) on December 31, 1873.

During the Red River Resistance of 1870, he was elected to represent the Headingley Parish. Taylor was elected to the Manitoba Legislature in 1874 and again in 1878. He was an active member of the Legislative Assembly and became the first Manitoba Minister of Agriculture in 1879. When the Rural Municipality of Assiniboia was established in 1880, he was elected as one of the first seven councillors.

John Taylor passed away at his home on Headingley on 3 March 1925.

James McKay

James McKay, a Métis of Cree, Orkney and French-Canadian heritage, he spoke English, Cree, Ojibway, Sioux and French. He began his career working for the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1853. In 1859 he married Margaret Rowand, daughter of John Rowand and Julie Desmarais, one of the wealthiest families in the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Following her father’s death in 1854, Margaret Rowand had inherited a substantial sum of money and property. James and Margaret built their estate along the Assiniboine River. They called it Deer Lodge. In the early years of the new province’s existence Deer Lodge was a social hub and McKay was widely known and respected within the community.

It was in the 1860s that James McKay first became involved in politics. On January 23, 1968 he was appointed to the Council of Assiniboia and served as councillor for one year.

After the creation of Manitoba, the first elections were held in 1870. McKay did not have a seat in the elected Legislative Assembly, but he was selected by Lieutenant Governor Adams George Archibald as President of the Executive Council. He was sworn in on January 10, 1871 and chosen as speaker for the upper chamber in March of that year.

Later in his career, James McKay became an influential mediator between the Indigenous People of the North West and the European Settlers. He played an important, but unofficial role, in negotiations and interpretations for the treaties and he witnessed the proceedings for Treaty 1 and Treaty 2. In 1875, McKay was named an official “Indian Commissioner” and served in that capacity for Treaties 5 and 6.

James McKay died at Deer Lodge on December 2, 1879 and was buried in St. Boniface Cathedral cemetery. After his death Deer Lodge continued as a place of social gathering and became a country inn. The building was destroyed in a fire, but the new Deer Lodge hotel was constructed and remained open until 1916, at which point it was converted into a military convalescent home during the war. Today Deer Lodge Hospital, 2109 Portage Avenue, stands on the original site of the McKay home.

Canadian Multiculturalism Day, established in 2002, is a day to celebrate Canada’s diversity and to recognize the contributions of the ethnocultural groups that make up Canadian society. In 1971 Canada became the first country in the world to adopt a policy of multiculturalism. This policy was further integrated into Canadian law with its inclusion in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) and the Canadian Multiculturalism Act (1988)

Many early settlers in Manitoba Scottish. William Brown (resident and owner of the 1856 Red River Frame House) was living in his hometown of Mainland, Orkney, Scotland when he was recruited by the Hudson Bay Company in 1830. He worked as a labourer, middleman, and cook at several forts in the Northwest Territories and in the district of Red River. After his retirement to the Red River Settlement, Brown married Charlotte Omand who had Scottish and Ojibwe heritage.

Manitoba’s official tartan was designed by Hugh Kirkwood Rankine, a second-generation Scottish immigrant born in Winnipeg. The coloured threads tell the story of early immigration to Manitoba and the province’s ethnocultural diversity.

Red squares: For the Red River Settlement, the stone forts, and fur trade posts

Green squares: For the rich farmlands, forests, minerals, fisheries, and waterpower

Blue lines: For Thomas Douglas, Fifth Earl of Selkirk, founder of the Red River Settlement

Dark green lines: For the people of many cultures and ethnicities that enrich Manitoba

Golden lines: For Manitoba’s bountiful harvests

White squares (in the “Dress” tartan): For Manitoba’s winter snows

Make your own official Manitoba Tartan!

Colour or paint the downloadable template or get creative with your materials and use construction paper or fabric! Once you’ve made a Manitoba Tartan, try designing your own tartan with colours that represent things that are important to you.

Download Template Here:

In recognition of National Indigenous History Month and Indigenous Peoples Day, June 21st, we are highlighting some of the Museum’s First Nations and Métis artifacts.

Métis

The Manitoba Act of 1870 granted 1,400,000 acres of land to families of Métis residents of Manitoba to compensate for lost or disappearing hunting rights. Charlotte Omand Brown, who lived in the Red River Frame House with her husband William Brown, was of Scottish and Ojibwe heritage. In 1877-78, Charlotte’s children (John, Magnus, James, William Jr., Francis Jane Brown Taylor, and Margaret Ann Brown) were each allotted their 240 acres in the areas of East Marquette, Selkirk, and Lisgar. Francis Jane Brown Taylor married the Honorable John Taylor, Manitoba’s first Minister of Agriculture who also received Métis scrip.

The Assiniboine

The Assiniboine are an Indigenous people group who were living in Manitoba at the time of permanent European settlement. Because they often traded with the Hudson Bay Company, they were well-known to European traders and many of their traditional trails and campsites became trade routes and trading posts.

The first permanent European settlement in the region which is now Manitoba, established by Lord Selkirk in 1811, was called Assiniboia in recognition of the Assiniboine. In 1880, the provincial government created the Rural Municipality of Assiniboia from the parishes of Headingly, St. Charles, St. James, and St. Boniface West.

The Plains Ojibwe

These Plains Ojibwe moccasins are dated to the late 1800s. They are decorated with a geometric bead pattern and horsehair piping. The Plains Ojibwe (also known as Saulteaux) migrated west and north from the Great Lakes area as the fur trade spread into the plains. When they moved into traditional Cree territories, some Ojibwe peoples created blended Oji-Cree communities or joined Cree groups.