The Métis Community of Ste. Madeleine

A Park West School Division Community Initiative

Ste. Madeleine was a

Métis community

located

approximately 15

kilometers southeast

of Binscarth,

Manitoba

Métis hunters were

in this area in the

early 1800’s but

Métis families began

settling in the area in

the 1880’s. Many

families came from

the Red River area

near Winnipeg.

Father DeCorby

established a parish in St.

Lazare in 1895 and seven

years later an auxiliary

mission was set up in Ste.

Madeleine.

In 1913 a log chapel

was built by local

Métis families so

that church services

could be held once

or twice a month in

Ste. Madeleine.

In April, 1872 the Dominion

Lands Act provided free

quarter section homestead

grants (160 acres). In Ste.

Madeleine most families

concentrated their homes on

about four sections of land

near the school and church.

In 1922, the one

room Belliveau

School was built for

Grades One through

Eight. Lessons were

sometimes taught in

French and English.

Students surrounding the schoolhouse foundation

From 1915 to 1935 the Métis community grew and thrived, increasing

to approximately 250 people. Times were hard and the land poor for

farming. Many families fell behind in paying their taxes.

In 1935, The Prairie Farm

Rehabilitation Act

designated certain lands for

community pastures to

prevent drought and soil

erosion. This was the time

of the “Dirty Thirties”

when drought conditions

were extreme and soil was

badly eroded and unfit for

farming.

The community of Ste. Madeleine was designated community pasture land.

Families that had their taxes fully paid were compensated for their land but the

majority of community residents were behind in their taxes and received no

compensation.

By 1938 all the homes in Ste. Madeleine were burned to the ground and the

church was dismantled. The town of Ste. Madeleine ceased to exist.

Today all that remains is

the stone foundation of

the Belliveau School

and the cemetery

encircling the mound

of grass where the

church once stood.

The cemetery is still

tended by the family

members and is used

as the final resting

place of Ste.

Madeleine inhabitants

and their families.

CLASS TRIP TOSTE. MADELEINE

May 26, 2012

Kate Venne and

Rosalie Boucher Dreilich

Alan Venne and

Rene Fleury

Binscarth Métis

Community Supporters

Elder Rosalie shared

stories about

growing up in Ste.

Madeleine

Students made a rubbing of the commemorative plaque found in the center of the cemetery

Students documented the names of the community families

Ste. Madeleine

May 26, 2012

Venne

Boucher

Vermette

Fleury

Lemay

Fisher

PelletierBoyer

Ducharme

Ledoux Smith

Bellehumeur Lefranc

Favreau

DemeraisLarose

FlammandBitner

Grade 5/6 students from Inglis School and Grade 6/7 students from Binscarth School

After our trip to Ste. Madeleine we returned to the Binscarth Métis local for lunch

Board Chair Don Cochrane

Inglis teacher Nadine Hickey

Binscarth teacher Shelley Robidoux

and education assistant Carla Arran

Ste. Madeleine Métis Centre

volunteer staff

Mary Fleury, Alan Venne,

Kate Venne, Mary Orr

Lunch consisted of soup, bangs, rice pudding and juice

A big thank you to everyone who supported the trip to

Ste. Madeleine!

TEACHER SUPPORT PAGES

This resource was developed to support the Grade Six Social Studies curriculum:

6-KI-011 Describe daily life on a prairie homestead between 1890 and 1914.

Examples: survey system, role of women, challenges facing early settlers, education..

6-VH-013 Appreciate the struggles of past generations in achieving the rights that people in Canada enjoy today.

6-KP-048 Identify First Nations, Inuit, and Métis perspectives regarding self-determination. Examples: resource use, land claims, treaties, government...

6-KP-054 Identify factors that contribute to inequities in Canada and propose solutions. Examples: poverty, racism, sexism…

6-VC-003 Appreciate the struggles and achievements of past generations in shaping Canada

STE. MADELEINE TIMELINE

1872-Dominion

LandsActsetsdown

regulationsfor

homesteadgrants

1902-Ste.Madeleine

missionestablished

1922-Belliveau

Schoolhousebuiltfor

Grades1-8

1880-Father

DeCorbyfoundedthe

Catholicmissionof

St.Lazare

1913–logchapel

built

1935-community

thrivedandgrewto

250people

1935-1938Ste.

Madeleinedesignated

tobecomecommunity

pastureland

1938-Ste.Madeleine’s

communitymembers

areforcedtorelocate.

1935–PrairieFarm

RehabilitationAct

passed

Ste. Madeleine:

Community Without a Town

is available through Pemmican

Publications Inc.ISBN 0-919143-45-8

This project was made possible through the collaboration of:

Park West School Division

Inglis School

Binscarth School

Cort Dogniez: Aboriginal Education Facilitator

Ste. Madeleine Métis Cultural Centre