St. Laurent, Manitoba

Prior to the arrival of European colonists, the area between Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg was contested among the Ojibwa, Cree, and Sioux peoples for much of the 18th century, with the Ojibwa ultimately achieving dominance.[3] In the 1730s, La Vérendrye was the first European who systematically explored the territory.[4] By the early 19th century, the interlake region of Manitoba was inhabited by Ojibwa Saulteaux,[5] but it is unclear if any of the groups lived in the immediate vicinity of St. Laurent when it was founded.[6]

St. Laurent was established as Fond du Lac in 1824 by Métis leaving Pembina, North Dakota.[7] Pembina, located in Rupert's Land, had been recently ceded by Great Britain to the United States via the Treaty of 1818,[8] prompting the departure of the Métis there. More settlers arrived in 1826 as a result of flooding of the Red River of the North,[9] with further growth driven by Métis in search of land and traders seeking to take advantage of trade routes to the northwest.[10] The economy centred around fishing and the fur trade, with settlers serving as intermediaries with Cree and Assiniboine people.[11]

Sometime after its establishment as a parish in 1858, the community was renamed St. Laurent, either after a Catholic priest who established the permanent mission there or after the martyr St. Lawrence.[12] Additional Métis settlers moved to St. Laurent in the aftermath of the Red River Rebellion ending in 1870. The broader area was formally incorporated as the Rural Municipality of St. Laurent in 1882.[13] French-Canadians, Bretons, and Mennonites arrived in the first half of the 20th century.[14]

The land is primarily glacial till with limited potential for agriculture, but is suitable for some farming and the raising of livestock.[15] The climate is continental with high variation between seasons. St. Laurent is in the Red River region of Manitoba, which is prone to flooding,[16] and the village last suffered a major flood in the spring and summer of 2011.[17]

St. Laurent has no central town square and is not exclusively organized around central roads, which is partially the result of the influence of the seigneurial system of New France, which allotted land with respect to the waterfront.[18]

Twin Lakes Beach on Lake Manitoba.

Attractions in St. Laurent and area include the following events and destinations.[19]

• Manipogo Festival is held at the end of the ice-fishing in March.
• Manipogo Golf & Country Club near Twin Lakes Beach.
• Meindl Beach and Big Tree Park
• Métis Days
• Métis Music Festival is held in the community of Oak Point yearly on the labour day weekend.

• Twin Lakes Beach, Manitoba
• St. Laurent de Grandin, Saskatchewan

• Barkwell, Lawrence J. (2016). The Metis Homeland: Its Settlements and Communities. Louis Riel Institute. ISBN 978-1-927531-12-9.
• Brown, Jennifer S.H. (1985). William Cowan (ed.). Central Manitoba Saulteaux in the 19th Century. 16th Algonquian Conference.
• Brown, Jennifer S.H.; Filice, Michelle (August 3, 2018). "Michif". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
• "Community Profiles: Expressions of Métis Identity". Standing Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, Senate of Canada. 2012.
• Goldsborough, Gordon (November 7, 2014). "Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Laurent Mission (St. Laurent, RM of St. Laurent)". Manitoba Historical Society. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
• Holm, Gerald F. (2001). "Geographical Names of Manitoba" (PDF). Geographic Board of Canada.
• Lavallee, Guy Albert Sylvestre (June 1988). The Métis People of St. Laurent Manitoba: An Introductory Ethnography (M.A.). University of British Columbia. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
• Nicholson, Norman L.; Panneton, Daniel (July 21, 2016). "Convention of 1818". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
• "The rural municipality of St. Laurent, Manitoba, receives international recognition for its authentic Métis culture". Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
• Redekop, Bill (July 12, 2014). "Story of the Stones: Elders Believe They Could Mark Ancient Sioux Burial Site". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
• Zoltvany, Yves F. (1974). "Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, Pierre". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. III (1741–1770) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.