Women led arduous lives in the wilderness. Jan Smith spins stories of life along the Red Lake River 150 years ago.
Smith is returning to the Chautauqua and French-Canadian/Metis Festival. She will be in the big tent on Saturday and Sunday, August 27 and 28, at 2 p.m. daily in the big tent at Old Crossing and Treaty Park near Huot. On Saturday, “Voyageur Living” in the persona of Perdu, Smith will tell about meeting Joseph Rolette at one of his trading posts. She will share tales of facing a bear, catching a huge sturgeon, surviving a storm and meeting other Metis along the way.
On Sunday, “Seamstress Turned Farmer’s Wife 1871” tells the story of Fil, who leaves her Hudson’s Bay Company job as a seamstress. Fil goes with her husband, a friend of Charles Bottineau, to settle on land in the upper Red Lake River area.
Adapting to life in the wilderness and living in a dugout are part of the story Fil tells about being a farmer’s wife.
The Clitherall woman is a professional storyteller, lecturer, and author. She has written and published eight books on Red River Valley history.
A retired English and speech teacher, Smith spends much of her time public speaking, storytelling, writing and paper cutting. “I am a paper cutting artist and instruct the Polish and German techniques,” she explained.
Festival admission is free, and the public is welcome to all events in the park. The Old Crossing and Treaty Park is on Red Lake County Road 3 and seven miles northeast of Gentilly on County Road 11 or 10 miles southwest of Red Lake Falls.
The festival, presented by AFRAN (Association of the French of the North), emphasizes the French heritage and celebrates the multicultural heritage of the Red River Valley.
For more information on the Chautauqua and French Festival at Huot, MN., visit
www.frenchcanadianafran.org or contact Jerry Amiot at 218-289-8889 or Virgil Benoit at 218-253-2270.
