A canoe expedition travelling the ancient 1,200-kilometre fur trade route from the St. Lawrence River to James Bay reached Waskaganish September 4. The coastal community formerly called Rupert House is where the Hudson’s Bay Company established their first trading post in 1668.
Departing from Tadoussac May 31, five traditional cedar canoes ascended the Saguenay Fjord, then several lakes and rivers toward Lac Saint-Jean. After 97 days of navigating small waterways and portaging immense loads over abandoned trails, the three remaining canoes reached an emotional end to their journey.
“It’s a strange mix of emotions,” said Bruno Forest, who led the expedition. “I was a teenager when I started to dream of this great route. I was inspired by the figure of the coureur des bois, who is interacting with different cultures, who works for trade and peace.”
This dream guided Forest’s path towards becoming a canoe guide in Tadoussac, the site where Indigenous peoples told French explorer Samuel de Champlain about a passageway to an “inland sea” in 1603. After purchasing a traditionally built cedar canoe in 2021, Forest immersed himself in the region’s history, publishing a book last year about the canoe-makers at St-Félicien-based Canots Tremblay, which closed in 2000.
The youngest of Canots Tremblay’s surviving artisans was 80-year-old Rodrigue Pelchat, who agreed to build five vintage boats last summer with Forest as his apprentice. It was important for Forest to use the cedar and canvas, a direct descendent of birchbark canoes, which glide silently but are vulnerable to rocks.
“The canvas was broken in many places and we patched it along the way,” Forest explained. “We had a lot of duct tape. At the end, we had to scoop a lot of water every day. The wood’s still good. We’ll change the canvas this winter and they’ll be ready for new adventures.”
Long-time acquaintance Gordon Moar, a Mashteuiatsh Elder originally from Mistissini, shared a route from Lac Saint-Jean to Lake Mistassini which Forest cross-referenced with modern maps to guide the brigade. He pored through old texts of prospectors, fur traders and missionaries to ensure their itinerary was authentic.
Seeking a team with complementary strengths, the original eight “À La Mer Du Nord” were joined by two additional ambassadors from Mashteuiatsh for the initial Saguenay River leg. After one week, 21-year-old Francis Kurtness-Bossum decided to trace the path of his Innu and Cree ancestors all the way to Waskaganish.
“Chance and coincidence brought me this far, to the north sea,” shared Kurtness-Bossum. “I would never have made it without my ancestors, who accompanied every stroke of the oar and every step. The eagles guided and watched over us.”
Struggling upstream for long stretches, one participant hurt his back and another two bowed out in Chibougamau and Mistissini. Sometimes, having to push the canoes over rushing rapids, they were lucky to make 1 km in a day. Axes and saws were needed to carve through overgrown former portage paths as long as 3 km.
One participant arranged to have six food pickup spots along the route, while another specialized in fishing walleye and pike. Although they never went hungry, it was a pleasure to arrive to feasts in Mistissini, Old Nemaska and finally Waskaganish.
The team crossed Mistissini’s vast Nibischii Wildlife Reserve, leaving the community after five days “rested, overfed and even tattooed.” They were hosted by the Voyageur family, perhaps descendants of the famous Solomon Voyageur, who was head guide of the Mistassini-Rupert House canoe brigade for 30 years in the early 20th century.
Reaching Old Nemaska, they helped prepare for the summer gathering’s feast, gaining an appreciation for sturgeon heads. Jodge Wapachee regaled the group with stories and gave them a book of Nemaska’s history while his wife Charlotte introduced them to their first bingo game.
“It touched me,” said Wapachee. “It’s remembering how we survived – we respected them for that. I even presented them with a Cree paddle, handcrafted by one of our craftsmen.”
Wapachee’s grandfather Luke Mettaweskum, who lived to be 114, was a captain in one of HBC’s brigades, proud that his crew never “jumped” to another canoe. When the fur trade eventually depleted the beaver to near extinction, Mettaweskum worked as a game warden on a successful project to replenish their numbers.
“HBC needed the Cree to hunt for them to keep the posts alive,” asserted Wapachee. “After a while, the Cree started to depend on HBC for things they needed. They were living in a harsh environment so needed to work together.”
Historians suggest the HBC started in modern-day Waskaganish partly due to the Cree, who influenced the fur trade according to their own survival practices. As they grew to rely on European tools and foods, the Cree were granted credit that was paid off when they brought back furs.
“A lot of times they made very little money on their furs because of that credit system,” said George Diamond. “In the Elders’ gathering this year, some people talked about how they ripped off the Crees in their past business dealings. I find it ironic these guys are retracing the original route of the fur traders the same year that HBC closes for good.”
Diamond said that many were emotional as the brigade reached the end of their journey where the voyageurs used to land. Elders were reminded of past paddlers coming downriver and the community’s former canoe factory that operated from about 1923 to 1970.
“Everybody started cheering, happy to see them arriving,” said Diamond. “We all yelled out ‘Wachiya’. We gave them some tea, homemade doughnuts and bannock. After that, we helped them carry all their stuff up and had a feast for them.”
Expressing his admiration for the Cree Nation, Forest said that travelling by canoe formed special connections with the communities they visited, not to mention the caribou, moose, bears and wolves they encountered. A forthcoming documentary and book will illustrate the journey’s significance.
“We’ll have years to understand what changed in us along this great route,” said Forest. “A new adventure starts now in the sharing of what we had the privilege to live.”