More than military conquest: Manitoba's historic Dawson Trail with Pierrette Sherwood and Mimi Lamontagne 

We do love history here on the Explore podcast, and one of the reasons is that the more you poke around, the more you dig, and the wider you cast your research net, the richer the story that gets revealed. Our guests today are the perfect example of that. 

Pierrette Sherwood is the founder, artistic and creative director of Manitoba’s Dawson Trail Commemorative Project, and Mimi Lamontagne is the project researcher. If any of you out there have heard of the Dawson Trail, it’s probably best known as the route that British and Canadian troops used in 1870 to get to Manitoba and put down the Red River Resistance led by Louis Riel. It then became the pre-railroad overland route from Eastern Canada into the west. 

Starting in 2019, the Dawson Trail Commemorative Project aims to illuminate a richer story beyond just conquest and migration. It's a story focused on the First Nations, Métis and French Canadian people who lived along the route for hundreds and thousands of years and what that reveals about our history and who we are as a people, including some remarkable characters. The route is 150 kilometres long, mostly just off of the Trans-Canada Highway. It features historical markers illuminating the extensive research into the history of the trail done by Lamontagne, Sherwood and their team. Along with being the Dawson Trail Project founder Pierrette Sherwood is a proud French Canadian Métis and award-winning arts and cultural professional. She makes her living as the artist-owner of Papillon Creations along the historic Dawson Trail.  

Mimi Lamontagne is a career heritage specialist, researcher, and educator in Manitoba. She is a proud Franco-Manitoban and ally to Indigenous Peoples. She has worked with the Manitoba Museum, Parks Canada, the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

To learn more about the Dawson Trail visit dawsontrailtreasures.ca.