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<\/p>\nStops along the tour include Beaver River, Sandy Point and Fort Black which are sites that he said are essential to understanding how the region developed over time.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFort Black itself\u2026 there was actually a radar station there in the 50s. They were going to make an airport, everything there,\u201d Gardiner said. \u201cThere\u2019s a historic trail\u2026 there was a fort there at one time, a trading post.\u201d<\/p>\n
Established in 1776, the community became a key hub in the fur trade, situated at the intersection of major northern waterways used by both the North West Company and the Hudson\u2019s Bay Company. The name \u00cele-\u00e0-la-Crosse itself is tied to that history. French voyageurs are said to have named the area after witnessing Indigenous people playing a traditional lacrosse game.<\/p>\n
The area is also closely linked to early settlement and religious history in the North. The community is the birthplace of Louis Riel Sr., a prominent M\u00e9tis figure and father of M\u00e9tis leader Louis Riel. A Catholic mission established in 1846 \u00a0helped make the settlement an early centre for education and health care west of Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
Belanger said those layered histories continue to shape how residents see the community today.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re resilient,\u201d Gardiner said. \u201cThis town\u2019s been here for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite its small population of roughly 1,400 to 1,500 residents, Gardiner said the community remains closely tied to the land and traditional livelihoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of trapping, commercial fishing that comes out of this place. We\u2019ve got a fish plant here, a processing plant,\u201d he said. \u201cWe use our land a lot\u2026 trapping, commercial fishing, all that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, the region\u2019s economy continues to rely on commercial fishing, forestry, wild rice harvesting and nearby resource industries, while also supporting outdoor recreation and tourism centred on the lakes and northern wilderness.<\/p>\n
The coordinator of the 250th Anniversary Celebration for the Northern Village of \u00cele-\u00e0-la-Crosse said the gathering is about reconnection as much as commemoration.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be an opportunity for a lot of folks that have moved,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople from BC\u2026 Gatineau, Quebec\u2026 this is going to be an opportunity for them to come home.\u201d<\/p>\n
The boat tours, for example, highlight geography and oral history, but Maureen Belanger said they also surface deeper reflections about identity, family and loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cLarry himself, myself, we each had a little island growing up,\u201d Belanger said. \u201cWhen it was time for us to come to school, we were removed from our parents\u2019 homes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Belanger said the tours are intended to hold both celebration and remembrance, offering younger generations and visitors a chance to understand how families once lived across the lake system before displacement through residential school<\/a> policies.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d like to showcase where we all grew up and how much fun we had and all the wonderful life we had before being removed from our parents,\u201d she said. \u201cGood memories. That\u2019s all we have of growing up across the lake.\u201d<\/p>\n She said guests will be offered traditional food along the boat tour route.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re going to serve fish and bannock and tea, a traditional meal that you would often be greeted with when you were visiting people in the islands,\u201d Belanger said. \u201cSo, he\u2019s going to give that as a taste of who we were growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n The celebration will include cultural programming, live entertainment, traditional teachings, sporting events and a Healing Village offering ceremony and wellness supports.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you need time to reconnect, re-energize with your spirit, that\u2019ll be another venue that we\u2019re offering,\u201d Belanger said.<\/p>\n For Gardiner, the goal is straightforward.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope the first thing is I hope they have fun,\u201d he said. \u201cHave good laughs, everybody enjoy themselves\u2026 see our community, and tell a story about where we come from, about 250 years.\u201d<\/p>\n