In the 1870s, it was intended that French-speaking colonists from Quebec or repatriated from the United States would lend numerical support to the MÄtis community in the North-West. The MÄtis, however, were uneasy even in the company of the French-Canadians, and many sold or lost the script giving them the right to a piece of land in Manitoba and moved further West. Some made their way into the Batoche area, others migrated towards Father Lacombe's mission at St. Albert, and others drifted from place to place. Their exodus from Manitoba showed that there existed cultural and temperamental differences between them and their old compatriots from Quebec, differences which were, however, sometimes bridged successfully, especially in the case of those who remained behind and mingled with the new arrivals.
This photograph is probably of a MÄtis pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Laurent on the banks of the Saskatchewan River south of Prince Albert.
