Lac La Biche - History - Aboriginal Descendants

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Red Deers Lake

Lac La Biche
Wawaskesoo Sagahegun

David Thompson arrived on the shores of Lac La Biche at 1:00 p.m. October 4, 1798. As was customary for him upon reaching a destination, he wrote in his journal, "Thank God" (Thompson 1796-1799:104)

At the confluence of Beaver River and Moose River Thompson met Laderoote, his pilot who had been waiting for him. Laderoote, was a freeman who clearly had been to Lac La Biche before, possibly with natives who already had well established trade relationships with Fort George. Freemen such as Laderoote were usually voyageurs who were "ex-servants of the fur companies free in the sense of no longer under indenture". (Merk 1931:2o) Retired from service, they chose to remain and take up residence on the frontier rather than return to eastern Canada. The region between Lac La Biche and Jasper was to become a favored area of settlement for freemen. Often acting as guides or pilots they, like their Indian counterparts, are the unsung heroes of the fur trade who blazed the pathways into the interior.

Little is known about Lac La Biche during the years 1800 -1812. Although David Thompson and Peter Fiddler had left the region their expeditions opened the way for settlement. Given the ever-increasing traffic through the area and the beauty and rich resources of Lac La Biche, it is not surprising that some of the voyageurs decided to call Lac La Biche home. Two names, Cardinal and Desjarlais, are synonymous with the early settlement of Lac La Biche. It is evident from Alexander Henry's journal at New White Earth House that by 1810 freemen and "vagabonds" occupied the shores of Lac La Biche (Cores 1965:602-631) and were shuttling back and forth between Lesser Slave Lake, Lac La Biche and the North Saskatchewan River.

Antoine Desjarlais [Desjarlaix], Joseph Desjarlais and son and F. Martin are freemen who are mentioned specifically by name. Antoine Desjarlais set himself up as a major supplier of furs to the Hudson's Bay Company. It is also known that an unidentified Cardinal was in the area, for Henry in his journal entry of July 15 and 16, 1810 at New White Earth House noted that "Cardinal set off for Lesser Slave Lake with Desjarlaix's son; they go on horseback as far as Lac La Biche". (Coues 1965:614) The Cardinals arrived in the Company Post (Pond's House) North West at a very early date. Joachim Cardinal is listed in the Northwest Journal along with Jean Marie and Francois Bouché and Jean Baptist and Ignace Lavalé (HBCA, PAM, F.2/1), two other familiar Lac La Biche surnames. Just when and why the Cardinals and Desjarlais decided to call Lac La Biche home will probably never be known. Whatever their reasons these two individuals laid a firm foundation for a settlement around the lake. In 1880 the three hundred Métis who lived around Lac La Biche "were descended, mainly through marriage between 'relatives and in-laws', from ... Cardinals and Desjarlais (Giraud 1986b:322)

Lac La Biche and the Early Fur Traders
Edward J. McCullough and Michael Maccagno