East Village in Calgary in Calgary Metropolitan Region, Alberta — Canada’s Prairie Region (North America)
Métis, Whiskey Traders, Missionaries and Settlers
Many find new opportunities in the west
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 1, 2022
1. Métis, Whiskey Traders, Missionaries and Settlers Marker
The Métis, descendants of European fur traders and Aboriginal women, moved into this area in the late 1800s. They held large organized buffalo hunts to obtain hides and meat that they sold to the Hudson's Bay Company, settlers and Mounted Police. John R. Bunn ran the first Hudson's Bay post in Calgary and Pierre Léveillé guided the NWMP on their 1874 trek.
American traders from the I. G. Baker and Company of Fort Benton, Montana built Fort Whoop Up in southern Alberta to exchange whiskey for buffalo hides. Fred Kanouse was sent to the Calgary area to set up a post along the Elbow River.
Settlers, John Glenn and Sam Livingston along with their Métis wives Adelaide and Jane, chose to build homes and farm the land here. They grew vegetables and grain, raised cattle and cut the prairie grass for hay that they sold to the NWMP.
Oblate Missionary, Father Constantine Scollen, established the first Roman Catholic mission where Highway 22 crosses the Elbow River today. He and Father Doucet ministered to the Native people wintering in that region. They moved their mission downstream when they heard the Mounties would be building a fort where the Elbow and Bow Rivers meet.
Many of these people recognized the suffering experienced by the Aboriginal people as a result of the illegal whiskey trade and wrote to Ottawa
this page online
[other photo captions]
• Glenn Ranch along Fish Creek
• Fort Whoop Up
• Our Lady of Peace Mission
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Churches & Religion • Industry & Commerce • Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1874.
Location. 51° 2.686′ N, 114° 2.678′ W. Marker is in Calgary, Alberta, in Calgary Metropolitan Region. It is in East Village. Marker can be reached from 9 Avenue Southeast, 0.3 kilometers east of 6 Street Southeast, on the left when traveling east. Marker is located along the interpretive trail at Fort Calgary National Historic Site. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 750 9 Avenue Southeast, Calgary AB T2G 5E1, Canada. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Nitsitapi (here, next to this marker); Early Explorers (here, next to this marker); The North West Mounted Police (here, next to this marker); The North West Territories (here, next to this marker); The North West Mounted Police March West (here, next to this marker); An Outpost on the Bow River (a few steps from this marker); The Train Arrives in Calgary (a few steps from this marker); The Mounties Sell Calgary Barracks (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Calgary.
Related markers.
Glenbow Archives PD 262-18
2. Marker detail: Adelaide Glenn
Also see . . .
1. Frederick Alfred Kanouse.
Fred Kanouse traded with Canadian Indians before the arrival of the North West Mounted Police. He ranged cattle in the Fort Macleod district in 1877 and was said to have some knowledge of medicine. He lived in Fort Macleod for many years, then moved to Pincher Creek and later to the United States where he died in 1920.(Submitted on May 1, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. Father Constantine Scollen OMI.
An Irish Catholic Missionary priest who lived among and evangelized the Blackfoot, Cree and Métis peoples on the Canadian Prairies and in northern Montana in the United States. He is particularly remembered for having the first building erected in what is now, Calgary, Alberta, in 1872. In 1876 he was an unofficial interpreter for some of the Plains Cree Chiefs and witness to Treaty 6 between the Cree and the Canadian government.(Submitted on May 1, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. Fort Whoop-Up.
Fort Whoop-Up was the nickname (eventually adopted as the official name) given to a whisky trading post, originally Fort Hamilton, near what is now Lethbridge, Alberta. During the late(Submitted on May 1, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)19th century, the post served as a centre for trading activities, including the illegal whisky trade. The sale of whisky was outlawed but, due to the lack of law enforcement in the region prior to 1874, many whisky traders had settled in the area and taken to charging unusually high prices for their goods.Glenbow Archives NA 31-13. Marker detail: Fred Kanouse
Glenbow Archives NA 3022-1
4. Marker detail: Father Constantine Scollen
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 1, 2022
5. Métis, Whiskey Traders, Missionaries and Settlers Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on May 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 30, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 128 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on May 1, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
