Willow Bunch is a town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located southwest of the provincial capital of Regina. Its population was 299 at the 2021 census. Previous names for Willow Bunch include Hart-Rouge and Talle-de-Saules. The area has seen influences from Métis and Fransaskois.
History
The Métis of Willow Bunch Around 1824, the Métis began to move towards Southern Saskatchewan: "As they ventured farther out, they began to set up winter camps and stay year-round. One of the first settlements was at Wood Mountain, which was settled in about 1868-69. But in 1879, fires forced the Métis to move to the eastern slope of the hills to a place known as 'Talle de Saule'." The Métis settlement in Willow Bunch is one of the first in Saskatchewan. They initially arrived in groups consisting of large extended families; no one journeyed individually. As a result of travelling between communities regularly, the Métis began to intermingle, creating relationships with the different groups of settlers. This gave rise to the growth of the settlement in Willow Bunch.Littlejohn, Catherine, Ron Rivard, et al. "Metis History for Exhibits and Scripts." Historica Foundation. (2002): 3. Print. The majority of the Métis settlers that came to Willow Bunch were partially of First Nations and of French or Scottish descent.
At the end of the 1860s, many Métis settlers moved towards Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, from the Red River Colony, Pembina, North Dakota, and other communities in the North West. They came in search of bison.Littlejohn, Catherine, Ron Rivard, et al. "Metis History for Exhibits and Scripts." Historica Foundation. (2002): 1-2. Print. Soon after the arrival of the Métis, Jean-Louis Legaré set up a trading post in Willow Bunch, aiding the Métis as a trader of bison goods. Nearing the mid-1880s, there was a decline of bison in the Wood Mountain region, as a result of the United States government's attempt to starve out Sitting Bull. With the end of the Bison Hunt, the Métis began life as ranchers: "We brought our stock and expertise to Willow Bunch. No one knew more about horsemanship and training horses than we did". The Métis population in Willow Bunch became known as a "hub of the first tentative ranching operations in southwestern Saskatchewan." The Métis originally referred to the town and its surrounding area as "Talle de Saule" which means "Clump of Willow." This nickname soon gave rise to the town's name of Willow Bunch.
The red willows found around Willow Bunch were an important factor in the everyday lives of the Métis. The multifaceted willow played a large role in their wellbeing: In spring, our women harvested the supple, young shoots to make baskets. Our men fashioned the wood into pipe stems, emergency snowshoes, snares, wooden nails, whistles for the children, beading looms, and frames for stretching hides. Rotted willow wood was used to smoke hides. Green willow branches were burned to smoke meat. We twisted the inner bark fibers into temporary rope, twine and fish nets. We weather proofed rawhide by wrapping it in willow bark. We used willow branches as lathing for our houses. Our men scraped off the inner cambium layer and added other ingredients, such as bearberry, to make a smoking mixture, 'Kinnikinick'. We repaired our carts, made a shelter when we were caught in a storm, burned for fuel and had a variety of other practical uses for the wood of the willow.
The Métis found use for the willows in a variety of ways, including as a medicinal ingredient. Thus, places where the willows grew were considered a healing place. This is why "the people would settle near clumps of willow and name their community accordingly."Cuthand, Doug. "Metis played vital role in history: [Final Edition]." Leader Post. 16 Feb 2004: B1. Print.
The Métis today The town of Willow Bunch is occupied with Francophone and Métis people.
Willow Bunch is the Rural Municipality #42 in southern Saskatchewan. In 2006, the total Aboriginal population for the RM #42 was 407.Statistics Canada. Census of Canada. Town of Willow Bunch. 2006 The Métis in Willow Bunch "played a key role in maintaining the peace during the time that the Sioux and the other American tribes were forced from the United States into the area of Wood Mountain. " The Métis had a strong relationship with the Sioux, especially with Chief Sitting Bull. "The fires of 1880 on Wood Mountain resulted in the movement of our people to other communities. It was at this time that the Métis pioneers moved to Willow Bunch at the suggestion of Andre Gaudry." The Métis were already settled in Willow Bunch when the North West Resistance, led by Louis Riel, battled the Canadian government over land rights. It was in 1885, "the Resistance had an impact on the Métis of Willow Bunch...marked the end of the influence of the Métis on the development of Western Canada. "
Following the 1885 Resistance, many changes occurred for the Métis nation of Willow Bunch. "[They] were told that the land property that [they] settled on didn't belong to [them]. It became an issue ... as new immigrants arrived [they] found their identity and culture continually being eroded." The Métis of Willow Bunch still feel the indifference within this small town due to lack of the historical Métis knowledge to the newcomers. "That feeling of inferiority that many of [them] were taught to feel ... That practice of one group being denigrated at the expense of another is still evident today. " The Métis of Willow Bunch will hopefully coexist with the non-Métis community without the idea of superiority over another. Alike to most First Nations situations, the Métis will continue to fight for their rights not only in Willow Bunch but across this nation.
The Willow Bunch Métis Local #17
The Métis Local #17 in Willow Bunch is one of the first Locals established within the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan.
Historical background to 1880 For Saskatchewan, Willow Bunch has the title as one of the oldest settlements established. Founded in 1870 by variety of groups of Métis hunters and settlers, Willow Bunch has strong historical connections with Red River Métis. Later on, Jean-Louis Légaré would migrate from Manitoba to Willow bunch, where he played a lead role in early Willow Bunch history.
In the mid-1800s, those who were living in Manitoba's Red River area were succumbing to the harsh climate and living conditions. Bison were becoming scarce due to over hunting in their area. Work was more difficult to find since the merging of the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Company in 1821. Along with pests, frosts and droughts which led to lower crop harvests, over-population of the Metis people were a part of the uneasy living conditions. This led to the Métis migrating somewhere else to settle.
The Métis had to stay close to the bison, which meant they were to move west of Red River. Places like Saint Joseph's in North Dakota became established winter places that the Métis would go to. Later, declining buffalo herds led to the Métis migrating farther and farther away. In the 1860s, living conditions, including crop conditions, were so severe that the Hudson's Bay Company had to step in to help avoid starvation.
Later, the Red River Métis moved towards what is now southern Saskatchewan after the Red River Uprising in 1869. This led to the first Metis settlement established, called La Coulee Chapelle, which is St. Victor today (located about 19 km west of Willow Bunch). Before this uprising, areas like Wood Mountain, Eastend, and Cypress Hills were places that Métis would migrate to.
It is said that Andre Gaudry was one of the first settlers in the area. Willow Bunch was part of a district known as Montagne de Bois, or Wood Mountain.
1880–1910
Bonneauville After a devastating prairie fire destroyed much of the grass and timber in the area around Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, many First Nations and Métis people were driven by a bison shortage and an increasing population to seek out new settlements. Many settled along the Milk River, south of the 49th parallel, and the Frenchman River, one of its tributaries in Saskatchewan. A number of them settled in the area known by the Métis as Talle de Saules (clump of willows) and Hart Rouge, now known as Willow Bunch.
In 1881, Jean-Louis Légaré, a French-Canadian trader and one of the founding members of the Willow Bunch community, settled in what is part of the present-day Jean Louis Légaré Regional Park.Willow Bunch Historical Sites and Buildings. Gilles A. Bonneau Ed. 4th Ed. Richmond Hill: Sure Print and Design, 2012; 17 Légaré, who married into the Métis community, opened a trading post/store there, and often traded various necessities to the local Métis for bison goods. In the spring of 1881, it was estimated he had around $3,000 worth of bison products in his store.
A boy named Édouard Beaupré, better known as the Willow Bunch Giant, was the first child born and baptized in the area in 1881.
The forerunner settlement of Willow Bunch was established in 1883, around two miles east of Légaré's store and one-and-a-half miles east of the present town. A small village grew around a spot where Reverend Pierre St. Germain, the head of the local parish at the time, chose to build a Catholic church. The chapel and residence were completed in 1884, and the settlement became known as Bonneauville with the arrival of Pascal Bonneau Sr. and his family in 1886.
The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) soon built a barracks in Bonneauville in 1886 as part of "B" Division, with 12 men and 13 horses, following the Riel Rebellion in Batoche in 1885. By fall of that year, however, only two constables were left.
Ranching: early years Ranching soon became one of the mainstays of the local economy. Légaré brought in 45 head of cattle from Manitoba in 1884, and petitioned Government of Canada to do a land survey in 1886. Eight townships were surveyed, including Bonneauville. By 1893, the NWMP reported there were 300 people in the Willow Bunch area.
Sheep were introduced to the area in 1894, of which the Métis tended small herds. Growth, however, was slow for ranchers. Limited markets and a lack of transportation infrastructure in southwestern Saskatchewan forced ranchers to start out small. Bonneau Sr. and his three sons began ranching in 1886 with only four horses and four cattle, but by 1900, Bonneau Sr. had a herd of 400 head of cattle and 400 head of horses. After opening a cheese factory in 1888, Jean-Louis Légaré maintained the largest ranching operation in the area for a time. The ranching operation of Bonneau, Sr.'s son, Pascal Bonneau Jr., became even bigger. By 1900 Bonneau Jr. had a herd of 5,000 to 6,000 head.
Weather and prairie fires took their toll on ranchers in the area. A combination of drought and harsh winter weather between 1886 and 1887 devastated herds in southwestern Saskatchewan. Légaré himself lost 350 head of cattle in 1893-1894, forcing the closure of the cheese factory. Prairie fires in 1885 were also responsible for the destruction of the willows that the town and area were named for.
Ranchers gave little thought about where their cattle roamed, and often did not grow hay for the winter. Légaré was among those who rejected the use of hay. In 1903–04, a severe winter, recounted by Reverend Claude J. Passaplan as the worst in recorded history at the time, followed prairie fires and an early frost, leaving cattle with nothing to eat. The Métis around Willow Bunch lost all of their cattle as a result. An even worse winter in 1906–07 caused a loss of an estimated 60 to 70 per cent of all cattle in southwestern Saskatchewan.
Beginnings of Willow Bunch