The Call of the First Companions

(Saskatoon-Yorkton) (Suggested duration: 2 to 5 days depending on the addition of excursions)

Have you ever heard of Pierre Bostonais? There is some confusion about the identity of the real Pierre Bostonais, known as Tête jaune (“Yellowhead”), who inspired the name of the Yellowhead Highway — Highway 16. Pierre Bostonais is said to have had blond hair. The mystery is mainly due to the fact that there were two Pierre Bostonais: one was the father, the other, the son. The father was said to have been a Métis fur trader, originally from the American Northeast. The other, his son, Pierre Bostonais, was said to have been born on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, to a Cree or Assiniboine mother, Marguerite Sauteuse, originally from the Pembina region in what is now North Dakota.

The son of a hunter and a seasoned horseman, Pierre Bostonais (junior) received a job offer in the fur trade for the North West Company at the age of 15. He accepted the position, but preferred to hunt bison, like many other traders and indigenous hunters of the Plains. His name has been relegated to history, but the curiosity that drove him inspires us to discover this bright corner of the country through the lens of a seasoned traveler.

The Circuit des premiers compagnons will appeal to those who are seduced by the encounter with others near the northern limit of the historic territory of the plains bison. Historic sites such as Fort Pelley, a former Hudson’s Bay Company trading post, and Fort Livingston National Historic Site, the first capital of the Northwest Territories (1874-1876) and the first headquarters of the North-West Mounted Police, are must-sees on any heritage pilgrimage to the region. At the museum dedicated to this must-see in the village of Pelly, you will learn more about the co-construction of the country’s fashionable camaraderie.

The city of Yorkton will show you other facets of this region of the province with the Western Development Museum, the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery and the Painted Hand Casino, themed around First Nations peoples, which will amaze you. Nature and birdwatching enthusiasts will be delighted if they stop at the Quills Lakes, which owe their name to the multitude of feathers (quills) shed by migratory birds that stop along the shores of the lakes located along the Yellowhead Highway near Wynyard.

Several suggestions for excursions will allow you to enrich your stay in this corner of the country with unique experiences that are well worth a few detours.

Refine Search

Proximity Search

Clear