The Muskrat French (french: Francophonie au Michigan; also known as the Mushrat French or Detroit River French Canadien) are a

cultural group Cultural identity is a part of a person's identity, or their self-conception and self-perception, and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct cultu ...

and

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

found in

southeastern Michigan Southeast Michigan, also called southeastern Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan that is home to a majority of the state's businesses and industries as well as slightly over half of the state's population, most of whom are c ...

along the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively refe ...

and

Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair (french: Lac Sainte-Claire) is a freshwater lake that lies between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Michigan. It was named in 1679 by French Catholic explorers after Saint Clare of Assisi, on whose feast day ...

, the western and southern shores of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

from

Monroe County, Michigan Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 154,809. The largest city and county seat is Monroe. The county was established as the second county (after Wayne County) in the Michigan Ter ...

Sandusky, Ohio Sandusky ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Erie County, Ohio, Erie County, Ohio, United States. Situated along the shores of Lake Erie in the northern part of the state, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo, Ohio, Toledo ( wes ...

, and in

southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake St. ...

. Their name comes from their tradition of eating

muskrat The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitat ...

during

Lenten Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

Fridays.

History

In the context of the

North American fur trade The North American fur trade is the commercial trade in furs in North America. Various Indigenous peoples of the Americas traded furs with other tribes during the pre-Columbian era. Europeans started their participation in the North American fur ...

, French traders and settlers established vast networks of trading posts for trade with the Native Americans. Many

voyageurs The voyageurs (; ) were 18th and 19th century French Canadians who engaged in the transporting of furs via canoe during the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the ' ...

and

coureurs des bois A coureur des bois (; ) or coureur de bois (; plural: coureurs de(s) bois) was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian trader who travelled in New France and the interior of North America, usually to trade with First Nations peoples by e ...

entered into formal or informal unions ( marriage ''à la façon du pays'') with Native women. The first known use of the term Muskrat French is found in an 1877 essay by

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

naturalist, historian, and writer Bela Hubbard.

Culture

Contemporary expressions of Muskrat French culture can be found both within the community itself, and within the broader community of Detroit residents who draw on local history for events. Within the general community, the Marche du Nain Rouge, an annual early Spring festival draws on the early Detroit folkstory of the Nain Rouge (Red Dwarf) to "expiate" bad influences from the city. Annual dinners featuring muskrat are held around Monroe County, Michigan, continuing a tradition from the earliest days of settlement. In

Monroe, Michigan Monroe is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Monroe had a population of 20,462 in the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but the two are administered autonomo ...

the folklore figure

Loup Garou In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...

has been featured in events for children sponsored by the

Monroe County Museum The Monroe County Museum is a historic building located in Sparta, Wisconsin. It was constructed in 1923 as a meeting hall for a local Masonic Lodge, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 under the historic name "Sparta ...

at the early French site, the Navarre Trading Post. Monroe, Michigan community organizations have long featured a muskrat as mascot, highlighting the local Muskrat French culture and its prominence in the area. While the Muskrat French culture is associated mostly with the Detroit River region,

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

culture, in which many Muskrat French families originate, was widespread in the

Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...

. Families associated with the fur trade were part of kinship networks that often had members in towns throughout the region, such as in Green Bay,

Cahokia The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south-w ...

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in t ...

St. Ignace St. Ignace is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,452 at the 2010 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, but the two are administered auto ...

, and

Michilimackinac Michilimackinac ( ) is derived from an Ottawa Ojibwe name for present-day Mackinac Island and the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire regio ...

as well as Detroit. Some scholars use the term Muskrat French to refer to the widespread articulation of French Canadian cultures as expressed in the Great Lakes. Not all people of French-Canadian heritage in the Detroit River region identify with this regional subculture and may identify as simply French Canadian or French. Beginning in 2014, cultural advocates successfully sought resolutions from the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ...

naming the last week in September French Canadian Heritage Week in Michigan. The genealogies of many descendants of French settlers of Detroit and the Great Lakes region include Indigenous peoples. While most local families of French origin eventually became monolingual English speakers, there is a local

French dialect Varieties of the French language are spoken in France and around the world. The Francophones of France generally use Metropolitan French (spoken in Paris and considered standard) although some also use regional dialects or varieties such as ...

also known as Muskrat French, as well as unique culinary traditions, musical traditions, folkways, and folklore that are associated with the expression of this culture.

References

{{Gallo-Romance languages and dialects Culture of Detroit Culture of Windsor, Ontario Ethnic groups in Michigan Franco-Ontarian culture French language in the United States French-American culture in Michigan French-Canadian culture in Michigan French-Canadian people Métis in the United States Michigan culture Ethnic groups in Canada Ethnic groups in Ontario French-speaking ethnicities in Canada

History

Culture

See also

References