Colquitz Creek Village
Background information, that's often forgotten
The Victoria Voltigeurs lived in a village up Colquitz Creek near its junction with Swan Creek. The location can be seen on the 1854 Pemberton map at the location of the name Jollibios." (p.15/supplement doc)
Douglas was charged with establishing a settlement on Vancouver Island. In doing this he wanted citizens of good character, from diverse backgrounds, and not just those of British ancestry. Hudson Bay Company (HBC) employees were required to retire in Montreal, and not at the HBC fort area, where they had lived, often for many years. Typically they married into the local First Nations, and had mixed Indigenous families. Many HBC retirees were Métis. Most had First Nations or Métis spouses and mixed Indigenous families. Instead of following the typical retirement process Douglas went against the grain, choosing to hand pick HBC employees ready to retire from the HBC to join the newly forming Victoria Voltigeurs, a police militia. They were then relocated to the land of the lək̓ʷəŋən People, known today as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.
Image Right: “Canadian Village “ - 1855 map
Colquitz Creek Village
In the primary sources the spelling is often done differently, then present day. Out of respect for the primary sources, the original spelling is used with quotes. Métis during this era were often referred to as Canadian and Canadien. The village of mostly Métis men and their First Nations and Métis families was often referred to as French or half whites.
The Métis have used and been called many names over the centuries: Métifs/Michifs, Bois-brûlés/brûlés, Chicots, Country-born, Gens libres/Freemen/Otipemisiwak, Mixed-bloods, Breeds, and Halfbreeds, and sometimes Natives, Canadiens, Countrymen, or Creoles. Some of these were self-referential, while others were given by outsiders.
Terms such as Gens libres, Freemen, or Otipemisiwak(also written kaa-tipeyimishoyaahk), a Cree-Michif term meaning the people who own themselves, and other similar variations demonstrate the centrality of freedom and liberty to Métis self-understanding. "half caste" and "country-born. "half caste" and "country-born. North West Half Breed Commission(which sat from 1885-1887), only people who were deemed capable of being economically self-sufficient were allowed to leave treaty and obtain scrip (thus becoming legally white).
Racially "Indian", Legally "White":
The Canadian State's Struggles to Categorize the Métis,1850-1900
Image Right: Vancouver Province 22 April 1950. Page 59 "Canadian Village"
This is near the location that Auger , Jollibois and Lemon received their 20 acre land grants.
Image Left: This is near the location that Auger , Jollibois and Lemon received their 20 acre land grants. Close to Marigold Park.
