School Program

We invite you to learn about Fort Gibraltar’s influence over the cultural development of the Red River settlement. Delve into the lore of the French Canadian voyageurs that paddled across the country, transporting trade-goods and the unique customs of Lower Canada into the West.

They married into the First Nations communities and precipitated the birth of the Métis nation, a unique culture that would have a lasting impact on the settlement. Learn how the First Nations helped to ensure the success of these traders by trapping the furs needed for the growing European marketplace.  More importantly, how they shared their knowledge of the land and climate for the survival of their new guests.  On the other end of the social scale, meet one of the Upper-Class managers of the trading post; here you will get a glimpse at the social conventions of a rapidly changing industrialized Europe.

Through hands-on demonstrations and authentic crafts, learn about the formation of this unique community nearly two hundred years ago. Costumed interpreters will guide your class back in time to the year 1815 to a time of immeasurable change in the Red River valley.

For more information, click here to consult our 2010 guide online.