From it’s inception in 2013 Voyageur Heritage has represented the work, creativity, and generosity of dozens of people who share in some way an interest in, love for, and desire to perpetuate French Canadian and French Métis cultures and history in the Great Lakes. Its mission is to enhance the resources available to enjoy, research, and learn about the French cultures that emerged in French North America, focusing on the region of the Great Lakes. The contributors below have generously added their voices to this publication.
CONTRIBUTORS
James LaForest, Founder and Editor
Anne Anderson
Brit Anderson
Kathryn Arnold
Mary Arnold
Joy Biggs
Robert Blais
Joe Bouchard
Shirley Brozzo
Sandra Jeanne Butler
Christopher Chagnon
Susan Colby
Dawn Evoe Danowski
Derusha
Paul Drouillard
Mike Dubé
Dottie (LaForest) Dunsmore
Joseph Gagné
John J. Goulait
Cheryl Granville-Johns
Todd Harvey
Gloria Bauer Ishida
Darlene Kennedy
Bobbie Kohler
Jesse LaForest
Mike LaForest
Dan Leblanc
Vivian LeMay
Sebastien Malette
Beverly Matherne
Chelsea Mongeau
Greg Newman
Jeannine Ouellette
Suzanne Palmer
Genot “Winter Elk” Picor
Cindy Pomerleau
Stephanie Potier
George Schimming
Jeannine Sills
Paul Skiles
MaryEllen Weller Smith
Michelle Thompson
Daniel Truckey
Pat Tucker
Theresa Weller
Background photo by writer and explorer Erik Simula whose work can be found at Arrowhead Journey. Used with permission.
page updated 12/23
Voyageur Heritage 
I am Patrice Demers Kaneda the author of A Tale of Two Migrations-A French Canadian Odyssey. See reviews on amazon.com
My family roots go back to France in the 16th century. I’ve written about 400 years of French history through their story.
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Patrice – thank you for joining in with your comment. I would love to have you ore involved with the writing of this website. If you are interested in some opportunities here, please get in touch! All the best – James
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I have a wonderful friend in Canada that just might be able to help out. Pierre Lagace has a number of blogs and has assisted quite a few people with researching their families. Here is a link to just one of his sites – http://athabaskang07.wordpress.com
“Lest We Forget”; he is bi-lingual.
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Hello. I just wanted to say that I discovered the existence of French Canadians in your area while looking for my ancestors. I kept seeing stories about people who moved to Bay city area. I’m personally a direct descendant of Marin Boucher who moved in the 1600s from France to Québec. He worked with Samuel de Champlain building the city. So anyway, I just thought it was interesting to imagine French Canadians people living so far and I wonder if there are many Boucher living there? It would be fun to go for a trip in the states and meet people with Quebecois names 🙂
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Richard –
Thank you for writing. Michigan was at the center of the Fur Trade, so ‘we’ have been in the area for a very long time. The French Canadian community is still active and a visible part of the local culture. Come visit! If you’re interested and on Facebook, we have a nice group here with a lot of interesting discusions: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FCCAGL/ —James
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