*THIS EVENT IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH RCODE/RCP*

During Summer 2024, the Three Rivers Park District is putting on a series about the Métis in Minnesota. The term “métis” was used to describe someone with bi-ethnic ancestry, but the term also identifies members of the Métis Nation of Canada, a specific Indigenous group with bi-ethnic ancestry.

Background: In the 1790s, Pierre Bonga, on record as the earliest person with African descent in Minnesota, worked for the Northwest Fur Company in Grand Portage, MN, a few miles south of the Canadian border, and in the Red River Valley. He married an Ojibwe woman, and in 1802, their son, George Bonga, was born near present-day Duluth.

Event Details: During this event, Historic Interpreter Joel Brown will bring to life the story of George Bonga, the son of Pierre Bonga. George was educated in Montreal and returned to Minnesota to work in the fur trade and serve as a translator.

The presentation will be at the Chalet in Elm Creek Park Reserve from 1:00 - 2:00 pm with an open house at the Pierre Bottineau House to follow.

To register and pay the admission fee of $10, please visit the Three Rivers Park District website.

About Joel Brown: A Cultural History Interpreter since 1996, Joel Brown’s primary focus is the U.S. Army Air Corps / U.S. Army Air Forces of World War II. In 2016, he incorporated into his repertoire two notable Fur Trade Voyageurs of the Territorial Era of Minnesota: Pierre and George Bonga.