The Unveiling of the Cairn at the Site of the Shantz Immigration Sheds on Manitoba Day, May 12, 2022
A follow-up event after the December 4, 2021 ribbon-cutting ceremony of a Métis Red River Cart for Niverville that was constructed by Armand and Kelly Jerome took place on Manitoba Day, May 12, 2022 at the unveiling of a Cairn at the site of the Shantz Immigration Sheds located two miles south of Niverville on 6th Avenue and Highway 311.
This, of course, was the site where the earliest Mennonite settlers were temporarily stationed while awaiting their allocated property on the East Reserve (present-day Rural Municipality of Hanover) between 1874 and 1876.
It was timely that this unveiling of a cairn at the site of the Immigration Sheds took place on this date, the very day that 152 years earlier, on May 12, 1870, the Manitoba Act was passed by the Canadian Parliament and received Royal Assent which created the Province of Manitoba as the 5th Province in Canada. The Manitoba Act was designed to address the Métis concerns from the pre-settlement era before the post-settlement era and the coming of the immigrants to this area could proceed.
As it turned out, neither the Manitoba Act of 1870 nor the Mennonite Privilegium of 1873 ended up being fulfilled in the eyes of either the Métis or the Mennonites, but now we live in neighbouring communities in the same Province, and it is never too late for us to get to know one another on a deeper level. Right from 1874 when the Mennonites first landed at the Mennonite Landing at the junction of the Rat and the Red Rivers, there was already a connection between the two people groups there to some degree in the beginning.
Let us note some of the ways that the Métis pre-settlement population of Manitoba assisted and aided the post-settlement population on the East Reserve (present Rural Municipality of Hanover) and in the Niverville area between the Mennonite Landing and the Site of the Immigration Sheds in particular.
(Message Posted on the Historical Wall next to the Niverville Credit Union)
1. The first settlers relied on Métis neighbours that were here prior to 1874 for most local services.
2. Métis men built the Shantz Immigration Sheds for the Mennonite Settlers as a staging area.
3. The Métis transported many of the more fragile Mennonites and their freight and baggage to the Immigration Sheds from the Rat and Red River Landing Site on their unique Red River carts.
5. The Métis helped settlers to cope with the extreme weather and provided food sources and medical remedies in times of need.
Respectful of these past relationships, divisions caused by misunderstandings over the years can be bridged, and a new path of reconciliation to benefit all can be created. The events that have been taking place in Niverville since the opening of the new Historical/Cultural Museum and that are being documented on these blogs are designed to assist in this ongoing process of reconciliation.
Appropriately and representatively, it was Ernie Braun (representing the Mennonite people on the left of the cairn) and Armand Jerome (representing the Métis nation on the right) who together unveiled the cairn at the site of the Shantz Immigration Sheds (two miles south of Niverville on 6th Avenue and Highway 311). They like to refer to their relationship as the M & M (Mennonite and Métis) Connection! Both Ernie and Armand gave speeches at the ceremony, along with both Niverville and local Municipality leaders, and members of the EastMenn Historical Society.
A news report of this ceremony was carried on the May 16, 2022 edition of Steinbachonline.com with an article entitled Cairn unveiling and dedication event takes place on Manitoba Day, and can be read by clicking on this site.
Here are a few different pictures of the cairn where an artist's drawing of both the Immigration Sheds and the Métis Red River Cart are more visible.
Jacob Shantz certainly played a key role, not only in assisting the Russian Mennonites to settle on the East Reserve, but he also helped to negotiate for additional land west of the Red River (West Reserve) when the poor quality of some of the land on the East Reserve caused some to want to settle elsewhere.
The Role of William Hespeler in the Coming of Mennonites to the East Reserve
William Hespeler played a key role not only in the settlement and development of Niverville, but in the settlement and development of the East Reserve and indeed of western Canada within the larger scheme of things. After the signing of Treaty No. 1 with the First Nations, he was hired an an Immigration Agent for the Canadian Government. He recruited some 7,000 Mennonites to come to Manitoba from South Russia (Ukraine) between 1874 and 1880 in one of the first large waves of European migration to the West. In South Russia, the Czar Alexander II was ending their special privileges at this time, and so they were persuaded to come to Manitoba. It turned out that these pioneers inspired many other groups to settle the prairies by demonstrating its enormous agricultural potential.
(Message Posted on the Historical Wall next to the Niverville Credit Union)
This map shows Niverville as the closest community on the East Reserve to both the Shantz Immigration Sheds and the Mennonite Landing Site at the junction of the Red and Rat Rivers where most of these 7,000 Mennonites landed in order to be assigned to a piece of property that they could farm. Some did not stay on the East Reserve which was a land of swamps, bush, stones and prairie, but many moved on to the West Reserve where the present-day communities of Altona and Winkler are today, and a third settlement bloc established farms along the Scratching (Morris) River.
The Shantz Immigration Sheds are 6 miles to the East of the Mennonite Landing Site, and Niverville is just a couple of miles north-west of the Immigration Sheds along the Pembina Branch of the CPR Railway where a train station was marked out for Niverville at this site in 1874 by Joseph Whitehead, but the railway was not completed until near the end of 1878.
On July 23, 1873, the Canadian Government signed a Letter of Agreement or Mennonite Privilegium with the Mennonites to guarantee that they would be exempted from military service if they emigrated to Canada, and also they were given the assurance that they could preserve their church-centred ways of life, that they could also preserve the German language, and preserve the freedom to educate their own children.
The Route of the Early Mennonite Settlers from South Russia (Ukraine) to the Shantz Immigration Sheds on the East Reserve in Manitoba
This was the route that these early Mennonite settlers took between 1874 and 1876. They meandered their way to Duluth, then by train to Moorhead, Minnesota, from where they took the International Steamship up the Red River to Upper Fort Garry where they bought supplies, and overnighted there on July 31, 1874, and from there headed back the next day to the junction of the Rat and Red River at the site that is now known as the Mennonite Landing.
The "International," docked at Upper Fort Garry, presently known as "The Forks" in Winnipeg. Notice a corner tower of Upper Fort Garry in the upper left-hand corner of the picture. This was the first ship load of 65 Mennonite families recruited by William Hespeler to arrive in Canada. They were the first of many more to come, some 7,000 in all by 1880.
This is what Upper Fort Garry would have looked like about that time. The surrounding area had grown and became Winnipeg which was incorporated as a city in 1873 with a population of 1,869 people. The Mennonite settlers shopped here for tools and supplies before heading back to what became known as the Mennonite Landing at the confluence of the Rat and the Red River.
(Message Posted on the Historical Wall next to the Niverville Credit Union)
On August 1, 1874, the International Steamboat dropped these initial 65 families off right here at the forks of the Rat and the Red Rivers which had been a traditional and strategic gathering place for the Indigenous Peoples of the Land for centuries.
It was this land where the Red and Rat rivers met that has long been a natural landing place for Indigenous peoples long before 1874, but since then, the site has become known to most people as the Mennonite Memorial Landing Site.
"This is the site of the first landing of Mennonite settlers in western Canada on August 1, 1874. The 'International,' a steam-powered River Boat landed here with the first contingent of 65 families between 1874 and 1880. Some 7,000 Mennonites came to Manitoba from German-speaking colonies in South Russia (Ukraine). The majority arrived at this spot.
"Making their way 6 miles East to the Jacob Shantz Reception Houses near Niverville, from this base they established some 54 villages in the East Reserve, present-day Rural Municipality of Hanover. Many of the settlers would soon relocate to the West Reserve, across the Red River in the vicinity of present-day Winkler and Altona. Others established a third settlement bloc along the Scratching (Morris) River. These Mennonite men and women were among the first Europeans to establish farm communities on open prairie.
"They also became known for successfully transplanting their nonresistant, church-centred ways of life. We gratefully acknowledge their bequeathal of courage and faith in God."
These people must have been extremely tired after the arduous journey that they had just had. While they were still on the river boats coming down the Red River from Moorhead, they noted the swarms of mosquitoes which some compared to Pharaoh's plaques in Egypt.
Upon arrival, the most fragile of those who disembarked from the International Steamboat and the luggage were taken by Métis freighters to the Immigration Sheds, 6 miles to the East. The rest walked the distance on foot to the Reception Houses which were very primitive, and the settlers must have been very weary when they arrived.
For those who rode on the Métis Red River Carts, it must not have been a completely smooth ride, because there were no paved roads, and no shock absorbers on the carts.
The road was uneven, and the wheels were "a creakin' and a shreikin' and a squeakin'" but they eventually arrived at their destination at the Immigration Sheds.
At least eight trans-Atlantic trips are known to have brought a total of 1533 Mennonite men, women and children from South Russia to Canada in 1874. Not only were the living quarters inside of the Sheds very tight, but there were also inconveniences such as leaky roofs when it rained.
Based on pictures of other Immigration Sheds that were built at the same time, this is an artist's conception of what the original four Immigration Sheds near Niverville must have looked like. Life was extremely hard for those living in these reception houses. Not only were there reports that kept coming back about the poor quality of the land that was very discouraging, but the Mennonites faced many other trials while living in these sheds as well.
One of the immediate needs of the immigrants was a supply of fresh water. An attempt at digging a well ended in near disaster when the walls of the well caved in, burying two settlers before they were saved just in time by another co-worker.
The settlers also faced various natural calamities. While many families were still at the Schantz Immigration Sheds in the Fall of 1874, they were threatened by a prairie fire which roared through the night, lighting the sky for miles around. The settlers saved themselves by plowing a fire guard around the camp. Early journals speak of days when the air was filled with smoke from these prairie fires.
The first hay harvested was eaten by the grasshoppers and the hay harvested later was frozen and of little nutritional value. Many of the dearly bought cattle and oxen succumbed because of the bitter cold and primitive shelter. The following statement, I am sure, could well speak for many of the earliest Mennonite settlers who stayed at the Shantz Immigration Sheds.
In 1875, the first crop raised by the Mennonites was devoured by a plague of grasshoppers. This loss brought many settlers to the limit of their resources, and many would have lost everything had they not been helped by a loan of $100,000.00 arranged by the Canadian Government and co-signed by the Swiss Mennonites who had settled in Ontario in 1786. Another $50,000.00 was provided by the Ontario Mennonites, partly as a loan and partly as a gift.
One really important fact that needs to be noted about those living in the Immigration Sheds is that a cemetery was established north of the Immigration Sheds on a prominent ridge for more than 30 deaths which appeared to have occurred here, many of them children.
According to the 125th Anniversary edition of the coming of the Mennonites to the East Reserve, "A number of people died while quartered at the Immigration Sheds. Some 30 burials took place there."
Today, these burial sites are unmarked, and largely forgotten, but the location of the cemetery is noted on a couple of the maps that are included in this report.
Many were tempted to join the exodus of those moving south to find an easier way of making a living, but these settlers were conservative people and the majority remained firm in their vision. These included the children of matriarch Elisabeth Rempel Reimer (1814-1893), among the leading farmers and entrepreneurs. At a family council in 1876, Elisabeth made a passionate speech, stating her conviction that God had led her family to Manitoba, and that they should persevere. Her words carried the day, and her family remained, soon to prosper.
The settlers quickly constructed temporary dwellings as shelter from the fast approaching winter which they already knew would be much harsher than in Russia. Klaas W. Reimer, a 13-year-old boy at the time described the experience: "A large tree stood here besides where we pitched our tent and secured it to the tree and then construction was begun. Here my father with his sick wife and eight children stood between earth and sky. Winter was at the door..."
Eventually, some 54 communities were established throughout the East Reserve, and even to this day, many of the people who live in this region are among the most charitable and generous in all of Canada. One can clearly see on this map the location of Niverville and the Immigration Sheds in the north-west corner of the East Reserve (or present-day Rural Municipality of Hanover) as a gateway into the entire region and beyond! Niverville is a gateway community!
We Came!
We Toiled!
God blessed!
The hardiness and determination of the early settlers, coming from a harsh environment in South Russia, ensured that this unforgiving land would be transformed into a place from which livelihoods could be wrested, albeit with considerable effort, sacrifice and cost.
This logo of the East Reserve's 125th Anniversary in 1999 reminds us to "refresh our memories of the hardships our ancestors endured in South Russia, and the struggles that they encountered in their resettlement in Manitoba, and may we ever remember that their faith in God sustained them through the years."
This Mennonite tradition of giving thanks to God our Creator was carried right into the Ceremony at the Unveiling of the Cairn at the site of the Shantz Immigration Sheds on Manitoba Day, May 12, 2022. After the Welcome by Harold Dyck, there was a Prayer of Invocation by Rev. Harvey Plett, and at the end there was a Dedication and Closing Prayer by Bishop David Reimer.
Right after the unveiling of the plaque on the cairn with Mennonite Ernie Braun on one side and Métis Armand Jerome on the other, Don Thiessen led in a heartfelt singing of Now Thank We All Our God with some 90 dignitaries from the region joining in.
Now thank we all our God with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in whom His world rejoices,
Who from our mothers' arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today!
Nun danket alle Gott mit Herzen, Mund und Händen,
Der größe Dinge tut an uns und allen Enden,
Der uns von Mutterleib un Kindesbeinen an
Unzählig viel zu gut bis hierher hat getan.
This historical background gives some perspective and back-drop to the Ceremony that took place on Manitoba Day, May 12, 2022, at the Unveiling of the Plaque at the site of the Shantz Immigration Sheds.
For Mennonites like Ernie Braun, however, this story is more than simply the story of the Mennonite Migration from South Russia to the East Reserve between 1874 and 1880. Not only had the Mennonites been displaced in South Russia by the oppressive policies of Czar Alexander II during this time period, but the outworking of the Manitoba Act of May 12, 1870, while not deliberately intended, was that the lack of relational knowledge and trust resulted in the Métis also being displaced from their ancient Homeland after 1870. Many of them migrated further into the Northwest in order to preserve their way of life, only to be crushed by the Canadian Military in 1885 which ended with the hanging of Louis Riel.
A statement that is attributed to Louis Riel by oral tradition is, "My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back." Today, as is attested in the Niverville Museum, Louis Riel is recognized and honoured as "the founder of Manitoba."
This might seem like a small step, but through a series of events in Niverville now, what Ernie Braun and Armand Jerome who constructed a Métis Red River Cart for Niverville are seeing is that the M & M (Mennonite & Métis) Connection is growing and gaining strength in our community and beyond.
In view of the backdrop of what has happened in our history and what is happening today, it is surely undeniable that the Unveiling of the Plaque at the site of the Shantz Immigration Sheds on Manitoba Day, May 12, 2022, was another step in Niverville's Journey Towards Reconciliation!
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