Ethnology
The Musée’s Ethnology collection is represented by more than 2,200 items. Among our collections, it’s the one that grows the fastest, thanks to frequent donations to our institution. These artifacts illustrate the Côte-Nord’s history since the earliest days of its colonization in the mid-19th century, in terms of its Indigenous, maritime, forestry, family and industrial heritage, among others.
Bringing together this rich collection has been made possible thanks to the generosity of dozens of donators, some of whom stand out for the number of artifacts they donated. These main collections are shown here.
Paul Provencher
Born in Trois-Rivières in 1902, Paul Provencher pursued studies at the Séminaire de Trois-Rivières and Université Laval. His first appearance on the Côte-Nord dates back to 1926, as he visited Anticosti Island. In 1929, he got hired by the Quebec North Shore Paper Company in Baie-Comeau to carry out forest inventories near the basins of the Manicouagan, Toulnustouc, Franquelin and Aux Rochers rivers.
Almost his entire career took place on the Côte-Nord, where he was guided and coached by Innu people who taught him their techniques for living in the forest, tailored to the harsh conditions of the boreal forest. Along with his professional work, his interests included hunting, fishing and trapping, and his artistic sensibilities were expressed through photography, painting and producing amateur films.
He passed away in March 1982 after having spent over fifty years of his life exploring and raising awareness, through conferences, courses and the many books and articles he wrote, about this part of the country that was so dear to him. The artifacts in this collection are mainly those used by the logging engineer during the course of his work and pastimes in the forest: clothes, map, pocket knife, axe, net, bow and arrows, porringer, traps, painting kit, carrying bags, snowshoes, etc.
EUDISTS FATHERS
The Congregation of Jesus and Mary, known as the Eudists, was founded by St. Jean Eudes on March 25, 1643. The arrival of Eudist missionaries on the Côte-Nord dates back to October 1903 as they were assigned in pairs to the following villages: Manicouagan (Fathers Brézel and Garnier), Pentecôte (Nonorgues and Laizé), Sept-Îles (Conan and Brochard), Rivière-au-Tonnerre (Robin and Héry), Magpie (Étienne and Joseph Gallix), while the mission in Pointe-aux-Esquimaux, which would become Havre-Saint-Pierre, fell to Fathers Pottier and Hesry.
Their mission in logging villages and sites was carried out with zeal, in regions that were still very remote and often in very difficult conditions. During the first twenty years of their apostolate, five Eudists, i.e. Fathers Brézel, Conan, Le Jollec, Pétel and Tortellier, actually lost their life in tragic circumstances. Many cities and villages of the Côte-Nord owe a lot to these missionaries from far-away France and to those who took their place.
The Eudist Fathers collection was acquired by the Musée in 1988. It comprises artifacts, copies of documents, as well as 244 photos showing the presence of this congregation on the Côte-Nord. Items include objects of worship (patens, chalices, aspergillum, portable altar, chasubles, etc.), various items used or collected by missionaries during their stay in the region (travel suitcase, chest, gavel, medals, etc.), as well as 88 books and booklets supporting their missionary work.
André Michel / Indigenous artifacts artifacts
His Indigenous collection comprises 51 artifacts, including clothing items (bonnet, moccasins, mittens, leg warmers…), decorative items (necklaces, belt…), artisanal products (baskets…) as well as a drum, snowshoes, a tunic, rattles, etc. These artifacts don’t always have a known acquisition method (gifts or purchases?). Finally, it should be noted that while the ethnic origin of many of these Indigenous artifacts was not mentioned by Mr. Michel, most are Innu-made.
WELLIE BOUDREAU and APPOLINE LANDRY
Mr. Virgile Bérubé may have been the first person in Sept-Îles to open a general store, in 1878. His establishment was located on the first street, facing the sea, west of the quay. In the early 20th century, one could also shop at Anatole Pichette’s, near the old quay, facing the parsonage. Around 1920, he sold his store to Mr. Willie Boudreau, who managed it with his wife Apolline Landry until 1954. That store was located where the community Yellow Tent now stands.
This collection of more than 200 objects was bequeathed to the MCN in February 2013 by Mrs. Anne Michaud, granddaughter of Mr. Wellie Boudreau and his wife Appoline (Pauline) Landry. Wellie was the son of Samuel Boudreau and Lydia (Lédée) Bourgeois, born in Havre-Aubert, Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
LA SÉCURITÉ PUBLIQUE DE SEPT-ILES
In December 2001, the Sécurité publique de Sept-Îles donated to the MCN a collection of 191 artifacts related to the former municipal police force of Sept-Îles. This donation followed the transfer of responsibility for public safety in Québec to the Sûreté du Québec.
The collection includes articles of clothing (caps, kepis, hats, gloves, belts, socks, etc.), rank markers (pins, epaulets, badges, buttons, etc.), as well as various equipment (notepads , cases, cushions, frames, bags, business cards, etc.).
ALLUISI & LEFEBVRE
This collection was acquired by Mrs. Céline Lefebvre in June 2014. It comprises about 50 objects, mainly children’s clothing meticulously hand-sewn, embroidered or knitted by Mrs. Corinne Labelle Alluisi (1886-1949), the donator’s grandmother. Born in Pont-Viau, she spent her adult life in Montreal, where the objects were produced, between 1940 and 1949.
Some pieces were sewn or embroidered during the same period by Mrs. Évelyne Alluisi-Lefebvre (1915-2008), daughter of Corinne. Évelyne spent her adult life in Lachute from 1940 to 1991, then in Sept-Îles (until her death in 2008), where she joined her daughter Céline Lefebvre, who had been living in Sept-Îles with Jean-Pierre Roy since 1971.
The children’s clothing was worn by Céline Lefebvre, who donated the collection. The tools in the collection, which show the manual work done by women in the early 20th century, belonged to Mrs. Léona Lalonde Lefebvre (1879-1959), born in Saint-Hermas, in the county of Deux-Montagnes, and the paternal grandmother of Céline. Léona spent her adult life in Lachute.
VICTOR BÉRUBÉ FAMILY
Acquired in the spring of 2010, the Victor Bérubé family collection was generously offered to the Musée régional de la Côte-Nord by the late Mr. Victor Bérubé. Born in 1932 on the south shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Mr. Bérubé moved to the Côte-Nord around 1946 to work at the logging camp near MacDonald River, north of Port-Cartier, then the one near Sainte-Marguerite River, north of Clarke City. He then settled in Sept-Îles, where he started a family. Mr. Bérubé passed away during the summer of 2010.
This collection of some 90 artifacts mainly illustrates the logging (axes, saws, pike pole…), farming (sickle, yoke…) and maritime (fishing rods and lines…) activities carried out by Mr. Bérubé throughout his life.
GUY CÔTÉ
This collection comprises more than 120 ethnological artifacts offered to the MCN by Mr. Guy Côté. It features a variety of objects from the material culture in the Moyenne- and Basse-Côte-Nord, such as crosses, blankets, bottles, clothing items, inkwell, fishing net, dog halters, binoculars, etc.
Guy Côté, a historian and collector, was born in Baie-Comeau, but spent most of his life between Havre-Saint-Pierre and Sept-Îles. He scoured the fonds of the Côte-Nord and talked with the Elders of Minganie, Anticosti and elsewhere as early as the 1980s. He was employed at the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve for more than 25 years.
As one of the earliest members of the Havre-Saint-Pierre and Gulf historical societies, he was the most prolific contributor to the Côte-Nord historical journal. This leading authority on regional history died far too young in 2022.
