The Batoche and St. Laurent areas were home to approximately 1,200 settlers, the majority of which were Métis. In 1872 the Village of Batoche was established when Xavier Letendre opened a ferry crossing and built a store. By 1884 the Batoche area grew to approximately fifty family river lots.
The Batoche and St. Laurent areas were home to approximately 1,200 settlers. They grew many crops, including wheat. If you visit Batoche you can see the traditional Metis way of allotting farmland – much more equitable and sensitive to the land than the plots the Canadian land surveyors imposed on them.
I learned a lot about Batoche recently from a brief visit, and from Towards a Prairie Atonement by Trevor Harriet.