TheMuskrat French (French:Francophonie au Michigan; also known as theMushrat French orDetroit River French Canadien) are acultural group anddialect found insoutheastern Michigan along theDetroit River andLake St. Clair, the western and southern shores ofLake Erie fromMonroe County, Michigan toSandusky, Ohio, and insouthwestern Ontario.[1] Their name comes from their tradition of eatingmuskrat duringLentenFridays.[2][3]
In the context of theNorth American fur trade, French traders and settlers established vast networks of trading posts fortrade with the Native Americans. Manyvoyageurs andcoureurs des bois entered into formal or informal unions (marriageà la façon du pays) with Native women.[citation needed]
The first known use of the term Muskrat French is found in an 1877 essay byDetroit naturalist, historian, and writer Bela Hubbard.[4]
Contemporary expressions of Muskrat French culture can be found both within the community itself, and within the broader community of Detroit residents who draw on local history for events. Within the general community, the Marche duNain Rouge, an annual early Spring festival draws on the early Detroit folkstory of the Nain Rouge (Red Dwarf) to "expiate" bad influences from the city.[5] Annual dinners featuring muskrat are held around Monroe County, Michigan, continuing a tradition from the earliest days of settlement.[2] InMonroe, Michigan the folklore figureLoup Garou has been featured in events for children sponsored by theMonroe County Museum at the early French site, the Navarre Trading Post. Monroe, Michigan community organizations have long featured a muskrat as mascot, highlighting the local Muskrat French culture and its prominence in the area.[6]
While the Muskrat French culture is associated mostly with the Detroit River region,fur trade culture, in which many Muskrat French families originate, was widespread in theGreat Lakes region. Families associated with the fur trade were part of kinship networks that often had members in towns throughout the region, such as inGreen Bay,Cahokia,Kaskaskia,St. Ignace, andMichilimackinac as well as Detroit.[7] Some scholars use the term Muskrat French to refer to the widespread articulation of French Canadian cultures as expressed in the Great Lakes.[3]
Not all people of French-Canadian heritage in the Detroit River region identify with this regional subculture and may identify as simply French Canadian or French.[citation needed] Beginning in 2014, cultural advocates successfully sought resolutions from theMichigan Legislature naming the last week in September French Canadian Heritage Week in Michigan.[8][9] The genealogies of many descendants of French settlers of Detroit and the Great Lakes region include Indigenous peoples.[citation needed]
While most local families of French origin eventuallybecame monolingual English speakers, there is a localFrench dialect also known as Muskrat French,[10] as well as unique culinary traditions,[2] musical traditions, folkways, and folklore that are associated with the expression of this culture.[11]