Metís

File — Box: 1, Folder: 6

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: One of Father Bill Sherman’s chief interests was to compile documentation about the early settlers of what became North Dakota, their particular ethnic roots, and information about their history and culture. One of the ethnic groups studied by Father Sherman was people of French origin and background. French North Dakotans were a small but not negligible part of the North Dakota community. This collection related to the French Settlement in North Dakota was compiled by Father Sherman over the years of his career. It has been organized into two series: Subjects and Locations. Some of the files in both series contain well-printed booklets, brochures, and maps. The Subjects File Series includes some newspaper clippings, some personal memoirs, and a great number of note papers written by Father Sherman used to jot down information on the topic, done over many years. Most of the note papers have been gathered into a single file, exceptions being sheets that clearly belonged under one of the subject headings, though even this sorting only has been done cursorily. The Chippewa and Cree file contains an excellent map of the French communities. The Location Series contains information related to the connection between French settlers and a specific geographic location in North Dakota, Manitoba, Canada and Minnesota.