Next weekend, the Bouchie Lake Recreation Grounds will be transformed to look like a settler camp along the Collins-Overland Telegraph Trail in the early 1900s.
That’s because it’s the second annual Billie Bouchie Day Celebrations May 25 and 26. This is a chance to celebrate the Bouchie Lake community – past and present – and its heritage.
Bouchie Lake was formerly known as Six Mile, and Billie Bouchie (whose real name was William Boucher) and his wife were Bouchie Lake’s first permanent settlers. At that time, travel into the area was by way of the Collins-Overland Telegraph Trail.
Billie Bouchie was born in Fort Alexandria in 1828. He was one of the sons of Jean-Baptiste Boucher, a well-known Métis interpreter who worked for the North West Company and accompanied Simon Fraser and Jules Maurice Quesnel (after whom Quesnel is named) on the canoe expedition on the Fraser River in 1808. Billie was a courier, travelling between Fort Alexandria and Fort St. James on the Telegraph Trail, and a ferryman, transporting freight and people across the Fraser River.
Billie met Lizette Allard of Fort George, and they were married in 1864.
On May 27, 1902, the Bouchers pre-empted 320 acres in the area, becoming Bouchie Lake’s first permanent settlers. They paid $1 per acre.
Billie Bouchie Day is a collaborative, community-based celebration that focuses on the contributions the First Nation, Métis and early settlers made to the community and the region as a whole, according to the Friends of Bouchie-Milburn Society, which is organizing the event.
“What’s amazing about it is we had a vision, and everything just fell into place,” says Heloise Dixon-Warren, the society’s secretary.
“We had a $10,000 grant from the B.C. Government, and we had local businesses come forward as sponsors.”
Last year’s event was a one-day celebration that also marked the launch of the Bouchie to Baker Network directory.
Things have grown incredibly for this year.
“The community has really pulled together,” says Leslie Holland, the Friends of Bouchie-Milburn Society treasurer.
“They see something that is fun and exciting. This is going to bring life to Bouchie Lake.”
The celebrations begin with activities for students Friday, May 25. Yvonne Chartrand and the V’ni Dansi dancers and historian Brodie Douglas of the Métis Nation of B.C. will visit students at Bouchie Lake Elementary School and offer workshops.
That day, volunteers will set up at the Bouchie Lake Recreation Grounds from noon to 5 p.m., and there will be a tradeshow from 5-9 p.m. and an open mic/karaoke from 7-9 p.m.
The main celebrations take place Saturday May 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Bouchie Lake Recreation Grounds.
There will be a trade show with local businesses and non-profits, historical and heritage displays, interactive demonstrations, a lunch box social, a silent auction, music, entertainment, Métis jigging, dancing by Nazko and Lhatko Dené dancers, Métis spoon playing, a Pioneer Family and Friends Tea and a Métis kitchen party/dance.
One of the unique aspects of the celebrations is that the Friends of Bouchie-Milburn Society is working with a local filmmaker to make the film “Up Six Mile Down Nine Mile” before, during and after the event.
“The filmmaker is interviewing pioneer families,” says Dixon-Warren.
“One lady is 86 and has been here 71 years. [The filmmaker] has started doing interviews and shooting aerial footage, and she’ll be filming during the event. The intention is to allow people who live out here to connect. It’s a standalone community, and it has its own history. It’s been settled. We’re trying to provide that so when somebody new watches [the movie], they’re going to connect with our community, and they’ll realize there’s a community here.”
The Friends of Bouchie-Milburn Society partnered with the North Cariboo Métis Association to bring Brodie Douglas, a historian and central registry database records clerk with the Métis Nation British Columbia, to Billie Bouchie Day. He is perhaps best known as a public speaker on the topic of Métis history and identification in B.C., according to the society.
Another special guest is Yvonne Chartrand, the artistic director of V’ni Dansi, a Vancouver-based traditional Métis and contemporary dance company dedicated to sharing the dances, stories and culture of the Métis.
There will be a Pioneer Family Tea May 26 at 2:30 p.m. Everyone is invited, and it will be a chance for long-term and pioneer families of Bouchie-Milburn to get together for a visit, to share stories and memories and meet newcomers to the community.
“We are inviting people in the area who have any connection to Bouchie Lake,” says Dixon-Warren.
“We’ll have a guestbook so people can write down how they are connected.”
The celebrations will conclude with a Métis Kitchen Party family dinner and dance catered by the Quesnel Tillicum Society Saturday, May 26 from 5:30 p.m. to midnight.
The Friends of Bouchie-Milburn Society has booked the Community Care-A-Van from Regency Chrysler so they can offer a shuttle service throughout the day.
The Society received a $10,000 grant from the Province of B.C., applying in partnership with the Friends of the Quesnel and District Museum and Archives and the North Cariboo Métis Association to support this year’s celebrations.
“What we decided in 2018 is we wanted a celebration that celebrated Métis, First Nation and early settler contributions,” says Dixon-Warren.
“You don’t hear as much about Métis, but Métis was the glue between First Nation and early settlers. We wanted to have an event that was cross-cultural and celebrated our community, and we wanted to bring pioneer families back together.”