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Exploring French Canadian Heritage at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum

September 15 2019 | 1:00pm to 3:00pm

In honor of French-Canadian Heritage Week in Michigan, the Detroit Historical Society, in partnership with the Great Lakes Maritime Institute, will offer special programming at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Sunday, September 15 from 1-3 p.m.

Offering a window into the development of a small community in the borderlands of New France, Guillaume Teasdale, assistant professor of history at the University of Windsor, will explore his recent book Fruits of Perseverance at 1 p.m. Exploring the French colonial presence in Detroit, from its establishment to its dissolution in the early nineteenth century, Teasdale explains how a society similar to the rural settlements of the Saint Lawrence valley developed in an isolated place and how it survived well beyond the fall of New France. Today, tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border celebrate their early French heritage. Mr. Teasdale will sign books following his presentation.

In addition, historian and renowned maritime artist Robert McGreevy will present an in-depth discussion of the pioneer sailing vessel Griffon. This mysterious ship, built at the behest of explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, was the first European-built hull on the upper Great Lakes. No one is sure precisely what it looked like, nor where or how it disappeared in 1679. To shipwreck hunters, it is the Inland Sea’s Holy Grail. McGreevy has spent years researching the craft’s background, as well as subsequent “discoveries” of its remains. In a conversation with GLMI’s Mac McAdam, Mr. McGreevy will examine the vessel’s history, possible design and construction, and potential whereabouts.