East Region
Ste. Agathe’s history is not unlike that of many of the surrounding communities. Some twenty Métis families were already living in the town when it was officially established in 1876. The settlement was known at that time as “Pointe-à-Grouette.” Between 1879 and 1882, farmers from Quebec also settled in the area and began to farm the land on the banks of the Red River.
Ste. Agathe, along with the other Red River basin communities, is only too familiar with the harsh reality of flooding. This charming little village came to symbolize the devastating effects of rising water levels and captured national and international headlines after it was hit by the biggest flood of the Red River in 1997, dubbed “the Flood of the Century.”
But Ste. Agathe is about more than just floods! Every July, this vibrant and active community organizes the annual Cheyenne Days Festival, named after a steamboat that ran aground to the south of the village in 1887. Everyone is welcome!
A visit to Manitoba means travelling through Treaty 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 territory and communities signatory to Treaties 6 and 10, the original lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anish-Ininiwak, Dakota, Dené, Iiniwak, and Nehethowuk and the homeland of the Métis Nation. Its ongoing existence is thanks to these ancestors and their present day relatives who continue to love and care for the land.
