A group of Lac La Biche-area residents with ancestral ties to Britain and France recently hosted a delegation from the Brittany region of northwestern France. The visitors were promoting the historical ties between Canada and their country.
Ron Ulliac, who lives on the Old Trail Road outside of Lac La Biche, was one of a dozen local residents who welcomed the members of the Bretagne Trans America Association (BTA). The mandate of the organization is to promote cultural exchange and understanding between Canada and France.
According to Ulliac, the five-member delegation travelled from the community of Gourin, in the French region of Brittany to explore and research the community of Gourin that once occupied land between the hamlets of Plamondon and Atmore in northeastern Alberta. Although the community no longer exists, it's history lives on. The Gourin community was settled in 1914 by Ulliac’s great-grandparents Joseph and Louise Ulliac. The couple’s ancestry dates back hundreds of years to an ethnic group called Bretons who moved from southwestern Great Britain to what is now the Brittany region of France during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain between the third and ninth centuries. Descendants of those Bretons eventually emigrated and settled in other countries, including Canada. Ulliac's great-grandparents moved to Canada as the first world war broke out in France, moving from conflict like their ancestors had done centuries before.
That ancestry, and the shared Gourin communities in Canada and France piqued the curiosity of the Bretagne Trans America group. The reached out to local Breton historian Anita St. George, who was eager to host people from the old country. St. George, Ulliac and several area residents helped to organize the visit.
Ulliac said the groups on both sides of the Atlantic really want to tell the story and share their findings. Those findings will be aired in a documentary being created by the Bretagne Trans America group.
“One guy is actually a reporter, and they do documentaries,” Ulliac told Lakeland This Week.
The visiting researchers and the local Breton descendants toured the old Gourin historical site along Highway 55 and Range Road 171 on Sept. 29 and 30. Together, they celebrated the 110th anniversary of the Ulliac, Duigou, Cosperec, and LaRouzic families who settled there in the early 20th Century.
The two-day celebration featured a flag-raising ceremony in which the Canadian and Alberta flags were hoisted alongside two special Brittany flags. There was also a flag created by the Gourin descendants that combines the Brittany and Canadian flags and includes the names of the four families along with the year when made the long journey from their homeland to Canada. There was also a luncheon at the Atmore Hall that drew around 60 people.
The visiting Bretons and their Canadian counterparts toured some local sites, including the original Ulliac house, which was built in 1915 by Ron’s great-grandparents. The house also served as the Gourin post office until 1937. The community of Gourin, which was built around agriculture, began to decline in the late 1960s and early 70s.
War connections
The delegates also wanted to recognize and gather research on the local war veterans who helped to liberate Europe – and especially France – during World War II.
“One of the (French group) was an ex-military guy…he was 87 years old…he was walking with a cane, he barely could walk, but he was very sharp, and he wanted to learn more about especially the veterans that might have been involved in liberating France,” Ulliac said.
To find some answers, the group toured the graves of veterans buried in the Plamondon and Atmore cemeteries and made a trip to the McGrane Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion in Lac La Biche and meeting with branch president Danny Stevens.
Spending two days with the Brittany delegation was a rewarding and interesting experience for the descendants of the Bretons in the Lac La Biche area. He said the visitors were welcomed like extended family and shown the hospitality of the region – as both groups learned more about their shared ancestry.
Visiting France almost five decades ago to learn about his own heritage, Ulliac said he remembers the warmth shared by that extended family on the other side of the world.
“I visited France in 1976…they treated us like royalty,” he said. “So, we do the same…we try to make sure that they are welcome and learn and enjoy.”
The documentary
Jeff Jean François is a member of the Bretagne Transamerica delegation who came to Gourin for the special meeting.
François said the yet-to-be-named documentary film should be ready by the end of the year. François said the group will soon be holding meetings to discuss the start of the production.
François continued by saying that the members Bretagne Transamerica enjoyed their stay in Alberta visiting scenic places and farms and learning about other cultures in the area, including the Métis.
The visiting Bretons received a warm reception while in northeastern Alberta. They were also pleased that many of the local residents who they met could converse with them in their native tongue. Keeping the language alive across the world is a vital part of their people's history, he said.
“They spoke French…that is important for us,” he told Lakeland This Week. “People are very friendly.”
