Michigan is home to various organizations that serve to protect and promote French heritage.
River Raisin National Battlefield Park preserves and interprets the site of the Rivière aux Raisins Settlement, which later became known as Frenchtown during the War of 1812. The settlement was a linear string of homesteads all situated along the riverbank. The French claims were very narrow ribbon farms. Nearly every settler was remarkably close to his neighbor—from three to eight arpents or 575 to 1,500 feet apart. Today, the original French claims are marked along a walking path by boundary markers and wayside exhibits tell the story of the early settlers. Inside the National Park Visitor Center there is a large diorama of the original settlement. Through a partnership with the University of Michigan-Dearborn, City of Monroe, and National Park Service, archaeological field schools continue each year to uncover artifacts that tell the story of this early French Settlement. https://www.nps.gov/rira/index.htm
The Fort St. Joseph Archaeological Project is a partnership between Western Michigan University and the City of Niles that investigates and interprets the French fur trade in southwestern Michigan. The partnership sponsors archaeological excavations for all ages (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFSPMLdgSPM) and various outreach activities including lectures, educational programming, publications, and an annual archaeology open house. Thousands of artifacts imported from France have been recovered and help to tell the story of how the French lived on the frontier of New France. https://wmich.edu/fortstjoseph
Colonial Michilimackinac is operated by Mackinac State Historic Parks and includes an 18th-century fort and fur trading village, reconstructed based on historic maps and more than 60 years of archaeological excavations. It features a rowhouse that interprets the French fur trade in northern Michigan through archaeological remains recovered from the fort. https://www.mackinacparks.com/parks-and-attractions/colonial-michilimackinac/
Rendez-vous Detroit is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that celebrates French heritage in southeast Michigan with music, dancing, food, activities, and exhibits. They maintain close relations with associates in France including residents of Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave in France, the home of Cadillac. https://www.rendezvousdetroit.org/
The Alliance Française is an international organization with about 100 chapters in the United States. It has three chapters in Michigan:
The Alliance Française de Kalamazoo chapter meets regularly to converse in French, practice French language skills, and enjoy all aspects of French culture including art, literature, cinema, music, food, wine, and the celebration of French holidays. They host regular events under the leadership of Cynthia M. Ruoff and welcome anyone interested in French heritage, especially Francophones. https://wmich.edu/languages/alliance
The Alliance Française de Détroit also offers French language classes at all levels, cultural events, and translation services. https://www.afdetroit.org/homepage/#/
Finally, the Alliance Française de Grosse Pointe also offers language classes, French conversation opportunities, and Ciné Club, among other culturally-related events. https://afdegrossepointe.org/
The Monroe County Museum System oversees the Monroe County Museum, Monroe County Archives, Territorial Park on the River Raisin, St. Antoine’s Historic Site, and the Vietnam Veterans Museum and Memorial. Territorial Park includes the 1789 Navarre House, the 1810 Navarre-Morris House (Summer Kitchen), and a replica French-Canadian barn and bake oven. The Navarre House is one of the oldest standing French-style architectural buildings in the state of Michigan. The Monroe County Museum also curates local artifact collections, including artifacts recovered from the home and workshop of François Deloeuil, a French-Canadian blacksmith who worked in the River Raisin Settlement (present day Monroe) in the late 18th and early 19th century. The objects recovered testify to the importance of blacksmithing in this frontier community. https://co.monroe.mi.us/381/Monroe-County-Museum-System
The French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan (FCHSM) was organized in 1980 as an educational, historical, cultural, and genealogical non-profit organization, committed to make people aware of the rich culture and history of French-Canadians in North America. They publish the quarterly journal Michigan’s Habitant Heritage and maintain a website that provides extensive historical and cultural information about New France and its occupants. https://www.habitantheritage.org/
The Grosse Pointe Historical Society was founded in 1945 to preserve and protect the area’s rich local heritage and share it with the public through programs, facilities, and events. The Society purchased and restored the Provençal-Weir House, a ribbon-farm house built by French-Canadians in 1823. The Grosse Pointe History Center features 5,000 square feet of multi-purpose space for exhibits, events, displays, administration, and collections. http://www.gphistorical.org/
Caribou à Lunettes provides a variety of services and activities around children’s literature in French to celebrate Francophone cultures for French speakers living in the United States. They have a library in Bloomfield Hills, MI. https://cariboualunettes.com/
La Compagnie Musical Dance Troupe has preserved the rich French and French-Canadian musical and dance cultural heritage since 2007. Founded by Genot Picor and made up of four core musicians, this group of musicians and dancers has performed at various venues, including festivals, museums, libraries, and historical rendezvous. Their unique blend of music and dance evokes the bygone era of French and French-Canadian heritage. https://www.lacompagniemdt.com
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