Pembina

Pembina stands where the Pembina River joins the Red River of the North, a meeting place of waterways, prairie and wooded country. Its name comes from an Ojibwe word for a red berry growing along the river. Indigenous peoples travelled and traded through this region long before European posts appeared.

In 1797 the North West Company trader Charles Chaboillez established a post at Pembina. Rival traders followed, and the settlement became an important centre of the fur and provisions trade. In the winter of 1811–1812, Ojibwe people led by Peguis brought settlers from the struggling Red River colony south to Pembina and helped them through the winter. The newcomers built Fort Daer near the river junction, while Métis families and Indigenous communities continued to shape life and trade in the surrounding country.