The Contributions Of Yukon Francophone Women: With Angélique Bernard
Françoise La Roche
Françoise La Roche was born in 1953, in Arvida, Quebec
Her mother, a skillful artist, shared the language of thread and fibres with Françoise: knitting, sewing, crocheting, weaving and embroidery.
Françoise received a certificate in linguistics and, a few years later, a Bachelor of Arts degree.
She arrived in the Yukon in 2007. The North had always exerted a mysterious fascination for her. She was the communications director at the Association franco-yukonnaise, a teacher of French as a second language and a freelance journalist and proofreader at l’Aurore boréale.
As a member of the Yukon Artists at Work, she took part in numerous group exhibitions, created a solo exhibition showcasing her tapestries and gave numerous workshops.
With the collective La Bête à cinq têtes, she contributed to the exhibition La Chasse-galerie. She also took part in two major community projects with the Yukon Francophone community: Piquée par le Yukon, a collaborative quilt, and De filles et d’audace, another collective quilt highlighting inspiring Yukon francophone women. She collaborated on the Stitches in Time: Yukon History Makers project.
A member of Les Essentielles for the last 17 years, she twice sat on the Board of Directors as secretary and treasurer.
For Françoise, living in the Yukon means living in nature. She moved into a cabin on Annie Lake Road 15 years ago. She has set root in this territory that has become hers and where she will stay until the end of her days.
Josée Fortin
Josée Fortin was born in 1980 in the small town of Saint-Henri-de-Taillon in Lac-Saint-Jean, in Quebec. She grew up between the forests, the water and the fields. As early as eight years old, she was driving four-wheeled vehicles on her own and spending her days outside without adult supervision.
After a college degree in arts and literature from the Cégep de Jonquière, Josée moved to Montréal and obtained a cumulative bachelor’s degree (literature, literary creation and screenwriting), a certificate in cultural animation and a certificate in psychosocial intervention.
She visited the Yukon in 2008 and came back permanently on July 1, 2009, with her backpack and tent. She was a substitute teacher for the francophone school and French immersion schools, in addition to completing a part-time contract as a teacher assistant at École Whitehorse Elementary School.
She also accepted the role of supervisor of the Montessori School summer camp, which only had one Casa class (for children aged 3 to 6). She has been there for 15 years! She teaches French and arts.
Josée had a nice career in the performing arts in the fields of circus dance (fire and lights) and writing, in addition to exhibiting her work throughout town, including on the walls of the Association franco-yukonnaise and during the opening of the new offices of Les Essentielles. Over the last seven years, she has pursued her passion for body art.
Josée likes the Yukon, as she enjoys saying she exchanged one North for another.
Manon Aubert
Manon Aubert was born in Pintendre, in the Lévis region, in Quebec.
She spent her childhood playing outside and pursuing various sports with her two brothers and children from the neighbourhood. She also took dance classes for 10 years and taught jazz dance in small regional towns.
Manon has a background in kinesiology. After returning to Quebec to study to become a physical education teacher, she worked in this field for four years in North Vancouver.
Manon arrived in the Yukon in August 2001 with her husband and their two young children. They were attracted to nature and the possibility of a calmer lifestyle.
In September 2002, Manon started a part-time contract with École Émilie-Tremblay as a physical education teacher at the secondary and primary levels. She wrote articles on sport in the Aurore boréale and was also a spin instructor.
In all the projects she put forward, teamwork involving the community, school, parents and francophones was important for Manon. She put on the play Le Petit Prince, a flash mob and the 30th anniversary event of the École Émilie-Tremblay.
Manon got involved as soon as there was an occasion to live a moment in French with students at school, such as the Souliers dansants dance group, a choir to sing in French at various community events and the gathering of food items for the Whitehorse Food Bank.
In the Yukon, Manon was able to slow down and discover a larger-than-life territory!
Paige Galette
Paige Galette was born in 1990 in Montréal, Quebec, and grew up in London, Ontario. She did her elementary, secondary and post-secondary studies in French.
Paige arrived in the Yukon in May 2017 for the mountains and the tranquility of the territory.
She worked at the University of Yukon (2017-2018) as student life coordinator, Gwaandak Theatre (2019-2020) as general manager, and the Public Service Alliance of Canada as a regional organizer and union officer (from 2021).
One week after her arrival in the territory, Paige was elected president of the Board of Directors of Les Essentielles, from 2017 to 2019. She is the cofounder of Northern Voices Rising, a BIPOC & QTBIPOC collective in the Yukon working towards safety, liberty, and fulfillment for communities through immediate and meaningful action. She also offers anti-racism and anti-oppression workshops in French and English.
Paige was a columnist for Francopresse (2020-2021) and published articles in The Toronto Star, Yukon North of Ordinary, The Monitor and Briarpatch. She wrote an article on life in the North in the book Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada, published in 2020. She was a social justice columnist for the Panorama radio show on Radio-Canada Vancouver (2021 to 2023).
Paige was part of the programming team of the Available Light Film Festival for three years.
In the Yukon, Paige discovered a passion for nature, gardening and, more recently, bees. Her life is filled with love, strong friendships and awesome adventures.
