Thankyoufortheopportunitytotelpartofthe MétisStory Thelargernarrativeisnotoftentold.Becausethenarrative isoftentoldfrom eitherfirstnationorfurtraderperspective.most researcherswilnotfindtheword"métis"withinthehistoricrecord.rather, theyfindfirstnation's,furtradeemployees,andothers.post-powleymétis Researchhasmadeexcelentprogressinidentifyingthe"others." BC Inbothinpopularandacademicjournals,therehasbeenafocusonLouis RielandtheRedRiver.WhiletheRedRiverisimportanttotheMétisnarrative itisonlyonepieceofthelargernarrative.anditiscertainlynotthebeginning norisittheendofthemétisstory.however,manyhistoricaldocumentsused inmétisidentificationwerecreatedasaresultoftheeventsof1869and 1885.
Introduction WhoweretheHistoricMétisoftheNorthwest?Theprogenitivegeneration werefirstnation'swomenandnon-aboriginalfurtraders.theirdescendants,aftersuccessivegenerationsofmixedaboriginalintermarriagecreated adistinctanduniquecultureinthenorthwest.thesedescendantsarethe historicmétisofthenorthwest. Therefore,itisnotthecasethat9monthsafterthereachingtheeastcoast, thefirstmétiswasborn!thatbeliefunderminesthedistinctcultureand languagethatemergedasaresultofmétisethnogenesis. HUDSON SBAYCOMPANY:1670 Present NORTHWESTCOMPANY:1779-1821 Aboveintroductionparaphrasedfrom JasonMadden."LakeheadUniversity:MétisRecognition&Rights-TheTimehasCome." Page1
MétisEthnogenesis: ebirthofaculture EthnogenesisoccurredintheHistoricNorthwest,ageneralareathatwasnotyet opentosetlement.therethemétiswereableto"incubate"foraseriesofgenerationsundisturbedtodevelopadistinctidentityandculturewithoutbeingabsorbed orsubduedbyadominanteuropeanorfirstnationsculture.métisethnogenesisdid nothappenovernight.ethnogenesisoccurredapproximatelyaroundthesametime acrossthehomeland.thisisbecausethehomelandwasnotdisconnected.there weredistinctnetworksofcommunicationfrom OntariowestintoBC. Métisnotsimplyamixedancestrypeoples,wecomefrom historiccommunitiesthat emergedbeforecanadawascanada.thisisanimportantpointbecausemuchof theresearchintobcmétispreviouslyfocusedonidentifyingindividualsofmixed aboriginalancestry-whichwasbothincorrectanddamagingtoourinterests. AlthoughconnectedtobothfurtradeandFirstNationscommunities,Métiswererecognizedasbeingdistinctandseparatefrom theirfirstnationsandeuropean relatives. Page2
MétisEthnogenesisbyGeographicLocation: UpperGreatLakes-1790-1815 SouthwesternManitoba-1815 NorthernSaskatchewan-1820 SouthCentralAlberta-1817 Todatewehavenine(9)court-determineddatesofeffectivecontrol. JeanTeilet,2013 1.New Brunswick-1670 2.Ontario,SaultSteMarie-1815-1850 3.Saskatchewan,northwest-1912 4.Saskatchewan,Qu AppeleValey-1882totheearly1900s 5.Manitoba,insidethePostageStampProvince-1870 6.Manitoba,south-westoutsidethePostageStampProvince-1880 7.Manitoba,SanClaraandenvirons,west-central 1885 8.Alberta,southern-1874-1878 9.,Okanaganarea-1858-1864 Page3
TwowavesofMétisadvancementintoBC: 1stWave:1790s 1840s Thisfirstwaveconsistedprimarilyofemployeesassociatedwithfurtraderssuchas AlexanderMackenzie,SimonFraser,DavidThompson,DanielHarmon,Pierre Bostineaux,SamuelBlack,PeterS.Ogden,andJamesSinclair. Thenetworksofcommunicationareclearlyvisiblewhenoneconsidersthe transportationroutesusedinthefurtrade.oftenreferredtoasthechildrenofthe furtrade,métiscommunitiesdidnotemergeintheabsenceofthefurtrade. Itisinterestingtonotethetwomajorpointsofentryfrom AlbertaintoBCbeingthe routestakenbysiralexandermackenzieandbydavidthompson.mackenzie throughthepeaceriverdistrictandthompsonthroughtheathabascapass.essentialy,thepeaceriverroutewasusedtosupplynew CaledoniawhereastheAthabascaroutesuppliedtheColumbiaDistrict. Page4
ThesetwomapssuggestthecorrelationbetweenmajorFurTraderoutesandthe largerfurtradesystem ofthehudson'sbaycompany.specificaly,theroutetaken bydavidthompsonthroughthecolumbiabecamethewesternportionofyork FactoryExpressroutewhichwasusedtoconveypeoplesandcorrespondence betweenthecolumbiadivisioninoregonandthesupplydepotofyorkfactory. MapshowingColumbiasupplyroutefrom YorkFactorytoFortVancouver MapshowingColumbiasupplyroutefrom YorkFactorytoFortVancouver MapshowingFurTraderoutesofMackenzie,Fraser,andThompsonfrom htp:lreflectionsoutdoors.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/have-paddle-wil/ trave/ 31.Accessed September1,2014. MapshowingYorkFactoryExpressRoutefrom htp:lcommons.wikimedia.org/wiki!file:york Factory-Express.png.AccessedSeptember1st,2014. Page5
ThismapshowstheMajorFurTradeRouteswithintheProvinceofBC,whichis significantbecauseithighlightsthehistorichighwaysusedbythemétis.thisis valuablebecauseitshowswherethemétiswere,andbycontrastwherethemétis historicalywerenot.thetwoprimarypointsofentryintobcwereviaeither Dunvegan,AlbertaorthroughJasperHouse,Alberta.Thisisimportantbecausethe MétisinBCwerenotdisconnectedfrom themétisinalbertaandfurthereastacross thehomeland.itisalsointerestingtonotethatthecommunicationrouteseastof therockymountainswereprimarilyinaneasttowestdirection.whereas,westof thedivide,inbc,communicationwasgeneralyanorthtosouthdirection. MapShowingFurTradeRoutesof MétisinBCandHistorictimeframe Basemaptakenfrom DavidSmyth'smapshowing"PrincipalRiverSystemsofthe.FurTrade, routesanddatesaddedby8.douglas.smyth,david,"theyelowheadpassandthefurtrade, from htp:lojs.library.ubc.calindex.phplbcstudieslartidelviewfile/119711241,page1s.accessedseptember1,2014. Page6
TwowavesofMétisadvancementintoBC: 2ndWave:1850s-1900 ThesecondwaveofMétisAdvancementoccurredduringthe1858GoldRushand continuedduringtheklondikegoldrushyears. MétissetlementlargelycenteredinthePeaceRiverBlockandtheKootenay-Columbiadistrict. InfactitwastheinfluenceofMétisonFirstNationswithinthePeaceRiverand AthabascadistrictsthatpromptedtheFederalGovernmenttonegotiateTreaty8and includethemétiswithinthenorthwesthalf-breedclaimscommission. Page7
MapShowingConnectivityofHistoricMétisCommunities PeaceRiverCommunity: Est.circa1800 FortSt.John FortSt.James Hudson shope KelyLakeNew CaledoniaCommunity: Est.circa1803 PrinceGeorge TeteJauneCache FortAlexandria KamloopsColumbiaCommunity: Est.circa1806 BoatEncampment Golden/LakeWindermere FortLangley FortVictoria/Nanaimo IntercommunityCorridors: JasperHouse,Alberta LangleytoKamloops FortSt.JamestoPrinceGeorge Page8
ShowingcurrentresidenceofMétisapplyingforscripduringTreaty8. Page9
Howdoweknowthatwewerehere? *Kane,Paul, BoatEncampment from htp:/www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/paul-kane/.accessedseptember1,2014. Page10
WewererecognizedbyothersasbeinginBC: TravelAuthorsandRomanCatholicRecognitionofMétisinBC NotedwriterssuchasPaulKaneandDavidDouglasbothtraveledacrossthe RockiesinthecareoftheHudson'sBayCompany.BothwritersdocumentedMétis westoftherockies.forexample,paulkane'sboatencampmentvisualizesthe locationusedbydavidthompsonin1811beforehetraveleddownthecolumbia. Notethesashwithinthepainting-aroundthewaistoftheindividualatthefore front. In1838FathersBlanchetandDemersbaptized35Métischildrenfrom 16families livingatjasperhouse,alberta.itisinterestingthatamongthe35métischildren,at leastthreeareidentifiedas3rdgenerationmétis.in1841,fatherpierredesmet notedthepresenceofmétiswithinthekootenay-columbiaterritory.infact,the MétisthatDeSmetbaptizedwereconnectedgenealogicalytoMétisatJasperHouse andmétiswithinthecolumbiadistrictinwhatwouldbecomemontana. *Munnick,HarietD., CatholicChurchRecordsofthePacificNorthwest:VancouverandStelamarisMissionVol1and11, Binford&MortPubs.1972.SeeB4,B11,M41,M84, B187,B202,B203,B201,M22,M23,B182,B183,B184,B185,M20,M22. *DeSmet,Piere,DeSmet sletersandsketches:1841-1842(originalypublishedin1843underthefolowingtitle: LetersandSketches:withANarativeofaYear sresidence amongtheindiantribesoftherockymountains,)357. Page11
AboriginalRecognitionofMétisinBC NotonlywereMétisrecognizedbyTravelwritersandRomanCatholicpriests,we werealsoidentifiedbyfirstnations. TheShuswapweredocumentedasactivefurtrapperswithinCentralInteriorofBC extendingthroughthekootenay-columbiadistrictintothejasperhousecommunity. Infact,severalMétisintheKootenay-ColumbiaDistrictmarriedintotheKinbasket bandoftheshuswap. Accordingtoa2008TraditionalLandUseStudy,Shuswapeldersstatedthat'The ShuswapwereencouragedtotradeatRockyMountainHouse,althoughduetothe atacksbythemétistheshuswappreferred[totrade]atthefortatkamloops." AccordingtoEthnologistJamesTeit,MétisoccupiedterritoryaroundTeteJaune CacheextendingintoJasperHouse,Alberta. *RETsqwatstens-kucwneCsaliken :OurPeopleBetweentheTwoMountainRanges.ShuswapIndianBandTraditionalLandUseStudy.2008. *Teit,James, TheShuswap, inthejesupnorthpacificexpedition,memoiroftheamericanmuseum ofnaturalhistory:volumei,partvi,newyork,1909. Page12
ThismapandtheaccompanyingplacenameslistwascreatedbyJamesTeitandpublishedin1909. AccordingtoTeit,theinformationabouttheMétiswascolectedfrom ShuswapElderswhowere familiarwithshuswaphistory. ItisofextremesignificancethatTeitascribedthename"Le'matcif'totheMétiscommunitybecausetheMichiflanguageoftheMétiswasnotstudiedorspokenoutsidethe communityuntilthe1960s.itisthistypeofconnectiontothehistorichomelandthat hasoftenbeenoverlookedbymétisresearchers. AnotherimportantfeatureaboutthemapisthatitclearlyshowsthattheShuswap recognizedmétisashavingtraditionalterritory.forexample,teitnotedthatthemétis territorywas"temporarilyoccupiedbythesekanai."inotherwords,theterritorywas acknowledgedtohavebeenatonetimeexclusivelyoccupiedbymétis. *Teit,James, TheShuswap, inthejesupnorthpacificexpedition,memoiroftheamericanmuseum ofnaturalhistory:volumei,partvi,newyork,1909. Page13
FederalRecognitionofMétisinBC Inaddition,MétiswererecognizedbytheFederalgovernmentasoccupyingland withinthemackenzieandpeaceriverdistrictsofbc. TheKlondikeGoldRushwastheimpetusfortheFederalGovernmenttonegotiate withfirstnationsandmétisintheregioncoveredbytreaty8.thehalf-breed Commissionwasinstructed"not[to]accordmoreliberaltermsthanwereaccorded tothehalfbreedsofmanitobaandtheotherterritories. Region A istheterritory coveredbytreaty8withinthe Provinceof *GovernmentofCanada,OrderinCouncilNo.1703,27thJune,1898.LACOnlineMIKANNo.2061036.TREATY8-TREATYNEGOTIATIONSBETWEENTHEINDIANAFFAIRSDEPARTMENT ANDTHENATIVEPEOPLE(MAPS) Page14
PublicnoticewasissuedinJuneof1898,indicatingtheFederalGovernment's intentionof"treatingwiththeindiansandhalf-breedsoftheprovisionaldistrictof AthabascaandsuchterritoryimmediatelyadjacenttheretoanditisdeemedadvisabletoincludewithinthesaidTreatytheextinguishmentoftheirtitletothelands." ThisisfurtherindicationthattheMétisinBCwereacknowledgedtobeconnectedto thehistorichomeland. *MNBCHistoricDocumentDatabase:1898PublicnoticeofTreaty8,June21,1898; alsoseebourdon,abe RecognitionofHalf-breedorMétisTitle amétisresourcesreport, August29,2007. Page15
ThetotalnumberofHalf-breedswithintheTreaty8areawasgivenas1700. However,asthisdocumentshows,thatnumberdidnotincludethoseinBritish Columbia.ThereisnoevidenceoftheHalf-breedCommissioneverhavingvisited FortSt.John.Infact,fortheregionsincludedwithinBC,theFederalGovernmentwas unabletoprovideanestimateofthetotalnumberofmétis.furthermore,according tointernalestimates,thefederalgovernmentdidnotprovidefoodrationsforpoints withinbc.thisisyetanotherdocumentthatsuggeststherewasnoeffortbythe FederalGovernmenttoidentifyhow manymétiswereinthemackenzieandpeace RiverDistricts. Page16
Thenwhyarewesodi culttofind? *PaulKane, WinterTravelinginDogSleds. 1849-5 Page17
TheForgotenandInvisiblePeople BecauseMétisinBCwerehistoricalygroupedwithmixedaboriginalsandnonstatusIndians,historicMétisidentificationcanbedifficulttosaytheleast. Racism inlaw:theindianact:becauseofthefactthattheindianactprovidedno provisionsformétisoutsideofmanitoba,thewelfareofmétisandothermixed aboriginalsoftenfeltothediscretionofthelocalindianagent. Racism ineconomy:relegatedtoresourceextractionindustries.forexample, mining,lumbering,andranching.métiswerelargelyrestrictedtomanuallabourand oftenunabletoadvancewithintheeconomicsoftheindustry. Racism insociety:unabletoprogresssocialybeyondtheimmediatecommunityso longastheindividualisidentifiedasmétis.forexample,inhisautobiography, formerbcpremiersimonfrasertolmiecompletelyoverlookedhismétisheritage, despitetheinfluenceofhismétisancestorwithinthevictoriacommunity. SystemicIndifferenceofCensusEnumeratorsandIndianAgents:Métisaredifficult toidentifyinthehistoricrecordbecausewewereidentifiedalongwithmixed aboriginalssimplyashalf-breeds. BecauseoftheRockyMountainswehadtoleaveourRedRiverCartsattheAlberta Border! Page18
JeanBaptisteBoucher: eterriblewaccan *Wiliam BoucherandsonJoseph,c.1911 Page19
ItisimportanttonotethattheIndianAgentalsoprovidedjudgmentonthemoral characterandtemperanceofthehalf-breeds.thereasonthisinformationwas providedwasthatiftheindianagentfoundthatthehalf-breedwasintemperateand ormoralyunfit,thentheywouldremovethehalf-breedsfrom thereservation. Thisissignificantbecauseitclearlyindicatesthattheexternalidentityandtoa degreelegalidentitywasbasedonthemoralcompassofaparticularindianagent. ListofReservesonwhichHalf-Breeds reside andnamesofthelater andthe character+astotemperance *CorespondenceRegardingthePresenceofHalfBreedsonDifferentReservesinCensus.OnlineMIKANNo.2061320.22. Page20
CONCLUSION: PartoftheNationalFabric UnlikeotherMixedAboriginalsinBC,expressionsofMétisNationalism canbeidentifiedwithinourcolectivehistory.thispresentationhasdemonstratedevidencethat MétisinBCthoughtofthemselvesasbeingconnectedtotheHistoricMétis Homeland.ThatFirstNationsidentifiedthem inconnectiontothehistoricmétis Homeland.AndthattheGovernmentofCanadaidentifiedthem asbeingconnected tothehistoricmétishomeland. Page21
Merci,ThankYou,Marsee ResearchedandwritenbyBrodieDouglas,B.A. ContactUs MNBCCentralRegistry: LaurelKaternick,Registrar: TerryRanson,Asst.Registrar: SharonNielsen,WestCoastRC: AudreyPrevost,NorthernBCRC: TracyMilton,RegistryAssistant: BrodieDouglas,DatabaseRecordsClerk: TolFree:1-800-940-1150 Phone: 604-557-6851 lkaternick@mnbcregistry.ca transon@mnbcregistry.ca sharonn@mnbcregistry.ca aprevost@mnbcregistry.ca tmilton@mnbc.ca bdouglas@mnbcregistry.ca Page22