Dakota Beacon

The Metis people of Canada and the United States have a distinct and fascinating  North American culture. The product of early liaisons between European explorers, fur traders, voyageurs and settlers, these people were uniquely equipped to deal successfully with the challenges of the western prairie.  The Indian women, the wives and mothers, knew the customs, the practical techniques and languages necessary to survive in the harsh conditions Europeans encountered as they moved westward. In time generations of these mixed-race people became a distinct group themselves.  Those who mingled with the French became known as “Metis” while their counterparts who had ancestry among the English-speaking arrivals were known as “half-breeds” or “country born”, rather than “Metis”.  

The Metis first asserted their distinct ethnicity and culture during the “Pemmican War” in 1812, led by a Metis, Cuthbert Grant.  Then, in 1869, fears of the relinquishing of the Hudson’s 

Bay Company of the vast territory known as Rupert’s Land, including the Red River Settlement, homelands of the Metis, prompted the Red River Rebellion, led by an eastern-educated Metis, Louis Riel.  Riel negotiated the admittance of Manitoba into Confederation as a Province. Riel successfully provided for establishment of French-language schools for the Metis children as well as protection for the Catholic religion.  His provisional government ran into trouble, however, when it arrested, convicted and hanged one Thomas Scott for threatening to murder Riel.  

[For readers in North Dakota, it should be noted that not all of North Dakota was a part of the Louisiana Purchase and explored by Lewis and Clark.  A considerable swath of eastern North Dakota was part of Rupert’s Land and thus Canada.]

In 1870, the vast region known as “Rupert’s Land” was sold by the Hudson’s Bay Company, which had been using and administering it, to the Canadian government.  This prompted then-Prime Minister John A. Macdonald to send a regiment out west to take command. Meanwhile, word reached people in Ontario of the hanging of Scott and they demanded that Macdonald expeditionary commander, Wolsley, bring Riel to trial for murder.  Riel quietly withdrew from Fort Garry to the United States ahead of Wolsley’s assuming authority. This ended the “Red River Rebellion”.

Years later, now living in what is now Montana, Riel was persuaded by Metis in Saskatchewan to return to lead them in another uprising, known as the “Northwest Rebellion”.  Not all Metis supported his turning the heretofore peaceful movement into armed rebellion, nor did many Indians. Riel was captured, tried and hanged for treason, in spite of the call of many for amnesty.  He and his followers believed that their cause was just and that the Canadian government was failing to uphold its promise to protect Metis culture, language and Catholic religion. One result of the conflict was increased pressure to complete the trans-Canadian railway.  Another result was a backlash against the francophone Canadian population in the western provinces and diminishment of their influence, felt today. Today’s friction between French Canada and the provinces of Saskatchewan and especially Alberta can be traced in part to this history.

Today the epicenter of Métis culture remains in Manitoba, in the Red River Valley.  The language of the Métis has been traditionally French Canadian and a unique creole language, Michif, which uses French nouns and Cree verbs.  It is dying out, although recent efforts have been made to preserve it and its Metis heritage. Michif has been spoken in Manitoba and North Dakota, primarily in the Turtle River region.  

Métis culture derives much from the French Canadian music and combines native and French dance forms.  Their colorful dress was that of the voyageurs and one of their identifying articles of clothing is the “ceinture” - a finger-woven sash worn by these voyageurs.  

Today there is an ongoing debate over who may call themselves “Métis” - the Métis of the Red River Valley generally object to “Métis” being used as a catchall term for anyone of mixed indigenous and European racial heritage in Canada.  Those interested in this interesting and unique heritage should visit the Métis pavilion in the next “Folklorama” event in Winnipeg. There are many historical sites throughout Manitoba and the Red River Valley with ties to the Métis culture and to Métis history.

Following are a few interesting videos - a history of Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont:

Louis Riel:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5YrtvO7FDs

Gabriel Dumont:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpYMf_smtKA

Flags of the Métis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdeyWhSJVPI

And now some Métis music and dance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LknTxKuHl1k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXBACK7J52o

And finally some people’s thoughts on “being Métis””

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bEGwt-Ghpo

Comments:  lingogirlWyahoo.com