Metis Identity, Woman, Nationhood and Pridefulness
The role of Métis women in historical relationship to Métis nationhood, including familial, political, and cultural life.
The Descendents of the Original Lords of the Soil - The Red River Forks
- Métis women are the representatives of the Métis nation, they are known as the lords of the soil, “The Métis relationship to the land is linked to being the descendants of the original lords of the soil. What has been missed is that the “lords” the Métis are talking about are Indigenous women.”(Voth 2020, 100) They care for their children, prepare the meat after it is hunted, as well as fight for their community. There is a definitive connection between Métis women and the land of Métis people, women taught the men how to do everything, from speaking their language, to cooking, to hunting, to building. When European men married Métis women, they didn’t speak the same language, they both lived completely differently before they met each other so the women had to teach the men how to live in a Métis nation. Although Métis women were considered the symbolic bearers of the Métis people, they weren’t given any authority in political decisions or empowerment of the nation. “Providing Métis women the vote is simply not good enough. One must provide Indigenous women real political power and authority in the new self-determining structures of the nation.”(Voth 2020, 105) Métis women can be the face of the nation but were often denied any national power, “Metis women were sought after as marriage partners and integral to the fur trade because of their kinship ties to local First Nations and Métis.” (Patten 2021, 3) Indigenous women were also encouraged to marry fur traders as a way to secure economic resources to provide mutual aid. Women played a huge role in contributing to the nation, to think of it Métis women led the nation from the beginning, but yet weren’t accepted in governance.
References:
Voth, Daniel. “Descendants of the Original Lords of the Soil”: Indignation, Disobedience, and Women Who Jig on Sundays." Native American and Indigenous Studies 7, no. 2 (2020): 87-113. https://doi.org/10.1353/nai.2020.a765053 .
Patten, Thomas. 2023. “Fur Trade.” Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. https://indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/article/fur-trade/ .
Métis Woman and Their Contributions-Batoche Saskatchewan
- While men may have had a huge role in hunting food, women also worked equally hard in providing for the nation. They were the main driver for the Red River carts, they watched over the space inside the camps, and they processed the bison after the men brought back the carcasses. Métis women prepared every meal for their families, they took care of their children as well as elders, and they also focussed on beading and weaving sashes, which was a unique innovation to carry babies, used to repair wounds, or used as belts but always a prideful garment and resource. After each hunt, Métis women transformed the meat into pemmican. Without the Métis wives, the community wouldn’t hold up the same, the women led the entire nation. “Women played a central part in the social order of Métis brigades, both on hunts and in battles. Although men were the primary agents in negotiating war and peace, women participated in battles and diplomatic ceremonies to help facilitate the mostly peaceful diplomacy with other Métis brigades and neighboring First Nations.”(Pigeon and Podruchny 2019, 254) Métis women eventually began fighting in battles more often, they could fight, defend one another, and still care for their kids. “The Métis women were the healers, the stewards of the lands and its resources, the keepers of Indigenous knowledge, and the strength that kept the Métis nation nurtured, educated, and sustained.”(Barkwell, Dorion, and Carrière, n.d.) The Métis women were instrumental in the fur trade for their connection to the First Nations and Métis but also their knowledge and skills to convert meat into pemmican and skins into clothing. Their innovation with birch bark, buffalo robes, rocks and stone hammers, quills, tufting, and beadwork helped to create a strong and prideful identity and sought-after wears far and wide.
References
Barkwell, Lawrence J., Leah M. Dorion, and Anne Carrière. n.d. “Women of the Métis Nation.” Gabriel Dumont Institute. Accessed December 8, 2023. https://gdins.org/product/women-of-the-metis-nation/ .
Pigeon, Émilie., Podruchny, Carolyn. “The Mobile Village: Métis Women, Bison Brigades, and Social Order on the Nineteenth-Century Plains” (2019): 236-254.
Important Métis Woman- Red River Settlement(Provencher)
Many Métis women, like Jane Monkman have accomplished great contributions to our nation. Jane Monkman Cummings was the first female nurse to have her papers published in the settlement, after learning western scientific knowledge from doctors along with traditional practices. Jane, as well as the Nolin sisters displayed persistent hard work for Métis women. The two Nolin sisters were the first female educators in a school setting, they taught the girls how to sew and weave and then eventually years later worked at Belcourt helping with translation for children. “Women such as Angélique and Marguerite Nolin and the women of the female religious orders such as the Grey Nuns and the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, made an important contribution to the establishment of an education system for the province of Manitoba.”(Freeman and Lawrence 2009, 1)
References
Freeman, Lorraine, and Lawrence Barkwell. 2009. “The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture.” The Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture. https://www.metismuseum.ca/resource.php/10289 .
- Proud to be Identifying as Métis- Fort Alexander
- Métis identity is how a person identifies themselves as Métis and the history that comes with the term. At one time, many Métis’ felt ashamed to reveal their identity because of how other communities treated them. They were called “half breeds” or mixed because their father would be European or white while their mother would be First Nations or Métis. This has influenced the impact of governance asserting rights and property of land to the Métis people. “Metis identity must be defined by the people who live by it, not by the organizations who represent us, or the colonies that have sprung up around us.”(Bourgeois 2021, 4) There were also numerous examples of prideful families who celebrated in their traditions and ways of life by honouring their ancestors through oral tradition of song, dancing the Red River jig, wearing sashes, beading, listening to the fiddle, smudging and etc. Educating the future generations and celebrating with honour and pride ensures Métis culture and Métis nation continues. One area that continues to be a challenge is language. The most notable talent for cultural transformation is language and in the case of the Métis, they fused First Nations and Euro-Canadian and European parent cultures. Few speak Michif present day but there are intentional efforts and programs to support the reclamation, promotion and advancement of the language. Because of the talents, skills and gifts of Métis women, forms of expressing Métis pride through beadwork, quilling, embroidery and hide work are celebrated forms of artistic pride and tell a story. A greater emphasis must be given to the cultural practices, power and decision-making, way of life, and community histories of Métis women both individually and collectively.
References
Bourgeois, Chuck. 2021. “Métis Identity and Nationhood.” Circles for Reconciliation. https://circlesforreconciliation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/23-202107-Me%CC%81tis-Identity-and-Nationhood.pdf .
Métis Nationhood- West of Fort Douglas, Heading for La Grenouillère
As the hunt for beaver pelts became more difficult over time, Métis traders and hunters began moving northern/western. As Europeans traveled up west to an open lake area, the two communities met in the middle. European men and Métis women joined to form a distinct culture that rose to form a strong nationhood. Over time, the Métis nation formed a permanent settlement at the bank of the Red River where Winnipeg now stands. The Métis relied on the hunting and trading of bison meat. The men would hunt for bison and the women would collect the bison, bring them back in the red river carts, and begin preparing them for cooking or trading. “After the hunt, women took charge of processing fallen bison, bringing some of the carts to the kill site, where men had begun dismembering carcasses. Other women remained behind in camp to take care of young children and elders and prepare for carts to return”(Pigeon and Podruchny 2019, 242). The Métis women and men would provide for their family, protect their community, and lead a nation. Everything they did to survive contributed to their nationhood, whether that was participating in the battle of the Grand Coteau, the battle of Seven Oaks, or taking care of their children. “A number of significant historical events led Métis people to develop a robust political awareness, and to understand themselves as a nation rather than simply as a ‘cultural group.’ During the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816, Métis fighters were the first to fly the infinity flag that is still used as a national symbol today.” (Bourgeois 2021, 1).
References
Bourgeois, Chuck. 2021. “Métis Identity and Nationhood.” Circles for Reconciliation. https://circlesforreconciliation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/23-202107-Me%CC%81tis-Identity-and-Nationhood.pdf .
Pigeon, Émilie., Podruchny, Carolyn. “The Mobile Village: Métis Women, Bison Brigades, and Social Order on the Nineteenth-Century Plains” (2019): 236-254.
Patten, Thomas. 2023. “Fur Trade.” Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. https://indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/article/fur-trade/ .
Conclusion
Although there is a rich history of powerful, prideful Métis women, many of the original historical depictions focused on exclusion and enemies and other communities would use harsh or racist terms to exclude, or depict Métis women as insignificant. “Racist terms like “squaw” or “squawman’ were used extensively in fur trade histories.” (Dorion, n.d.,4). Communities and governance would separate the Métis’ from their nation, and take away land rights to prove they are not welcome. Today as we look at the province of Manitoba, the governance structure of the Red River Métis and unwavering efforts to secure the rights of the Métis Nation, one cannot help but to thank the ancestors and relatives for their courage, pride, for all the strength of our powerful mothers. As more and more accurate depictions are shared and stories are told, a strong sense of pride washes over a nation, the Métis nation. Bailey Oster wrote an important book, titled Stories of Métis Women that shares the stories of several notable Métis women to “give the readers an in-depth understanding of the lives that our women have lived-of the joy and beauty, the strength and resilience. However, we knew that we could not ignore the hardships, discrimination, but you cannot have reconciliation without truth.”(2021). To ensure our daughters and aunties and granddaughters are able to see clearly when looking at literature and research, women are not behind the men, they are holding them up and creating the unbreakable circle. Métis women in the past 30 years have begun taking a higher role in community development, politics, and education. “Métis women are creating awareness of Mtis identity and culture by sharing their own diverse stories.” (Dorion, n.d., 8)é
References
Dorion, Leah. n.d. “Emerging Voices of Métis Women - Leah Dorion.” Metis Museum. Accessed December 8, 2023. https://www.metismuseum.ca/media/document.php/01269.VM%20-%20Voices%20of%20Metis%20Women.pdf .
