In 1850, Major Woods visited the Metis at Pembina. He noted that a large number of Metis made their home at Pembina, and that these people were subsisting primarily by hunting buffalo. The old men reported to Major Woods that the buffalo had been depleted about one-half within their lifetime, and they realized that they must soon disappear.
​
From the best information Major Woods was able to obtain, the population of Pembina at that time consisted of 177 families. Of these, 511 were males and 515 females (about 1,026 people). They had about 600 Red River carts, 300 oxen, 300 work horses; 150 horses for buffalo hunting, and 1,500 hundred cattle. There were a few hogs but no sheep. Woods noted that the Metis population to the north at Red River Settlement was about 4,000 to 5,000.

Woods reported that the Metis at Pembina had tried farming some years before, but they had no market to sell their produce, so they gave it up and now only maintained gardens for personal use. The Metis were making most of their money by serving as trappers, hunters and voyageurs. Dried meat and pemmican were almost their sole source of sustenance, and they would go to the plains in the spring and fall in hunting bands of about 500 men, accompanied by their families. Each family would have from one to ten carts that they would try to fill with pemmican and hides by the end of the season. 
​
The Metis had a system of government and self-rule consisting of a nine-person council. The council in 1850 consisted of Headman J.B. Wilkie, and his counselors J.B. Dumont, Baptiste Vallee, Edward Harmon, Joseph Laverdure, Joseph Nolin, Antoine ‘Labelle’ Azure, Robert ‘Bonhomme’ Montour, and Baptiste Lafournaise. The Metis were recognized as having Indian rights at Pembina, and the US Government took efforts to detach them from the greater body of Metis at Red River Settlement. 

In support of Woods’ report, Father Belcourt, the attending Priest at Pembina gave his assessment of the Metis people. Belcourt wrote:

“The half-breeds are mild, generous, polished in their manners, and ready to do a kindness; of great uprightness, not over anxious of becoming rich, contenting themselves with the necessaries of life, of which they are not at all times possessed. They endure with lightness of heart when called upon to work in the course of diverse occupations. They have much openness of spirit, and their children manifest good capacity when taught…They are generally gay and fond of enjoyment; they affect music, there being but few, comparatively speaking, who do not play on the violin. They are a fine physical conformation, robust and full of health and of a swarthy hue. The men commonly marry at the age of seventeen or eighteen and as a general thing are of good morals. The half-breeds number over five thousand souls. They first established themselves at Pembina, near the mouth of the river of that name in 1818, when they had with them a resident Canadian priest. They had also erected a church, and were engaged in the cultivation of the soil with great success, when Major Long visited the country; and having ascertained the latitude, declared it to be south of the 49th degree. St. Louis being the nearest American settlement of any size, and the distance being very great, it was out of the question for the residents of Pembina to hold intercourse with it, except by incurring great expense as well as danger."

"When the US/Canadian border was established, the Hudson Bay Company tried to force the Metis to stay on the Canadian side of the border and make settlement about the mouth of the Assinaboine River, under penalty in case of failure so to do, of being refused all supplies from their store. At that time even more than at present, powder, balls, and net thread for fishing, were articles were necessary to their subsistence. In short they were being obliged to submit…[however] the military posts established at Abercrombie and Pembina served to keep many of the half-breeds from flocking across the line to populate the Red River Valley. [Additionally] we received many thousand sturdy Canadian settlers who became the sturdiest and best of that portion of the state, contributing millions to its wealth. The friction along the border long ago ceased and the utmost good feeling prevails. The Hudson Bay Company still exists but has entirely changed its line of trade and is now interested in the development of the country, rather than in the Indian trade which was its life decades ago."

Reference Source:
LOUNSBERRY, C.A. NORTH DAKOTA MAGAZINE, VOL. III SEPTEMBER, 1908 NO. 1: POPULAR HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA.

In many instances, women played a prominent role in promoting the health and healing of the people. They not only treated illness in general, but sometimes attended to the special medical needs of other women, particularly at childbirth. This doesn't mean that they were just midwives, as most adult women knew how to assist in labor. Instead, these mashkikiiwikwe, or "medicine women", were called in when complications arose in childbirth or in healing of severe illnesses, and they were paid for their services as specialists.

Mashkikiiwikwe were also consulted by women who wished to induce abortion or prevent a miscarriage. In one particular case, a mashkikiiwikwe mixed certain herbs with other materials and had her patient stand over the smoldering mixture to stave off miscarriage. The woman in question stated that the knowledge of this cure came “to my sister and me from my mother, and she received it from her grandmother... Since no one but my sister and I have this knowledge, and we won't live much longer, it will die when we go; it belongs to our family."

In 1840 Alexander Ross, a Canadian trader, witnessed a buffalo hunt on the Sheyenne River, of which he gives the following account: 

At 8 o'clock the cavalcade made for the buffalo, first at a slow trot, then at a gallop, and lastly at full speed. Their advance was on a dead level, the plains having no hollows, or shelter of any kind, to conceal the approach. When within four or five hundred yards, the buffalo began to curve their tails and paw the ground, and in a moment more to take might, and the hunters burst in among them and began to fire. 

"Those who have seen a squadron of horse dash into battle may imagine the scene. The earth seemed to tremble when the horses started, but when the animals fled it was like the shock of an earthquake. The air was darkened, and the rapid firing at last became more faint, and the hunters became more distant.

During the day at least two thousand buffalo must have been killed, for there were brought into camp 1,375 tongues. The hunters were followed by the carts which brought in the carcasses. Much of the meat was useless because of the heat of the season, but the tongues were cured, the skins saved, and the pemmican prepared. 

For years, buffalo hunting had been carried on as a business, under strict organization. A priest accompanied the hunt to look after the spiritual welfare of the hunters and their families. The women went along to do the drudgery of the camp and care for the meat. 

When the herd was reached there was the early morning attack, after due preparation, each hunter killing from five to twenty, according to his skill and equipment, and each was able to claim his own from the size or form or combination of bullet and buckshot used by him. 

When the meat was cared for another assault was made on the herd, with which they sometimes kept in touch six to eight weeks, the attacks being repeated until all of the carts and available ponies were loaded for the return trip. 

In 1849, 1,210 half-breed carts were among the Pembina hunters. When they halted at night the carts were formed in a circle, the shafts projecting outward. Tents were pitched in one extremity of the enclosure, and the animals gathered at the other end. The camp was a complete organization, captains and chiefs being elected to command.

No person was allowed to act on his own responsibility. nor to use even a sinew without accounting for it. No hunter was allowed to lag, or lop off, or go before, without permission, each being required to take his turn on guard or patrol, and no work was allowed to be done on the Sabbath day. A camp crier was appointed, and any offender was proclaimed a thief, or whatever the nature of the offense might be.

​While the modern popular culture image of the Métis man is a jaunty voyageur in a candy-striped Hudson Bay blanket capote with a yarn toque, and a brightly-colored sash wrapped around the coat, reality was less like that European-created myth, but much more interesting.

In general, the standard capote of choice employed by the Métis during the first half of the 19th century was a classic cut, with broad lapels, dropping to about the knees. This coat was most often a beautiful cerulean blue color. When possible, the capote would be fastened by brass buttons (if these were available), but could as easily be fastened by bone disks or other metal available through local traders. 
 
Trousers were most often corduroy – brown, khaki, or black in color – and footwear was usually moccasins that could be beaded or left plain depending on the taste of the wearer. Decorations were limited, primarily the ever-popular sash that is associated with the Métis people, and leg garters that were either beaded leather bands or smaller woven sashes. The waist sash was used as a belt, and the cinching of it about the waist served as a way to secure one’s trousers and keep the capote closed. The leg garters were both decorative and useful – cutting off unwanted airflow into the pants while riding. Headwear was subjective, but often a fur cap (or turban) was worn – much in the fashion of the Ojibwe who used these sorts of hats – especially in cooler weather.

The manner of dress was commented upon in several historical accounts dealing with the Métis men of Red River: 

The young [men] of the neighborhood array themselves in the bewildering apparel which obtains upon occasions of this nature: a blue cloth capote, with brass buttons; black or drab corduroy trousers, the aesthetic effect of which is destroyed by a variegated sash, with fringed ends, pendants about the knees; moccasins, and a fur cap with gaudy tassel (Robinson 1879).  

In another instance, Hudson Bay Company factor Alexander Ross provides a vivid description of his own encounter with Métis dress:

From Fort Garry I invited my friend to accompany me on a visit to the upper part of the [Red River] settlement, as he was anxious to know what kind of life the Canadians and half-breeds lead in this part of the world. We had not proceeded far before we met a stout, well-made, good-looking man, dressed in a common blue capote, red belt, and corduroy trousers…” Ross continued, “…the universal costume of both French Canadians and half-breeds, the belt [sash] being the simple badge of distinction; the former wearing it generally over, and the latter as generally under the capote. The stature of the half-breeds is of the middle size, and generally slender, countenances rather pleasing than otherwise. In manners mild, unassuming [not effeminate], and somewhat bashful. On the whole, however, they are a sedate and grave people, rather humble than haughty in their demeanor, and are seldom seen to laugh among strangers (Ross 1856).  

A more vibrant description of the manner of dress is provided in an 1880 Smithsonian monograph about the Métis:

In their dress the Métis show no marked peculiarities, but betray, in a tempered way, the fondness of the Indian for finery and gaudy raiment. In Manitoba the men usually wear a blue overcoat or capot with conspicuous brass buttons, black or drab corduroy trousers, a belt or scarf around the waist, leggings, and moccasins, the whole variously adorned with colored fringes, scallops, and beads. The legging is an important article of the young [men's dress]; it is usually made of blue cloth, extends to the knee, below which it is tied with a gaudy garter of worsted work, and has a broad stripe of heavy bead work running down the outer seam (Harvard, Norris, et al 1880).    

As the century progressed, access to manufactured clothing became easier than sewing leather or blanket cloth. European shirts, trousers, hats, and suits were readily obtainable and much sought after as a symbol of wealth. Even then, the old accoutrements died hard. Sashes, garters, and fringe remained staples of Métis dress.
​
Another style adopted by Métis men was quite similar to that of the ‘Western Cowboy’, as popularized in North American folklore. This often included dungarees, a fine shirt, ‘cowboy’ hat, kerchief, and an overcoat made of black or dark blue, or a leather jacket with fringes and fur.  One of the most famous photographs showing this style of dress is an 1885 photo of Métis general, Gabriel Dumont, dressed in his finest plains outfit, holding his trusty rifle.

 Women’s clothing was much more varied and ranged from highly practical to quite fashionable. 

During the earlier part of the 19th century, when life consisted of accompanying the men on their annual hunting expeditions onto the plains, women would dress quite often in clothing that mirrored their Indian mothers – with broadcloth dresses, shawls, and always wearing comfortable moccasins that were usually beaded in beautiful floral designs. 

 ​When not on the annual hunt, bright colored calicoes, bead-worked shirts, and even store purchased black or dark blue dresses were the norm.  

A report on the Metis population provides a very brief description of the standard dress of women in the Red River region during the middle of the 19th century:
​
The women generally dress in a black gown with a black shawl thrown over the head, in a manner at once comfortable and becoming. The girls often wear a colored shawl about their shoulders and a showy handkerchief upon the head; they like scarlet petticoats and prize gaudy ribbons and jewelry (USACE 1854). 

​As time went on and the wealth generated by the buffalo hunt started to disappear, store bought clothing was often not an option for some Metis women. In other cases, life on the edge of society, or on reservation, saw innovative measures taken to sew clothing from available materials.  

REFERENCES

• ​Havard, V., Norris, P. W., Brackett, A. G., & Burr, R. T. (1880). The French half-breeds of the Northwest. Washington, DC: Publisher not identified.
  
• Robinson, H. M. (1879). The Great fur land: Or, Sketches of life in the Hudson's Bay Territory, with numerous illustrations from designs by Charles Gasche. New York, NY: Putnam.
  
• Ross, A. (1856). The Red River Settlement. London: N.A.
  
• US Army Corps, E. (1854). Reports of Explorations and Surveys for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, 1853-54 (Part 1 ed., Vol. 12). Washington, SD: USGPO.

Below is a request by the Indian Agent asking for guns and ammunition for the "Friendly" Indians of the Missouri River. At the time, there was a general prohibition on ammunition, and the Red River Metis were selling ammunition to the River Tribes. Those who bought the ammunition were considered "Hostile".

Cree women were the keepers of the lodge fires. They were known as the "iskwêw" (or iskwêwak, plural). The keepers of the lodge fires were the givers of life who kept the family warm and who ensured that there was a warm meal for their people to eat.
Enhanced & colorized by Dibaajimowin (08/07/2020)

Gabriel Dumont was a Métis hunter, merchant, ferryman, and political and military leader who was instrumental in the 1885 resistance against the government of Canada. 

He was born in December 1837 at Red River Settlement, Manitoba, the second son of Isidore Dumont and Louise Laframboise. He married Madeleine Wilkie in 1858 at St Joseph (Walhalla, North Dakota). 

During the North-West Resistance his military tactics scored some blows against the Canadian forces, and he was known for his great intelligence and skill.

Following the resistance he fled to the United States where he was harbored by friendly Métis at Turtle Mountain and Walhalla, North Dakota. He traveled to the east coast and was reputed to have been with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show for a brief time.

He was eventually granted clemency by the Canadian government and he returned to Canada, where he died, May 19, 1906 in Bellevue (St-Isidore-de-Bellevue) Sask.

Enhanced & Colorized by Dibaajimowin (07/26/2020)

​Ayabe-Way-We-Tung, Chief Little Shell III (1896).

Photo taken during the delegation to Washington, DC.

It was reported that Little Shell and his delegates traveled by foot from Turtle Mountain to Devils Lake in the dead of winter to go to Washington. During the 80 mile walk in the middle of winter, temperatures were -40 windchill.

During the 1950s, a North Dakota State Senator recounted how, when he was a child, he and his family were sleeping in their homestead house. They heard some people enter the house in the middle of the night. They were too afraid to investigate, so they waited until morning. In the morning his father found Little Shell and his men busy cooking bacon. They enjoyed breakfast before heading back out in the cold and finishing their trek to Devils Lake.

Enhanced & colorized by Dibaajimowin (07/21/2020)