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Metis Stories

The Tribal Nature of the Metis

5/2/2018

4 Comments

 

Despite their Unique heritage, the Metis were a tribal People

The half-breeds who originated in the Red River region — who are the core who later became the Metis Nation — have been mentioned in fur trade journals, missionary notes, and other primary sources since the beginning of the 19th century as being a “people apart” from either the Indians or the settlers.  It was reported that the Red River Metis population consisted of the descendants of about thirteen different tribes, including such tribes as Dakota Sioux, Chipewyan, Blackfeet, Montagnais, and others, but the great majority were of Cree or Ojibwe heritage.
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It is known that by about 1815 the Metis had their own chiefs and were politically organized in most of their governmental and economic affairs.  One Hudson Bay Company report from 1834 noted that the fur market was over-supplied, and as a result the company was setting prices correspondingly low.  This reduction in price was not taken well by the Metis. As a result, the collective Metis joined together and forced the traders (by threat), to buy their pemmican or face a general insurrection.  
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Their success as a collective “tribe” was witnessed each year as their buffalo hunting trips regularly left with parties of over 1000 hunters armed with guns and carts to haul their millions of pounds of meat and hides back to the fur posts.  Throughout the countless descriptions of the early and middle 1800s, the general theme was that the Metis were a unique and separate people that stood apart from both the settlers and the Indians who surrounded them.
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The distinction from the Indian tribes in the region did not mean that there were not amicable relations. As relatives by blood and culture, the Metis would regularly camp with and hunt with their related Indian brothers and marry among them. The Metis influence over the Indians was noted in their capacity to serve as mediators during various treaty negotiations — even being included in several treaties themselves. Metis were noted to be part of Treaty 3 in Canada, and were included in the 1863 Old Crossing Treaty between the United States and the Red Lake and Pembina Bands of Ojibwe.
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As well, many Metis formed themselves into “bands” (or communities) based on familial ties and geographic location (i.e. hunting and procurement areas).  These bands varied considerably, depending on the locality in which they arose, the Indian tribes they descended from and were allied to, the ethnicity and nationality of their fur trader forefathers, and the various roles they played within the fur trade economy. What they had in common was that they were Metis. It was in these interstitial spaces that unique Metis identities were forged. Bands such as the Cypress Hills Hunting Band, Pembina Metis, Milk River and Judith Basin groups, and others coalesced and became noted for their unity and strength. 

There can be no mistake that the Metis were indeed an indigenous “tribe” that stood apart from the other indigenous people who surrounded them.
4 Comments
Michif Speaker
5/2/2018 09:41:15 am

Nice article. What sources did you use? BTW, are you a grad student or...? :-)

Reply
Dibaajimowin
5/2/2018 10:36:04 am

This commentary/article comes from various sources - none of which could be listed as this was more of an "off the top of my head" rendering commentary that I just wanted to write up (based on years of research rolling around in my head). I am not a grad student, but am a professional historian/anthropologist who has spent the past 25+ years researching Ojibwe and Metis history and culture - although grad school was fun and I sure miss it. Glad you're enjoying the content here.

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Gaillord peltier
5/2/2018 06:46:57 pm

Based on a historical document, The Forgotten People, the Metis did not consider themselves to be native, they were their own culture, the Metis were fighting for their own Land Script, so if they took Script there would be no way they would have been able to participate in the Treaty 3 negotiations, they would have been identified as Metis and if they participated in the Treaty 3 negotiations they were for sure identified as Indians. The same holds true in the 1863 treaty negotiations, there were mixed bloods that signed that day, but were not identified as Metis, they were not recognized in the states during this time!

Reply
Heather
5/3/2018 04:10:03 pm

My ancestor who was a founding father of the Metis of NWT was living there in the 1700s which pre-dates the dates mentioned above for the RR Metis. The statement that RR Metis are the core of the Metis is inaccurate. A more accurate statement would be these Metis created the core of the RR Metis. Otherwise the statement may be inadvertently discounting the core of the other Metis of Canada, many who were established long before the RR dates. Also, there is not just one Metis of Canada.

E.g. My ancestor of the Metis in NWT was recognized as a national historic figure of Canada:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/francois-beaulieu-ii-plaque-to-be-unveiled-in-fort-smith-n-w-t-1.3169719

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Dibaajimowin was created as a way to share interesting and unique stories and other information about the Metis and Ojibwe people (and others) so that these can be used by our guests to educate themselves and others about the history, culture, and language of the people.

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  • Home
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