The New Peoples: Being and Becoming Metis in North America

Thomas S. Abler is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo and the author of A Canadian Indian Bibliography, 1960-1970.

The papers collected in this volume are as diverse as the ancestry of the people described therein. This book, an outgrowth of a 1981 Newberry Library conference, is not simply a book about the Métis of the Red River. It sets its sights on a wider population, looking at all those born of mixed Indian-White parentage and the descendants of such persons. Many of these are now called “Métis” even though their ancestors might not have known the word. The editors have used “métis” (with a lower-case m) throughout this volume because they are using it in this very general sense and do not want to imply any political or legal status for the people being described or their descendants.

Some papers deal with specific populations. Jacqueline Peterson concentrates on the communities of mixed ancestry in the fur trading posts of the Upper Great Lakes. R. David Edmonds considers later generations of this same population, discussing the fate of these people in the face of expanding American settlement. John Long describes the complex history of the “halfbreeds” of Moose Factory. Irene M. Spry argues for solidarity and cooperation among Protestant and Catholic métis on the Red River in the earlier days of that settlement. Verne Dusenberry describes a métis community in Montana. Trudy Nicks and Kenneth Morgan discuss the people of Grande Chache, Alberta, whose ancestry includes Iroquois from Montreal as well as French and Cree. Jennifer Brown discusses the fate of métis children sent back to Montreal for their education by their Scottish Presbyterian fathers. Sylvia Van Kirck focuses on a single Red River family, that of Alexander Ross and his Okanagan wife, Sally. John C. Crawford examines Michif as used on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota. This discussion of the hybrid Cree/French language is a delight to read, even for the non-linguist.

Other papers deal with more general themes. Olive Dickason discusses the earliest contacts between French and Indians and argues that persons of mixed ancestry were absorbed by the White society, particularly in Acadia but also in Quebec. John Foster presents a review essay that poses many questions to be answered in further research. Ted Brasser points to the importance of identifying métis art and makes a preliminary exploration of its origins and evolution. Finally, Robert Thomas sums up the conference (including reference to papers unfortunately not published here) and presents a typology of métis communities, groups, or peoples.

Every paper in this volume will be of some interest to anyone who wishes to understand the complexity of the contact community that existed among Europeans (or those of European descent) and Indians in northern North America. They will also be of interest to anyone who wishes to understand the history of the enclaves of persons of mixed ancestry found in Canada and the northern United States today. Those wishing extensive information on the current status of these enclaves will for the most part (the majority, but not all, of the papers in this book deal largely with the past) have to go elsewhere.