Essay Question/Topic –
Métis History: What was Louis Riel’s role in the politicization of the Métis Nation? [Was Riel essential to the movement, or does his representative capacity surpass him as an individual? What unique contribution did Riel make to Métis politicization?]
Assignment 3 will test your ability to interpret and apply definitions and concepts discussed in Unit 3 in arriving at an answer to a question on Métis history, identity, or nationalism. Your paper must show evidence that you have understood the issues raised by the readings in the unit. You are allowed to do research outside of the course readings for this assignment; however, whether or not you do outside research, you must provide proper in-text citations and full bibliographic references to the sources you use. APA style for listing and citing sources.
Unit 3 Overview
In Section 1, we examine the emergence of the Métis as a social group in Canadian society from the beginning of the fur trade and the first interaction of Europeans with North American Indians in Eastern Canada and the Old Northwest. The article by Olive Dickason traces the policy adopted by the state and the church in New France toward interracial marriages and miscegenation in general, and contrasts it with the evolution and recognition of the Métis as an ethnic category in the Northwest. The selection by John E. Foster discusses, from an ethnohistorical perspective, the problem of tracing the roots of the Métis from records that were not written by the Métis. Foster suggests that this problem may be partly solved by applying anthropological concepts to historical analysis. Jennifer Brown’s article shows how an anthropological framework can be used to study the development of Métis society during the nineteenth century. Brown applies the concept of matriorganization to illustrate the role of women in the emergence of Métis communities. Sylvia Van Kirk uses family history to show the ambivalence of the progeny of interracial marriages in fixing an ethnic identity for themselves in the face of racial prejudice and discrimination.
The second section of the unit deals with political issues that affect the Métis. The role played by Louis Riel is presented in a reading by Thomas Berger, which shows the emerging Métis as important actors in the political history of Canada during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Berger compares the political status of the Métis today with the significant position they held in Western Canada during the nineteenth century, and uses the fate of the Métis in Canadian political history to show the fragility of minority rights in the face of rapid demographic changes.
Unit 3 Outcomes:
When you have completed Unit 3, you should be able to:
1. trace the historical emergence of the Métis in Eastern and Western Canada.
2. analyse the part played by Indigenous women in the emergence of the Métis.
3. discuss enculturation in the context of the socialization of children from marriages between Indigenous women and English or French men.
4. discuss the socio-cultural identity problems faced by the Métis of the nineteenth century.
5. analyse the political and historical roles played by Louis Riel in the struggle for recognition of Métis political and human rights
Course Materials:
Olive P. Dickason. From “One Nation” in the Northeast to “New Nation” in the Northwest: A Look at the Emergence of the Métis, pages 19–36 of The New Peoples: Being and Becoming Métis in North America, edited by Jacqueline Peterson and Jennifer S.H. Brown.
Foster, J.E. (1978). The Metis: The people and the term. Prairie Forum, 3(1), 79–90.
– PDF attached
Irene M. Spry. The Métis and Mixed Bloods of Rupert’s Land before 1870, pages 95–118 of The New Peoples: Being and Becoming Métis in North America, edited by Jacqueline Peterson and Jennifer S.H. Brown.
Brown, J.S.H. (1983). Woman as centre and symbol in the emergence of Meis communities. Canadian Journal of Native Studies, 3(1), 39-46.
https://cjns.brandonu.ca/wp-content/uploads/3-1-brown.pdf
– PDF attached
Sylvia Van Kirk. “What if Mama is an Indian?”: The Cultural Ambivalence of the Alexander Ross Family, pages 207–217 of The New Peoples: Being and Becoming Métis in North America, edited by Jacqueline Peterson and Jennifer S.H. Brown
Berger, T.R. (1981). Louis Riel and the new nation. In Fragile Freedoms: Human rights and dissent in Canada (pp. 26–57, 267–268). Toronto: Clark, Irwin & Company Ltd.
– PDF attached
Jacqueline Peterson. Many Roads to Red River: Métis Genesis in the Great Lakes Region, 1680–1815, pages 37–71 of The New Peoples: Being and Becoming Métis in North America, edited by Jacqueline Peterson and Jennifer S.H. Brown.
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