Métis Nationalist Voice

Métis Nationalist Voice Volume 2, Issue 1 January 2021 Métis Nation Issues and Interests Candice Evans-Waite Métis Pride Contest Winner Métis people have much to draw from those entries. The summer they operate a lake Inside this be proud of as a nation. The winner of the draw was Can- based business The Local Ad- publishers of this newsletter, dice Evans-Waite. Her entry venture Company with kayak issue: and SUP rentals and adven- ture opportunities in the ar- ea. A great social distance Winter activity to try if your are ever Camping nearby. She reminds everyone to hold on to your loved ones and stay safe in this New Year. Primrose Lake This photo was taken on top of a mountain after my children’s first big climb. July Métis Wom- 2020 en in The Fur They are the reason I Trade speak too loud, live too hard and follow my dreams, I know they’re watching Métis Right to Candice Evans -Waite Self- Government We thank everyone for their entries! Our rich Métis culture remains strong and young people like Candice and her children as well as Métis Nationalists thought was this beautiful photo of the young lady featured on Editorial that it would be fun to have her children. the next page ensure that people express their pride in this will be the case for many being Métis and share it with Candice and her family are years to come. us. We gave people the op- residents of Buffalo Narrows. portunity to submit pictures, They enjoy the endless op- videos and anything that tions of outdoor play around showed their Métis pride and the community and enjoy then we made a random being close to family. In the Métis Nationalist Voice Page 2 Métis Enjoy Winter Camping and Continuance of Traditions By Shayna Burnouf During our winter camping trip we animals such as fox, coyote and great grandfather Melchior Bouvier, went to my boyfriend’s cabin with wolves. The traps sat for a few days who I call Capan, spent a lot of time his parents across the lake. It is only and we eventually went to check on the land when he wasn’t work- accessible by boat or ski- ing, he was a maintenance doo. We had to skidoo man for the mission in Ile-a-la across the lake to get to our Crosse. My Capan set snares, destination and we made a did trapping and fishing, and few trips to the cabin to went hunting for deer and take our materials. For a moose. In the summer they couple days we went out on planted gardens to get fresh skidoos and pulled a sleigh vegetables such as potatoes, with the shovels, traps, etc. carrots, corn, cucumbers, to set beaver snares on the beets, and tomatoes. He lived lake, as well as setting traps across the lake at Birch Island, in the bush, and making they called Libaloo and then cubbies. This was my first later on they moved to Ile-a-la experience with setting Crosse. My kokum mentioned traps and I learned many that a row boat was made for Shayna with amisk new skills; the first thing we her family to transport across did was go across the lake the lake throughout the sum- to the beaver house, then we chis- them. There was a marten in one of mer to get into Ile-a-la Crosse when eled a hole in the ice near the bea- the boxes we set up. The activities I needed. The other means of trans- ver house where we set the two took part in are important to the portation were dogs with a sleigh snares. The next day we went to Métis culture in many ways. and horses with a cart. check the snares and found that we Hunting, fishing, and trapping were My other great grandpa Francois had caught one beaver. We also set a way of life for our ancestors and it Burnouf was a mink rancher until conibear traps in boxes with bait for still is to some people today, though 1968 across the lake at Canoe River. marten, fisher and mink. We also not as many people rely on it as a He trapped and commercial fished made a few cubby set for bigger main source of income anymore. My on the weekends. Volume 2, Issue 1 Page 3 I believe young people would bene- fit from being out on the land because it is a great learning experience, it is a great stress reliever, and the skills learned can be used for the rest of your life and passed on to generations to come. There is a loss of identity and culture, and learning these teachings will allow people to have a better appreciation for the land and animals. Once I am more confident with my skills and learn more about trapping, snaring, and Francois Burnouf with mink setting nets, I would like to share my skills with others to keep the tradi- tion alive. Randell Marten in trap Métis Nationalist Voice Page 4 Métis Women in The Fur Trade By Lorna Ledoux According to Sherry Farrell Racette French Métis women were likely to marry fur trade labourers such as French-Canadian voyageurs. Their “The first generation of Métis women in Saskatchewan work was vitally important, as they provided food such were either born to European fur-traders and Indige- as garden produce, berries, fish and game to the fur nous women at posts such as Cumberland House trade posts. They also made and sold hand-worked (1775) and Carleton House (1790), or had accompanied items such as sashes and quilts.” their fathers or husbands into the region. Daughters had a variety of experiences depending on the duration Racette states that girls often married young, usually of their parent’s relationship, the commitment of a by their mid-teens, and marriages were usually ar- father to his family, his social class and affluence, and ranged. “If a young man accepted a pair of moccasins the cultural traditions that met and mixed in the home. made by his future bride, a marriage contract existed. Over time, as the population grew, children of mixed He might also be required to pay a bride’s price of heritage tended to marry each other, blurring and mix- trade goods or horses. Winter was the wedding sea- ing their diverse cultural heritages and creating a new son, and weddings were community celebrations that people. Métis girls were expected to be active and could last several days. On the prairies, women were helpful, running errands and caring for younger chil- wrapped in buffalo robes and carried to elaborately dren. Sewing doll dresses and making moccasins from decorated dog sleds, which transported them to a mis- leaves gave way to learning from mothers, aunts and sion where a marriage ceremony could be conducted grandmothers in the critical skills of sewing, quillwork, and later took them on a “wedding trip” to their new beadwork and embroidery. Women were involved in home.” trapping, harvested wild plants and medicines, fished, hunted birds and small game, tanned hides, processed Racette explains that Métis families were essential so- meat, and made all the clothing and footwear for their cio-economic units. Men and women played equally families. Their daughters worked beside them.” important roles in supporting and sustaining community economies. “Men obtained raw materials through I remember that women like my Aunties as well as my the hunt, bringing home meat and hides, which wom- Mom and my Grandma Marjorie were skilled at all en’s skill and labour transformed into pemmican, dry manner of traditional activities as I was growing up. meat, tanned hide and garments for family use or sale. They could hunt and fish and trap with the men and During the fur trade, pemmican, which was often the still manage to provide tasty meals for their families. At only food available to workers and travelers, sustained university I learned that Métis women played a huge an industry. From 1850 to 1870 there was a considera- role in the fur trade. ble market for Métis-style coats, jackets, saddles, and smaller items such as quirts, fire bags, watch pockets, The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada illustrates the and pouches. Red River cart trains loaded with these role of Métis women in the fur trade: goods traveled to consumers, and male traders often moved beyond their family circle for suppliers. Wom- en’s production continued to be critical to Métis econ- “Métis women were integral to the fur trade. They omies, particularly as men found it increasingly difficult were sought after as marriage partners for fur trade to make a living. In the first half of the 20th century, managers because of their kinship ties to local First Métis women in Saskatchewan produced a huge vol- Nations and Métis. Some English Métis women, known ume of hooked and braided rugs, marketing them from as “Country Born,” married high-ranking officials and door to door with berries, fish, or garden produce.” became members of the “Red River aristocracy.” Page 5 Métis Nationalist Voice Métis women in the fur trade days exerted signifi- I am proud to stem from many generations of Métis cant influence on husbands, brothers, and particu- women who helped build this country we live in larly sons by refusing to work, making verbal ap- through their role in the fur trade. Our women to- peals, and publicly admonishing or encouraging day participate in all levels of Métis family, econom- men.

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