Fort Union Trading Post THE METIS

A brigade of Red River carts traversing the .

ORIGINS OF THE METIS French or English fathers reg­ The Metis developed a new The history of the Metis ularly sent their Metis sons to language, a blend of and dates back to the mid 17th cen­ New France or New England to Canadian French called Michif. tury, when European explorers receive a formal education. Girls Rather than forming a simplified arrived in North America. These were often educated in local grammar, Michif incorporated men did not bring wives with missionary schools. Both learned the most complex elements of them into the harsh, unknown the traditions and skills of their the two languages. interior of the continent, so it mother's . Their religion was common for them to marry was a blend of tribal practices RUNNING THE BUFFALO Native American women. The and Christianity. By the early 1800's, the Metis Metis people are the descen­ The Metis generally adopted had gained a reputation as "the dants of these Native American Euro-American clothing styles, best hunters, the best horsemen women - for the most part but almost universally retained and the bravest warriors of the , Cree, Salteaux and the moccasins, leggings and prairie." In response to the grow­ Menominee - and French, other quilled or beaded acces­ ing trade in buffalo robes, they Scottish and English men. The sories worn by their mothers' developed the Red River cart, a word "Metis" comes from the people. new form of transportation to Latin word "mixtus" meaning "to However, the two clothing haul heavy loads to remote loca­ mix," which aptly described this articles most closely associated tions. new of people, who were with Metis identity, the Red Running the herd became a often referred to as "Mixed River coat and the Metis sash, way of life, and huge buffalo Bloods''by Euro-. were their own creations. They hunts were undertaken. Whole were also known for their floral communities set out on long A NEW CULTURE, beadwork designs. hunting journeys which could A NEW NATION last months and cover hundreds A distinct Metis cultural and of miles. Metis hunter Antoine political identity began to Vermette wrote extensively of emerge, as traditions of the his experiences of buffalo hunts mother's tribe were blended in the 1860's: "... we traveled with customs of the father's continuously for almost two nation. It was neither European months before we came to nor Indian, but a fusion of the where the buffalo were... Then two. when the big encampment had While out on buffalo hunts or all gathered together a vote was transporting goods to trading taken, and some man elected to posts or towns, the Metis head the hunt. Then in turn this camped in tipis. Otherwise, they captain would appoint his lieu­ lived in log homes built on nar­ tenants, one from each district row riverfront lots, practiced represented. The hunters small scale farming and raised became so expert that they livestock. However, the buffalo could drop a big cow or a bull hunt was the basis of Metis Metis Red River Coat, F. B. with the first shot. You must economy. Mayer, 1851, pencil on paper. remember too that this was on Half Breeds Running Buffalo, Paul Kane, 1846, oil on canvas, Royal Museum, .

the run, and that we did not else to seek shelter as independent dren of the ," became take any aim: the rifle was low­ hunters in this region." the second generation of fur ered and shot simultaneously." The Metis had long enjoyed an trade employees. Hunting provided food, robes advantage as middlemen in the fur and other products for Metis trade because of their knowledge THE METIS TODAY hunters and their families, plus of the customs and languages of The Metis culture has sur­ goods to trade. By the late local and white traders. Kurz vived and grown into the pres­ 1700's the Metis were estab­ mentioned Metis men working at ent, and today Metis communi­ lished as the main providers of Fort Union as interpreters, hunters, ties can be found in both the pemmican, a highly nutritious horse guards, guides, overseers of and . food made from pounded, dried engages, and ambassadors seeking According to the Canadian buffalo meat mixed with fat and to secure trade with various Native Constitution Act of 1982, the berries. It was the staple food of American tribes. He also noted a three officially recognized the fur trade labor force. Metis woman and her daughters Aboriginal Peoples of Canada employed by the fort to make are: First , and FORT UNION AND clothing. Metis peoples. All are granted THE METIS The majority of Fort Union's certain Aboriginal rights by the In addition to ten different employees were young, unmarried Canadian government. The Native American tribes, the white men. It was common prac­ United States does not officially Metis regularly traded at Fort tice, from the Bourgeois down to recognize the Metis as a sepa­ Union. Rudolph Friederich Kurz, the engages, to marry Native rate cultural group with distinct a classically trained Swiss artist American women. These women rights, and many Metis are affili­ who worked at Fort Union as a served as an important link ated with the Native American clerk in 1851-52, kept a detailed between the local tribes and the tribe from which they are journal in which he often wrote Company because of their dual descended. of the Metis. On July 26, 1851, heritage. Their offspring, "the chil­ Kurz wrote: "A dozen Metisse de la Riviere Rouge arrived... They wanted horses, either in exchange or by purchase. One of the Metisse brought a white buffalo robe to sell and received two good racehorses in exchange." In another entry dated November 3, 1851, he wrote: "I heard a noise out on the prairie like the creaking wheels of old carts. There were nine two- wheeled vehicles brought by metifs from the Red River who Fort Union Bourgeois Alexander Culbertson with his Blackfeet wife, come to trade, to get work, or Natawistacha, and their Metis son, Joe.