One of the Family: Metis Culture in Nineteenth-Century Northwestern Saskatchewan

In recent years there has been growing interest in the social and cultural attributes that define the Metis as both Aboriginal and a distinct people. The study of Metis identity formation has also become one of the most innovative ways to explore cultural encounters and change in North American history and anthropology.

In One of the Family,Brenda Macdougall draws on diverse written and oral sources and employs the concept of wahkootowin - the Cree term for a worldview that privileges family and values relatedness between all beings - to trace the emergence of a distinct Metis community at Ile a la Crosse in northern Saskatchewan. Wahkootowin describes how relationships in the nineteenth century were supposed to work and helps to explain how the Metis negotiated with local economic and religious institutions while creating and nurturing - through marriage choices and living arrangements, adoption and the selection of godparents, economic decisions and employment - a society that emphasized family obligation and responsibility.

This path-breaking study showcases how one Metis community created a distinct identity rooted in Aboriginal values about family and shaped by the fur trade and the Roman Catholic Church. It also offers a model for future research and discussion that will appeal to anyone interested in the history of the fur trade or Metis culture and identity.