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

Macdougall (Metis Studies, University of Ottawa) explores the formation of a Metis community at Ile a la Crosse in northern Saskatchewan. Drawing on diverse written and oral sources, and using the Cree concept of wahkootowin (a worldview that privileges family and values relatedness between all beings), the author follows four generations of Metis families, looking at how family members understood their relationships with the fur companies and Christian churches. Macdougall explains how the Metis negotiated with local economic and religious institutions while creating and nurturing a society that emphasized family obligation and responsibility. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)