Facilitating the transportation of merchandise, the railways that were developed in the 19th century announced the end of the period of the voyageurs. As an economic activity, the fur trade declined. Yet, in the pays d’en haut, the men who had been involved in various manners in the fur trade left traces that were very much alive. Their descendants, the fruit of their unions with Aboriginal women, were the source of a new people, the Métis, whose culture and lifestyle reflected their double heritage.

The two civilizations that came into contact through the fur trade were quite different.  On the one hand, the European societies were marked by inequalities. Birth, private property and the accumulation of wealth determined individual destinies. A justice system ensured order, with the help of the Roman Catholic religion. On the other hand, the Amerindian societies did not recognize social classes. Individual qualities and the capacity for sharing earned an individual the respect of his peers. Few constraints bound the individual and when harm was caused, reparation took precedence over punishment.

The freedom and disorder that reigned in Aboriginal society astounded the Europeans and, in several cases, seduced them. Several interpreters and coureurs des bois started to imitate the Amerindians in many ways. Moreover, Marie de l’Incarnation stated, “It’s easier to make Savages from the French than the other way round.” In the pays d’en haut, many went to live with them, like them. When they returned to the colony, several French men behaved in unsettling ways.  They were arrogant and, ignored certain taboos and certain laws. Their customs were dissolute and they behaved like nobles, carrying arms and refusing to do manual work.

When they came into contact with the Whites, the daily life of the Amerindians also changed. Fabrics and kettles changed the way they dressed and cooked, contributing to the loss of several traditional skills. The Native peoples were encouraged to hunt beyond their needs, putting certain animal species at risk. Alcohol had a rather negative effect on the Aboriginal peoples and European diseases were deadly for them.

In hopes of facilitating the conversion of the Amerindians to Catholicism, the French authorities encouraged mixed marriages in the early 17^th century. As a result a certain amount of intermingling took place on the Atlantic coast. Yet, most marriages took place in the Amerindian tradition and did not produce the desired results in terms of evangelization.  Subsequently, these marriages were strongly discouraged. The children of the first unions were, for the most part, raised among the Amerindians, as were a large number of the children of the coureurs des bois and voyageurs who, knowing nothing about their fathers, were raised by their mothers. The same applied to the offspring of French prisoners who were adopted by the Amerindian tribes as well as for the children of the employees of the Hudson Bay Company.

Those spent the winder in the bush and the settlers would settle down with their squaws for longer periods of time.  Their mixed blood children were able to develop contacts with the Whites more easily through their fathers and some were even hired by the trading companies. Families settled in certain trading posts. The boys who grew up there married Amerindian women, and the girls generally married Whites from the pays d’en haut. They contributed to the growth of the Métis population.
 
Numerous Métis children were less fortunate.  When their Amerindian or Métis mother cut her ties with her family, or did not live within an organized group, their living conditions were rather miserable. Frequently nomadic, these people gravitated around the trading posts, taking charge of obtaining supplies or acting as intermediaries with the Amerindians. Other Métis managed to join a tribe. Faced with such misery, the Northwest Company felt obliged, in the early 19^th century, to ask the fathers to pay something for supporting their children. However, the company had trouble enforcing this rule.

In the 19th century, the Métis were numerous enough to develop an awareness of their particular status. They got together and married among themselves, creating a new nation. Several settled on the land located on either side of the Canadian-American border.  First, they could be found in the Great Lakes region, then in the Red River valley, as well as near Lac Sainte-Anne, on Île de la Crosse and in the district of the Athabaska and Mackenzie rivers. In 1814, 200 families settled in the Red River valley.  In the middle of the 19^th century, there were 5,000 Métis there.

The Métis lived on their land, which was very equitably allocated, for part of the year. Like the Whites, they grew a few crops there.  The other part of the year, they were nomadic, as their Amerindian or Métis ancestors had been. When the buffalo, hunting season started, families would travel in caravans, using astonishing carts and living in teepees. They sold pemmican, horse saddles, bags, clothing and other things to the trading posts.

The Métis cherished certain Amerindian values such as freedom, equity and sharing. Women, with deft fingers, created original and colorful clothing typical of the Métis culture.  They took their inspiration from both Amerindian and European fashions.  Several of them were educated by the Grey Nuns and some subscribed to magazines.  The Roman Catholic religion is common among the Métis. In addition to having a material culture of their own, they also have their own history and, in 1869 they established a democratic government much like those of certain Amerindian governments. When the Métis felt that their lifestyle and land were threatened by the arrival of new, White colonists or by the laws that people wanted to impose on them, they joined forces to protect their autonomy. They even took up arms, as in the case of the Rebellion of 1885. Today, more than 400,000 Métis live in Canada

This ends the serious of chronicles on the coureurs des bois. We invite you to return on May 19, 2009 for a new theme.


Sources

BROWN, Jennifer S. H., “Métis”, L’Encyclopédie canadienne, Fondation Historica, 2009, http://www.encyclopediecanadienne.ca (site consulted on March 25, 2009).

GERMAIN, Georges-Hébert. Les coureurs des bois: la saga des indiens blancs. Outremont, Libre expression; [Ottawa], Musée canadien des civilisations, 2003, 158 pages.

PAULETTE PAYMENT, Diane, “Les gens libres – Otipemisiwak”: Batoche, Saskatchewan, 1870-1930. Ottawa, Ministre des Approvisionnements et Services Canada, 1990, 378 pages.


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