num_pages: 320
description: We think of Mtis as having exclusively Prairie roots but what about their presence in Quebec? The province doesnt recognize a historical Mtis community within its territory and the Mtis National Council contests the existence of any Mtis east of Ontario. Quebec residents who seek recognition as Mtis under the Canadian Constitution therefore face an uphill legal and political battle. Who is right?Bois-Brls previously available only in French examines the archival and ethnographic evidence for a historical Mtis community in the larger Outaouais region piecing together a riveting and previously untold history. Scottish and French-Canadian traders and Indigenous women  along with their Bois-Brls children  both worked for and competed against fur trade companies in the early nineteenth century establishing themselves in the unsurveyed lands still known as Indian country. As the fur trade declined these small communities remained.This controversial work challenges head-on two powerful nationalisms  Mtis and Qubcois  that see Quebec Mtis as race-shifting individuals intent on undermining the First Nations of the province. The authors evaluate the strength of community claims to provide a nuanced analysis of the historical basis for a distinctly Mtis identity that can be traced all the way to today.
language: English
title: Bois-Brûlés: The Untold Story of the Métis of Western Québec
publisher: University of British Columbia Press