Counter-Mapping the Lands and Material Heritage of Nineteenth-Century Métis in amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta) Using Historical Documents
Creators: Haines, Emily L.
Publisher: name: University of Alberta Library
Year: 2024

<p>When telling the tale of the city of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada (amiskwaciy-wâskahikan), history writers, textbook authors, and local interest enthusiasts alike locate her roots in the nineteenth century, training their attention above all firstly upon the fur trading posts which became Fort Edmonton, and secondly upon the later nineteenth-century farming community spread across the north and south shores of the North Saskatchewan River (kisiskâciwanisîpiy) called “Edmonton Settlement,” whose spatial footprint comprises the core of the modern city. While the narrative admits the presence of Indigenous peoples in the region during the fur trade, this presence wanes as “Edmonton Settlement” arises; if Indigenous peoples are included in the story past 1870, they are being dispossessed of their lands, rights, and cultures, while simultaneously, European immigrants take the spotlight to form a true precursor to the Euro-Canadian city that would emerge. This story ignores a significant presence of the Métis, an Indigenous people who were among the chief inhabitants of Edmonton Settlement, and who remained throughout the nineteenth-century, into the twentieth, and continue to call the city home. This is increasingly being revealed through the work of community researchers, who use information from the historical record to confront the narrative of Métis absence. <br>
While the historical narrative of Métis peoples and Indigeneity at amiskwaciy-wâskahikan is being confronted more regularly, one area has received much less attention: the spatial and material cultural narratives of Métis people. In order to better understand the material histories of these Métis, I investigate the material traces of the historical Métis population of amiskwaciy-wâskahikan using homestead records and historical survey plans and a framework developed by Kisha Supernant called Métis Archaeology. This framework uses the Métis epistemological and ontological system of relationality – which places responsibilities inherent to the mutual relationships between peoples, lands, ancestors, plants, waters, and animals all Métis hold the foundation of Métis identity – to interpret the material and spatial remains of the historical population. Similarly, I understand and research the historical Métis population not as individuals, but as those embedded within familial, cultural, and geographical networks. <br>
  To understand the material and spatial relationships of those within Métis relational networks in the study area, I plot the materials, land parcels, and trail systems found through historical research onto satellite imagery of amiskwaciy-wâskahikan using ArcGIS Pro. In this way, I create a series of maps and engage in the process of “counter-mapping,” a practice used to visualize marginalized knowledge. The final result is a series of counter-maps illustrating the materials and spaces associated with historical Métis peoples and the relational networks, demonstrating and adding to the story of Métis Indigenous knowledge, history, culture, and presence in amiskwaciy-wâskahikan.</p>