Bois-Brls

We think of Mtis as having exclusively Prairie roots. Quebec doesnt recognize a historical Mtis community, 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 examines archival and ethnographic evidence to piece together a riveting history of Mtis in the Outaouais region. Scottish and French-Canadian fur traders and Indigenous women established themselves with their Bois-Brl children in the unsurveyed lands of western Quebec in the early nineteenth century. As the fur trade declined, these communities remained. This controversial work, previously available only in French, challenges head-on two powerful nationalisms Mtis and Qubcois that see Quebec Mtis as race-shifting individuals. The authors provide a nuanced analysis of the historical basis for a distinctly Mtis identity that can be traced all the way to today.