|
 Some historians claim that the first person of Aboriginal
and European heritage probably was born nine months after the first
Europeans arrived on the shores of Canada. Those of mixed Native and
European ancestry were certainly an important group in the settlement of
New France by the 1600s. But the distinct society of people called
Métis (French meaning "mixed blood") or half-breeds are the
children of the fur trade in the Canadian west. The term
"Métis" generally applied to those born from the marriage
between French traders and predominately Cree and Ojibway women.
"Half-breeds" or "breeds" were names applied to those
of Scots/English and Native ancestry. In the Peace Country,
Courtoreille, Cardinal, Bellerose, Bourassa, Chalifoux, Beaudry, and
Laboucan were common French Canadian names; Ross, MacDonnell, MacDonald,
Gray, Cunningham and Isbister reflected Scots, English, and Orkadian
origins. Many of these are still common names of Métis and
mixed-bloods today.
Reprinted from "A Sense of the
Peace," by Roberta Hursey with permission of the Spirit of the Peace
Museums Association and the author. |
Heritage Community Foundation Presents
The Treaty
