Historic Métis database launched
Written By: Caitlin Crawshaw
2007-05-04
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Historic Métis documents dating back to the 1800s now have a home online thanks to a project based at the University of Alberta.The Métis National Council Historical Online Database, launched Friday at the U of A, is the culmination of efforts by the Métis Archival Project, headed by U of A Native Studies professor Dr. Frank Tough, the School of Native Studies and the Métis National Council. It is also nearly eight years in the making.
The site contains thousands of digitized archival records, including documents related to the 1901 Census of Canada and the Manitoba Affidavits (documents signed by Métis people wishing to access land afforded to them by the Manitoba Act). The database also includes high-resolution digital photography and scans pertaining to the historical Métis Nation (which spanned much of the Prairie Provinces during the 1800s and early 1900s).
"The site is geared towards everyone - the general public, amateur genealogists, professional genealogists, students and researchers," said project co-ordinator Meika Taylor, a U of A arts alumna.
The resource offers researchers and community members alike the opportunity to reconstruct the genealogies of the historic Métis Nation. The information was previously available at archives scattered throughout the country, but is now available in a central location, saving investigators time and money, said Taylor.
"If you don't know how to find the information, it’s very challenging. It’s costly to travel to these places, and time consuming to get there. So this information - we’ve collected it all, we’ve digitized it all - is accessible and available for everyone to use."
For Erin McGregor, special topics and research co-ordinator for the database, the gains to the community "far outnumber the academic benefits."
"They’re huge, simply because a lot of Métis people do their own genealogy. This is a way to do your genealogy in a way that’s accurate, it's a faster than trying to track things down in Ottawa and mail order things. And it’s also really exciting for community members to be able to see their history in a very accessible way."
The database may also help Canadians in general better understood Métis history, said Dr. Ellen Bielawski, dean of the School of Native Studies.
"Everyone across the country can access it and learn about a piece of history that’s not very well taught or understood in the country, and that history has huge implications for people today," she said.
"Canada is not going to be whole, we’re not going to know our history, until a lot of the pieces that have been left out of it are more publicly known. And this is a great way to get to know Métis history."
This article originally appeared in ExpressNews.