Innovative, highly multidisciplinary, and award-winning, this book traces 250 years of history to tell the story of the Desjarlais family and of the search for a Métis identity.
The search for a Métis identity and what constitutes that identity is a key issue facing many Indigenous people of mixed ancestry today. The People Who Own Themselves reconstructs 250 years of Desjarlais family history across a substantial area of North America, from colonial Louisiana, the St. Louis, Missouri, region, and the American Southwest to Red River and Central Alberta. In the course of tracing the Desjarlais family, social, economic, and political factors influencing the development of various Indigenous ethnic identities are discussed.
With intriguing details about Desjarlais family members, this book offers new, original insights into the 1885 Northwest Rebellion, focusing on kinship as a motivating factor in the outcome of events. With a unique how-to appendix for Métis genealogical reconstruction, this book will be of interest to Métis wanting to research their own genealogy and to scholars engaged in the reconstruction of Métis ethnic identity.
Appendix 3: Genealogical Charts may be found at this link.
Heather Devine is an associate professor in the Department of History at the University of Calgary and is a researcher in various fields, including Canadian Native history, Western Canadian ethnic history, museum and archival studies, and public history.
Approaching the Stories of the Desjarlais Family: Methods and Goals Data Collection and Analysis Conclusion
The Social Contexts of Europe and New France The Psychological Terrain of Early Modern Europe Enter Jean-Jacques De Gerlaise Les Desjarlais and the Fur Trade Prior to the Conquest Conclusion
From the St. Lawrence to St. Louis: The Desjarlais Migration to the Mississippi and Beyond The Fur Trade of the Mississippi Valley Marriage as Business: The Robidoux Family Conclusion
The Emergence of Freemen in Rupert’s Land The Desjarlais in Rupert’s Land The Dispersion of the Desjarlais Freeman Band The Social Dynamics of Boreal Forest Hunting Bands Conclusion
Migration and Retrenchment: 1821-1869 The Establishment of Missions at Red River The Emergence of Metis Populations in the Athabasca Region The Struggle for Free Trade Conclusion
Treaties and Rebellion The Onset of the Rebellion of 1885 Conclusion
Some Difficult Choices: The Desjarlais after 1885 The Aftermath of the Rebellion Conditions in Assiniboia and Saskatchewan Northern Alberta After 1885 The Transition to Settlement in Northern Alberta St. Paul des Metis Treaty Number Eight The Promised Land Conclusion
The People Who Own Themselves
Appendix 1: A Note on Sources Parish Records Scrip Indian Affairs Documents The Desjarlais Family in the Records Conclusion
Appendix 2: Naming Practices Name Variations: Spelling and the Problem with "dit" Aboriginal Naming Practices Conclusion
Appendix 3: Genealogical Charts
Notes Bibliography Primary Sources Published Primary Sources Secondary Sources Index
Devine has placed herself a leader in the new discipline of prospography . . . [she] is the first academic to come close to describing why the Métis Nation arose on the Northern Great Plains.
—Frits Pannekoek, Great Plains Quarterly
A strong piece of academic scholarship that proposes an innovative and highly multidisciplinary approach. From a useful glossary of terms to detailed appendices and notes, this book provides insights for students and teachers alike and will undoubtedly prompt a reassessment of our historical understanding of the fur trade, Aboriginals, and the West.
—Robert Engelbert, Histoire sociale / Social History
