Ethnogenesis: Settlement and Growth of a "New People"

Abstract

A standard answer of the Metis people to those curious as to when the Metis originated has been: "Nine months after the first White man set foot in Canada~'2The inhabitants are chiefly of Canadian origin, all more or less imbued with Indian blood. Not being previously aware of the diversity in the character of the inhabitants, the sudden change from an American to a French population, has a surprising, and to say the least, an unpleasant effect; for the first twenty-four hours, the traveler fancies himself in a real Babel. ... The business of a town of this kind differs so materially from that carried on in our cities, that it is almost impossible to fancy ourselves still within the same territorial limits.

The Case against Metis Aboriginal Rights

“…The Metis claimed the right to go anywhere they chose. (Peterson, 1981.) French penetration of Rupert's Land, and particularly of the West, did not come until the next century.…”