Stitches Thru Time: The Métis People

photo from the Canadian Encyclopedia

When Europeans discovered the riches in furs in both present-day Canada and the northern reaches of the United States, men arrived with everything they needed to strike their fortunes - except women. Largely French, but also English and Scottish, fur traders took wives from the native tribes. Women from Cree, Ojibwe, Odawa, and Sauk tribes gave birth to mixed-race children who were rarely welcomed by either side of their family.

These children grew and often found partners of other mixed-race people until their own culture rose from the mix. They developed their own language, Michif, which is a combination of French nouns, Cree verbs (and sometimes other tribes' added in), and French masculine/feminine rules.

Today, the Métis people are recognized in Canada as a First Nation people. While they don't get that type of status in the United States, and their numbers are substantially fewer here, there are still communities of Métis found in the northern mid-west states.

The heroine in Her Redcoat, part of the Backcountry Brides Collection, Laurette Pettigrew, is Métis. She is dealing with the loneliness caused by the movement of the Métis into what is now Minnesota and North Dakota.

The Backcountry Brides Collection releases on May 1st. My story in the collection, Her Redcoat, is set at Fort Michilimackinac at the Straits of Mackinac where Lakes Michigan and Huron meet. Today, this area is known for its beautiful lilacs. To celebrate the release, I'm giving away Northern Lilacs, my 100% handspun, handknit wool shawl. The drawing will be on May 31st. To enter, subscribe to my newsletter. That's it!

Pegg Thomas lives on a hobby farm in Northern Michigan with Michael, her husband of *mumble* years. A life-long history geek, she writes “History with a Touch of Humor.” When not working or writing, Pegg can be found in her barn, her garden, her kitchen, or sitting at her spinning wheel creating yarn to turn into her signature wool shawls.

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