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HIST 370/INST 370: The Metis
HIST/INST 370 traces the historical development of Canada's Metis from the period of the fur trade to the present. It includes discussion and debates about the origins of Metis nationalism, the validity of Métis land claims, and the character of Métis struggles for social justice from the Seven Oaks rebellion of 1816 through the two Northwest rebellions to the present.
It also examines the changes in the lives of Metis women that occurred as a result of the impact of churches, education, and racism. Throughout there is an attempt to examine the evolving character of Metis societies and the impact of Euro-Canadian government policies on these societies.
Unit 1 – Metis Identity
Unit 2 – Metis Rights and the Law
READING 2: Patzer, Jeremy. “Even When We’re Winning, Are We Losing?” In Metis in Canada: History, Identity, Law and Politics , edited by Christopher Adams, Gregg Dahl, and Ian Peach. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2013. 307–36.
READING 3: R. V. Powley, [2003] 2 SCR 207, 2003 SCC 43 (CanLII).
READING 4: Daniels v. Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development), [2016] SCC 12, Daniels v. Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development) – SCC Cases (Lexum).
READING 5: Grammond, Sebastien, and Lynne Groulx, “Finding Metis Communities,” The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 32.1. 33–48.
READING 6: Flanagan, Thomas E. “The History of Metis Aboriginal Rights: Politics, Principle, and Policy,” Canadian Journal of Law and Society , Vol. 5. 71–94.
Unit 3 – Leadership and the Metis People
READING 1: Mossmann, Manfred. “The Charismatic Pattern: Canada’s Riel Rebellion of 1885 as a Millenarian Protest Movement.” In The Western Metis Profile of a People , edited by Patrick C. Douaud. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre, 2007. 185–202
READING 3: Dobbin, Murray. The One-and-a-Half Men: The Story of Jim Brady and Malcolm Norris, Métis Patriots of the Twentieth Century. Vancouver: New Star books, 1981. Reprinted by the Gabriel Dumont Institute, Regina, 1991.
READING 4: Pulla, Simonn P. “Regional Nationalism or National Mobilization: A Brief Social History of the Development of Metis Political Organization in Canada 1815-2011” in Metis in Canada: History, Identity, Law and Politics, edited by Christopher Adams, Gregg Dahl and Ian Peach. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2013. 397–432.
Unit 4 – Metis Culture
READING 1: Bell, Gloria Jane. “Oscillating Identities Re-presentations of Metis in the Great Lakes Area in the Nineteenth Century.” In Metis in Canada: History, Identity, Law and Politics , edited by Christopher Adams, Gregg Dah,l and Ian Peach. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2013. 3–58.
READING 2: Brasser, Ted J. “In Search of Metis Art.” In The New Peoples: Being and Becoming Metis in North America , edited by Jacqueline Peterson and Jennifer S.H. Brown. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1985. 221–230.
WATCH & LISTEN 1: “Crooked Music: John Arcand, the Master of the Metis fiddle,” written and directed by Doug Howe (Winnipeg, Meeches Video Productions. 2005.)
WATCH & LISTEN 2: “Ray St. Germain,” written and directed by Cam Bennett. (Winnipeg: Meeches Video Productions, 2004).
READING 3: Kearns, Laura Lee. “(Re-)claiming Metis Women Identities Thru Stories and the Storyteller.” In Metis in Canada: History, Identity, Law and Politics , edited by Christopher Adams, Gregg Dahl, and Ian Peach. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2013. 59–92.
READING 5: Danyluk, Stephanie, et al. “Reading the Reception of Maria Campbell’s Halfbreed.” In The Canadian Journal of Native Studies , Vol. 29. 257–81.
