He was so close; Kathryn could feel the heat of his body. Her heart sped up and she felt a distinct tingling sensation. Leaning in, he whispered into her ear.
Kathryn’s eyes went wide, then, as naturally as if she’d done it a thousand times, her lips brushed his. “Impossible!”
Author’s Note
This story really starts when Métis combatants were defeated by the Canadian government in a four-day battle in May of 1885 at Batoche, Saskatchewan. This just fight – the Métis were defending their rights, land and culture – is known as the North West Resistance and was led by Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont. You can read more about it (and about Aunt Belle’s youth) in my book, Belle of Batoche.
After this pivotal event in history, the Métis were considered traitors and renegades, and the era of the great dispersal began. Some, whose skin was light-coloured, passed as white, burying their ancestry in order to survive. Others, whose First Nations roots were obvious, went back to the trap lines of the north.
Here in Western Canada, prejudice against non-whites meant they couldn’t live in towns and as they were not Status Indian, they were not allowed to live on reserves. Many Métis had no choice but to live on unused government land adjacent to the roadways and became known as the Road Allowance People. These stalwart souls strove to preserve their culture and very existence against harsh odds and slim chances, trying to survive while maintaining the positive Métis spirit of family and community. They had had their fight and lost; so, they accepted this treatment, however unfair it was, until 1945, when conditions improved and the Métis were no longer on the fringes of society.
The Métis nation is a distinct ethnicity and has been in existence since the beginning of the fur trade, when white European trappers from French Canada, England, Ireland and Scotland took First Nation’s wives. The children of these unions were the first Métis in Canada.
The Métis do not live on reserves, although there are eight Settlements in Alberta – communities in which some families have chosen to make their homes. The Métis have their own language, called Michif, which consists of French nouns and Cree verbs; and, the Métis people had their own flag before Canada did – more than a hundred fifty years before. The Métis Infinity, or Circle of Eight, flag shows a white infinity sign against either a red or blue background. It too has its roots in the fur trade, as it was given to the Métis by Alexander MacDonnell, a North West Company agent.
Today, the Métis people are a thriving and vital part of Canadian society, contributing in all professions and walks of life, but you would be hard pressed to pick one out of a crowd. You may be sitting next to a Métis person right now!
Jacqueline Guest
Bragg Creek, Alberta, 2011
www.jacquelineguest.com
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the host of people who contributed their expertise, memories and advice which were so valuable in the writing of this book.
The following is a partial list of these helpful souls: Nik Burton, Coteau Books; Laura Peetoom, Paperglyphs Editorial; Darren Prefontaine, Gabriel Dumont Institute; Lorain Lounsberry, Glenbow Museum; Wendy Kraushaar, RCMP Historical Collections Unit, Depot Division; Tri River Métis Elders and Youth Group; The Tourond Family; Margaret Tourond Townson; Marguerite Harrison; Saskatchewan Archives Board.
Verifying oral history is extremely difficult, but by combining fact with fiction, I tried to make this book both historically correct, as well as, an entertaining read for young people.
I would also like to recognize the Canada Council for the Arts. Your generous support allowed me to take the extensive blocks of time necessary to write this important novel.
Thank you!
About the Author
Jacqueline Guest is the author of more than sixteen books for young readers, specializing in sports themes, teen mysteries or historical fiction. Her books have received numerous Our Choice and Young Readers Choice citations. Jacqueline Guest lives and writes in the Rocky Mountain foothills of Alberta.
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