The People Who Own Themselves: Aboriginal Ethnogenesis in a Canadian Family 1660-1900

By Heather Devine

$49.95 hc
Available Now
ISBN 1-55238-115-3
300 pp.
6" x 9"

Native Studies/Genealogy

About the Book

The search for a Metis identity and what constitutes that identity is a key issue facing many Aboriginals of mixed ancestry today. The People Who Own Themselves reconstructs 250 years of the Desjarlais´s 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 Aboriginal ethnic identities are discussed. With intriguing details about the 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 Metis genealogical reconstruction, this book will be of equal interest to Metis wanting to research their own genealogy and to scholars engaged in the reconstruction of Metis ethnic identity.

Click here to jump to Dr. Devine's website with Metis genealogical chart.

About the Author

Heather Devine teaches in the Faculty of Communication and Culture 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.

Orders

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