The Ermatingers

About this book

"In about 1800, fur trader Charles Ermatinger married Mananowe Katawabidai, daughter of an Ojibwa chief. Their three sons grew up with both their mother{u2019}s hunter-warrior culture and their father{u2019}s European roots. After early years spent primarily in the "wild man{u2019}s land" of Sault Ste Marie, close to Ojibwa relatives and Metis neighbours, the family moved to the commercial society of Montreal. There and later in other urban communities across Canada, the Ermatingers lived as successful citizens while publicly retaining their Ojibwa heritage." "The sons variously risked life at war in Spain and in the Upper and Lower Canada rebellions, policed Montreal streets in an era of riots, spied on the Fenians along the US border, and made the hazardous journey to help establish the route of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Brian Stewart demonstrates how Ojibwa traditions and values shaped the lives of the Ermatingers. The sons fought for Native rights for themselves and their Ojibwa relatives and friends. The daughters, too, retained pride in their Ojibwa ancestry, while living out their adult lives in Quebec and Germany." "The Ermatingers is historical biography that sheds light on Indian-European biculturalism and its effects on those who constitute Metis society today."--BOOK JACKET.