Collection SummaryDisease, dwindling buffalo herds, starvation, and the losing fight with the Canadian government to retain land and personal rights forced many Metis and their Chippewa or Cree families to flee to parts of Montana and North Dakota during the 1860s to 1880s. They specifically targeted the Hi-Line, an area they had hunted for generations which is the northern tier of the Montana and Dakota Territories transected now by Highway 2. This massive group of people suffered similar problems they left in Canada, petitioning the US government for land to settle in permanent reserves. The Turtle Mountain and Rocky Boy Reservations eventually were formed from their appeals and over one hundred years later the Little Shell people received federal recognition. The people of these tribal designations are deeply connected to those interviewed for this project. Candi Zion, interviewer, discusses the lives of these Metis and their families with their descendants who now live in the Browning area, Rocky Boy Reservation, Box Elder, Havre, and Wolf Point. They reveal their ancestor’s hard lifestyles, hard work ethics, education, military service, and often unwillingness to discuss Indian heritage. The interviewees also share stories about their own life; education, work, experiences of prejudice, and exhibit varying degrees of an understanding of their ancestry. Being Metis or having Indian blood was withheld from a few of the interviewees by their family members, not learning about their heritage until much later in life. Gary Mcdonald was one of these people stating, “I always wondered why I felt like walkin’ down the middle of the street because it never felt like I fit with either group.”Contributing InstitutionBear Paw Development Corp.
