Canada History Week 2021: Indigenous History Learning Tool

CULTURAL CONTINUITY

PIERRE FALCON worked as a fur trader, farmer, and magistrate, but is best remembered as the author of many poems and ballads that recount the events and experiences of early Métis settlers. Falcon’s ballads were sung on the Prairies by the Métis to the accompaniment of the violin ( crincrin ), and were carried throughout Canada by voyageurs, from the St. Lawrence to the Mackenzie River. Songs would be sung around campfires and in communities as a way to celebrate their victories and remember their leaders. Video Illustrator: Born and raised on the Fishing Lake Métis Settlement, Stephen Gladue specializes in animation and visual effects for film, television, and games. Classically and technically trained, Stephen has made it his career’s mission to contribute to the advancement of Indigenous production, not only as part of it but as a driving force behind it.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MÉTIS HISTORY Manitoba and Canada’s Northwest: Founders and Builders, a special edition of Canadian Issues , recounts the imperial machinations that led to the creation of the province of Manitoba, honours the courage of the founders and builders who defended the rights of the Métis in the Red River Resistance, and highlights the urgent and ongoing need to work towards Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. Video Scriptwriter & Director: Katherena Vermette is a Red River Métis (Michif) writer from Treaty 1 territory, the heart of the Métis Nation. She has worked on poetry, novels, children’s literature, and film. Vermette received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Poetry for her first book, North End Love Songs , and her documentary, This River , won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Short.

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Métis and Canadian flags. Courtesy Dreamstime.com/Jeff Whyte/155370139.