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The Métis of Willow Bunch

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Albert Legaré, Xavier Larocque, Ouile Létourneau, Alex Gosselin, Gédéon Légare, Fred Beaupré.Saskatchewan Archives Board (No. R-A 3433).

At the end of the 1860s many Métis settlers started their move towards the Wood Mountain region, soon to be known as Willow Bunch, from Red River, Pembina, and other communities in the North West. Following the footsteps of the hunters and traders before them, they came in search of buffalo.[1] Soon after the arrival of the Métis, Jean-Louis Legaré set up a trading post in Willow Bunch, aiding the Métis as a trader of buffalo goods.[2]

Nearing the mid 1880s, there was a decline of buffalo in the Wood Mountain region. It was a result of the United States government’s attempt to starve out Sitting Bull.[3] With the end of the Buffalo Hunt, the Métis began life as ranchers: “We brought our stock and expertise to Willow Bunch. No one knew more about horsemanship and training horses than we did.”[4] The Métis population in Willow Bunch became known as a “hub of the first tentative ranching operations in southwestern Saskatchewan.” [5]


“Talle de Saule”

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Medicine person Angelique Bottineau and her husband Joseph. Saskatchewan Archives Board (No. R-A 3443).

The Métis originally referred to the town and its surrounding area as “Talle de Saule” which means “Clump of Willow.” This nickname soon gave rise to the town’s name of Willow Bunch.


The red willows found around Willow Bunch were an important factor in the everyday lives of the Métis. The multifaceted willow played a large role in their wellbeing:

In spring, our women harvested the supple, young shoots to make baskets. Our men fashioned the wood into pipe stems, emergency snowshoes, snares, wooden nails, whistles for the children, beading looms, and frames for stretching hides. Rotted willow wood was used to smoke hides. Green willow branches were burned to smoke meat. We twisted the inner bark fibers into temporary rope, twine and fish nets. We weather proofed rawhide by wrapping it in willow bark. We used willow branches as lathing for our houses. Our men scraped off the inner cambium layer and added other ingredients, such as bearberry, to make a smoking mixture, ‘Kinnikinick.’ We repaired our carts, made a shelter when we were caught in a storm, burned for fuel and had a variety of other practical uses for the wood of the willow. [6]


The Métis found use for the willows in a variety of ways. It was even used as an ingredient for medicinal purposes. Thus, the places where the willows grew were considered a healing place. [7] This is why “the people would settle near clumps of willow and name their community accordingly.” Cuthand, Doug. "Metis played vital role in history: [Final Edition]." Leader Post. 16 Feb 2004: B1. Print.


The First Métis Settlers

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Métis Pioneers

According to Métis oral historians, the Métis peoples’ long history as Hivernants helped with their travels through the Canadian Prairies. Their vast understanding of the Great Plains was an advantage; this knowledge “proved to be invaluable guides as settlement inched [their] way from east to west.” [8] Their navigation skills were also an asset to the Northwest Mounted Police. With help from the Métis, the Mounties could get through unchartered territory.[9]


Around 1824, the Métis began to move towards Southern Saskatchewan: “As they ventured farther out, they began to set up winter camps and stay year-round. One of the first settlements was at Wood Mountain, which was settled in about 1868-69. But in 1879 fires forced the Métis to move to the eastern slope of the hills to a place known as ‘Talle de Saule’…” [10] The Métis settlement in Willow Bunch is one of the first in Saskatchewan. They initially arrived in groups consisting of large extended families; no one journeyed individually. As a result from travelling between communities regularly, the Métis began to intermingle, creating relationships with the different groups of settlers. This gave rise to the growth of the settlement in Willow Bunch. [11]


The majority of the Métis settlers that came to Willow Bunch were partially of First Nations and of French or Scottish descent. These are some of the family names belonging to the first Métis settlers: Bottineau, Bruyere, Caplette. Chartrand, Delorme, Faillant, Gaudry, Gosselin, Klyne, La Fournaise, Lacerte, Langer, Larocque, McGillis, Morin, Ouellette, Pelletier, Piché, Short, and Whitford. [12]


Randy Gaudry

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Randy Gaudry in front of the Métis hamlet, 2013.
 
Métis Hamlet in Willow Bunch, 2013.

The town of Willow Bunch is occupied with Francophone and Métis people who settled upon these lands. The history in this small town is very interesting to Saskatchewan. The Métis played an important role in Saskatchewan history. From Sitting Bull, to Jean-Louis Legare and to Randy Gaudry, there were many faces and representatives on behalf of the Métis to Willow Bunch. The Métis in Willow Bunch is Métis Local #17 where Randy Gaudry is the present president. The Métis had fewer advantages in the Francophone town and they had very passive voices. Even today, the Métis are still trying to regain their rights and to educate about the history of the Métis and the roles they played. Just like First Nations peoples, Métis face the same inequality and misconceptions from non-Métis peoples.


Willow Bunch is the Rural Municipality #42 in southern Saskatchewan. According to 2011 statistics, the total population in Willow Bunch is 361 .[13] In a 2006 statistic, the total Aboriginal population for the RM #42 is 407 .[14] The Métis in Willow Bunch “played a key role in maintaining the peace during the time that the Sioux and the other American tribes were forced from the United States into the area of Wood Mountain. [15]” The Métis had a strong relationship with the Sioux especially with Chief Sitting Bull. “The fires of 1880 on Wood Mountain resulted in the movement of our people to other communities. It was at this time that the Métis pioneers moved to Willow Bunch at the suggestion of Andre Gaudry. [16]” The Métis were already settled in Willow Bunch when it came to the issue of land rights. It was in 1885, “the Resistance had an impact on the Métis of Willow Bunch...marked the end of the influence of the Métis on the development of Western Canada. [17]” Within the Métis Nation, there are different numbered locals for each area within Saskatchewan. Willow Bunch is Local #17 with Randy Gaudry as the president.


 
Original Site of Willow Bunch United Church 1926-2008

Gaudry has instilled pride as being a Métis within the town of Willow Bunch. Gaudry has been actively involved in fighting for Métis rights for his Local 17. His activism may have stemmed from his late grandfather, Andre Gaudry. Andre was one of the eight guiders that took Sioux Chief Sitting Bull back to America due to bad living conditions and starvation. “[They] were the guides, scouts, interpreters and security for these trips. [18]” Randy worked hard when he returned home to Willow Bunch to reactivate the Métis Local 17. But that meant to work between two communities that disconnected years before his return, the Francophone and the Métis. The Local 17 president gathered the two estranged communities to create a dialogue to improve living conditions. “The Francophone community and the Métis community have butted heads for a number of years and there are still problems that have to be ironed out,[19] ” that’s what a discussion panel was organized to help build a community connection.


Although there were attempts made to improve the lives of the Métis community in this town, there were some attempts to destroy historical artefacts of the Métis community. “SaskPower hired a contractor to construct...[and] left a right of way to gain access to the construction site and inadvertently drove through one of the teepee rings, damaging it slightly.[20] ” This left the Métis community quick to recover what was left of the damaged site. This action shows the inequality the Métis people faced which is similar to many First Nations situations when it comes to land reconstruction. Following the 1885 Resistance, many changes occurred for the Métis nation of Willow Bunch. “[They] were told that the land property that [they] settled on didn’t belong to [them]. It became an issue...as new immigrants arrived [they] found their identity and culture continually being eroded.[21] ” The Métis of Willow Bunch still feel the indifference within this small town due to lack of the historical Métis knowledge to the newcomers. “That feeling of inferiority that many of [them] were taught to feel...That practice of one group being denigrated at the expense of another is still evident today.[22] ” The Métis of Willow Bunch will hopefully coexist with the non-Métis community without the idea of superiority over another. Alike to most First Nations situations, the Métis will continue to fight for their rights not only in Willow Bunch but across this nation.


The Willow Bunch Métis Local #17

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Willow Bunch

The Métis Local #17 in Willow Bunch is one the first Locals established within the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan: “Its mandate is to serve and represent the needs and interests of the Métis people of Willow Bunch and surrounding area, and to coordinate programs and services for the Métis people of this region.”[23]



Notable Métis People

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See Edouard Beaupré for more information on the Willow Bunch Giant.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Littlejohn, Catherine, Ron Rivard, et al. "Metis History for Exhibits and Scripts." Historica Foundation. (2002): 1-2. Print.
  2. ^ Littlejohn, Catherine, and Ron Rivard . The History of the Metis of Willow Bunch. Saskatoon: Ron Rivard and Catherine Littlejohn, 2003. 195. Print.
  3. ^ Littlejohn, Catherine, and Ron Rivard . The History of the Metis of Willow Bunch. Saskatoon: Ron Rivard and Catherine Littlejohn, 2003. 194. Print.
  4. ^ Littlejohn, Catherine, and Ron Rivard . The History of the Metis of Willow Bunch. Saskatoon: Ron Rivard and Catherine Littlejohn, 2003. 201. Print.
  5. ^ Littlejohn, Catherine, and Ron Rivard . The History of the Metis of Willow Bunch. Saskatoon: Ron Rivard and Catherine Littlejohn, 2003. 201. Print.
  6. ^ Littlejohn, Catherine, and Ron Rivard . The History of the Metis of Willow Bunch. Saskatoon: Ron Rivard and Catherine Littlejohn, 2003. 193. Print.
  7. ^ Littlejohn, Catherine, and Ron Rivard . The History of the Metis of Willow Bunch. Saskatoon: Ron Rivard and Catherine Littlejohn, 2003. 194. Print.
  8. ^ Clemence, Verne. "History of Metis aims to correct misconceptions: [Final Edition]." Star - Phoenix. 27 Mar 2004: E11. Print.
  9. ^ Clemence, Verne. "History of Metis aims to correct misconceptions: [Final Edition]." Star - Phoenix. 27 Mar 2004: E11. Print.
  10. ^ Cuthand, Doug. "Metis played vital role in history: [Final Edition]." Leader Post. 16 Feb 2004: B1. Print.
  11. ^ Littlejohn, Catherine, Ron Rivard, et al. "Metis History for Exhibits and Scripts." Historica Foundation. (2002): 3. Print.
  12. ^ Littlejohn, Catherine, Ron Rivard, et al. "Metis History for Exhibits and Scripts." Historica Foundation. (2002): 3. Print.
  13. ^ Statistics Canada
  14. ^ Consensus Canada
  15. ^ Rivard, Ron; Littlejohn, Catherine. The History of the Metis of Willow Bunch. 2003: Prologue.
  16. ^ Ibid.
  17. ^ Ibid.
  18. ^ Ibid, 143.
  19. ^ Francis, Cherish. The Eagle Feather News. 2008; 14.
  20. ^ The Star Phoenix. 2010;
  21. ^ Rivard, Ron. The History of the Metis of Willow Bunch; 229-230.
  22. ^ Ibid.
  23. ^ "Willow Bunch, Saskatchewan." Metis Local 17. Town of Willow Bunch, n.d. Web. 11 Nov 2013. <http://www.willowbunch.ca/wb/community/metis/>.
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