Bois-Brules: The Untold Story of the Metis of Western Quebec

We think of Metis as having Prairie roots. Quebec doesn’t recognize a historical Metis community, and the Metis National Council contests the existence of any Metis east of Ontario. Quebec residents who seek recognition as Metis under the Canadian Constitution therefore face an uphill legal and political battle. Who is right? Bois-Brules examines archival and ethnographic evidence to challenge two powerful nationalisms - Metis and Quebecois - that interpret Metis identity in the province as race-shifting. This controversial work, previously available only in French, conclusively demonstrates that a Metis community emerged in early-nineteenth-century Quebec and can be traced all the way to today.