Explores the integral roles that Métis women assumed to ensure the survival of their communities during the fur trade era and onward

Métis Matriarchs examines the impact of prominent Métis women from across Western Canada from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, providing a rare glimpse into the everyday lives of these remarkable figures who were recognized as Matriarchs and respected for their knowledge, expertise, and authority within their families and communities.

This edited collection provides an opportunity to learn about the significant contributions made by Métis women during a transitional period in Western Canadian history, as the fur trade gave way to a more sedentary, industrialized, and agrarian economy. Challenging how we think about Western Canadian settlement processes that removed Indigenous peoples from the land, this collection of stories delves into the ways Métis matriarchs responded to colonial and settler colonial interventions into their lives and livelihoods to ultimately ensure their communities' cultural endurance.

Cheryl Troupe is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan. She has a PhD in History and an MA in Indigenous Studies. Cheryl Troupe is Metis from north-central Saskatchewan.

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Doris Jeanne MacKinnon was born on a farm in northeastern Alberta and attended school in the historic town of St-Paul-dés-Métis. She holds a PhD in Indigenous and post-Confederation Canadian history. An independent researcher, author, and post-secondary instructor, she lives in Central Alberta. Her publications, including the bestselling The Premier and His Grandmother, focus on Métis women and Western Canadian topics that expand readers’ understanding of our diverse people and experiences. Her books are written in an engaging style that appeals to a broad cross-section of the population.

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“A nuanced account of the lives of Métis women and their vital roles as they helped guide their families and communities through generations of transitions.” —Michel Hogue, author of Métis and the Medicine Line

“Métis Matriarchs is the book we’ve all been waiting for—the authors of these lovingly crafted and researched essays are re-positioning women and bringing them to the forefront of our history, experience, and way of life.” —Brenda Macdougall, author of One of the Family: Métis Culture in Nineteenth-Century Northwestern Saskatchewan

“Métis Matriarchs is a thoughtful collection of essays that explore the agency of Métis women, both past and present, in maintaining the cultural and economic survival of their communities.” —Heather Devine, Professor Emerita, University of Calgary

“Richly detailed, deeply researched, and beautifully written portraits of resilient, tenacious, resourceful, and determined women who provided for and protected their families and communities, and who worked to preserve and promote Métis culture, history, and art. They were healers, midwives, artists, farmers, teachers, and more. They were beacons of stability and keepers of memory and culture during years of colonial intrusion and upheaval. They were makers of Canadian history.” —Sarah Carter

“I loved spending time with these magnificent Métis women—subjects and authors alike. We have been waiting a long time to raise up the Métis women icons who have been a vital but often overlooked part of our story. They’re gathered here: listen!” —Kim Anderson, Canada Research Chair in Storying Indigenous Relational Futures and Professor, The University of Guelph