Hi there! I’m Naomi Musch, a new member of the Colonial Quills blog
team. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be here. I write in a variety of
time periods, but the American colonial period is where my heart beats
strongest, especially when that story is set on the frontier. In light of that,
I have a new book coming out next month titled Mist O’er the Voyageur. In it, the heroine, Brigitte Marchal, is a Métis
girl from Montreal who sets out traveling west by voyageurs brigade into the
Lake Superior wilderness where dangers, mysteries, and romance await. With her
in mind, I’d like to introduce you to the Métis.
WHO ARE THE MÉTIS?
The Métis are an
aboriginal people group who emerged during the North American fur trade that
took off in the 1700s when French and, sometimes, Scottish freemen (those without a company
contract, also referred to as coureur des bois) began to travel into the unsettled interior of the continent via the Great
Lakes waterways in search of better furs. Many of these men, who learned the practices and habits of the Native people, soon established
families with First Nations tribes around the lakes. As they began to
intermarry, they grew into a distinct people with their own established
culture, history, territory, and language known as Michif.
Woodcut of a French Coureur des Bois by Arthur Heming |
From their beginnings,
it wasn’t long until the Métis no longer saw themselves as extensions of either
their maternal (First Nations) or paternal (French/Scottish) ancestry, but rather
as a separate, distinguished nation. The Métis were some of the first settlers
of Winnipeg, Canada, though they were eventually forced from their lands during
the War of 1812 and for many years strove with Canada for their home lands and
rights. The Métis have spread throughout the upper Midwest and Northwest since,
making their settlements along the waterways around the Great Lakes, Ontario,
and in other areas known as the historic Northwest including parts of the northern United States. Historically, many of the Métis
remained involved in the fur trade as trappers, traders, and were often
employed as voyageurs on the Great Lakes.
There have been many
notable people among the Métis, from activists and politicians, to frontiersmen,
authors, film-makers, and poets -- even body-builders and hockey players! The Métis
were responsible for breaking the fur trade monopoly held by the Hudson’s Bay
Company, who had been behind a lot of their early troubles. One Métis man,
Louis Riel, became known as the father of Manitoba.
Louis Riel |
In Mist O’er the Voyageur, my heroine Brigitte Marchal is born of this unique Métis
heritage. She was born to an Ojibwe mother and a French fur-trader father.
After the age of six, when her mother passed away, she was taken to Montreal to
be raised by her French aunt and uncle and educated by the Sisters of Notre
Dame. During her adventure paddling with the voyageurs into the western regions
of Lake Superior to find her father, Brigitte has ample opportunity to meet other
Métis people and learn more about her heritage and traditions along the way –
as well as discovering some long-kept secrets.
Join me again next
month, when I share some interesting bits about the Great Lakes Voyageurs and
what it was like when they all gathered for the annual fur trade Rendezous.
NaomiMusch.com
NaomiMusch.com
Hi, Naomi, so glad you are blogging with Colonial Quills, and congratulations on your new book. It sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Denise! I'm delighted to be here. I've loved reading CQ for a long time.
DeleteAdding my congratulations for your novel, Naomi, and this post too! Re: your opening lines to this post...Isn't it amazing how authors connect with certain time periods? Must definitely the Lord's work! Blessings! ~*~
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pat! Yes, it is. God pours his gift on so many, yet each of us finds a unique niche and voice by his design too. :)
DeleteCongratulations on your book. Sounds interesting!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Connie! I hope to share more about it in the weeks ahead. Blessings!
DeleteWelcome aboard, Naomi, and congratulations on your new release.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Janet! I'm so happy to be here. It's a delight to get to know everyone.
DeleteWelcome to Colonial Quills. Looking forward to what you share. Congratulations in your new book! It sounds very interesting!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joy! It's fun getting acquainted!
DeleteCongratulations on your new book!
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, Andrea! Blessings!
DeleteVery interesting. Your new book sounds like one I'd enjoying reading. Blessings...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kay! I hope you do. Blessings to you, too!
DeleteCongratulations 🎈 on joining Colonial Quills.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, I hope to get to read your book. I first became aware of the Metis several year ago after a patron requested information at our library. Welcome to CQ!
ReplyDelete