Stories of Métis Women: Tales My Kookum Told Me

by Bailey Oster, Marilyn Lizee, Audrey Poitras (Foreword)

Stories of Métis Women, and the accompanying Vimeo documentary link is a collection of stories about culture, history, and nationhood as told by Métis women. The Métis are known by many names ― Otipemisiwak, “the people who own ourselves;” Bois Brules, “Burnt Wood;” Apeetogosan, “half brother” by the Cree; “half-breed,” historically; and are also known as “rebels” and “traitors to Canada.” They are also known as the “Forgotten People.” Few really know their story. Many people may also think that Métis simply means “mixed,” but it does not. They are a people with a unique and proud history and Nation. In this era of reconciliation, Stories of Métis Women explains the story of the Métis Nation from a their own perspective. The UN has declared this “The Decade of Indigenous Languages” and Stories of Métis Women is one of the few books available in English and Michif, which is an endangered language.

Genres: Indigenous, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Canada, Memoir, Short Stories, Anthologies

256 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2021

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of stories from a number of different Metis women. This book is full of history, culture, heartwarming stories and equally heartbreaking ones. I loved listening to this on audio and found the stories deeply moving. Highly recommended with a stunning cover.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it's important to go into this book with the right expectations. Expect to feel like you're sitting down over a cup a tea with an elder and listening to their tales. If you've ever done this it is simultaneously rewarding yet frustrating as there's lots of repetitions, digressions, and references to other people you don't know. I listened to this as on audio and while I think that is the better way I had issues with the structure of the book. They start by introducing the women who were going to be telling their stories in one section and the stories are split up according to theme. So on audio I had no way to connect each storyteller with their intro and stories so it lacks a coherent timeline.
The stories themselves were enlightening. Many were quiet lovely stories of mundane life, "women's stories" that highlight aspects of culture, history, and traditions. Common themes of identity and having conflicting feelings about whether to identify as Metis or to hide their heritage and pass as white- and the longer term effects of being disconnected to one's heritage and trying to rebuild the lost connections and knowledge. And of course stories of the horrors of residential schools and the abuses of individuals and communities by the government and religious institutions.

[Lauren McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!! So cool to see the resilience of so many powerful women, and always love local books because it gives me the IVE BEEN THERE!!!!!! feeling of excitement lol

[tasha.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book mainly focuses on the lives and history of the Métis in Alberta and the Alberta Métis Nation (MNA) in general. Besides going to the Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage regularly, I did not grow up surrounded by my culture. So any time I have an opportunity to learn more about my own history I happily do so. It’s also been sitting on my shelf for a little while so I figured Métis Week was the perfect time to finally sit down and read it.

Indigenous Peoples have long been oral storytellers so I decided to read this as a hybrid with both the audiobook and physical book. This way I could listen to the stories of the women and families highlighted in this book while seeing the photos provided in the book.

One thing I really love about the physical book is how it’s both in English and Michif. Someday I hope to be fluent and be able to come back to this book and read it entirely in Michif.

This book truly highlights some of the lived experiences of Métis women and I recommend picking this up if you want to learn more, especially if you live in Alberta.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this as an audiobook. It was cool to hear the stories in the words of the matriarchs themselves, just someone else reading it. Sometimes it was not really stories, like genealogies instead for example but I'm glad those words are preserved too and those parts were good to fall asleep to. Tbh I expected this to be more revolutionary but I've heard similar stories through my Métis class and textbook a couple years ago which is not a bad thing.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The point of this book is to collect stories from the real lives of Metis women, from a variety of eras, to give a real voice to their perspectives and to portray the Metis as a distinct people with distinct culture.

And that's probably the most interesting part of the book, because it gets into the traditions and history that often get relegated to the background as Metis (and most other First Nations for that matter) get smushed together into one big ethnic group that society just labels "Aboriginal."

I enjoyed learning about the language and the history of their communities and way of life.

Other parts are as heartbreaking as you might imagine--residential schools and MMIW and the many, many ways in which the government screwed over First Nations in general and Metis (as a result of their sort of in-between limbo status) in unique ways.

[Jaime M · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great little book! I had heard many of these stories having gone to many meetings when I was younger. It was amazing to hear and meet many of these women speak, some who have now passed on. In terms of the audio book, I think that it would be good to call the communities in which names they’re pronouncing to learn how to pronounce them best.
Eg.: Kikino
I’m glad this books exists. It was nice to hear about some people who are also from the same community as me (Lac La Biche). It was nice to hear about the political and advocacy work that they’ve done.

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the stories told and the themes that shined through. Lessons for settlers were shared gently but with conviction and clarity.

Thd structure of the book seemed a little odd to me...but maybe that was because I listened rather than read it.

One advantage of audiobook was getting to hear the Cree/Métis words spoken ❤️🧡

[Kier Scrivener · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love this! This is a collection of short stories by women who are Metis (particularly in Alberta, but also in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and across Canada). It has so many beautiful stories and a few hard ones by common women preserving a history that has been expunged and eradicated.

I really recommend this!

[Jacalope · Rating 5 out of 5]

30th book of the year! Finished my reading challenge! Highly recommend this as an audiobook

[Zainub · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazing collection of the stories of some Métis women and their myriad experiences, showing the reader a small glimpse into their rich culture, unique traditions, often overlooked history, and their powerful and resilient identity.

The Métis - in the most basic and simplest of all explanations is a term used to denote the community of recognized Aboriginal people of Canada, who trace their ancestry to both the indigenous people as well as European settlers.

Beautifully narrated accounts of women who for centuries have been the backbone of their communities, keeping their diverse cultures alive, listening to this audiobook was like settling down to listen to an enlightening talk by an Elder (which off course it is).

The only thing that in my opinion that could have been a bit different was the narrative structure but nevertheless I highly recommend reading this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📌
Many of the Métis speak the endangered Michif language and this book has been translated as Northern Michif, a mixed language that combines Cree verbs with nouns from mainly French but also English, and incorporate elements of other indigenous languages with varying dialects in different regions.

‼️ Please note that there will be many nuances that as a non-native person I may have missed and that I’m not qualified for this “review” and the above mentioned are just my thoughts on the reading experience of this book.

[Josh]

Like another reader mentioned, I am not really in a position to 'review' this book—after all, for a group of people who have been historically made invisible and otherwise oppressed by 'non-Indians', who am I to make any comment?—but in the spirit of reflection I will share some of my thoughts. This book contains a number of edited transcripts from interviews with Métis women, as well as brief historical contexts given by the editors, and in addition lots of photos, documents, newspaper clippings etc. which collectively offer a glimpse and a record of the central role that women have played in Métis culture. For me personally, this collection was invaluable for gaining a basic understanding of who the Métis people are, what makes their culture special, what challenges they have faced, and what it means to be Métis today. I think the book could have been edited to create a much more cohesive narrative—I found it really difficult to keep track of each of the women's stories since they were interspersed and grouped by topic instead of the speaker—and I would recommend anyone reading this to instead read through each woman's story, one-by-one.

[Cheriee Weichel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated reading the many stories of these strong, proud women.
It is history told from the perspectives of different Metis women. If you have read anything about Louis Riel and his work for his people, you already know important information about the Metis people. Historically they are a mix of white men and indigenous women, but this alone does not make one Metis. It's predicated on a rich matrilineal heritage with a unique language and culture. The Metis people dealt with much of the same horror as Indigenous people of Canada. Unlike Indigenous people who had some land to call their own, the Metis ended up living on road allowances and squatting on Crown land.
This book is organized into different sections. Each section alternates English text with a translation into Northern Michif, the Metis language. Michif is a combination of Cree, French and occasionally English. There are many different dialects.
This is an important read for all Canadians and people interested in women's issues and justice.

[Svea Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book lives up to its name: it feels exactly like listening to a grandma tell you stories about her life.

The stories don’t exactly have a well-defined timeline and a lot of them include details and tangents that an editor would probably recommend cutting. But that’s exactly how all grandmas tell stories (and these are Stories My Kookum Told Me after all) so that narrative structure end up being very comfortingly familiar.

Some of the stories are similarly comforting: the glow of the warm kitchens full of laughter and favorite foods and traditional dancing mentioned by many of the women is tangible. Other stories are quiet and domestic- the kind of perspectives usually left out of history. Many of the stories are a tragic; recounting of the horrors of residential schools and stolen children, the twin loss of older generations being forced to hide their heritage and then younger generations having to struggle to reclaim it, and of the most cartoonishly-evil political maneuvering by the Canadian Government.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars.
Interesting narrative style since it feels like sitting in a circle with these women as they tell you stories of their lives. Instead of being split up by person, the sections are split by theme with multiple people providing a small anecdote or information in that theme's vein. I think each person's story would have been easier to follow in a different format though.

I really loved the purpose of the book, to preserve Métis women's stories including both English and Michif language. Reading about how colonialism impacted the Métis, the uniqueness of the culture, and the pride taken in their people, community, and resilience was incredibly impactful.

There are sections that detail the abuse children suffered in residential schools and in the Sixties Scoop.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

This wasn't the book I thought I was borrowing. I thought the subject matter was more folklore/ traditional stories. This is not that book. The content is factual not fiction. That said, it contained a lot of important content I didn't know I needed to hear. Some difficult sections that put a human right there in the situation and that helps cement the importance of the messages.

I didn't rate it higher because although the content was informative and valuable, the final product seemed a bit disjointed and challenging to follow. I understand that the publishers likely wanted to maintain as much authenticity as possible but it felt like I was listening to the interview records verbatim.

Important read/listen for all Canadians not matter the background.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found these narratives quite engaging, and I was taken aback by the number of individuals who shared similar experiences to mine. There was a prevailing belief that one should not disclose their heritage or speak of being Metis/Cree but rather emphasize. This mindset has hindered my ability to reconnect properly with that aspect of my culture. Many of my Elders have passed away, and my great-grandfather was taken to a residential school at such a young age that he never had the chance to reconnect. Like many Canadians, I feel a disconnect from my cultural heritage, as we did not preserve any of the languages, dances, foods, or non-colonized religions associated with it.

[Kat Attack. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on audio and I feel this would be a phenomenal hybrid read between (audio and physical book) the format does get a bit messy jumping around between the women’s different stories so I found it hard to connect with any of the women on a deep level. Which likely is linked to missing pages to see the set up of each passage. It does translate the way you would expect when you’re sitting down with a family member you haven’t seen in awhile and they’re telling you a story which often doesn’t stay on one track.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for all Métis women. Beautiful stories told by beautiful strong women. I appreciated how they had a balance between both good times and hard times.
I do wish that it was not organized by topic, but by person. Each woman should have had her own individual chapter, where we could connect and know the woman telling the story. I feel like by organizing it on topic, the stories began to bleed into eachother and I couldn't remember which woman told which story.

[An]

Impressions:
-knowing your relations: I should get better at knowing and keeping to mind my family tree and collect stories down the line about them all
-with a Houle and french-Canadian last name, I wonder if we have Métis family ties
-the cultural aspects are what draw us to one another: how do you live and what do you believe and how do you have a good time?
-rich history here, makes me want to do more local tourism

[Saara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book that felt like a warm hug. Lots of stories of rediscovery. There are people in my family who are only now discovering their Métis roots, after that connection and history was ripped away from them. Over and over, in this book, they talk about the same sort of thing and how people have been able to connect with the culture later in life.

[Michael Werkman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like another reviewer here, I went into this book with the expectation of a lot of repetition in the lived experiences of the Métis women who were interviewed. Particularly heartbreaking was the reflections on residential schools, and the generational trauma as a result. I enjoyed this book, and learned quite a bit a out the Métis culture as a result.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories from and about amazing, strong and family-oriented Metis women, the backbone of the Metis culture. How pathetic are Canadian history classes when they do not include these stories in our Canadian history books. They should be celebrated for their contribution to our history.

[Casey Morrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just didn’t really work as an audiobook. Narration was choppy and weird, was organized haphazardly. I think the documentary of the actual interviews would be great! Just couldn’t connect w it. Didn’t translate to audiobook well, maybe hard copy would have been better

[Sadie Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels like tea with an relative. I listened to this book, the reader spoke too fast! I have yet to meet an Elder who speaks this quickly! It took away from the stories a bit.

Best enjoyed by reading yourself, or maybe have that favourite auntie read it to you over tea!

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides a short overview of Métis history and culture. But what I really enjoyed were the many impactful stories of powerful Métis women, many of which were translated into Northern Michif Cree

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

felt like I was being told these stories over tea and by the fire

[Joseph Buijs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories of Métis Women: Tales My Kookum Told Me

The content of these stories focuses on the Métis experience by and large restricted to Alberta. They touch on issues concerning their history, culture, mistreatment, discrimination, identity that are distinctive to the Métis. They are told by fourteen prominent Alberta Métis women, in some instances second or third hand by their children or grandchildren. Some of the thematic sections receive background information from published reports or studies. All of the stories are complemented by a translation into the Métis language, Michif.

Those stories detailing remembrances of residential schools, scripts, discriminatory treatment were disturbing. Nevertheless, the various narratives overall were informative of the experience and plight of the Métis, along side those of First Nations and Inuit.

However, the inclusion of a Michif translation, though culturally significant in promoting an original Métis language, lessens the appeal of the book to a general audience.