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Iroquois in the West |
eBook Available
Intriguing tales of Indigenous peoples who made their homes across the North American West.
Two centuries ago, many hundreds of Iroquois - principally from what is now Kahnawà:ke - left home without leaving behind their ways of life. Recruited to man the large canoes that transported trade goods and animal pelts from and to Montreal, some Iroquois soon returned, while others were enticed ever further west by the rapidly expanding fur trade.
Recounting stories of Indigenous self-determination and self-sufficiency, Iroquois in the West tracks four clusters of travellers across time, place, and generations: a band that settled in Montana, another ranging across the American West, others opting for British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, and a group in Alberta who were evicted when their longtime home became Jasper National Park. Reclaiming slivers of Iroquois knowledge, anecdotes, and memories from the shadows of the past, Jean Barman draws on sources that range from descendants' recollections to fur-trade and government records to travellers' accounts. What becomes clear is that, no matter the places or the circumstances, the Iroquois never abandoned their senses of self.
Opening up new ways of thinking about Indigenous peoples through time, Iroquois in the West shares the fascinating adventures of a people who have waited over two hundred years to be heard.
Recounting stories of Indigenous self-determination and self-sufficiency, Iroquois in the West tracks four clusters of travellers across time, place, and generations: a band that settled in Montana, another ranging across the American West, others opting for British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, and a group in Alberta who were evicted when their longtime home became Jasper National Park. Reclaiming slivers of Iroquois knowledge, anecdotes, and memories from the shadows of the past, Jean Barman draws on sources that range from descendants' recollections to fur-trade and government records to travellers' accounts. What becomes clear is that, no matter the places or the circumstances, the Iroquois never abandoned their senses of self.
Opening up new ways of thinking about Indigenous peoples through time, Iroquois in the West shares the fascinating adventures of a people who have waited over two hundred years to be heard.
Details
Part of the McGill-Queen's Indigenous and Northern Studies (number 93 in series)
336 Pages, 6 x 9
20 b&w images
ISBN 9780773556249
March 2019
Formats: Cloth, Paperback, eBook
"Iroquois in the West is a detailed and well-documented narrative history. Illustrating how much can be accomplished with meticulous analysis of primary and secondary source materials, Jean Barman has indefatigably tracked this little-known population of Iroquois travellers and settlers across the continent." Jennifer S.H. Brown, professor emeritus, University of Winnipeg
"In Iroquois in the West, Jean Barman uses what she calls "slivers of stories from the shadows of the past" to tell a rich history. Barman succeeds in presenting her subjects as nuanced humans enmeshed in the fur trade and colonial economies in complex ways. Iroquois in the west undermined colonial authority and supported it, but always in pursuit of their own self-determination." BC Studies
"Iroquois in the West provides readers with a meticulous and in-depth account of how Haudenosaunee men traversed Indigenous lands, shaped fur-trading policies, interacted with other Indigenous nations, and made new homes in foreign lands. I recommend this book to all interested in advancing their knowledge of Indigenous-Canadian histories." Historical Studies in Education/Revue d'histoire de l'éducation
“Barman skillfully traces the stories of more than 600 Indigenous men who traveled west to work in the fur trade in the early 1800s. Barman adds new layers by focusing specifically on the roles played by paddlers and trappers from the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation of the Iroquois or Haudenosaunee Confederacy. These migrant workers and their stories are worth learning from and remembering.” Labour/le travail
"In Iroquois in the West, Jean Barman uses what she calls "slivers of stories from the shadows of the past" to tell a rich history. Barman succeeds in presenting her subjects as nuanced humans enmeshed in the fur trade and colonial economies in complex ways. Iroquois in the west undermined colonial authority and supported it, but always in pursuit of their own self-determination." BC Studies
"Iroquois in the West provides readers with a meticulous and in-depth account of how Haudenosaunee men traversed Indigenous lands, shaped fur-trading policies, interacted with other Indigenous nations, and made new homes in foreign lands. I recommend this book to all interested in advancing their knowledge of Indigenous-Canadian histories." Historical Studies in Education/Revue d'histoire de l'éducation
“Barman skillfully traces the stories of more than 600 Indigenous men who traveled west to work in the fur trade in the early 1800s. Barman adds new layers by focusing specifically on the roles played by paddlers and trappers from the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation of the Iroquois or Haudenosaunee Confederacy. These migrant workers and their stories are worth learning from and remembering.” Labour/le travail
Jean Barman is professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia and the author of Abenaki Daring: The Life and Writings of Noel Annance, 1792-1869.
Figures | xi
Acknowledgments | xiii
Map | xvi
Introduction | 3
PART ONE Becoming Their Own Iroquois Selves | 11
1 Self-Determining Their Lives | 13
2 Heading West, Maybe Forever, Maybe Not | 27
PART TWO Daring to Be Adventurous | 55
3 Bringing Catholicism to the Flatheads | 57
4 Challenging a Fur Monopoly | 79
PART THREE Sticking with the Fur Trade | 115
5 Committing to the Pacific Northwest | 117
6 Disappearing into a Changing Pacific Northwest | 145
PART FOUR Banding Together | 169
7 Becoming Jasper Iroquois | 171
8 Persisting in Jasper’s Shadow | 198
Research Note | 235
Notes | 243
Bibliography | 283
Index | 303
Acknowledgments | xiii
Map | xvi
Introduction | 3
PART ONE Becoming Their Own Iroquois Selves | 11
1 Self-Determining Their Lives | 13
2 Heading West, Maybe Forever, Maybe Not | 27
PART TWO Daring to Be Adventurous | 55
3 Bringing Catholicism to the Flatheads | 57
4 Challenging a Fur Monopoly | 79
PART THREE Sticking with the Fur Trade | 115
5 Committing to the Pacific Northwest | 117
6 Disappearing into a Changing Pacific Northwest | 145
PART FOUR Banding Together | 169
7 Becoming Jasper Iroquois | 171
8 Persisting in Jasper’s Shadow | 198
Research Note | 235
Notes | 243
Bibliography | 283
Index | 303
9780228005681
$115.00 CAD
Cloth
9780773518377
$37.95 CAD
Paperback
