The Ermatingers
224 pages, 6 x 9
7 b&w figures
Paperback
Release Date:01 Jan 2008
ISBN:9780774812344
Hardcover
Release Date:15 Jul 2007
ISBN:9780774812337
PDF
Release Date:01 Jan 2008
ISBN:9780774855921
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The Ermatingers

A 19th-Century Ojibwa-Canadian Family

UBC Press

In about 1800, fur trader Charles Ermatinger married an Obijwa woman, Mananowe. Their three sons grew up with both their mother’s hunter/warrior culture and their father’s European culture. As adults, they lived adventurously in Montreal and St Thomas, where they were accepted and loved by fellow citizens while publicly retaining their Ojibwa heritage.

The Ermatingers contrasts the “European” commercial and trading society in urban Montreal, where Charles was brought up, with the Ojibwa hunter/warrior values of Mananowe’s society. Their sons variously risked life at war in Spain and in the Upper and Lower Canada rebellions, policed Montreal streets in an era of riots, spied on the Fenians on the US border, and made a hazardous journey to help establish the Canadian Pacific Railway’s route. Brian Stewart argues that the sons’ Ojibwa traditions and values shaped their adult lives: during their adventures, the sons fought for Native rights for themselves as well as for Ojibwa relatives and friends.

The Ermatingers is an exciting story that contributes to our understanding of Indian and European biculturalism and its effects on those who make up the various forms of Métis society today. It will appeal to general readers as well as scholars and students in Native studies and Canadian history.

W. Brian Stewart worked as a feature writer in his native New Zealand and then in various positions with the CBC. He is the author of A Life on the Line: Commander Pierre-Etienne Fortin and His Times (McGill-Queen's Press, 1997). He retired as head of Research Services for the English Language CBC Radio and TV Networks in 1983.

Figures

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 The Urban Canadian Grandparents

2 The Upper Country Ojibwa Grandparent

3 Charles Sr’s Fur Trade Career

4 Charles and Charlotte in Montreal

5 A Wild Man’s Land and a World of Virgil

6 Farmer and Cavalry Man: Charles Jr

7 Ojibwa Chief and Montreal Policeman: Charles Jr

8 Soldier, Clerk, and a Last Adventure: James

9 Dandy Turned Hero: William

10 Suppressing Riots in Montreal: William

11 Murder, Militia, and Military Intelligence: William

12 The Ermatinger Women

13 A Lost Past, a Future Unattained

Appendices

Notes

Bibliography

Index

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