Marginalization

Lawrence Gervais

[0:00 – 1:22]

In terms of early Métis settlement, we always talk about Alexis Cardinal and his cabins. Currently you can see cabins that are the Hunt House and then there’s a new erected cabin in the back of the Deane House right beside Fort Calgary. And that was the early Métis existence. Predominantly there were trading posts, which became Hudson’s Bay Company trading posts, that became Fort Calgary, and then of course we had a church called Our Lady of Peace Mission in Bragg Creek and that was also significant to those cabins by Alexis Cardinal. If you look at the way Canada and western Canada was formulated prior to 1867 there was almost a layer of towns already in existence. And when Canada encroached and took over what was already built and claimed it as their own, it was already established. We actually have a layer of settlement prior to Canada, and then when Canada came in it became another layer of settlement on the same places.