Week 9 Wall
Reflecting on the course so far, and not just on this week’s lectures, to what extent and in what ways can “Canada” be considered a “Metis civilization” as John Ralston Saul terms it?
Reflecting on the course so far, and not just on this week’s lectures, to what extent and in what ways can “Canada” be considered a “Metis civilization” as John Ralston Saul terms it?
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Vincent Yam, 
richardj, and 8 others are discussing.
brendanjf 12:51 pm on November 1, 2013 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I would say that Canada is indeed a “Metis civilization”. From the very beginning of European settlement in Canada, the colonists learned they had to adapt to the existing political structures in the area. They adopted the aboriginal methods of diplomacy when dealing with native tribes, they intermarried with aboriginal tribes and had to navigate through the aboriginal cultural practices as they did business with them. Rather than imposing their will and culture onto the area, they adapted the culture to fit their new environment, keeping much of the same trappings, but altering others to suit the reality of their new surroundings. The negotiation, compromise and tolerance the colonist gained from dealing with aboriginal tribes was a legacy that they carried forward with them, as they tried to negotiate a peaceful coexistence between the French and English colonists in the newly united Canadian colonies, and then later as they tried to demand fair government from their English masters overseas, a situation that was in part created by the cultural differences that had been created between the colonists and their European counterparts due to their acclimatization to their North American environment, and the aboriginal tribes they lived alongside and did business with regularly.
Tyler Cole 2:07 pm on November 1, 2013 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think that Saul’s idea of a Metis civilization is a valid observation of Canadian society. Canada today is very much about taking from different cultures to better our own. For example, who could argue that the amalgamation of cultures in Canada in the 21st century hasn’t improved the food selection on Main Street in virtually every town in the country? Even in the most ethnically homogeneous places, there is still likely to be an Indian or Chinese food place. So it is not really a stretch to argue that Canada has been this way all along. Canada is a harsh place, especially in the clothing of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Without guidance from the local peoples, every settler surely would have perished in the long and bitter winters of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. In terms of values, the Europeans also would have learned a great deal from the First Nations populations. Self-interested Europeans would have learned community values from the First Nations people, as well as how to peacefully co-exist. Canada wouldn’t be how it is today without the the tools and tricks taught to early Europeans by the First Nations populations.
hartcamp 3:47 pm on November 1, 2013 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Canadian culture and politics as well as others, all have a strong Aboriginal presence, as well as European. It is completely valid to consider Canada to be a Metis civilization. From early interactions that the British and French had with the Aboriginal cultures in Canada as a result of the fur trade, the Europeans adapted their social habits and rules of trading in order to have better cooperation with the natives while training. It took a lot of patience for the Europeans and Aboriginal’s to adequately trade on grounds familiar to both parties. The negotiations and inter networking done by these two groups of people can still be seen and are relevant today, and Canada would be a much different place than it is if it weren’t for what happened in those times.
maxgardiner 3:58 pm on November 1, 2013 Permalink | Log in to Reply
From the time when Europeans first started to arrive Canada has been a “Metis civilization”. The New World was a brutal and difficult land for the colonists who wanted to make it their home. Without the help of Aboriginals it is highly unlikely that European settlers would have survived for any real length of time. This can be seen in the ways early settlers adopted Aboriginal methods of diplomacy and even formed alliances and bonds with Aboriginal groups. Without Aboriginal help in things like the fur trade it would have been either incredibly difficult or impossible for Canada to have developed or been explored to the extent that it was. Canada owes incredible amounts of respect to Aboriginals who helped to build this country. We can see that attempts to negate the Metis Civilization such as the Residential Schools have ended disastrously, this is the case against assimilation and rather we should seek to embrace different cultures. This ditches the “melting pot” argument used in the US for the “mosaic” argument used in Canada. English, French, Aboriginal, American, Asian, European and many more; these are all ethnicities that can be found all across Canada. This is the idea of multiculturalism that our country embraced years ago. The entire country benefits from this as we all get different perspectives based on our origins that allow us to seek new answers to questions or to realize that there may not be one definitive “right” way to do something. As a Metis Civilization we have the benefit of having the entire world at our doorstep, this can only help to make our country stronger.
Tamara Ling 4:23 pm on November 1, 2013 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Based on the course so far, we can consider Canada to be a “Metis civilization” because of the culture and traditions that we have adopted from the Aboriginal peoples. First of all, the Metis are the children of the North West Company fur traders and Aboriginal women, which means that the men had to understand and gain the trust of the tribes to marry into their family. Therefore, Metis’ are a blend of two different cultures: Europeans and Aboriginal peoples, which is how Canada is represented now – as a multicultural society. In politics, the Aboriginal population ‘inspired’ Europeans during the times of the fur trade. For example, they adopted diplomacy techniques from the Aboriginals in order to further do business with them. This method was easier to follow, rather than to change their traditions to European ones. Through their method, negotiation was easier with the other tribes and the Aboriginals were more tolerant of the newcomers.
slali 4:30 pm on November 1, 2013 Permalink | Log in to Reply
There is no doubt that Canada is a Metis Civilization. The European interactions with the aboriginal people, gave rise to this civilization. The intertwining of two very different cultures, customs and political ideologies came the birth of the Metis. If the relationship amongst the French and the Aboriginals did not occur so peacefully and things were more hostile between them, Canada would not be the diverse and accepting nation they are today. This idea of a Metis Civilization represents a civilization where different cultures can live amongst others and participate in the celebration of other cultures. Multiculturalism is so strong in our society today because of the Metis. The fact that the French and Aboriginal peoples embraced each other’s differences instead of rejecting them really took down barriers that would otherwise still be up between cultures.
eself 4:52 pm on November 1, 2013 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree with Saul that Canada is a “Metis Civilization”. Canada is a multicultural society because of the relationships between Europeans and Aboriginals that became the Metis civilization. The acceptance of cultures between different areas to form a union between themselves was the start of the nation we know now as Canada. The experience of compromising and composing agreements between the Europeans and Aboriginal tribes about the fur trade, allowed for an more composed negotiation between the French and English in the 18th and 19th centuries. Eventually, as well with the British. The influence of Aboriginal culture on European immigrants coming to live in Canada has influenced the future negotiations between multiple nations in the formation of Canada.
Connor Munro 9:14 pm on November 1, 2013 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Canada can be considered a Metis civilization is many ways. The biggest being that all of British North America/”Canada” was made up of French, British and Aboriginal traditions and policies. Politically, Canada as a Metis civilization extended to civil life and government. As discussed in class, the Aboriginals were involved at the throughout Canada’s history and have almost always interacted and have played a part in the goings on of Canada. The British and French also did the same as they have been involved in British North America for most of the time that we have discussed in the course. Canada can be considered a Metis civilization because of the many accommodations that were made for everyone. This resulted in many traditions being kept and they were built upon together. Building on these traditions as a triangle allowed Canada to maintain them and have a variety of traditions that appealed to three of the major cultures in Canada and doing this kept all of them at some sort of happiness. Canada being a Metis civilization goes to differing parts of Canada from the politics and government to the civil life, the French, English and Aboriginals all have traditions that are rooted into Canadian history. Canada at the time and before was based on the traditions of all 3 of these cultures and Canada as a whole was built on top of those traditions.
-Helping my parents move. Sorry for the late submission.
richardj 1:32 am on November 3, 2013 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I don’t agree with Saul’s analogy that Canada’s is a Metis Civilization, we were a diverse Nation long before labels such as Metis were scripted. Country marriages were common place but there are very distinct differences between how the Francophone and Anglophones contributed to the Canadian Identity.
The blend of early Canadian cultures were often clouded by Company ambitions to further economic progress by taking country wives. The blend of Aboriginal cultures, language and knowledge along with the English and French ambition created the intertwined Nation we see today. Adaption verses extinction is what drove the English and French to assimilate into Aboriginal culture; sacrifice and accommodation were the common ground that guaranteed survival in the Canadian wilderness. The Aboriginal ideology of mediation, compromise and cooperation in our blended culture are very much the admired by other Nations.
Tina Loo 2:47 pm on November 4, 2013 Permalink | Log in to Reply
General Comments on this week’s blog.
This week’s question was really one where I was more interested in seeing you engage with John Ralston Saul’s ideas, which you did. With a few exceptions, all of you bought Saul’s idea. I wonder if you would like to limit, or qualify, his idea, and to propose that perhaps a “metis” civilization could mean one that is a hybrid; that perhaps the Americas can only be seen that way. I also appreciated how some of you suggested, ever so gently, that Saul might engage in a bit of romanticization when it comes to his characterization of Indigenous culture. So good job, everyone! It’s just this kind of careful assessment and critique that I like to see and which characterizes good history.
Vincent Yam 10:54 pm on November 7, 2013 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think Saul’s comparison to Canada as a Metis Civilization isn’t incorrect, but I have issues with the terms he uses to label Canada as a Metis Civilization.
Canada has a history of negotiating within its political culture. It has been present since the beginning of our colonial history, as we have learned when the British had to make concessions and adapt in order to accommodate both French and British settlers. Moreover, on an international stage, Canada is more prone to using negotiation and diplomacy in order to solve problems. Add the fact we are a nation with more than two cultures that have been combined to create a national identity (not so dissimilar to the Metis) then I think Saul has a good point.
However, why does Saul feel that Canada is a Metis Civilization? Metis is not so far fetched a term to label Canada as it provides a good example as to the integration of multiple cultures into one national identity. However, I do find it quite odd when he calls Canada a Civilization, because while we are a nation… I don’t think we can call ourselves a Civilization, given that we were a colony as part of the British Empire… Hence, I agree with richardj in that he did romanticize his argument quite a bit.