Abstract

In 1982, the Metis people were officially recognized by the Canadian Constitution as Canada's third Aboriginal people, "distinct from First Nations and Inuit." However, the Constitution does not provide a definition of who the Metis people are, and since official recognition, many individuals and different groups of Metis throughout the country have claimed this identity. In this study, I argue that being and becoming Metis is a complex process, rather than an event, and that music is an inherent part of that process. I also argue that Metis identities are mediated in important ways. To demonstrate, this study explores three different ways through which media and music help shape contemporary Metis identities. It differs from other studies on media and identity by looking at how Metis identities are mediated on multiple levels.

First, I examine how commercial Metis sound recordings contribute to the definition of traditional Metis music, to the writing of Metis history, and to prominent constructions of Metis identity. I argue that commercial sound recordings have contributed significantly to the two prominent myths surrounding Metis music, and the stereotypes that are often associated with these myths. The first myth is that Metis song traditions, especially those involving the mixture of Native and European languages, are largely dying or extinct. The second myth is that "real" Metis music is the Metis fiddling tradition usually associated with the Red River area.

The second level of mediation explored in this study examines more closely how music and media are related to the process of self-identification as Metis. I present the musical life stories of seventeen Metis artists from Ontario and Quebec. The how and why of their sense of being and becoming Metis is revealed by focusing on how these artists chose to represent themselves in this study, and in other contexts, through their sound recordings.

Finally, the artists' stories and music served as the basis for the next stage of this research, my re-framing and re-telling of their experiences and stories through an "audio story," called Fresh Tracks. My interpretation of their experiences is intended to represent the cultural, regional, and subjective diversity that characterizes and defines Metis people today.

This work is important in a number of ways. Theoretically, it addresses the question of Metis identity as an ongoing process, challenging the predominant romantic image of the Metis as nineteenth-century buffalo hunters from Western Canada. It also acknowledges the diversity of Metis people that emerges from the different histories and experiences of Metis in more easterly places, as well as from more recent constructions. Finally, this work provides much needed information about Metis people from places other than Western Canada, whose histories have yet to be written, and whose stories have yet to be told.*

*This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a CD as part of the dissertation). The CD requires the following system requirements: Windows MediaPlayer or RealPlayer.