The group are called Métis, a French word for “mixed.” They are the descendants of French animal trappers and native women during the 1600s in today’s Western Canada.

İn time, the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of these couples married each other. Métis developed their own language, their own music, their own style of clothes, and their own kind of food. In other words, they developed their own culture.

Métis became known for the red sash they wore, jig dancing, as well as the Red River cart, used as transportation throughout the 19th century.

Métis became known for the red sash they wore, jig dancing, as well as the Red River cart, used as transportation throughout the 19th century.

By the early 1800s, the Métis had created a new political identity, too. It was centered in a colony in the present-day Canadian province of Manitoba. But some established settlements in the United States, too.

After the U.S. and Canada settled their borders, many American Métis were grouped with other native people and ended up on Indian reservations. Over time, some families have kept their Métis identity and culture. Others have lost it completely.

Aliqismet BADALOV,
“Khalq qazeti”