Metis Culture - The Biannual Buffalo Hunt

- The Metis are descendants from the Europeans and Indigenous Canadians
- Metis are one of the three recognized aboriginal groups in Canada, the others being the
Inuit and the First Nations
- The Metis culture developed from the Fur Trade, where European men from the North
West Trading Company were encouraged to marry and create alliances with Indigenous
women
- The Metis are known for their traditional jigging dance style, which is accompanied by
the playing of the fiddle, played so that the rhythms can be easily converted into dance
- Often called the Flower Beadwork People, Metis are known for their floral beadwork,
inspired by European artworks at the time

- The Metis participated in a biannual Buffalo Hunt, typically one occurring in spring and
one in the fall
- The Buffalo Hunt was vital to the Metis lifestyle, and provided them for food for long
periods of time
- Often groups of one thousand people travelled at a time during Buffalo Hunts, the group
spanning from men to women to children, as with more people, more hides and meat
could be obtained and brought back to their homes
- Horses were key to the success of the Buffalo Hunt, and allowed the Metis to travel
further distances for longer periods of time
- A leader elected by the Metis called the “Buffalo Hunt Council” kept order within the
group when hunting and allowed the biannual hunt to be kept well organized
Biography

Gaudry, Adam. “Historica Canada.” Metis. Historica Canada. 16 Nov, 2016. Web. 27 May, 2018.

Foster, John. “Historica Canada”. Buffalo Hunt. Historica Canada. 26 May, 2015. Web. 27 May,
2018

Kane, Paul. Métis hunting buffalo on horseback. Metis - The Buffalo Hunt. Web. 27 May, 2018.