December Second Saturday: Walkin’ Down the Middle: the Hi-Line Metis with Candy Zion

Disease, dwindling buffalo herds, starvation, and the losing fight with the Canadian government to retain land and personal rights forced many Metis and their Chippewa or Cree families to flee to parts of Montana and North Dakota in the 1860s to 1880s.

Candi Zion, interviewer, discusses the lives of these Metis and their families with their descendants who now live in the Browning area, Rocky Boy Reservation, Box Elder, Havre, and Wolf Point. They reveal their ancestor’s hard lifestyles, hard work ethics, education, military service, and often unwillingness to discuss Indian heritage. The interviewees also share stories about their own life; education, work, experiences of prejudice and exhibit varying degrees of an understanding of their ancestry.