Paternalism and identity : the role of personal labour organization in the formation of group identity among the Metis in the Rupertsland fur trade and the Aboriginal people in the northern Australian cattle industry

The question of the origins of a Metis identity in Canada is one that has been contemplated by several scholars. These scholars have taken various approaches to the question, many focusing solely on the social and political aspects of Metis history. While such approaches can be useful, they ignore t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Parker, Leanna
Other Authors: Tough, Frank
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Saskatchewan 1999
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-01022007-141357
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spelling ftusaskatchewan:oai:harvest.usask.ca:10388/etd-01022007-141357 2023-05-15T17:12:16+02:00 Paternalism and identity : the role of personal labour organization in the formation of group identity among the Metis in the Rupertsland fur trade and the Aboriginal people in the northern Australian cattle industry Parker, Leanna Tough, Frank September 1999 http://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-01022007-141357 en_US eng University of Saskatchewan http://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-01022007-141357 TC-SSU-01022007141357 Cattle Industry Aboriginal Australia Group Identity Fur Trade Metis Labour text Thesis 1999 ftusaskatchewan 2022-01-17T11:52:58Z The question of the origins of a Metis identity in Canada is one that has been contemplated by several scholars. These scholars have taken various approaches to the question, many focusing solely on the social and political aspects of Metis history. While such approaches can be useful, they ignore the crucial influence of the economic and labour relations of the Rupertsland fur trade in the development and expression of a distinct Metis identity in western Canada. The unique economic and labour relations of the Rupertsland fur trade, identified by H. Clare Pentland as personal labour relationships, allowed a cohesiveness and inter-connectedness to develop between the Aboriginal labourers and their European employers which emphasized the interdependencies inherent in the industry. However, while personal labour relations were an important catalyst for the development and expression of a distinct Metis identity, it is too simplistic to suggest that it was these relations alone that encouraged such a phenomenon. The northern Australian cattle industry utilized similar economic and labour relations and yet a distinct mixed descent identity did not develop in Australia. Therefore, the external influences in the industry must also be examined. The four most important external influences that encouraged the development of a Metis identity in Canada and discouraged a similar event in Australia were: the needs of the colonial employers in regards to land tenure; the economic opportunities available to the people of mixed descent; the educational opportunities available to the people of mixed descent; and, the time depth of contact in both industries. These four external influences combined with the use of personal labour organization in the Rupertsland fur trade encouraged the development and expression of a distinct Metis identity in Canada. Thesis Metis University of Saskatchewan: eCommons@USASK Canada
institution Open Polar
collection University of Saskatchewan: eCommons@USASK
op_collection_id ftusaskatchewan
language English
topic Cattle Industry
Aboriginal
Australia
Group Identity
Fur Trade
Metis
Labour
spellingShingle Cattle Industry
Aboriginal
Australia
Group Identity
Fur Trade
Metis
Labour
Parker, Leanna
Paternalism and identity : the role of personal labour organization in the formation of group identity among the Metis in the Rupertsland fur trade and the Aboriginal people in the northern Australian cattle industry
topic_facet Cattle Industry
Aboriginal
Australia
Group Identity
Fur Trade
Metis
Labour
description The question of the origins of a Metis identity in Canada is one that has been contemplated by several scholars. These scholars have taken various approaches to the question, many focusing solely on the social and political aspects of Metis history. While such approaches can be useful, they ignore the crucial influence of the economic and labour relations of the Rupertsland fur trade in the development and expression of a distinct Metis identity in western Canada. The unique economic and labour relations of the Rupertsland fur trade, identified by H. Clare Pentland as personal labour relationships, allowed a cohesiveness and inter-connectedness to develop between the Aboriginal labourers and their European employers which emphasized the interdependencies inherent in the industry. However, while personal labour relations were an important catalyst for the development and expression of a distinct Metis identity, it is too simplistic to suggest that it was these relations alone that encouraged such a phenomenon. The northern Australian cattle industry utilized similar economic and labour relations and yet a distinct mixed descent identity did not develop in Australia. Therefore, the external influences in the industry must also be examined. The four most important external influences that encouraged the development of a Metis identity in Canada and discouraged a similar event in Australia were: the needs of the colonial employers in regards to land tenure; the economic opportunities available to the people of mixed descent; the educational opportunities available to the people of mixed descent; and, the time depth of contact in both industries. These four external influences combined with the use of personal labour organization in the Rupertsland fur trade encouraged the development and expression of a distinct Metis identity in Canada.
author2 Tough, Frank
format Thesis
author Parker, Leanna
author_facet Parker, Leanna
author_sort Parker, Leanna
title Paternalism and identity : the role of personal labour organization in the formation of group identity among the Metis in the Rupertsland fur trade and the Aboriginal people in the northern Australian cattle industry
title_short Paternalism and identity : the role of personal labour organization in the formation of group identity among the Metis in the Rupertsland fur trade and the Aboriginal people in the northern Australian cattle industry
title_full Paternalism and identity : the role of personal labour organization in the formation of group identity among the Metis in the Rupertsland fur trade and the Aboriginal people in the northern Australian cattle industry
title_fullStr Paternalism and identity : the role of personal labour organization in the formation of group identity among the Metis in the Rupertsland fur trade and the Aboriginal people in the northern Australian cattle industry
title_full_unstemmed Paternalism and identity : the role of personal labour organization in the formation of group identity among the Metis in the Rupertsland fur trade and the Aboriginal people in the northern Australian cattle industry
title_sort paternalism and identity : the role of personal labour organization in the formation of group identity among the metis in the rupertsland fur trade and the aboriginal people in the northern australian cattle industry
publisher University of Saskatchewan
publishDate 1999
url http://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-01022007-141357
geographic Canada
geographic_facet Canada
genre Metis
genre_facet Metis
op_relation http://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-01022007-141357
TC-SSU-01022007141357
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