who am I?

Who am I

I am Margaret Indian – well no, not exactly. Only through a long line of ancestors. I am not here to relate the mysterious and courageous feats of indigenous women that intermingled and intermarried with white Europeans.
Many Tender Ties’ (Women in Fur-Trade Society, 1670 – 1870 by Sylvia Van Kirk does that and more.  It describes the significant role of indigenous women, their courage and evolving importance during fur trading years, both to the Hudson’s Bay and North West Companies.

. The women were essential in making birch bark canoes for traversing waters, identifying poisonous or edible plants, and healing wounds and sickness of inflicted trappers. I believe Margaret to have been one of them. I am here to tell the tale of her  – her offspring – their offspring – and finally much later, me.

Margaret indian

The Chief Factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company in Moose Factory (an island approximately 10 miles from the mouth of James Bay) was John Thomas who arrived in 1769, initially as a writer. Although married in England, he took a Cree wife sometime in the 1780’s. Her first name was likely a given Christian name, Margaret, but the last name Indian, recorded by the Hudson’s Bay Company would be intentionally incorrect. She died of consumption some years later, a condition more commonly known as tuberculosis. What she did during her lifetime, or why she had the favor of a prominent positioned man of the Hudson’s Bay Company, I do not know. Tender ties – such as love would seem reasonable.  Perhaps she was so knowledgeable that he needed her for significant guidance and consulting.

As well as John Thomas who was a writer, one of their children, Charles Thomas is whom I so humbly thank for the inspiration for me to write. He became a writer for the Hudson’s Bay Company as early as 1808 – and indeed a traveler. He visited the Red River Valley (near Lake Winnipeg) twice in his lifetime from Moose Factory, to Vaudreul, Quebec, and settled in Eastern Ontario for his late years. I imagine he must have traversed the lake and rivers by birch bark canoe to have traveled so far. And I believe he must have had his indigenous wife beside him – he married Hannah who was also considered a ‘half-breed’. He became an important figure in Eastern Ontario, and the Algonquin Indians accepted his family as their own. He named the town Golden Lake for its beauty of sunlight’s golden reflection on the waters and sandy shores.

from pride to pity

Many generations later, and we find ourselves here. I look at the cover of Many Tender Ties and show the photo of myself here – a picture taken in my 10th year of school. My lips do show a lingering smile, but I wonder how different we are. Our parents denied any indigenous connection. As far as we knew, our grandparents were Scottish and German, with some French thrown in for a good mix. I do not know when it became shameful to have mixed blood – indigenous blood. They took the secret to their graves.
The stigmatism was great enough for my parents to keep it from us.

Now, knowing what I know – I am proud. I am proud, especially of the indigenous women –  one woman in particular, Margaret Indian - the Swampy Cree as they are called in Moose Factory for the spirit of the land that dwells within me – and her offspring who’s writing lives in the archives in Ottawa. I am his ancestor with story-telling in my blood.

from perils to peace

I was fortunate enough to publish The Pack – Perils and Peace of Nature. Like my ancestors, I sought adventure.  My partner and I with our Alaskan Malamute pioneered a remote island on Lake of the Woods. There were harsh realities and lessons from nature as we struggled through intense storms of life that challenged our existence. But there was also peace. The beauty of our surroundings on Lake of the Woods allowed us to embrace the little things in life with gratitude - so that we could face the big things that otherwise may have broken us. If you recognize the stirring inside you of nature’s call, you will want to read The Pack – Perils and Peace of Nature – Lake of the Woods.

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