Bernard Leroux
Traces Retraced: Reconstructing Identity
“I am Métis/Anishinaabe” is a complicated statement to make in 2018. Determining the precise meaning behind the various terminology used to describe the Métis throughout Canadian history can be confusing – terms like Country-Born, Black-Scotts, Bois Brûlé and Half-breed, each possess their own distinction. I have resolved my use of the term Métis/Anishinaabe to self-identify, based on extensive genealogical, archival and qualitative research and through the personal relationships I’ve established since 1999. Recovering my Métis/Anishinaabe roots enabled me to develop a relationship with my Indigenous ancestral history and participate in the evolution of my culture today. By utilizing artifacts and stories of my own family’s history and interpreting the emergence of my identity through the processes of art making, I advance a methodology of coming to know. This thesis confronts contemporary issues around reconstructing identity and retracing the threads of my ancestry to recover what was left by the trail.