Bois-Brûlés (''burnt wood'') are

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

. The name is most frequently associated with the French-speaking

of the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assiniboia, Assinboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hud ...

in the

Red River valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...

of Canada and the United States. The Bois-Brûlés, led by their leader

Cuthbert Grant Cuthbert James Grant (1793 – July 15, 1854) was a prominent Métis people (Canada), Métis leader of the early 19th century. His father was also called Cuthbert Grant. Life Cuthbert James Grant was born in 1793 at Fort Tremblant, a North We ...

, took part in the

Battle of Seven Oaks (1816) The Battle of Seven Oaks was a violent confrontation in the Pemmican War between the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and the North West Company (NWC), rivals in the fur trade, that took place on 19 June 1816, the climax of a long dispute in western ...

. The "Chanson de la Grenouillère", composed in 1816 by Métis bard Pierre Falcon in honour of the Battle of Seven Oaks, also called "Falcon's Song" or "la Bataille des sept chênes", refers to the Métis participants as victorious "Bois-Brûlés", and the song remained central to Métis lore for generations. In 1837 Pierre Falcon also wrote "The Dickson Song" or "''Ballade du Général Dickson''". The song is about "General" James Dickson who planned to raise an army of Bois-Brûlés for the purpose of setting up a kingdom in California. William H. Keating described a group of

Métis buffalo hunt The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

ers he encountered at Pembina by the Red River of the North in 1823 as ''Bois brulés''. Later in the 19th century, the people in 1869 came into temporary prominence during the Riel Rebellion in the Red River area. They were alternatively called

; historically the majority were descendants of

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

men and

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

women. The name Bois-Brûlés seems to have waned in popularity and general use after the merger of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

and

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

in 1821. The young Canadian adventurer

Martin McLeod Martin McLeod (April 13, 1813 – November 20, 1860) was an American fur trader, pioneer, and territorial legislator in Minnesota. McLeod was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and had Scottish ancestry. He worked as a clerk in Montreal and t ...

, later a fur trader and Minnesota Territory politician in the United States, referred to the "Brules" in 1837 in his journal of travel to the

Red River of the North The Red River (french: rivière Rouge or ) is a river in the north-central United States and central Canada. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota, it fl ...

region with

James Dickson James or Jim Dickson may refer to: Politicians *James Dickson (Scottish politician) (c. 1715–1771), MP for Lanark Burghs 1768–1771 *James Dickson (New South Wales politician) (1813–1863), member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly *Ja ...

, who had a dream of an Indian empire.Grace L. Nute, "James Dickson, A Filibuster in Minnesota in 1836," in ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'', 10: 127-140 (September 1923) As late as 1900, the American author

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

used the term in his short story, "An Odyssey of the North".

References

External links

Dictionary of Canadian Biography (DICKSON, JAMES, self-styled “Liberator of the Indian Nations”)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bois-Brules Métis people First Nations in Manitoba

See also

References

External links