The Ermatingers: a 19th Century Ojibwa-Canadian Family

Vancouver: UBC Press, 2007. Soft cover. Near Fine/No Jacket. This book looks new, with a crisp, clean interior and unmarked paper covers. A very nice copy. Synopsis: An historical biography of three generations of a prominent Canadian Metis family. In about 1800, Charles Oakes Ermatinger married Charlotte (Mananowe) Katawabidai, the daughter of an Ojibwa chief. Their three sons grew up with both their mother's hunter/warrior culture and their father's European roots. After early years spent primarily in the 'wild man's land' of Sault Ste Marie, close to Ojibwa relatives and metis neighbours, the family moved to the commercial society of Montreal. There, and later in other urban communities across Canada, the Ermatingers lived as successful citizens while publicly retaining their Ojibwa heritage. The sons variously risked life at war in Spain and in the Upper and Lower Canadian rebellions, policed Montreal streets in an era of riots, spied on the Fenians along the US border, and made the hazardous journey to help establish the route of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The sons fought for Native rights for themselve and their Ojibwa relatives and friends.The daughters, too, retained pride in their Ojibwa ancestry, while living out their adult lives in Quebec and Germany.