Iroquois in the West
Intriguing tales of Indigenous peoples who made their homes across the North American West.
Description
Two centuries ago, many hundreds of Iroquois – principally from what is now Kahnawà:ke – left home without leaving behind their ways of life. Recruited to man the large canoes that transported trade goods and animal pelts from and to Montreal, some Iroquois soon returned, while others were enticed ever further west by the rapidly expanding fur trade. Recounting stories of Indigenous self-determination and self-sufficiency, Iroquois in the West tracks four clusters of travellers across time, place, and generations: a band that settled in Montana, another ranging across the American West, others opting for British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, and a group in Alberta who were evicted when their longtime home became Jasper National Park. Reclaiming slivers of Iroquois knowledge, anecdotes, and memories from the shadows of the past, Jean Barman draws on sources that range from descendants' recollections to fur-trade and government records to travellers' accounts. What becomes clear is that, no matter the places or the circumstances, the Iroquois never abandoned their senses of self. Opening up new ways of thinking about Indigenous peoples through time, Iroquois in the West shares the fascinating adventures of a people who have waited over two hundred years to be heard.
Reviews
"Iroquois in the West is a detailed and well-documented narrative history. Illustrating how much can be accomplished with meticulous analysis of primary and secondary source materials, Jean Barman has indefatigably tracked this little-known population of Iroquois travellers and settlers across the continent." Jennifer S.H. Brown, professor emeritus, University of Winnipeg
"Iroquois in the West provides readers with a meticulous and in-depth account of how Haudenosaunee men traversed Indigenous lands, shaped fur-trading policies, interacted with other Indigenous nations, and made new homes in foreign lands. I recommend this book to all interested in advancing their knowledge of Indigenous-Canadian histories." Historical Studies in Education/Revue d'histoire de l'éducation
"In Iroquois in the West Jean Barman uses what she calls "slivers of stories from the shadows of the past" to tell a rich history. Barman succeeds in presenting her subjects as nuanced humans enmeshed in the fur trade and colonial economies in complex ways. Iroquois in the west undermined colonial authority and supported it, but always in pursuit of their own self-determination." BC Studies