Pemmican is a nutrient and calorie dense food product created from animal fat, dried meat, and oftentimes berries. It is made by combining dried and powdered meat with a high volume of melted fat and sometimes berries or other dried fruits. The product is then shaped into small cakes and stored. Pemmican originated in First Nations communities on Turtle Island, with Plains Nations having a distinct connection to the product.
Pemmican was a staple food of the Métis nation and was used as a source of nutrition in the face of colonial imposition. Due to this, they were skilled at making pemmican, with the production of the food being a communal activity throughout Métis communities. Furthermore, Métis pemmican was a valuable commodity in the fur trade, as it was a portable and long-lasting food source that was essential for long journeys and periods of scarcity. Métis traders were able to sell their pemmican to fur companies, providing them with the financial stability needed to survive.
However, this dependance on the pemmican trade was a point of weakness for the Métis community, specifically those in the Red River Colony. The colony’s Métis population was a major producer of pemmican, utilizing their iconic Red River carts to transport the product throughout trade networks in North America, especially to traders from the North West Company. As the 1800’s approached, they saw an increase in demand, revelling in the large sums of pemmican that fuelled their economy.
Jeffereys, Charles William. The Fight at Seven Oaks. Unknown Date. Painting. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed April 1st, 2023.
In response to this abundance, the governor of the region, supported by the North Western Company’s rival the Hudson’s Bay Company, implemented the Pemmican Proclamation in 1814 which was aimed at stifling the economy of the Red River Métis community. This proclamation banned the export of pemmican from the Red River Colony to the United States. The goal of the Canadian government was achieved and the Métis community saw widespread food insecurity and a struggle to survive.
As tensions rose between Red River Métis and their settler-colonial counterparts over the Pemmican Proclamation, violence began to erupt which led to the Battle of Seven Oaks in 1816. The event was sparked by Cuthbert Grant who led a group of Métis to deliver pemmican and other goods to North West Company traders. The group was ambushed at Seven Oaks by members of the Hudson’s Bay Company who wanted to intervene in their delivery. As a result, the two groups broke out in a fight, leading to the death of twenty individuals. Although the fight was deadly, it offered the Métis to establish themselves as a nation, asserting their autonomy and shared goals. As such, pemmican hold an important position in the history of Métis peoples, serving to immortalise their fight for nationhood.
Today, Pemmican is produced by both Indigenous Nations and their settler-colonial counterparts. For the former, pemmican is produced and used through communal methods, primarily for special occassions. For the latter, pemmican serves as a sufficient energy source for those exploring the natural world, namely the backcountry.
While attending my second history course at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, titled Cultures in Collision, I discovered pemmican. Although my class did not delve into the unique history of the food, I was intrigued to learn about its significance in establishing Métis nationhood. As an individual who has Métis friends and family members, I strive to honour and uplift their histories. As such, pemmican has enabled me to conceptualize their resilience in the face of adversity and their fight for their self-determination.
Arr, Jen. Pemmican Ball. January 17th, 2013. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed April 1st, 2023. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pemmican_ball.jpg Barkwell, Lawrence. “The Battle of Seven Oaks.” The Canadian Enclyclopedia. Accessed April 1st, 2023. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/seven-oaks-incident?gclid=Cj0KCQjwla-hBhD7ARIsAM9tQKtvInudeGF_ATEDbNc3ILdbSZWBUxfRD9Fcv3KlAGvvXUEcEibDSQgaAmT2EALw_wcB Foster, John E. “Pemmican.” The Canadian Enclyclopedia. Accessed April 1st, 2023. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/pemmican#:~:text=PeterPondiscreditedwith,aswellastheMtis. Foster, John E. “The Pemmican Proclamation.” The Canadian Enclyclopedia. Accessed April 1st, 2023. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/pemmican-proclamation#:~:text=ThePemmicanProclamationwas,inpresentdayManitoba. Jeffereys, Charles William. The Fight at Seven Oaks. Unknown Date. Painting. Wikimedia Commons. Accessed April 1st, 2023. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Fight_at_Seven_Oaks.jpg
