ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the potential for telling Métis women’s histories through the study of Métis women’s collections. The chapter traces the history of the McTavish collection, ironically named after the husband of one of the women associated with this collection, donated to the Manitoba Museum after it had been passed down through five generations of women in the family. The collection of 159 pairs of beautifully decorated mitts, moccasins, jackets, and other accessories represents the decorative and artistic work of generations of Indigenous women. The McTavish collection holds the memory of the family’s connections to their Indigenous roots, a memory attenuated while a racist colonial narrative took hold in the community, but now warmly embraced by the family. Collecting is often associated with male colonial power but this collection quietly reveals profound feminist counter-narratives. It assists contemporary Métis scholars in coming to an understanding of the pressures on families who carry a shared history that has not always been advantageous and helps them appreciate the resourcefulness these families show in finding a way to retain their history and, at the same time, protect their families.
