Pemmican Wars - A Girl Called ECHO Vol. 1 by Katherena Vermette

Saskatchewan, 1814, formerly Qu’appelle Valley, NW territory

A girl looks down on a beautiful valley, confused, earbuds in her ears. A village with teepees has a bustling tribe going about their business. Then the girl hears a deep rumble as bison are charging in her direction. She’s standing on a boulder as they rush by her. 

Some natives are riding horses and shooting at the bison with rifles. They celebrate their kills when everything dies down and the women start to dress the bison bodies to prepare them for what they make with them. The girl watches this, and then hears her name being called, she being conscious of sitting in a classroom again. The teacher lets her know the bell had rung and it was time she head to her next class. 

He helps direct her to where her next class was since she didn’t seem sure when she was asked. She walks down the hallway and finds her class, she goes through the day quietly, listening to music, and getting through her classes til 3:30pm then heads for the public bus. She gets home with a woman asking how her day was as she helps a special needs boy and another boy lying in front of the tv. She says it went fine as she goes through the refrigerator. 

She heads to her room and still listening to her playlist through her earbuds lays down under her blanket. The next day, she does the same thing again, sits in class, keeps to herself as others socialize, but today she hits the library, looking at some comics, then gets on the public bus with a smile on her face. She gets home the same as before, and listens to her playlist of her mom’s old cds playlist, and reads the comic, but dozes off. She wakes up sitting against a tree in the beautiful valley again. 

This time she peeps at the village from the trees, and sees a man playing with a tied ball with a dog and a boy and girl. The other women were working together and doing different tasks. As she looked Echo is greeted by a young woman in English and French, she stating Echo looked lost. Echo asks where she was, and the young lady says this was their camp, she introducing herself as Marie. 

Marie states they were near the Souris River, and Echo asks if this was where she lived, in tipis. Marie says no and they were Metis, so they were currently at their hunting camp and when they’re done, they’ll travel to the fort and to their home. Echo then asks what they’re doing, and she’s told they’re making pemmican. She then asks what it was, Marie states it was food. 

Echo comments there being so much, Marie answering they made it to trade for goods for winter, and all of it was going up north soon. By evening when everyone gathered around the campfire, Marie got Echo a bowl of food and then the two laid down and looked at the stars. Next day, Echo is having fun with Marie still as the tribe start to travel down river. The 2 follow on foot near the canoes, but get a seat on one of the backs of the horse and carriages. 

Across the river is Fort Gibraltar, where the Assiniboine and Red Rivers met, Echo asking what was happening, and Marie commenting the companies kept fighting and stealing from each other and it made all of them suffer. By evening they sit near another campfire by the riverside and a man on horseback provides news of the governor having passed another proclamation where he’s outlawed hunting bison on horseback, because he thinks his settlers will starve because the bison will be chased away. The man he told this to states they’d all starve if they couldn’t hunt, but is told there was nothing they could do. The man replies, yes there was, they could fight back.

The night continues with what looks like celebration, and then Echo hears her name being called and she’s back in her room. She was being called for dinner, and the next day, her school days start again. In history class she seems to be sitting through the story she’d heard from Marie. As she’s looking at her book, she closes her eyes and she’s back in the country walking through some trees, then there’s men on horseback in a field. 

They’re approached by a line of more men and ask them what they want. The men ask the same of the men on horseback who reply they wanted their fort. Then arrogant man says for them to go to their fort, the man on horseback asking why they destroyed their fort, getting off his horse as gunshots start. Echo watches from the trees and starts to cry, she then back in her classroom with tears in her eyes and her caring teacher asking if she was okay. 

After they have a short conversation how the material might be hard but this was about her people, she answering she didn’t know anything about being Metis and how it didn’t make her any less Metis because she didn’t know her own history, she leaves class and waits for the bus. When she gets home, the same lady asks how school was and Echo answered fine, she then being reminded she had a scheduled visit from her mom in the morning. She goes to her room and is looking at papers when she’s back at the beautiful scenery and soon rejoins Marie. They’d lost an uncle in battle, and their company took their fort, but Selkirk is coming, he already having taken Fort William and wants Fort Douglas back. 

Marie states there would be more fighting as they skewered meat for the fire. Next day, Echo is seated in a chair next across from a woman on a couch. Her mom asks her how she was, and Echo replies she’s okay. When she’s asked how school was, Echo mentions learning about Metis history, which her mother approves. 

Echo makes sure this was their tribe, and her mother confirms and says her grandpa was very proud to be Metis, when Echo asks if she was proud. Her mother says she is but didn’t know much about it. Echo mentions having learned about the battle at Seven Oaks, and whether her mom had heard of it, she saying she thought so. Echo relates how it was horrible and being about the NW Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company and Metis using Pemmican. 

End of Part 1

Timeline of the Pemmican Wars edited, starts before 1806 with the second half of the 18th century a time of increasing European presence in British North America, forts and trading posts built along the major rivers across the west of the continent. NorthWest Company became a fierce rival of the older Hudson’s Bay Company, both companies vying to control the fur trade.

1809 NWC builds Fort Gibraltar where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet, establishing their dominance of the fur trade in this region.

1811 HBC grants 116k square miles of land in Rupertsland to the Earl of Selkirk Thomas Douglas, for an agricultural settlement in the District of Assisnboia, which encompassed souther Manitoba and parts of present-day Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

1814 Governor Macdonell issues the Pemmican Proclamation, forbidding the export of pemmican and other provisions outside of Assiniboia for a year. He wanted to be sure the settlers had enough supplies, but this proclamation threatens the survival of local Metwis, Indigenous, and European freemen families, who make their living selling pemmican and other supplies to the NWC.

Same year, Gov. MacDonell forbids hunting bison on horseback because they’re being chased too far away for people to hunt on foot. NWC partner Duncan Cameron accuses Gov. Macdonell of infringing on the rights of the Metis and freemen by preventing them from hunting on horseback. Macdonell and Cameron continue to plot against each other, and Macdonell attempts to raise a militia from the settlers.

1815 A magistrate issues a warrant for MacDonell’s arrest and he surrenders 2 months later. A couple months after the Red River colony is attacked by Metis, freemen, and NWC agents, with 40-odd-colonists dispersed to Jack River, Norway House, and Pembina. The Metis prepare an address to the Government of Canada asserting their claims to the lands of the Red River. The colony returns 2 months after to the colony under the protection of the HBC with several of their agents and clerks. 

Robert Semple, a merchant with no political or administrative experience, arrives at Red River Colony as the HBC’s new territorial governor, and is accompanied by another 160 settlers.

1816 On gov. Semple’s orders the NWC’s Fort Gibraltar is dismantled and burned in retaliation for the NWC’s attack on the Red River Settlement. Around 60 Metis and freemen from Portage la Prairie are sent to escort pemmican to boats at Frog Plain/Grenouilliere (called Seven Oaks by the Selkirk Settlers). They’re led by Cuthbert Grant and are ordered to stay away from Fort Douglas, the rebuilt HBC fort. Men from Fort Douglas spot Grant’s party crossing the plains. 

Gov. Semple takes 20 men to meet them, resulting in the Battle of Seven Oaks.After, Grant and his party capture Fort Douglas, breaking up the colony for a second time. The settlers leave for Lake Winnipeg. 

1817 The NWC surrenders Fort Doublas without a fight to Selkirk’s forces. Grant leaves for Montreal to face charges related to the Battle of Seven Oaks but later is cleared of all charges. 

1818 William Coltman completes his report not he Battle of Seven Oaks and the events leading up to it, placing the blame on both the Hudson’s Bay Company and the NW Company for the events which took place.

1820 Thomas Douglas, the Earl of Selkirk dies.

1821 The NWC and HBC merge into one company.

Bard of the Metis Pierre Falcon, a NW Company clerk, is best known as a Metis poet and songwriter. He may be best known for his song on the battle at Seven Oaks. First 2 verses provided with a drawing of his portrait.

The first volume was decent, I’d like to read the 2nd volume but can’t find it for now, I may skip it and read the rest of them. Worth it if you can find it for free or buy to support the artist.