Acknowledgements

A heartfelt thank you to all the Fort McKay Métis members for sharing your knowledge, memories, and insights over the years. Hopefully, by documenting your perspectives on Fort McKay’s history, identity, culture, and land use, we can help sustain the Métis way of life for future generations.

Thank you to Fort McKay community members for sharing so graciously. Thank you to the Fort McKay Métis Nation staff and Fort McKay Métis Nation councillors for their continued support.

Thank you to Laura Hanowski for providing detailed information about the Fort McKay Métis community’s genealogy. Also, thank you to Terry Garvin, Rod Hyde, Barb Faichney, and Hereward Longley for providing access to their collections of archival photographs and other material about the community. Also, thank you to Emily Boak and Dawn Piche Wambold, who provided research assistance and to Michael Robson, who, with Emily, developed the manuscript’s maps. Additional thanks to Heather Devine, Neil Reddekopp, and Patricia McCormack for reviewing and providing comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript.

Finally, thank you to the many Fort McKay Métis Nation staff and community members who helped make this project a reality. They include Barb Faichney, Rachel Richards, Rod Hyde, Dayle Hyde, Lina Gallup, Cort Gallup, Holly Fortier, Billie Fortier, Ron Quintal, Lauretta Waquan, Felix Faichney, Janice Richards, Glen Faichney, Eddison Lee Johnston, Daniel Stuckless, Jenifer Vardy, Maggie Butts, Contessa Short, and many, many others.

I want to thank my family (Gretchen, Patrick, and Jacob) for their continued patience and support as this project took form. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I want to dedicate the work to the people of Fort McKay, whose histories have changed me in more ways than they will ever know.

Funding for this project has come from the Fort McKay Métis Nation and the Alberta government.

While many have helped with this book, any errors are solely my responsibility and likely a direct result of me not spending enough time in the bush visiting with Elders sharing stories about what really happened.