According to the testimony given by Myrtle LaFontaine in an interview for the Metis Oral History Project, in the year 1949, her family, and the residents of the Chicago Line, or Little Chicago, were relocated by the government to Northern Saskatchewan. This was a road allowance community outside of Lestock, Saskatchewan. As per Myrtle, the Chicago Line was “…on the municipality road allowance they used to call in those days and it is about eight or nine miles from Lestock, Saskatchewan…” Also according to Myrtle, there were about fifteen families that lived on the road allowance until the relocation. As explained by Myrtle “…we lived in Lestock till 1949 and then at that time the government saw fit that they relocate us like, you know. So there were, that was to, while we were sent up north, you know, to Green Lake where they had a population of like, you know, Metis people. And we were promised in those days that we would get better housing and jobs and that. And yet when we got there there was, you know, it was really discouraging because we couldn't find, like I think they were worse off than we were, you know.” When the interviewer Margret Jefferson asks how Myrtle and her family survived in the North, Myrtle responds “Mrytle: No, we lived in Lestock till 1949 and then at that time the government saw fit that they relocate us like, you know. So there were, that was to, while we were sent up north, you know, to Green Lake where they had a population of like, you know, Metis people. And we were promised in those days that we would get better housing and jobs and that. And yet when we got there there was, you know, it was really discouraging because we couldn't find, like I think they were worse off than we were, you know.”
Summary
Implications
The implications of this event can be broken down into two distinct categories: institutional and socioeconomics. From an institutional perspective, the fact that the Saskatchewan government felt they could move Metis people across the province at will shows a blatant disregard for Metis persons as a whole. Furthermore, moving them with false promises of employment in the North of Saskatchewan again shows blatant disregard for these people, seen as barriers to development. In terms of socioeconomics, this relocation was devastating to the people who were forced to move. It deprived them of a base to set down roots, and to establish stable lives. The effects of this can be seen in low educational attainment rates, which had a drastic impact on Metis people. Another issue of relocations was the ability to gain steady, well paid employment. In many cases the types of work that were available involved day work and, farming, and cleaning. With Metis people being relegated to the road allowances, doing so became impossible, as people were forced to move to make way for new development in Saskatchewan. The forced relocation of people from Little Chicago is a prime example of this.
Date
00-00-1949
Community