Cecile Blanke Interview

Cecile Blanke (née Larocque) was a teacher and the president of the Métis society in Swift Current from 1972 to 1978. She narrates stories from her youth in Lac Pelletier, southwest Saskatchewan. Walter, her husband, is also present during the interview to help recall memories. During the mid 1910s, a priest preached to the Métis from a cave in the Lac Pelletier valley, where the majority of them lived. Cecile remembers episodes of racism that happened to her family because they were Métis - the church discriminated against them because they were poor, as well as the schools. Blanke recalls hiding their Metis identity when they travelled to other towns (e.g., Swift Current) During the 1940s, Blanke notes widespread societal change among her Metis communtiy and others. Many Metis left their communities for WWII - and the psychological and physical effects of war were felt. When "the road allowances were taken up by the farmers," housing became a problem for many Métis families. Consequently, during the Second World War Blanke's community dispersed, leaving the valley and moving to Swift Current. In addition to trapping and fishing, Cecile's family collected berries and wild plants. They picked gooseberries (around the lake, which disappeared to settler presence), cactus berries, wild roses, coneflowers, seneca roots, etc. According to Cecile, midwifery stopped in the "’50s because hospitals cost you money and doctors." Due to the depletion of wildlife, after the 1940s and 1950s trapping, hunting, and fishing became more difficult. Blanke's father was imprisoned for three months for killing and eating two ducks (among other Metis were persecuted). -------------- Keywords: Religion, School, Land use (Subsistence Patters), Housing, Warfare, Community Breaking/Fracture, Integration & Mobility, Resource Degradation, Healthcare