Deborah Lloyd Bouvette Interview

Deborah Lloyd Bouvette was interviewed by J. Deranger in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Her home community was Saddle Lake Reserve, the home of her maternal grandparents. Thomas Leo Bouvette was her father, son of Nellie House and Charles Emile Bouvette, from the central Saskatchewan area. During World War II, Deborah's father fought in Italy where he stayed for five years and her uncle George fought in World War One. Her family hunted deer, elk, rabbit, and “prairie chicken,” trapping and trading hides, west of Red Deer. Because they lived in a small Scandinavian community, both the hospital and healers were hard to access. Her mother attended Residential School and she recalls Christmases in her mother's house. As a child, her father, as well as her great-grandfather, moved with his family along the corridor from Duck Lake to Hardisty where they homesteaded. Charles Bouvette, Deborah's grandfather, died as a result of a flu epidemic among his community. Deborah recalls the numerous times her family moved so her parents and grandparents could find employment. -------------- Keywords: Warfare, Land use (Subsistence Patters), Healthcare, Residential Schools, Religion, Community Breaking/Fracture, Employment