Margaret Charles Interview

Margaret Charles was interviewed in Prince Albert. She was born and grew up at the Sturgeon Lake Reserve. Because her parents were Anglican and Catholic, her family never went to mass together. The children attended the Anglican mass with their father. Her parents moved from Manitoba to work in logging and start a farm. On the farm they practiced animal husbandry, had a vegetable garden, hunted/fished, and went berry/root picking. She recalls memories of her family's use of traditional medicine and what was treated. Margaret mentions some of the occupations her parents worked over numerous years and her attendance at Residential School in Onion Lake. After the failure of her first marriage (15), Margaret went to work in Prince Albert and North Battleford. Margaret remembers the cooperative organization of the farm, the spirit of mutual aid, and solidarity among her community on the Sturgeon Lake Reserve. She also briefly describes the parties, weddings, and Treaty Day celebrations with communities from the other reserves. Margaret recounts her electoral experience and participation in the Metis Society at Duck Lake. ------------------ Keywords: Land use (Subsistence Patterns), Religion, Women and Gender, Racism, Employment, Treaties, Reserve System, Integration & Mobility, Housing, Incarceration