Emile Desautles Interview

Emile Desautles was interviewed in Willow Bunch, where he was born and raised. Emile left when he was sixteen years old, starting a construction company in Calgary. In 1988, Emile started a flooring store in Assiniboia. Finally, he bought the homestead in Willow Bunch around 1993. While Emile’s parents, Peter and Giselle Desautles, were from Willow Bunch, his grandparent Pierre Desautles came from Rhode Island to homestead in 1905. His mother’s maiden name was Giselle Baloux. Emile recall his grandmother reluctance tp speaking Michif in public and the racism experienced in the community. His father was a carpenter and his maternal grandfather was a carpenter. Many Métis families were prohibited or discouraged from owning land, and Desautles family lived in a Métis hamlet on a hill south of the town, where today the water reservoir is. Some of the inhabitants of the hamlet were Jean-Louis Légaré, Marcel Klyne, Caplettes, Gosselins, LaRocques, McGillis, Lacerte, Berard, Chet Lesperance. According to Emile, the nuns at school were discriminatory against Métis children in school. During the Catholic holidays, they went to mass and parties, where fiddle players performed for the dances. His family was engaged in the Métis Society for ten years. He recollects some memories about the Métis co-op farm, and Métis cowboys and ranchers. --------------------- Keywords: Land use (Subsistence Patterns), Employment, Housing, Community Breaking/Fracture, Healthcare