2020-09-29
An illustrated biography of an early-19th-century Métis leader.
Alas, a fascinating life does not make a fascinating read in this book about Cuthbert Grant (1793-1854), mixed-race son of a Scottish fur-trader father and Métis mother. Author Lindstrom (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe Indians) presents Grant here as a man ahead of his time due to his combined Indigenous and Western education. With a foot in both worlds, he gains influence in powerful business circles and rises to help his people through the creation of a Métis town known as Grantown in the wake of laws that prevented them from hunting the buffalo. Notably, the story positions him as loyal to the fur trade. He is a champion of the Métis and protector of the hunt, though his reasoning goes beyond tradition to commercial concerns. The frequently digressive text mentions both the death of his father and the tragic disappearance of his wife and child with flat language that does little to invest readers. The battles and wars are mentioned in passing, and little attention is given to the competing value systems of the era. If Grant was passionate, conflicted, or angry, readers do not feel it. Illustrator Woods (Long Plain First Nation) gives this dryly factual biography all of its color, combining the occasional photo with vivid, textured paintings. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22.8-inch double-page spreads viewed at 22% of actual size.)
The Métis visionary never fully comes to life in this book. (author's note, bibliography) (Biography. 8-12)
