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The term Métis was not used much in frontier British Columbia. Instead the term Sitkum siwash, in Chinook, was translatable as half-breed. Siwash became a derogatory term in the 20th century. Oregon writer Helen Krebs Smith consequently wrote Sitkum Siwash: An Historical Drama about Dr. John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company and his Family at Fort Vancouver, 1839-1851 (Lake Oswego, Oregon: Smith, Smith, and Smith Pub. Co. 1976). This title seemingly does not have a British Columbia connection but McLoughlin's son Ranald had a fascinating life that brought him north of the 49th parallel. Krebs also wrote The Presumptuous Dreamers (1974) and other titles.
The unparalleled, bizarre and tempestuous life story of Ranald Macdonald has been extensively researched by Don Gayton for Columbia Son, including Macdonald's chequered past in British Columbia (where he mostly lived), in Washington (where he died) and in Oregon (where he was born). Gayton investigates Macdonald's life span from the Columbia River to British Columbia. The remarkable and sad tale of Macdonald's wanderings is as fascinating as it is sociologically significant; there's no other documented account of how someone with "mixed blood" endured on the "Western Slope" more than a century-and-a-half ago.
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See separate entry for Ranald Macdonald.
The unparalleled, bizarre and tempestuous life story of Ranald Macdonald has been extensively researched by Don Gayton for Columbia Son, including Macdonald's chequered past in British Columbia (where he mostly lived), in Washington (where he died) and in Oregon (where he was born). Gayton investigates Macdonald's life span from the Columbia River to British Columbia. The remarkable and sad tale of Macdonald's wanderings is as fascinating as it is sociologically significant; there's no other documented account of how someone with "mixed blood" endured on the "Western Slope" more than a century-and-a-half ago.
*
See separate entry for Ranald Macdonald.
