THE MÉTIS GIRL
A Sun On The Mountains Book
By Tyler Trafford
Illustrated by Judy Trafford
SEMI FINALIST
Currently in top 50 of 5000 international entries
REVIEWS AND SUMMARY
“What an inspiring read!!!”
Diana Reed, Pincher Creek
“An excellent and captivating read.
“What a privilege it has been to read this series. The Métis Girl brings the Sun On The Mountains series full circle and makes one want to start reading the series all over again. (I read Book 2 before Book 1.)
“What an inspiring book, especially for those who dwell on the past and use their past as a crutch from getting on with their lives. Acceptance of ones self is such a hard lesson at times and yet this series demonstrates over and over how acceptance of ones self leads to a rich and rewarding life.
“This set should be in all school libraries, especially those where students of the First Nations attend. I can see the series being used as a tool to bring greater understanding and acceptance between all students. I see also these books as a motivation tool to be true to ones self and as a result to becoming successful in ones own life.
My only problem with the series – it was hard to put down once I started reading it!!!”
Métis author, educator, speaker
PRE-RELEASE COMMENTS
“I don't know how many times I've said ‘You cannot be Canadian and NOT have read the Sun on the Mountains books!’
“The Métis Girl is a must read for all Albertans, for every Westerner and for those who have felt or who care to discover the charm of our beloved prairie.
“Visitors to Alberta and to our prairie will want to know if Albertans were really that tough. They will have trouble accepting the reality of cowboys and Indians…how Native and white managed to live in a harmony that allowed for Mary to have white hair and blue eyes and an ancestry that dated back to the Pennsylvania Quakers of the American Revolution.”
David Bouchard is a winner of a Governor General's Award (2004), the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry award (1997) and the Anskohk Aboriginal Literature Award(2007).
SUMMARY
She has a gambler's knife hidden in her leggings, the fastest horses on the prairie, a pocketful of money ... and a plan.
She is The Métis Girl, a strong-willed teenager caught in the struggle between the opposing cultures of the Canadian West. On one side of her family are the famed Blackfoot tribes. On the other side are American Quakers with strong pacifist beliefs. Meanwhile the railway is bringing in thousands of British settlers. (Métis: mixed blood. 'May-tee.')
She is Mary James, born with copper dun skin, bright blue eyes and a warrior spirit.
Written in the first person, the story opens with Mary outwitting an arrogant British aristocrat in a horse race. A bloody brawl erupts and Mary spends six months in Calgary's police cells ... and the aristocrat goes free.
Paroled, Mary attends her family's unconventional Sun Dance ceremony where, with blood flowing over her chest, she discovers an astonishing truth. Supported by the love of her family, Mary is determined to make a fresh start. The bravery she showed racing horses is tested repeatedly as she confronts a frontier culture where a Métis woman with ambitious plans is neither respected nor wanted.
Whether it's unrequited love or running her own drilling rig, Mary takes on life's toughest challenges and won't back down.
But those closest to her wonder how long she can control her gambler's knife. They know how well she hides her childhood memories of being held hostage by whiskey traders, and they know those memories are never further away than the knife she now hides in her riding boot.
From beneath the brim of her fedora, The Métis Girl's bright blues challenge the cultural traditions of the Canadian West from a perspective that makes one wonder if it isn't time to rewrite the official history.
“Exciting, thrilling and educational all at once”
An enriching and stimulating read. A true picture of the history that is uniquely Canadian and most specifically western Canadian. Just Mary is a heroine of the 20th century. She struggles with who she is and like many characters wants to leave a legacy behind and to be remembered as a good person. Exciting, thrilling and educational all at once. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to enjoy a piece of Alberta heritage!
Todd Bekolay
Teacher-Librarian
Hardisty School
“A style ...as fluid in motion as a bird on the wing or a fish in the water.”
The Métis Girl is a tale of intrigue, but more than that it is a story that comes full circle as Mary moves from a gambling and horse racing culture to a character that finds within herself a new identity and a new realization of who she is. A clever and creative individual, Mary James, fiction or otherwise, is a delightful character that today’s readers will have little trouble identifying with, or learning from.
... Brilliant and exciting... The Métis Girl is one book that every Canadian, especially those who live in the west and those who wish they were, should have on their night stands or in their home libraries. It’s a book that you’ll find difficult to put down, not just because of its almost non-stop action, but because author Tyler Trafford’s style is easy-to-read, easier to understand and as fluid in motion as a bird on the wing or a fish in the water.
John Copley. Alberta Native News
