Paul Kane's oil paintingHalf-Breeds Running Buffalo depicts aMétis buffalo hunt on the prairies of Dakota in June 1846.
Half-breed is a term considered obsolete by many to describe a person of mixed race. In theUnited States, it has often historically referred to halfNative American and halfEuropean/White.[1]
Unusually for its time, under the 1850Donation Land Claim Act, "half-breed Indians" were eligible for land grants in theOregon Territory, as were married white women.
During thePemmican War trials that began in 1818 in Montreal regarding the destruction of theSelkirk Settlement on theRed River the termsHalf-Breeds,Bois-Brulés,Brulés, andMétifs were defined as "Persons descended from Indian women by white men, and in these trials applied chiefly to those employed by theNorth-West Company".[4]
TheCanadian government used the term half-breed in the late 19th and early 20th century for people who were of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry.[5] The North-West Half-Breed Commission established by the Canadian government after theNorth-West Rebellion also used the term to refer to theMétis residents of theNorth-West Territories. In 1885, children born in the North-West of Métis parents or "pure Indian and white parents" were defined as half-breeds by the commission and were eligible for "Half-breed" Scrip.[6][7][8]
InAlberta the Métis formed the "Halfbreed Association of Northern Alberta" in 1932.[9]
"Half-Breed" is a song recorded byCher and released as a single in 1973. On October 6, 1973, it became Cher's second US number one hit as a solo artist, and it was her second solo single to hit the top spot inCanada on the same date.[10]
Halfbreed is a memoir written by authorMaria Campbell published in 1973. The book details her experience growing up as a Métis woman in Canada.
