Half-breed
Encyclopedia
Half-breed is an historic term used to describe anyone who is mixed Native American
(especially North America
n) and white European
parentage. Métis
is a more general French term for half-breed which refers to, most often, having two different colour skin parents (black and white, white and asian, black and asian for instance).
Prior to 1763 when Canada passed into British hands, most traders with the Indians in northern North America were French, thus half-breeds were usually half French. As furtrading became the province of the Northwest Company of Montreal
, and, later, the Hudson's Bay Company
, half-breeds were more likely to have fathers of Scottish or Orkney origins. Their sons, familiar with First Nations languages and cultures, found ready employment with the trading companies. The Métis created some communities of their own, such as the Red River settlement in Manitoba
, and Prince Albert in Saskatchewan
.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
(especially North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n) and white European
European American
A European American is a citizen or resident of the United States who has origins in any of the original peoples of Europe...
parentage. Métis
Métis
A Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
is a more general French term for half-breed which refers to, most often, having two different colour skin parents (black and white, white and asian, black and asian for instance).
Prior to 1763 when Canada passed into British hands, most traders with the Indians in northern North America were French, thus half-breeds were usually half French. As furtrading became the province of the Northwest Company of Montreal
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
, and, later, the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, half-breeds were more likely to have fathers of Scottish or Orkney origins. Their sons, familiar with First Nations languages and cultures, found ready employment with the trading companies. The Métis created some communities of their own, such as the Red River settlement in Manitoba
Red River Colony
The Red River Colony was a colonization project set up by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1811 on of land granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company under what is referred to as the Selkirk Concession. The colony along the Red River of the North was never very successful...
, and Prince Albert in Saskatchewan
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...
.
Controversy
The term is considered an impolite and rude offensive slur by almost everyone.In popular culture
- In the Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series, the term "Half-Breed" is used as an insult toward a character who is of mixed human/magical creature ancestry - The villain of Mark Twain's novel, The Adventures of Tom SawyerThe Adventures of Tom SawyerThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is an 1876 novel about a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River. The story is set in the Town of "St...
, is a Native American-European-American man named "Injun Joe"; he is referred to as a "half-breed", often together with a derogatory adjective, such as "stinking" attached, and has a violent and homicidal personality, which, again, as a product of the time it was written, is attributed to his heritage. - "Half-BreedHalf-Breed (song)"Half-Breed" is a song recorded by Cher and released as a single in 1973. On October 6, 1973, it became Cher's second U.S. number one hit as a solo artist, similarly becoming her second solo single to hit the top spot in Canada on the same date....
" is a song recorded by CherCherCher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
and released as a single in 1973. On October 6, 1973, it became Cher's second U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
number one hit as a solo artist, and it was her second solo single to hit the top spot in CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on the same date.
Further reading
- Hudson, Charles. Red, White, and Black: Symposium on Indians in the Old South, Southern Anthropological Society, 1971. SBN: 820303089.
- Perdue, Theda. Mixed Blood Indians, The University of Georgia Press, 2003. ISBN 082032731X.
See also
- Anglo-MetisAnglo-MétisA 19th-century community of the Métis people of Canada, the Anglo-Métis, more commonly known as Countryborn, were children of fur traders; they typically had Orcadian, Scottish, or English fathers and Aboriginal mothers. Their first languages were generally those of their mothers: Cree, Saulteaux,...
- Half-casteHalf-casteHalf-caste is a term used to describe people of mixed race or ethnicity. Caste comes from the Latin castus, meaning pure, and the derivative Portuguese and Spanish casta, meaning race...
- Mixed Race DayMixed Race DayMixed Race Day is celebrated on June 27 in Brazil as a reference to the twenty-seven mixed-race representatives elected during the 1st Conference for the Promotion of Racial Equality, which occurred in the city of Manaus, State of Amazonas, Brazil, from April 7 to 9, 2005...
- MestizoMestizoMestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
- MulattoMulattoMulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
- QuadroonQuadroonQuadroon, and the associated words octoroon and quintroon are terms that, historically, were applied to define the ancestry of people of mixed-race, generally of African and Caucasian ancestry, but also, within Australia, to those of Aboriginal and Caucasian ancestry...
- Octoroon
- ZamboZamboZambo or Cafuzo are racial terms used in the Spanish and Portuguese Empires and occasionally today to identify individuals in the Americas who are of mixed African and Amerindian ancestry...
External links
- Murray Parker: "The Half-breed Savage/ Quanah Parker", Texas Escapes
- "Half-breed", Dictionary