A Métis folk singer is coming to the city to promote her new album later this month – which includes two songs closely connected to Sault Ste. Marie.
Amanda Rheaume will play a free concert as part of a tour celebrating the album – The Truth We Hold.
Featuring stories of resilience in the Métis community, as well as others people may have never heard, Rheaume said she travelled around the country – across Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan – to speak with fellow Métis people and gather their stories, which she artfully tells in her new album.
“I kind of just went on this journey of interviewing, chatting, turning those conversations into songs, because I really wanted to share as much as I possibly could that celebrated and also told the truth about stories that a lot of people don't know about,” Rheaume told SooToday.
The album’s lead-off track, I Won’t Hide, tells the story of Steve Powley – the Sault Ste. Marie Métis hunter who was charged with his son for killing a moose without a permit.
“Steve was going about his business and hunting for his family for winter, and he got a moose,” Rheaume said. “Usually they would have to hide the moose that they would get . . . they would get charged because the government wasn't recognizing their Section 35 rights as Indigenous people to hunt for food.”
“One day, Steve was tired of hiding, so he just tied that moose right onto the top of the truck . . . and drove it home.”
In a case that ultimately landed in the Supreme Court, Powley’s actions that day led the court to rule that Métis people could hunt food without licenses in the area.
“Steve Powley is a legend in the Métis community,” Rheaume said.
Another track, One Of These Days, tells the story of the Métis people who lived near Agawa Bay after being moved off their river lots in Sault Ste. Marie.
“Métis people were kind of kicked off their river lots when treaties were being signed, because the Crown was only able to deal with Indians – not ‘halfbreeds,’” Rheaume said.
“Several families moved up to Agawa Bay . . . and built cabins, and they made a life for themselves up there.”
Ultimately, the families were moved out of their homes in Agawa Bay, at which point “the government burnt their houses down,” Rheaume said, to make way for a provincial park “meant for the enjoyment of many, not just a few.”
The Agawa Bay story is one that Rheaume said few know about – and one she feels is important to share.
“Only recently is there stuff on the internet about it,” she said. “I just think these are things that Canadians and other people should know about, that have happened and the Métis people have been through.”
Rheaume said she’s excited about her upcoming show in Sault Ste. Marie, and about showcasing the stories from Métis people around the country.
“For me on this record, I really wanted to showcase the resilience, and also celebrate and lift up the stories that haven't been told, and celebrate my community,” she said.
“It feels really good to be able to do that.”
The free concert will be held at the Downtown Plaza at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 24.