My research centres on twentieth-century Métis communities in Western Canada, merging Indigenous research methodologies with Historical Geographic Information Systems to focus on the intersections of land, gender, kinship and stories. My work focuses primarily on Metis road allowance communities and Metis movement and displacement to prairie urban centres. Much of this focuses on mapping and the multi-faceted roles of Métis women in their families and communities and the significance of female kinship relationships in structuring these communities. 

I am the Director of the Department of History's Co-Lab (Centre for Community-Engaged and Collaborative Historical Research) and work in the Department's Historical Geographic Information Systems Laboratory in Kirk Hall.

I have worked within my community for over twenty years in the areas of historical and community-based research, curriculum development, community engagement, advocacy and health policy and program planning. I am Métis, originally from north-central Saskatchewan, a Métis Nation - Saskatchewan citizen and a member of Gabriel Dumont Local #11 in Saskatoon. 

Troupe, Cheryl. “Putting Down Roots”: Métis Agency, Land Use and Women’s Food Labour in the Qu’Appelle Valley, 1850-1950. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. [under review]

Troupe, Cheryl, and Doris Jeanne MacKinnon (editors), Métis Matriarchs: Agents of Transition. Regina: University of Regina Press. [In press for 2024]

Troupe, Cheryl. Activating Lessons of Care from Family Matriarchs: The Social and Political Work of Nora Cummings. In Cheryl Troupe and Doris Jeanne MacKinnon (editors), Métis Matriarchs: Agents of Transition. Regina: University of Regina Press. [In press for 2024]

Troupe, Cheryl. Métis Stories and Women's Artistic Labour in Margaret Pelletier Harrison's Margaret's Rug. In The Nickle Gallery (editors), Prairie Interlace: Weaving, Modernisms, and the Expanded Frame. Calgary: University of Calgary Press. [In press for  2023]

Troupe, Cheryl and Janice Cindy Gaudet. Closing Thoughts: The River Women Collective's Reflections on the Final Ceremonial and Artistic Installation of Walking With Our Sisters, 2019. In Jennifer Brant and Dawn Memee Lavell-Harvard (editors), Forever Loved: Calling for Justice for MMIWGT2S, Demeter Press. [in press for 2023].

Cheryl Troupe and Bob Coutts (co-editors). Prairie History, Special Issue: The Indigenous West, Volume 8, (Summer 2022).

Troupe, Cheryl. Little Mothers and Sister Communities: The Role of Aunties in 20^th century Métis Road Allowance Communities. In Janice Cindy Gaudet (editor), Auntie Medicine: Giving Voice and Giving Meaning to our Indigenous Women’s Kinship System. Vancouver: UBC Press (Accepted February 2021).

Stevenson, Allyson and Troupe, Cheryl. From KitchenTables to Formal Organization: Indigenous Women's Social and Political Activism in Saskatchewan to 1983. In Sarah Carter, Nanci Langford and Claire Thomson (editors), Called to Action: Histories of Women’s Activism in Western Canada.Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press, 2021.

Amanda LaVallee, Cheryl Troupe, Tara Turner. (July 2017). Negotiating and Exploring Relationships in Métis Community-Based Research. Engaged Scholar Journal: Community-Engaged Research, Teaching and Learning. (Special Issue). 2(1): 167-182. 

Troupe, Cheryl. (2005). “Clarence Trotchie,” In Canadian Plains Research Centre (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre.

Troupe, Cheryl.(2005). “Harry Daniels,” In Canadian Plains Research Centre (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre.

Troupe, Cheryl.(2005). “James Brady,” In Canadian Plains Research Centre (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre.

Troupe, Cheryl. (2005). “Madeline Wilkie Dumont,” In Canadian Plains Research Centre (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre.

Troupe, Cheryl.(2005). “Malcomn Norris,” In Canadian Plains Research Centre (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre.

Troupe, Cheryl.(2005). “Nora Cummings,” In Canadian Plains Research Centre (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre.

Troupe, Cheryl. (2005). “Sara Riel,” In Canadian Plains Research Centre (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre.

Non-Peer Reviewed and Other Outputs (Select)

Troupe, Cheryl. (2021). Historical Memory and the Statue of Gabriel Dumont in Saskatoon’s Friendship Park. (Editorial). Prairie History, Volume 4, 2021. Pages 1-3. 

Troupe, Cheryl. (2020). whYXE podcast, #5 Métis in YXE”, December 8, 2020. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/5-m%C3%A9tis-inyxe/ 

Burnett, J. and Troupe, Cheryl. (2018). Program Evaluation: Community Safety Officer Program. Prepared for the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, Saskatoon SK, August 2018.

Burton, Wilfred and Troupe, Cheryl. (2017). John Arcand – Master of the Métis Fiddle: The Man, The Music, The Festival.Saskatoon, Gabriel Dumont Institute, Saskatoon SK.

Burnett, J. and Troupe, Cheryl. (2017). Program Evaluation: Community Safety Officer Induction Course. Prepared for the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, Saskatoon SK, July 2017.

Burnett, J. and Troupe, Cheryl. (2016). Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls Through Access to Community Services, Sexual Assault Services of Saskatchewan, Regina SK, August 2016.

Troupe, Cheryl.(2013). Métis Nation – Saskatchewan Submission to the Joint Task Force on Improving First Nations and Métis Education and Employment Outcomes, Métis Nation – Saskatchewan, 2013.

Burnett, J. and Troupe, Cheryl.  (2013). Program Evaluation of Métis Youth Suicide Prevention Program, Métis Nation – Saskatchewan, 2013.

Burnett, J. and Troupe, Cheryl. (2013). Program Evaluation of Green Light Project, Métis Nation – Saskatchewan, 2013.

Burnett, J. and Troupe, Cheryl. (2013). Teachers Time, Saskatchewan Instructional Development and Research Unit (SIDRU) for the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation,2013.

Troupe, Cheryl.(2012). miyo âyâwin:Métis Healthand Well-Being Strategy, Métis Nation – Saskatchewan, 2012.

Burnett, J. and Troupe, Cheryl. (2011). Public Health Infrastructure Survey Analysis and Final Report, Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, Population Health Branch - Public Health Infrastructure Survey Analysis and Final Report, 2011.

Troupe, Cheryl and Bird, Judy. (2010).Lii Michif Gathering For Wellness: Métis Diabetes Education and Awareness Project Community Resource Manual. Regina, Eagle Moon Health Office, Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region.

Troupe, Cheryl.(2007). “Métis Decorative Arts,” In Lawrence Barkwell, Leah Dorion and Audreen Hourie (eds.)Métis Legacy 2: Michif Language, Heritage and Culture.  Winnipeg: Pemmican Publications.

Troupe, Cheryl.(2003). Dakota/Lakota Oral History Project Report, Dakota Chiefs of Saskatchewan, Dakota Whitecap First Nation, 2003.

Troupe, Cheryl.(2003). Expressing Our Heritage: Métis Artistic Designs, Resource Manual and Study Prints. Saskatoon, Gabriel Dumont Institute.

Troupe, Cheryl. Beaded Octopus Bag. In Storied Objects: Metis Art in Relation. Remai Modern Art Gallery, Saskatoon. September 2022-July 2023.

Troupe, Cheryl, Amy Briley, and Gabriel Dumont Institute. (June-August 2022). An Exhibit of Traditional Métis Hooked Rugs.Parks Canada, Batoche National Historic Site and Motherwell National Historic Site. 

Troupe, Cheryl, and Gabriel Dumont Local #11. (July -August 2021). The Sewing Circle: An Exhibit of Traditional Métis Octopus Bags. Parks Canada, Batoche National Historic Site and Motherwell National Historic Site. 

Nolan, Yvette, Maria Campbell, Marilyn Poitras and Cheryl Troupe. (November 2019). Tapweywin: Her Inquiry (Workshop): Weesageechak Begins to Dance 32: Native Earth Performing Arts Annual Development Festival of Indigenous Work. Toronto, ON: Native Earth Preforming Arts.

Troupe, Cheryl, Cindy Gaudet, Christine Tienkamp and Angela Rancourt. (August 2019). Walking With Our Sisters, Final Installation, a commemorative art installation honouring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Batoche, SK: Batoche National Historic Site.

Troupe, Cheryl.(2003). “Mashnikwawchikun avec la sway di fil: Métis Silk Embroidery” Documentary Video. Saskatoon: Gabriel Dumont Institute.      

Troupe, Cheryl.(2002). “Aen Kroshay aen tapee avec mi gineey: Métis Hooked Rugs” Documentary Video. Saskatoon: Gabriel Dumont Institute.          

Troupe, Cheryl.(2002).“Kitaskinaw I pi kiskinohamakoya: The Land Gives Us Our Knowledge” Documentary Video. Saskatoon: Gabriel Dumont Institute.             

Troupe, Cheryl.(2002). “Our Shared Inheritance: A Tradition of Métis Beadwork” Documentary Video. Saskatoon: Gabriel Dumont Institute.

Current Offerings

I am not teaching in Fall 2023. 

In Winter 2023-2024 I will be teaching:

HIST 258 - Canadian Prairies since 1905 (online)

HIST 468 - Topics in Urban History - Saskatoon Indigenous History

Past Offerings

HIST 195 - History Matters: Indigenous Perspectives on Canadian History ***

HIST 257 - Canadian Prairies to 1905 ***

HIST 258 - Canadian Prairies since 1905

HIST 259 - Women in Canada from Pre-Contact to 1918

HIST 316 - From the Road Allowance to the Constitutional Table: Métis History in Twentieth-Century Prairie Canada ***

HIST 365 - Canadian Food History 

HIST 467 - Saskatoon History Workshop (Co-taught with Andrew Watson) 

HIST 468 - Topics in Urban History - Saskatoon Indigenous History

HIST 870/871 - Comparative Indigenous History (PhD Comprehensive Field)

*** These courses meet the College of Arts and Science Indigenous Learning Requirement

Graduate Supervision:

I am currently accepting new graduate students interested in Indigenous and environmental history. I am particularly interested in students pursuing topics related to Metis history, western Canada, gender, food and land use, and students wishing to conduct studies using community-engaged, oral history, Historical Geographic Information Systems (HGIS) and Indigenous and decolonizing research methodologies.

If you are interested in working with me, please introduce yourself by email and include a brief statement introducing yourself, your ideas for your graduate research and a copy of your academic CV. 

Gender Indigenous Metis Oral History Place Making Research Methods Road Allowance Saskatchewan Saskatoon

I am currently working on several interrelated research projects.

Clearing the Road Allowances: Métis Responses to State Intervention and Removal in the Twentieth Century 

This project explores Métis experience in Saskatchewan road allowance communities to the mid-twentieth century using oral histories, archival research, and HGIS research methodologies. It uses deep-mapping to investigate Métis displacement, dispossession, and relocation, including movement to government-sponsored social rehabilitation projects and urban centres. Deep-mapping is the digital collection and layering of different data types to map the narrative meanings embedded in specific places. It can represent multiple perspectives where the land acts as a mnemonic device, connecting individual stories, family photographs, memories, and material artifacts to specific landscapes and places expressed spatially and visually.

This research raises Métis voices and reveals a narrative of resilience, resistance and growing political consciousness as Métis adapted to new social, economic, and political environments. It uncovers a process of intentional community formation and dispersals across Saskatchewan, including how Métis used gaps and spaces in the colonial survey system to find land to live on, remain within familiar territory, and challenge intervention in their lives by provincial and municipal governments. Perhaps most importantly, this work recasts road allowance communities not as marginal or liminal places but as spaces where families, language, and cultural practices remain strong. 

Revealing and Reconciling Métis History in Saskatoon

This project brings together academic, City of Saskatoon and Métis community partners to better understand Métis presence and place-making in the city. It uses community-engaged Indigenous research methods, oral history and HGIS methods to document and map Métis place-based stories and histories in the city, providing nuance to urban Métis experiences from the early twentieth century, creating critical knowledge and increasing public awareness of prairie Métis history and Indigenous peoples' historical experience in prairie urban centres. This work is guided by Li Vyeu, Senator of the Métis Nation, Nora Cummings. Project partners include Gabriel Dumont Local #11 and City of Saskatoon partners: Melissa Cote, Director of Indigenous Initiatives; Kevin Kitchen, Manager of Community Development, and Jeff O’Brian and Ken Dahl, City of Saskatoon Archives. This project is funded by the University of Saskatchewan and the City of Saskatoon’s Research Junction grant.

This project began with a SSHRC Explore Grant in 2021 focused on documenting and deep-mapping the life history and social and political activism of Nora Cummings. The process of “deep-mapping” provides a place-based lens to Cummings’ stories. She grew up on a road allowance on the outskirts of Saskatoon and became politically active in the city’s urban Indigenous community in the 1960s-70s. She was involved in forming Métis Local #11 in the late 1960s and instrumental in forming the Saskatchewan Native Women’s Movement in the 1970s.

Métis Women’s Sovereignty in the South Saskatchewan River Region 

This research is in partnership with Dr. Janice Cindy Gaudet, University of Alberta and the River Women Collective (RWC), a group of Métis women from communities along the South Saskatchewan River who work together to support community wellness in culturally affirming ways. This research engages Métis women of the RWC in exploring and interpreting historical and contemporary understandings of women’s place-based agency, resilience, governance, and sovereignty in the South Saskatchewan River Valley region as it was practiced during the 1885 Resistance and how it continues to exist and is practiced today. The project began in 2019 when Dr. Gaudet and I, as members of the RWC, were two of four co-leads of the final installation of Walking With Our Sisters (WWOS), a community-led commemorative art/ceremonial exhibit honouring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. It was funded by a Kule AB/SK Research Collaboration Grant in August 2020.