< >George Anderson
George Anderson is a prolific Métis songwriter, he consistently pen’s heartfelt songs. Some of his songs are based on historically accurate events that revolve around the Métis culture. Including songs about Gabriel Dumont and Louis Riel. George performs across Manitoba in various venues & festivals.
Ancestry: Metis
Language: English
Genre: Country
Albums
Biography
George Anderson is a prolific Métis songwriter, he consistently pen’s heartfelt songs. Some of his songs are based on historically accurate events that revolve around the Métis culture. Including songs about Gabriel Dumont and Louis Riel. George performs across Manitoba in various venues & festivals.
Previously George Anderson had released a traditional gospel CD with Sunshine Records. Earlier this year he finished up his first original release titled “Forgotten Warriors”. A collection of Country, Bluegrass and Gospel tinged original songs.
Hello my name is George Anderson – a name that is synonymous with half-breeds or mixed bloods in the history of the province of Manitoba. Most of my ancestors were Anglican and Anglophones, their French counter parts were predominantly Catholic and known as Métis. Historically the Orkney and Scottish half-breeds were a very musical lot and I am continuing that tradition.
Our original ancestry was James Anderson senior, born in Stennis in the Orkney Islands in 1774. He and his with Ann had three children before joining the half-breed exodus with other family members. My grandmother told us stories of how her maternal grandfather used to freight from Red River – Westbourne to Prince Albert with sixteen teams of oxen and Red River carts, a trip that would take 2 ½ months on occasion.
The History of Westbourne records much of the Anderson history in “How the West was Born”; there the Andersons and the Demerais were very prominent in and during the building of the West.
The Anderson – Demerais clan moved yet again when the half-breed communities of Reedy Creek, Kinosota, and Bluff Creek were surveyed and opened up for half-breed ownership. Many of the descendents still live in the area.
Since James Anderson came here in 1796 he has fathered a small nation since the Andersons are truly numerous and can be found in every part of North America, especially in western Canada. As a descendant of James Anderson and his Indian wife I am a half-breed that is proud of my name, proud of my heritage, proud of my culture, proud of our history and proud of this great nation. A nation that we the half-breeds and the Métis have helped to build.
