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UNBC professor becomes first faculty member to win 2020 Prix du Canada en sciences humaines et sociales

Dr. Michel Bouchard shares award with his co-authors
Jess Balzer
Jess Balzer
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UNBC Anthropology Professor Dr. Michel Bouchard has become the first UNBC faculty member to win 2020 Prix du Canada en sciences humaines et sociales. (via UNBC)

A University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) professor has earned national recognition for the best French-language book in the humanities and social sciences. 

Dr. Michel Bouchard has won the 2020 Prix du Canada en sciences humaines et sociales for his book Les Bois-Brûlés de l’Outaouais and is the first faculty member in school history to win the award, which is presented by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. 

“It was quite a shock when I first received the letter notifying us that we had won the award,” Bouchard said in a media release.

“It’s an incredible honour, given the distinguished academics who have received this prize in the past."

The prize is given to the best French-language book in the humanities and social sciences published in Canada each year.

Bouchard's book examines Métis heritage of people in western Québec and their connections to established Métis communities in western Canada.

Bouchard shares the award with his co-authors Associate Professor in the Department of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University Dr. Sébastien Malette and independent researcher Guillaume Marcotte. 

Each award is given a $10,000 prize.

We are grateful to the jury as we know this book does challenge what was assumed to be true,” Bouchard added.

“As we wrote, rather than reducing reality to a Manichean world view that opposes identities such as white versus Indian, or white versus Métis, or lastly Québécois versus Métis, we carefully analyzed a cultural and historical landscape in which identities are ever-shifting and evolving as living entities, in which individuals and communities can call upon elements of their ethnic and symbolic heritage to define and redefine themselves.”

In order for writers to be eligible for the award, the books have to first receive funding through the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program. 

The program is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and administered by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, supports up to the publication of up to 180 books each year.

The jury that selected the winners consisted of Professor of Political Science Eric Helleiner at the University of Waterloo, Professor of Emeritus in the Department of History Arthur Ray at the University of British Columbia, Professor of History Senior Advisor Equity Diversity and Inclusion Barrington Walker at Wilfrid Laurier University and Office of the Provost and Vice President (Academic) Noreen Green from Memorial University. 

"The authors' analysis of the documentary sources was painstaking,” the jurors said in a citation. “Their conceptual framework is carefully defined, and each stage is based on a transparent methodology.

“The challenge was a sizable one: reconstructing the full presence of a historical community in the Maniwaki area whose invisible existence could only be traced by cross-referencing some often stigmatizing statements, reports from a variety of sources, correspondence, frequently exclusionary policies, spoken memories and genealogical research. An exemplary and meticulous work.”

Bouchard and his team were successful in getting ASPP funding twice on this project.

First for the award-winning French version and more recently for the English version Bois-Brûlés: The Untold Story of the Métis of Western Québec released this Spring.

“Together we sought to ensure thorough research that was true to the historical and archival record,” Bouchard said. “We are quite grateful to the community that entrusted us with this task of compiling this history of Maniwaki and western Québec.

"The books make the argument that a historical Métis community exists in the Outaouais region of western Québec and points to cultural similitudes and ancestral linkages to established Métis communities in western Canada. We wanted to research an aspect of Canadian history that has been overlooked. We didn’t have a set agenda when we began our research, we wanted to see what story the archival record would tell us about how people were identified in the 19th century.”

Bouchard said he hopes the award will help more people read the book and engage in a discussion. 

“We want this book to further the discussion about what it means to be Métis in 2020."