Biography

Combining political biography and historical narrative, this book introduces readers to two compelling and complex public figures in Alberta history. Born into a prominent fur trading family, Isabella Clark Hardisty Lougheed established a distinct role for herself as an influential Metis woman in southern Alberta at a time when racial boundaries in the province were hardening and Metis activists had laid a firm foundation for their community to be recognized as distinct Indigenous Peoples. Isabella's grandson Edgar Peter Lougheed served as premier of Alberta at a time that saw success and hardship in the realm of Indigenous activism. Drawing on Peter Lougheed's personal papers, family interviews, and archival research, this book analyzes his political initiatives in the context of his personal connection to an important Metis pioneer family and his Indigenous ancestors. It draws intriguing parallels between grandmother and grandson, exploring how Metis identity, political activism, and colonial institutional power shaped the lives and legacies of both.