ONTARIO MÉTIS FACTS

Josette Miner (née Brissette), the daughter of Métis matriarch Archange L’Hirondelle and fur trader Hyppolite Brissette, was raised within the rich history and connections of her Georgian Bay Métis Community. Known for her work as a midwife and herbalist, Josette held deep ties to families throughout the Upper Great Lakes. Drawing on Métis knowledge passed down from her mother, she used traditional medicines and healing practices to care for those around her. Josette’s vocati

Jane Renton was one of the many Métis women who played an essential role in the economic and social development of her Abitibi Inland Métis Community through her specialized skills and knowledge of northern Ontario’s lands, waters, plants, and wildlife. Raised around trading posts where her father worked, Jane developed a strong understanding of the fur trade and the responsibilities that came with life in a Métis trading community. Her familiarity with both Indigenous and Eu

Like many Métis women of the fur trade era, Emma Turner (nee good) employed her knowledge of the lands, waters, plants, and wildlife around western James Bay to sustain her family and community well beyond their home at Moose Factory.   Complementing her husband Joseph’s work with the Hudson’s Bay Company, Emma was far more than a helper. She was an active participant, actively securing, preserving and preparing vital food supplies. An 1812 report from a Hudson’s Bay Company