For generations, Crown governments have encountered, recognized, and acknowledged Métis or “Half-Breed” communities in northern Ontario and surrounding the Upper Great Lakes that were culturally distinct and politically independent from their First Nations and Euro-Canadian neighbours. In 1847, for example, an Indian agent in southern Ontario noted the presence of a distinct Métis population to the north in the Upper Great Lakes, drawing clear distinctions between First Natio

Métis youth have a long history of entrepreneurship, often leading to long and successful careers as independent businesspeople and Métis community leaders. One such young Métis entrepreneur was the Georgian Bay Métis Community’s Lewis (Louie) Solomon. While “it was the fond hope of the family that Louie would succeed his father in the Government service as Indian interpreter,” Lewis would later recall that it was his early experiences joining his father on work assignments t

During the War of 1812, many Indigenous peoples and nations in the Upper Great Lakes formed alliances with and fought alongside the British to defend against American expansion into their homelands. This history of military service is reflected in the creation of the Mackinaw jacket by Métis women and in stories passed down about a legendary capture of two American schooners. Louis George Labatte, a Métis born and raised in the world of the Upper Great Lakes fur trade, is rec

On July 7, 2004, the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources signed the first-ever negotiated agreement recognizing Métis harvesting rights anywhere in the Métis homeland. The interim harvesting agreement contained a four-point recognition framework, intended to support the implementation of the Supreme Court of Canada’s unanimous decision in R. v. Powley beyond the historic Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community, where credible Métis rights ass

Understanding its potential historical significance and broader implications, the entire Métis Nation made the strategic decision to rally together in unanimous support of R. v. Powley, the Powley family and the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community during their ten-year legal ordeal. As explained by Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand in a September 24, 2003 written address to MMF citizens: “As I suggested earlier, the past week was closed by two historic decisio

The Métis Nation, its governments, and leaders have a long legacy of recognizing and uplifting the history and connection between the Upper Great Lakes Métis and broader Métis Nation, including the important historic Métis community at Sault Ste. Marie. In its intervention to the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Powley, the Métis National Council advanced the unanimous recognition that Métis Nation governments from Ontario-westward held for the Sault Ste. Marie Métis communi