Through their strength, resilience, and ingenuity, Métis matriarchs have preserved and protected their families and communities for generations.   During the influenza crisis at the turn of the 20 th  century, for example, Elizabeth Longlade (née Dusome) demonstrated her care and dedication by using her professional cooking skills to safeguard her loved ones in Penetanguishene.  A 1942 Toronto Star  article shared Elizabeth’s simple immunity-boosting recipe, crafted during th

Métis across the Homeland have consistently demonstrated pride through significant accomplishments and simple everyday actions. Many Métis individuals have shared stories that reflect these points of pride in contributions to their Métis family and community life. Elizabeth Longlade (née Dusome) was one such Métis matriarch from the Georgian Bay Métis Community, centred at Penetanguishene, in the Upper Great Lakes, who shared her life’s story and points of quiet personal prid

Born in 1847, Elizabeth Longlade (née Dusome) was a proud Métis matriarch whose strength and personality shone through in the everyday moments of her life. Her story, shared in a 1942 interview with the Toronto Star , captures her memories, determination, and independence. Elizabeth married Charles Longlade in Penetanguishene in 1866, 76 years prior to the article's publication. Together, they built a life rooted in family and hard work. For decades, Elizabeth worked alongsid

In 1850, the Métis community at Sault Ste. Marie stood together to protect their River Lots from settler encroachment, following the Robinson-Huron Treaty, by signing the 1850 Sault Ste. Marie Métis Petition. Michel (Michael) Labatte was among the 1850 Sault Ste. Marie Métis Petition’s signatories, on behalf of his Métis River Lot family. Born in 1814 on the American side of Sault Ste. Marie, Michael was the son of Métis War of 1812 veteran Louis George Labatte and Louisa Cad

Elizabeth Dusome (nee Longlade) was the matriarch of a large community-minded Métis family whose service and connections have spanned generations. Elizabeth Longlade was born in 1859 into a large Métis family—eventually reaching ten siblings—within the richly interconnected Métis community at Penetanguishene. Elizabeth’s father, Louis Longlade, had been born on Drummond Island in 1816 and relocated to Penetanguishene with his parents, Charles—a War of 1812 veteran—and Josephi

Angelique Langlade was one of the historic Georgian Bay Métis Community’s Métis matriarchs who, despite relocation from Penetanguishene to Drummond Island after the War of 1812, kept her Métis community’s spirit and memories alive. Later in her life, “at an advanced age” that not even she could remember, Langlade shared her memories with journalist A.C. Osborne. Identifying herself as a “half-breed,” and despite her limited command of the English language—a reality for many f