Around the shores of the Upper Great Lakes, Métis women were far more than mothers and wives. They played vital roles in supporting their families, communities, and local economies. Through their labour and skills, Métis women helped sustain the Métis way of life, contributing to harvesting, preparing and preserving food, crafting goods, and serving as translators between Indigenous and settler communities. Their work strengthened both household stability and broader communit

DOWNLOAD THE DIGITAL COLOURING PAGE TO PRINT AT HOME In 1828, Métis mother Angelique Lepine, her family, and Métis community were forced to leave their home on Drummond Island. They boarded a sailing ship with all their belongings and set off on a long, cold journey to their new home in Penetanguishene. One night, a fierce November storm struck, and the ship ran aground. Thinking quickly, Angelique tied herself and her baby to the mast, bravely enduring the wind and rain unt

Angelique Lepine (nee Cadotte) was a Métis woman born in the Upper Great Lakes in the early 1800s. As a young woman, she married Pierre Lepine, a French-Canadian. Soon after, the couple welcomed their first child, Therise, into the world. However, that world was one of upheaval for Angelique’s Métis community. In 1828, Angelique, her husband, and their baby daughter were among the many Métis families forced to relocate from their homes on Drummond Island after the British ced

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

Métis women played an essential role in provisioning the fur trade posts of the Abitibi Inland and western James Bay regions. Métis women from the Abitibi Inland Métis Community are documented hunting, trapping, and snaring a variety of birds and game, including geese, partridges, beaver, martins, and rabbits. Fishing—especially for whitefish—was common too. In addition to hunting, snaring, and fishing, Métis women actively participated in maple sugar production, as well as o

Métis women played many roles during the War of 1812, including harvesting, caring for the sick, and inventing a familiar piece of clothing: the Mackinaw jacket.  In the winter of 1812, a British commander at St. Joseph Island, Captain Roberts, realized he had no suitable winter clothing for his soldiers: "All hopes having now ceased of the arrival of the schooner Hunter or any other vessel from Amherstburg with the clothing of the detachment, I am this day obtaining, upon my