Michael Labatte’s life reflected the patterns of travel, endurance, and kinship that have long defined Métis families across the Upper Great Lakes and the larger North-West. The circumstances of his birth are themselves a testament to that resilience. Michael’s parents were Louisa Cadotte and Louis George Labatte, who along with other Métis families had established their home next to the naval base on Drummond Island. A veteran of the War of 1812, Louis George maintained long

Every Mother’s Day, Métis families and communities across the Homeland take time to honour and celebrate the Métis matriarchs in their lives, past and present. This annual tradition stretches back generations. A May 1942 Toronto Star article, for example, celebrated a very special Mother’s Day for Georgian Bay Métis Community matriarch, Elizabeth Longlade (nee Dusome) of Penetanguishene: “Sunday, Mother’s Day, will be the 95th birthday of Mrs. Charles Longlade, pioneer resi

Marguerite Guilmond, the Métis matriarch of the well-known Métis Boissonneau family, was a Métis woman originally from the English River region in present-day Manitoba. As a young adult, Marguerite fell in love with Joseph Boissonneau. Joseph was born in Lower Canada in 1787 but eventually made his way westward—first to St. Joseph Island in the Upper Great Lakes before continuing farther west, where he met Marguerite. Marguerite and Joseph soon started a family together. By t

Métis across the Homeland played a significant role in the fur trade, including by overwintering at remote trading posts. With their deep knowledge of the land, waters, seasons, and animals, Métis hunters, trappers, and fishers helped sustain fellow overwinterers by providing food and guidance in challenging environments. Settlers often recognized this expertise and sought out Métis harvesters as authorities on the lands and waters around them. In a 1934 Sault Star article di

After the North West Company (NWC) and Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) merged in 1821, many longtime Métis employees chose to branch out on their own, working independently as “freemen.” As astute businesspeople, these Métis freemen recognized the continued demand for their labour as hired “jobbers” and could demand competitive wages for their work. This was certainly the case in the Upper Great Lakes region, where demand for Métis freemen jobbers, like Henry Sayer and Michel La

Across the Métis Homeland, Métis have used petitions as a tool to collectively protect their interests across the 1800s. From the 1840 Penetanguishene Petition in the wake of the relocation from Drummond Island to the 1882 Batoche Petition in the prelude to the Northwest Resistance and beyond, petitions were a prevalent political tool that Métis reached for to assert their distinct identity and defend their rights. Another example from Moose Factory in 1905, where a group of