Many parts of the Métis Homeland are known for their harsh winters, and the Rainy Lake District is no exception. Throughout the historic...

The Hudson’s Bay Company’s post at Rat Portage was the northernmost outpost at Lake of the Woods, near present-day Kenora. For...

Métis communities across the Homeland were important contributors to the fur trade, with Métis men and women working at trading posts for...

Métis across the Homeland are deeply committed to their communities and one another. In times of need, Métis have a proud history of...

In 1845, the government opened lands north of Lake Huron for settlement and began negotiating treaties in the region. These newly opened lands included many Métis families’ River Lots along the St. Mary’s River at Sault Ste. Marie.   In 1850, the Métis were explicitly excluded from the Robinson treaties.  However, during the treaty negotiations, Anishinaabe leaders had advocated for the recognition of Métis rights to their River Lots. This advocacy prompted Treaty Commissione

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