Métis sisters Angélique and Marguerite Nolin carried their commitment to education with them across the Métis Homeland, creating a lasting legacy for generations to come. Raised within a strong and active Métis family along the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie, Angélique and Marguerite Nolin were sent to Montreal for their schooling. During the 1800s, being educated in Montreal was not uncommon for the Métis children of successful fur-trading families, including Louis Rie

During harsh winters across the Upper Great Lakes, land-based knowledge and ingenuity could be the difference between life and death for Métis mail carriers. In a 1948 Sault Star article, Charlie Davieaux reflected on a particularly dangerous trip across Lake Superior in the early 1880’s. Charlie, his father, Hyacinthe, and a third man had found themselves trapped in the narrow end of open water, completely surrounded by “fields of thickly packed ice cakes.” The trio used th

Métis mail carriers demonstrated the significant personal sacrifices many Métis made in the Upper Great Lakes and throughout the wider Métis Homeland to serve their communities. Having recently celebrated his 85th birthday, Charlie Davieaux “...sat smoking his pipe while reliving many of the adventures of the early days in Algoma…” with the Sault Star in 1948. These “adventures,” however, reflected the dangerous, sacrificial nature of being a Métis mail carrier in the early 1

Like many other Métis mail carriers across the Upper Great Lakes, Charlie Davieaux was accustomed to traveling long distances in hazardous conditions. The spring thaw was particularly hazardous, requiring mail carriers to depend on one another not only to fulfill their duties, but also to ensure their survival. In a 1948 Sault Star article, Davieaux recounted a perilous spring-time journey “when the ice was too heavy to permit the use of a boat and too thin for safety with a

Métis mail carriers have a rich history of helping isolated communities stay connected socially, politically, and economically. They often navigated long, difficult routes and hazardous conditions, relying on extensive knowledge of the land that was passed down from generation to generation. In the 1880s, the Native Copper Company operated copper mines on Michipicoten Island. While the company provided employees with amenities such as a store, a dance hall, and even a “compl

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