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 communities’ deep seasonal knowledge has enabled them to practice a distinct way of life and sustain themselves from the lands and waters of their traditional territories for generations. However, many newcomers to their territories, such as Ontario settler families, didn’t possess the same knowledge and skills and often struggled to survive within their new homes. St. Joseph Island settler, Christy Ann Simons, was one such newcomer. Speaking

The Métis Nation of Ontario’s 1994 Founding Delegates Assembly adopted several resolutions to defend the exercise of inherent Métis harvesting rights and pursue negotiated harvesting agreements within the province. To guide these eventual negotiations, Founding Delegates also adopted resolutions articulating foundational Métis values, including strong direction that conservation and preservation become primary aims and objectives in any future Métis harvesting agreement: “The

Many members of the Upper Great Lakes Métis Community utilized their knowledge of the lands, waters, and local peoples to maintain meaningful employment as guides and interpreters. Lewis Solomon, a member of the Métis community at Penetanguishene, was one of those guides. Lewis was born on Drummond Island in 1821 and later moved to Penetanguishene during the community’s relocation in 1829. As a young adult, Lewis pursued “a tolerably fair education” that afforded him a “c

Following in their father Jean Baptiste Nolin’s footsteps, Métis brothers Louis, Augustin, and Joseph Nolin carried their knowledge of languages and diplomacy into new generations of leadership and service. Having grown up in the culturally diverse Upper Great Lakes fur trade and later serving during the War of 1812, their combined experiences navigating relationships between communities and speaking multiple languages made the Nolin brothers valuable figures in moments where

Michel Toussaint Sayer, born around 1821 in Red River, was raised in a family tradition of language skills and diplomacy, such as that of his uncle John Charles Sayer, a well known Métis freeman and interpreter. Following a similar path, Michel Toussaint pursued a career as a Hudson’s Bay Company interpreter, taking on important responsibilities for communication and connection in his local community. As his career progressed, Michel Toussaint’s personal and professional resp