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

Sara Mary Moore was born in Moose Factory in 1818. Her Métis father, George Moore Jr., was a steersman with the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), who had entered the company’s employ as a labourer half a decade earlier. George and his wife, Emma, raised Sara Mary within the vibrant Métis fur trade world of traders, guides, and woodsmen along western James Bay. In 1833, George briefly moved east “to Canada” before retiring to the Red River in 1834. Then, about 16, Sara Mary moved

Métis communities across the Homeland have always shared a love of food. Stews and soups were and continue to be a warm, hearty meal during winter, using ingredients found within each Métis community’s place in the Homeland. One stew shared across the Homeland is Rubaboo. Rubaboo is a hearty stew or soup made from meat, vegetables, and water. The earliest record of this cultural dish dates back to the 1800s. Traditionally, Rubaboo was made of peas or corn with bear or pork

Charlotte Turner was born in Moose Factory, in the Hudson’s Bay Company’s (HBC) Rupert’s Land territory, on or about July 11, 1828. Charlotte’s father, Joseph Turner Sr., was a lifelong HBC employee, who worked for the Company for nearly 70 years. Throughout that time, he and his Métis wife, Emma, had seven children born in Moose Factory. On June 21, 1841, Charlotte Turner married James Harper, another long serving HBC employee, “a la façon du pays” (in the custom of the coun

The Georgian Bay Métis Community is home to many descendants of the Métis families who were forced to relocate from their homes on Drummond Island after the British ceded it to the United States following the War of 1812. The treacherous voyage from Drummond Island to Penetanguishene, across the unpredictable waters of Georgian Bay, holds an important place in the community’s history. Many first-hand accounts and stories are documented in "Migration of Voyageurs from Drummon

Many parts of the Métis Homeland are known for their harsh winters, and the Rainy Lake District is no exception. Throughout the historic fur trade period, when others left for more seasonable locations, many brave Métis families remained at various trading posts throughout the cold winter months to keep the fur trade economy alive and thriving—a practice known in English as overwintering, or hiverner in French. One of the Rainy Lake District’s well-known overwinterers was ren