Métis across the Homeland relied on fishing for sustenance throughout the year. Not only did fishing provide food to Métis communities, but it was also relied upon by many as an essential economic practice. During the winter months, Métis along Northern Lake Superior had to be creative if they were going to continue fishing on the frozen lakes and waterways. One common practice was ice spearfishing. In January 1840, for instance, an ice spear fishery in Michipicoten Bay yiel

For generations, Métis have been expert all-season travellers of the lands and waters of their Homelands. As Christy Ann Simons recounted in her memoirs of growing up on St. Joseph Island, near Sault Ste. Marie, during the late 1800s, the local Métis community’s craftsmanship and place-based knowledge enabled them to travel freely all year long: “The sailboat was their method of traveling in summer, dog team and snowshoes in winter (homemade sleds and shoes).” For many, incl

Métis communities throughout the Métis Homeland have vibrant and diverse ways of life grounded in the lands and waters that surround them. Each Métis community has developed unique food-based traditions that have sustained their families and livelihoods over generations. Small-scale farming and food growing, in particular, have taken on a varied and polarizing place both within and between Métis communities. For some, food growing has long been an important staple. For othe

Métis net fishing traditions, with deep roots in the Upper Great Lakes, have played a foundational role in shaping the economic and cultural practices of Métis communities across the Métis Homeland. At the Métis community at Sault Ste. Marie, in particular, the practice of fishing using weighted nets to catch whitefish emerged as a vital subsistence and commercial activity. As Métis families from the Upper Great Lakes moved westward and travelled throughout the Métis Homeland

As the fur trade declined, fishing became the primary occupation of many Métis in the Upper Great Lakes. This included the “little” Métis village at Killarney that relied upon the bountiful surrounding waters to feed their community and generate an ongoing income. Over the generations, many visitors to the area described the Métis fishing economy in Killarney, including their collective advocacy around the protection of Métis fishing rights that date back to as early as 1838.

The Georgian Bay Métis Community’s distinct way of life, grounded in the region’s abundant lands and waters, has faced numerous threats by settlers from the south for generations. The 1885 Ontario Fisheries Act, for example, attempted to place restrictions on some of the Georgian Bay Métis Community’s most culturally and economically important practices. In response, Métis fishermen, such as William Dusome, organized acts of resistance. By the turn of the twentieth centur