Throughout history, Métis across the Homeland have found employment using their fluency in a diverse array of languages. Prominent language-based Métis professions have included interpreters and guides. Many passed their language-based vocations down between generations. Lewis Solomon, a well-known member of the Georgian Bay Métis Community, for example, followed in the footsteps of his father, William, who was an Indian interpreter for the British Government. Like many M

Many Indigenous people and nations in the Upper Great Lakes allied with and fought alongside the British Army during the War of 1812. Louis George Labatte of the Upper Great Lakes Métis Community was one such veteran. Labatte participated in the capture of Mackinaw and other pivotal events. Through his experiences, Louis George Labatte had many stories to pass along to his children about his time during the war. His son, Antoine Labatte, later recounted one of his father’s

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

As Métis boys who grew up learning from their fur trader father in the vibrant fur trading posts of the Upper Great Lakes, Henry, Pierre Guillaume, and John Charles Sayer were destined to join the fur trade themselves. By 1811, Henry, the eldest Sayer brother, had joined the North West Company (NWC). Henry’s younger brother, John Charles, had also joined the NWC by that time and was working in the Lac La Pluie District by the mid 1810s. The youngest brother, Pierre Guillaume

From the earliest days of the Métis Nation, Métis communities and their leaders have recognized the value of maintaining a unified voice across the Métis Homeland—from the Upper Great Lakes westward—and have consistently achieved shared victories for all Métis by standing together as one. Early examples of Métis organizing and collective advocacy across geographically distant Métis communities for the shared benefit of all are numerous. In 1816, for instance, Métis from a

The Labatte family has a strong legacy of Métis political advocacy, stretching from Penetanguishene to Sault Ste. Marie. Members of the Labatte family, across multiple generations, have contributed to numerous examples of Métis collective action. Louis George Labatte, for example, served alongside others from the Métis community at Drummond Island during the War of 1812. During his service, he participated in decisive actions, including the capture of Mackinaw from the Amer