Fort William, on the north shore of Lake Superior, became an important gathering location within the historic fur trade when the North West Company relocated their Lake Superior district headquarters there in 1803. Annual gatherings at Fort William brought together North West Company employees from across its vast geographic network. These gatherings at Fort William became known as the ‘Great Rendezvous’. The Rendezvous was an important part of the annual fur trade cycle. It

The Labatte House at Thunder Beach, near the Métis settlement at Penetanguishene, stands as an enduring testament to Métis resiliency in the Upper Great Lakes. That legacy all began on a fateful Christmas Eve in 1834. Like many Métis families from Drummond Island, the Labattes were relocated to Penetanguishene after the War of 1812. Many, including Louis George Labatte, were promised land grants in the region as recognition for their service during the war. After settling br

The Labattes were among the Métis families who were relocated to Penetanguishene from Drummond Island following the British ceding the island to the United States after the War of 1812. Antoine Labatte, son of Métis War of 1812 veteran Louis George Labatte and his Métis wife Julia Frances Grouette, later recounted details of their family’s 1828 journey to Penetanguishene: “We left Drummond Island in August, in a bateau, towed by the schooner Alice… We came by the outer c

While Métis people hold diverse spiritual beliefs, many Métis in the Upper Great Lakes— like other Métis communities throughout the Métis Nation Homeland—practiced the Catholic faith. An 1893 visitor to Killarney, for example, described the community as consisting of “many half breeds at Killarney, mostly French and Roman Catholic, and there is a small Roman Catholic church.” With few churches in the Upper Great Lakes during the early 1800s, Métis travelled long distances

The merger of the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821 saw a more permanent, year-round Métis community grow on the northern shore of Lake Superior, particularly at Fort William—a location that had long been the home of the “Great Rendezvous”. A distinct Métis community soon became established at Fort William. By the time the government was preparing for the Robinson Treaties in the late 1840s, the distinct Métis community at Fort William was clearly identi