Métis oral histories contain many stories of New Year’s celebrations across the Métis Homeland, Sault Ste. Marie is no exception! They tell of Métis going from house to house for cakes and pies, with the sounds of fireworks, gunshots, church bells, and fiddle music ringing in the air, all accompanied by dancing. Métis were so fond of this time of year that they often shared stories with non-Métis authors interested in their community’s history. In the 1920s, for example, Jam

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

Louis Miron embodied the resilience and dedication of Métis mail carriers in the Upper Great Lakes. Despite snow-covered landscapes and treacherous conditions, Louis Miron and other Métis mail carriers undertook the daunting but essential task of conveying ideas and advocacy between Métis communities like Sault Ste. Marie and others throughout the Métis Homeland. Like other Métis mail carriers, Miron would recount his adventures later in life. One harrowing journey stan

Métis across the Homeland are deeply committed to their communities and one another. In times of need, Métis have a proud history of coming together to support each other—even if it means enduring danger or hardship themselves. This deep sense of Métis service to one another is perhaps most vividly illustrated by the many daring winter rescues woven throughout Métis history. In her account by A.C. Osborne, for example, Rosette Boucher (nee Larammee) recounted the Métis commun

In 1845, the government opened lands north of Lake Huron for settlement and began negotiating treaties in the region. These newly opened lands included many Métis families’ River Lots along the St. Mary’s River at Sault Ste. Marie. In 1850, the Métis were explicitly excluded from the Robinson treaties. However, during the treaty negotiations, Anishinaabe leaders had advocated for the recognition of Métis rights to their River Lots. This advocacy prompted Treaty Commissione

Elizabeth Turner was baptized at Moose Factory on June 30, 1822, alongside her brothers, Joseph Jr. and Philip. Elizabeth grew up immersed in the rich and dynamic world of the fur trade. Her father, Joseph Turner Sr., was a lifelong and dedicated servant of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). Her mother, Emma, was a skilled Métis woman who raised her children within her Métis traditions on the western shores of James Bay. As the Turner siblings entered adulthood, Elizabeth’s brot