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

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

While Elizabeth, Philip, Charlotte, and Joseph Turner Jr. moved west to establish their lives and careers in various Métis communities across the Homeland, the youngest siblings, Jane and Harriet Turner, stayed in their family’s original home at Moose Factory. Like their mother Emma before them, Jane and Harriet raised the next generation of their family in Moose Factory. Although they remained in Moose Factory, the Turner sisters maintained strong ties with their siblings an

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