After the War of 1812, the Nolin family began to expand their connections and influence westward beyond the family’s home at Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Great Lakes. Louis Nolin, the eldest son of Jean Baptiste and Marie Angelique, moved westward to the Red River settlement, where he became an interpreter for Lord Selkirk and the Hudson’s Bay Company. This was a crucial role, as the Red River area was a center of growing tension between the Métis, European settlers, and f

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

Métis people have a long and proud history of military service. From the War of 1812 through both World Wars, the Korean Conflict, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and peacekeeping missions, Métis veterans have steadfastly defended their communities and served in the Canadian armed forces across generations. Many Métis veterans have extended their leadership and community service throughout the rest of their lives, long after their active duty ended. Louis George Labatte of the Upp

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

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

In the late 1700s, the North West Company and Hudson’s Bay Company began establishing fur trade posts in the Lac la Pluie and Rat Portage areas—present day Rainy Lake and Kenora. Daily post journals recorded many of the activities in the region. This included fishing by local Métis. Like many Métis communities in the Upper Great Lakes and farther west, Métis in the Lac la Pluie region were actively employed in commercial fishing activities that were essential to provisioning