The Upper Great Lakes are known for their treacherous waters, where unpredictable weather and hidden shoals have led to untold numbers of shipwrecks over the centuries. Many—including the wrecks of the Hackett at Horse Island and the Labatte family at Thunder Beach near Penetanguishene—have been preserved by Métis communities through stories and passed down through the generations. With such events looming large in Métis communities’ memories, it should come as little sur

Like many Métis families in the Upper Great Lakes and across the Homeland, fishing has been central to the livelihood and traditions of the Roussain family for generations. An 1861 official report to Parliament, for example, noted Charles Roussain’s commercial fishing lease north of Sault Ste. Marie: “Charles Roussain, half-breed, trader, hunter and fishery lessee; has a small clearance. 3rd. Agiwana [sic].” A census from that same year, enumerating Charles Roussain as an “H.

The Turner and Roussain families each carry a storied legacy of leadership and defending the Métis Nation’s rights and sovereignty, while also maintaining deep ties throughout the Métis Homeland to this day. Members of the Turner family, originally from Moose Factory in present day northern Ontario, have defended their Métis identity and rights for generations, petitioning for and receiving Métis scrip throughout the Metis Homeland. The Roussains, from the historic Métis comm