The Roussain family, from the historic Métis community at Sault Ste. Marie, have been prominent advocates and organizers throughout Métis history, from the Upper Great Lakes to the Red River. In 1816, for example, Eustace Roussain rallied Métis in the Upper Great Lakes to support Cuthbert Grant’s efforts against Lord Selkirk’s troops in the Red River, culminating in the Battle of Seven Oaks. Eustace was later charged for his role in the conflict. Louise Roussain, another Saul

Métis sisters Angélique and Marguerite Nolin carried their commitment to education with them across the Métis Homeland, creating a lasting legacy for generations to come. Raised within a strong and active Métis family along the St. Marys River at Sault Ste. Marie, Angélique and Marguerite Nolin were sent to Montreal for their schooling. During the 1800s, being educated in Montreal was not uncommon for the Métis children of successful fur-trading families, including Louis Rie

The Gordon family was among Penetanguishene’s founding Métis families who relocated from Drummond Island alongside other members of their Métis community after the Island was formally handed over to the United States. They took up a land grant across the bay from the small British naval outpost in Penetanguishene harbour. The family’s Métis matriarch, Agnes Landry (Sr.), was born on Drummond Island and spent most of her life within the vibrant Métis community in the Upper Gre

Marguerite Guilmond, the Métis matriarch of the well-known Métis Boissonneau family, was a Métis woman originally from the English River region in present-day Manitoba. As a young adult, Marguerite fell in love with Joseph Boissonneau. Joseph was born in Lower Canada in 1787 but eventually made his way westward—first to St. Joseph Island in the Upper Great Lakes before continuing farther west, where he met Marguerite. Marguerite and Joseph soon started a family together. By t

The spring maple sugar harvest has been an important seasonal Métis community tradition for generations. For many, the annual maple sugar harvest has involved the entire family. In a late March 1853 journal entry, for example, Mattawa postmaster Colin Rankin noted of the Métis Langevin family that it was “Mme. Langevin and family” who “started out to their sugary”. This built upon earlier entries, including one from early January 1849 in which the Langevin family was noted a

Rosette Boucher (nee Larammee) was born on a cold December 12, 1815 to Jaques Adam Laramee, North West Company employee and War of 1812 veteran, and Rosette Cloutier, a “half-breed woman” from Mackinaw Island in the Upper Great Lakes. Rosette’s upbringing was grounded in her Métis community’s traditional way of life, including participating in the annual spring sugar camps common among Métis families throughout the Upper Great Lakes. In 1828, however, at just thirteen years