The families which make up Georgian Bay Métis Community have deep and enduring connections amongst each other, as well as with other Métis families and communites in the Upper Great Lakes and throughout the Métis Homeland. Many of these bonds were rooted during their shared experience of relocation from Drummond Island to Penetanguishene, in the aftermath of the War of 1812. Lewis Solomon is one example of a Georgian Bay Métis Community member whose family kinship extends

The Labattes were among the Métis families who were relocated to Penetanguishene from Drummond Island following the British ceding the island to the United States after the War of 1812. Antoine Labatte, son of Métis War of 1812 veteran Louis George Labatte and his Métis wife Julia Frances Grouette, later recounted details of their family’s 1828 journey to Penetanguishene: “We left Drummond Island in August, in a bateau, towed by the schooner Alice… We came by the outer c

A.C. Osborne's "Migration of Voyageurs from Drummond Island to Penetanguishene in 1828" chronicles a defining event in the history of the Upper Great Lakes Métis Community, capturing its stories, struggles, and resilience. Following the cession of Drummond Island by the British Crown to the United States after the War of 1812, the many Métis families who called the Island home were forced to relocate—with a large number going to Penetanguishene on the southwestern shore of