Métis Interpreters in the Abitibi Region

Throughout the historic North West, Métis interpreters like those in Moose Factory and the Abitibi Inland region fostered diplomacy, navigated misunderstandings and conflict, supported day-to-day operations, and helped connect communities and nations. Their ability to navigate multiple languages, travel routes, and cultural relationships made them particularly important within the region’s important trade networks.

Hudson’s Bay Company officials often acknowledged the specialized abilities of Métis workers, including interpreters, in their correspondence. In one letter, an HBC official named Thomas Thomas reflected on the loss the Company experienced when Métis worker David Sanderson Jr. left their service, refusing to be underpaid for his essential work:

“Besides the above Canadians, two other men viz David Sanderson Junr and Hugh Linklater, who left the service last year in consequence of their extravagant demands for wages being rejected: they are natives of the country and have been many years in the Service, are expert in steering Boats or Canoes, able Interpreters and the latter in particular can act as Guides in most parts of the Winnipeg Country.”

In addition to noting Sanderson’s distinct identity as “native of the country”, a commonly used term to differentiate Métis in the HBC’s employ from First Nations, Thomas also emphasized how essential his abilities as an interpreter were to the functioning of the region’s trade, even as his contributions were not always fully valued or fairly compensated.

See Our Sources

• Letter from Thomas Thomas to William Meiller, 28 June 1812

• Abitibi Submissions to the Expert Panel

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