Many of the oldest Métis settlements in west-central North America emerged along the frequently travelled waterways of the fur trade. Generations of Métis have subsequently obtained diverse and meaningful employment on the lakes and rivers of their traditional territories.
Members of the Abitibi Inland Métis Community, for example, overcame racist Hudson’s Bay Company employment policies to carve out specialized roles as boat steerers and collectively advocate for fair wages. Of the Métis boat steerers, Albany postmaster John Hodgson wrote in 1804:
“The greatest trouble I have experienced this year is from the half Breed or Creoles, who complain their Wages are much less than others, and as they are all Boat Steerers they think they have a right to better wages than they have.”
Other members of the Abitibi Inland Métis Community at Moose Factory used the woodworking skills they developed working at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s coastal forts to construct distinctive wooden houses, that were described by surveyor William E. Logan in 1845:
“There are a few wooden houses in the vicinity for the servants or voyageurs of the Company all inhabited by halfbreeds.”
Generations of Métis have also carved out prominent careers serving on—and even captaining—vessels of all types and sizes.
Lewis Solomon of the Métis community at Penetanguishene, for instance, piloted numerous vessels on the Upper Great Lakes. Later in life, he recalled many of these experiences—including several of his notable professional achievements:
“I was the first man to pilot the steamer Duchess of Kalloola to the ‘Sault’ … I also piloted the Sailor’s Bride into Port Severn, the first vessel that ever entered there.”
These diverse professions stand in addition to the generations of Métis from communities as widespread as Penetanguishene, Sault Ste. Marie, Rainy Lake, and beyond, whose intimate place-based knowledge of local lakes and rivers has formed the basis of prosperous commercial fishing careers.
Today, many Métis continue to pursue meaningful occupations—from artists to tourism operators—that are inspired by the lakes and rivers of their traditional territories.
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