Métis in the Upper Great Lakes, like others across the Métis Homeland, were given and hold unique names for themselves, recognizing their distinctiveness and relationships to others. One of those names was wissakodéwin, an anishinaabemowin word meaning “half-burnt wood.”
In 2008, Métis Elder and language speaker Tom McCallum referenced the term wissakodéwin in a traditional knowledge report published by the Métis Centre of the National Aboriginal Healing Foundation when discussing the names ascribed to Métis by their First Nations relatives:
“To the Cree, we are nehiyowak. Ekwa kohtak anma apihtaw’kosisan isihkatew. Apihtaw’kosisan means a sort of half-son. This was translated into English as Halfbreed. To the Ojibway, we are mixed-blood. They say wisahkotewinowak which translates to mean where the fire has gone through and burnt everything, and new shoots come up from the ground.”
Elder McCallum then builds upon his description, further explaining the deeper meaning of the term in relation to the emergence of the Métis as a distinct Indigenous people and nation of the land:
“That’s where the Métis come from; they were the new Nation, the new shoots that come up from the ground from Mother Earth.”
Rooted in this history, many Métis with ties to Upper Great Lakes Métis communities continue to identify with the name wissakodéwin today.
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