Métis mail carriers like Michael Labatte and Louis Miron exemplified the profound personal sacrifices made by many Métis in the Upper Great Lakes and throughout the broader Métis Homeland in service to their communities.
These Métis leaders braved extreme conditions, ensuring the delivery of vital supplies and communication across vast distances between Métis communities.
Michael Labatte, a man of remarkable endurance, repeatedly trekked 300 miles through deep snow with nothing but a sleigh and two dogs. His grueling journey often came at great personal expense, including suffering from the debilitating effects of snowshoe sickness.
“I would sharpen my flint, then split the flesh of the ankle above the instep in several places, and sometimes down the calf of the leg for a remedy.”
Labatte later recounted another harrowing experience of survival and resiliency along his mail route, in which he was, “five days without food, except moss off the rocks on account of floods and soft weather.”
Louis Miron, who began carrying mail at the age of 15, shared similar experiences of personal sacrifice in the name of service to his community:
“We used to carry mail to Killarney in dos day and it was cold, I tell you, some time I thought I freeze but here I am to tell you ‘bout it… I think 40 degres below zero was de reg’lar ting den… Sometam den I wish I was dead."
These stories of Michael Labatte and Louis Miron highlight not just the physical and mental endurance required for their work, but also their unwavering commitment to their Métis communities. Despite their years of personal sacrifices and unimaginable hardship, neither Métis mail carrier ever let adversity get the best of them.
As Louis Miron would later reflect, “We no say a word, we just work.”
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