The Moose Factory School

Métis families at Moose Factory were deeply influenced by the rapid growth of the area’s Hudson’s Bay Company post. As Métis families expanded alongside the HBC post, work within the fur trade became a family enterprise. The need for education also increased, as Métis children prepared for their own fur trade careers, leading to the establishment of a local school.

The Moose Factory school began modestly as a one-room schoolhouse, but it soon became a notable foundation for Métis children growing up across the Abitibi region. 

In an 1809 description of the school, Moose Factory Chief Factor John Thomas outlined the size of the class and listed several students in attendance, including members of the Moore, Thomas, and Vincent Métis families:

“the schoolmaster resumed his function & began teaching his little school which consists of four Boys & four Girls Viz. Henry & Richard Thomas, George Moore & Henry Lawson, Harriot & Elizabeth Vincent, Katharine Thomas & Frances Thomas, the School house not being complete the Governor's Room is heretofore the school Room.”

At the time the letter was written, the school was limited to a single classroom, as the schoolhouse was still under construction. 

In later years, however, Moose Factory was noted as an important centre of education and career development for numerous Métis families. In his autobiography, for example, Métis missionary John Saunders described his journey to Moose Factory in pursuit of a formal education, which, alongside his formative years learning with his family on the land, ultimately enabled him to build relationships, spread literacy, and connect with communities across the Métis Homeland.

See Our Sources

• Abitibi Submissions to the Expert Panel

• Vincent-Renton VMFL

• John Saunders, “My Autobiography, July 18, 1876” General Synod Archives

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