Métis across the Homeland are deeply committed to their communities and one another. In times of need, Métis have a proud history of coming together to support each other—even if it means enduring danger or hardship themselves.
This deep sense of Métis service to one another is perhaps most vividly illustrated by the many daring winter rescues woven throughout Métis history.
In her account by A.C. Osborne, for example, Rosette Boucher (nee Larammee) recounted the Métis community at Penetanguishene banding together to rescue Joseph Giroux, who had gotten lost at Pinery Point, across Penetanguishene Bay, while bringing winter provisions to his son at Thunder Beach:
“The snow was two feet deep and no roads. They found him on the third day in the afternoon lying on some boughs behind a big oak log, his hands and feet frozen solid, and his dog wrapped in the breast of his coat to help keep him warm. They made a stretcher of withes covered in boughs, and carried him home on their shoulders, relieving each other by turns.”
The daring winter rescue across Penetanguishene Bay is just one of many examples of Métis banding together to help their fellow community members throughout history.