ONTARIO MÉTIS FACTS

Telling Our Stories and Histories.

Learn the facts about rights-bearing Métis communities in Ontario. All the images, videos, and original source materials you need with none of the spin.

Featured Stories

The Great Rendezvous at Fort William

Fort William, on the north shore of Lake Superior, became an important gathering location within the historic fur trade when the North West Company relocated their Lake Superior district headquarters there in 1803. Annual gatherings at Fort William brought together North West Company employees from across its vast geographic network. These gatherings at Fort William became known as the ‘Great Rendezvous’. The Rendezvous was an important part of the annual fur trade cycle. It

Métis Political Advocacy in Nipigon

Métis in the Nipigon area have maintained a deep sense of their distinct Métis identity and community, organizing and acting collectively across many generations. In 1880, for example, Métis in the Nipigon area signed several petitions in which they identified themselves as “half-breeds”, distinct from their First Nations relatives and neighbours. The first petition, submitted by the “Indians and half breeds of the Pic River,” requested reserve lands. Another petition fro

Métis Fishing and Resistance in Nipigon

For generations, family fishing—including commercial fishing—has been an important component of the Upper Great Lakes’ Northern Lake Superior Historic Métis Community’s traditional Métis way of life, including for the numerous Métis families living around Lake Nipigon. The Nipigon-area’s prominent Métis de Laronde family, for example, has practiced a Métis way of life rooted in the region’s lands and waters for generations. The de Laronde’s fishing traditions are immortalized

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Newest Stories

Louis George Labatte: Capture of Fort Mackinac

During the War of 1812, many Indigenous peoples and nations in the Upper Great Lakes formed alliances with and fought alongside the British to defend against American expansion into their homelands. This history of military service is reflected in the creation of the Mackinaw jacket by Métis women and in stories passed down about a legendary capture of two American schooners. Louis George Labatte, a Métis born and raised in the world of the Upper Great Lakes fur trade, is rec

Swain’s Red River Jigs

Jimmy Swain served as a Métis head guide during the 1905 Treaty 9 expedition, drawing on deep knowledge of northern Ontario and western James Bay’s lands and waters. Born in northwestern Ontario, he later lived, worked, and married in the regions the treaty commissioners travelled through, making his experience central to the success of the journey. Swain brought his fiddle along, using it to connect with fellow travelers by playing “far on in the night.” Around the camp, Swa

“inordinately proud”

During the 1905 Treaty 9 expedition, Métis head guide Jimmy Swain helped lead treaty commissioners through northern Ontario and western James Bay regions. Born in northwestern Ontario, Swain spent much of his life living and working in the expedition’s regions, developing the knowledge needed to lead others through the difficult country. On a trip where every item was packed with intention, Swain brought his fiddle. The instrument was fragile and personal, and while it may n