The Métis fought as allies to the British in the Upper Great Lakes throughout the War of 1812, protecting their communities and homelands from American invasion.
Métis militiamen fought in the Voyageur Corps, raised by the North West Company, and played key battlefield roles in pivotal engagements like the capture of Fort Mackinac. Métis women also contributed significantly to the war effort, equipping soldiers and their loved ones with essential items, like now-famous Mackinaw jackets.
With their communities on the front lines of the war, however, along the future international border, it's unsurprising that the War of 1812’s devastation and American vengeance hit the Upper Great Lakes Métis very close to home.
For example, on July 21, 1814, the Americans raided Sault Ste. Marie, to destroy the North West Company depot, which lay at the economic heart of the community and was central to the livelihoods of many Métis families in the region.
North West Company trader Gabriel Franchère observed “the ruins the enemy had left”:
“The Americans had come, with a force of one hundred and fifty men, under the command of Major Holmes; and that after having pillaged that they all considered worth taking, of the property of the N.W. Company and that of a Mr. Johnston, they had set fire to the houses, warehouses, &c.”
This vengeful act by the Americans was undoubtedly remembered following the imposition of the international border, which left the Métis of Drummond Island with the impossible choice of relocating their lives to Penetanguishene or risking further American wrath by remaining on the Island.
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