The Métis are connected by far more than discrete and singular moments of collective political action, like the Battle of Seven Oaks that took place within the course of an hour, the Mica Bay Incident that concluded in less than a month, and both of Louis Riel’s provisional governments that collectively lasted less than two years.
A common Métis way of life developed across west central North America, from the Upper Great Lakes westward, that endured over the span of centuries and connected Métis communities across vast distances through kinship, economic, and cultural ties.
One example is an identical settlement pattern shared by Métis in the Upper Great Lakes and those living farther west. Métis in both regions settled on long, narrow strips of land running perpendicular to the river, known as Métis River Lots.
While specific place-based Métis practices varied from community to community based on their unique relationships with the lands and waters, there were many commonalities in the Métis River Lot way of life.
Each Métis River Lot, for example, would be customarily held by a specific Métis family. On their River Lot, each Métis family would build their home and often undertake small-scale farming activities.
The Métis River Lots would then back onto a common area where communal activities like firewood harvesting, cattle grazing, or maple sugaring would occur. In Sault Ste. Marie, for example, every Métis River Lot family had a designated sugar bush along “the hill” at the far end of their River Lot, where they could participate in the community’s maple sugar harvest.
For generations, River Lots were a defining feature within many Métis communities, including at Sault Ste. Marie, the Red River Settlement in present-day Manitoba, and St. Albert, Alberta.
While many Métis communities have since been pushed off or forcibly removed from their River Lots over the last 150 years, numerous aspects of their common Métis way of life continue and maintain lasting cultural connections between Métis communities across the Homeland to today.