Métis communities in what is now Ontario have relied on big game as a source of winter food for generations, with moose being amongst the most important.
Many historical records document Métis hunting moose, including in the Upper Great Lakes. For example, an 1893 report by James Cleland Hamilton in The Georgian Bay: An Account of its Position, Inhabitants, Mineral Interests, Fish, Timber and Other Resources describes:
“A ‘moose yard’ is then a bonanza for the hunter, generally an Indian, or half-breed, who may lay in his winter supply of meat, to be used fresh as long as the frost lasts, or smoked for later use.”
A century after Hamilton’s report, Métis harvesters Steve and Roddy Powley would be charged for harvesting a moose to feed their own Métis family over the winter, leading to the landmark R. v. Powley Métis rights victory at the Supreme Court of Canada.
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