About Us
An Independent Métis Community
The Historic Saugeen Métis (HSM) are recognized as an independent Métis community, originating from the historic unions of European fur traders and Indigenous women.
As a culturally distinct Indigenous population, the HSM have maintained a continuous presence along the Saugeen-Bruce Peninsula, the Lake Huron shoreline, and its associated watersheds, engaging in fishing, hunting, trapping, and harvesting activities since at least the 1820s.
The Contemporary Métis Community
Today’s Métis community spans over 275 kilometers of Lake Huron Shoreline – from Tobermory at the Peninsula’s tip to well south of Goderich.
This living community draws its strength from historic family connections rooted throughout Bruce, Grey, and Huron counties.
The Historic Métis
Community
Before the 1820s, the families known now as the Historic Saugeen Métis were long active across the fur-trade world including Nipigon, Fort William, Red River, and along the northern shores of Lakes Superior and Huron. Their wider kin networks also extended south to the Detroit region, which at the time held the largest French-speaking population outside of Quebec and included many of their relatives engaged in Great Lakes trade and travel.
When the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company merged in 1821, the new Lake Huron District relied on experienced voyageurs and traders. A number of HSM ancestors were among those hired, drawing on their long-standing regional ties. Soon after, many continued trading independently along the Lake Huron coast. By the 1820s, their homes and camps formed around the Saugeen River at Southampton, the Menesetung/Maitland River at Goderich, and throughout the Saugeen-Bruce Peninsula.
As a culturally distinct Indigenous population, the HSM have maintained a continuous presence along the Saugeen-Bruce Peninsula, the Lake Huron shoreline, and its associated watersheds, engaging in fishing, hunting, trapping, and harvesting activities since at least the 1820s.
