Our Métis Family Story: Reclaiming Our Heritage
My citizenship card arrived at the end August 2016. I was surprised how much peace it brought me. It was almost as though my ancestors breathed out a collective sigh of relief. I am proud to be Métis.
Using the App “Explain Everything” I unpack our family story and the importance of learning their story:
Five Things I’ve Learned
- My family’s story was difficult to find but it was possible. I was able to trace it back to the mid-1700s using online tools.
- My grandfather (on my mother’s side) was the first in many generations to marry outside of the Métis community. Our family tree has many generations of Métis.
- Since the 1700s, my mother’s family has lived and worked on the water. From voyageurs to lighthouse keepers to fishing guides. My grandfather grew up living in a lighthouse and worked as a fishing guide (among other things). My generation is the first to grow up away from this lifestyle.
- My mom’s generation didn’t know they were Métis. My grandfather’s generation worked very hard to hide it.
- My family was involved in the War of 1812 (supporting the British), chose to be Canadian, was displaced/moved by the government 3-4 times as national boundaries were being established, and was involved in Treaties (as interpreters).
The best summary of the history of my ancestors is in this Report on the Origins and Evolution of the Penetanguishene Area Métis Community.
Things I Still Want to Learn
- How can I share the story of grandmothers and grandfathers with future generations? I don’t want this story to be lost again.
- What does it meant to be Métis today? And tomorrow?
- Where can I learn more about the culture of my ancestors, uncovering and sharing what they worked so hard to hide?
-  What parts of my family’s way of doing things has roots in Métis culture?
It’s been over a hundred years since my family changed their name from Normandin to Lamondin and pretended to be French. I am proud to be Métis and honoured that I can be part of the story by sharing our lost history with my family.
10 Comments
Pat Skene
This is great Jess…lots of work and very informative. I may have missed it, but did the “native” influence start with Ezekiel’s wife? Do you know which tribe she was from? Keep up the good work!! Really enjoyed the video.
Jessica Outram
His wife Marie Louise Dubois had an Ojibwe name:Okimabinesikoue. Glad you enjoyed the video. It was fun to make.
Eileen
What a beautiful story & it should be taught in Elementery school. Our children need to know more about the Native families who lived on Georgian Bay back in the 1800’s. Our little town of Penetanguishene was home to so many Drummond Islanders back then.
You have done an amazing job of seeking out and telling your family history. I could listen to it for hours.
Jessica Outram
Thank-you! I’ve had so much fun researching it.
Bill Hannan
Hi Jessica;
Thanks for sharing your family history with this great “vehicle”. My story is very similar to yours in many ways, and I am sure with a little more research I will discover that we are related in some way.-I even have a light house keeper in my tree (Charles Vallée on Hope Island)!
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PATRICIA PORTER
Hello, may I view the Reclaiming Our Heritage video? I can’t as it says it’s private. Thank you.
Jessica Outram
I’ve changed it so you can see it…It’s the first time I tried to put our family story into a video. I’ve learned so much more since then. This is a more up to date video: https://youtu.be/CCnWG8qu1O8
And this one is the most thorough and most recent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVfoJFOUFcY&list=PL92cAv3lmkOglV6Bw8PMqe5ixWhP5zAns&index=8
I’m learning more and understanding better every day so I’ll create another new one soon. Thanks for your interest.
Krista
I am windering if you have more details of your g=fmaily tree that is nmore reent. Looking for a Dale Lamondin that would of been born in the 1950’s?
Jessica Outram
I will need to ask my cousins. I’m not aware of someone named Dale but the family is large!