Under the Stars at Rainy River
by N.W.O.M.C.

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Ten-year old Meng is homesick and lonely after moving to Fort Frances, Ontario. How will she make friends? Who will want to play with her? Befriended by Wendy, the Métis lady next door, and Pepper, Wendy’s rambunctious dog, Meng gradually comes to learn about the vibrant Métis community around her. She’s introduced to Métis culture and history, and in the process, learns how to fish, make a shore lunch, and dance the Métis jig. Under the Stars at Rainy River is a children’s book about the importance of making friends and being curious. It’s also about the generations of Métis who have helped make Fort Frances, and other places in what is now part of the Métis community located throughout Northwestern Ontario, a special place to live today.

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Prior to Canada becoming Canada, the Métis Nation emerged—as a distinct Indigenous people—in what was known as the historic North-West. Within what ultimately became Northwestern Ontario, an inter-related group of Métis families (often called ‘Halfbreeds’ in the historic record) evolved into a distinct regional rights-bearing Métis community, now known as the Northwestern Ontario Métis Community (NWOMC). While many Métis families that made up this historic Métis community were related to Anishinaabe in the region and also inter-related and recognized as part of the larger Métis Nation, the NWOMC has its own unique history, identity, relationship to the land, and self-government structures. This history includes historic and ongoing collective assertions as a distinct Métis collectivity, including the negotiation of the “Adhesion by Halfbreeds of Rainy River and Lake” to Treaty No. 3 in 1875, and the establishment of distinct settlements at locations such as Rideout, French Portage, around McPherson Island, and others. Since the 1990s, the NWOMC has participated within the Métis Nation of Ontario’s self-government as a distinct regional rights-bearing Métis community. In 2017, the NWOMC signed an agreement with Canada to address its distinct rights and claims through negotiations with the federal Crown. For more about the NWOMC, visit www.metisnation.org. Today, the NWOMC is comprised of over 3,000 Métis citizens who are the descendants of the Halfbreed Adhesion to Treaty No. 3 and other Métis who made up the historic Métis community, or who make Northwestern Ontario their home. This community is represented locally and regionally through four democratically elected Community Councils and a Regional Councilor. It has offices in Fort Frances, Atikokan, Dryden and Kenora that support and deliver programs and services to citizens. In 2021, it established the Northwestern Ontario Métis Child and Family Services—the first Métis child and family services agency in Ontario.

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Contributors

Author

N.W.O.M.C.

Editor

Theresa Stenlund

Illustrator

Doha Koma

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