In naming my relations, I acknowledge and am accountable to the ancestral and familial gifts of knowledge and embodied practice that inform my systems of thought, ways of practice, and my identity as Métis/Halfbreed/Aabitaawikwe/Wisaakodewikwe. ​​My family names are St.Onge/Lafrenière and Berger-Beaudoin. Two families that go back to the Drummond Island migration and who were part of the Halfbreed community that originally lived within the Mackinaw area.

 

On my paternal side, I am a descendant of Theresa Berger, daughter of Joseph Berger and Marie Beaudoin. Marie Beaudoin was born on Drummond Island and relocated during the Drummond Island migration to Penetanguishene, Ontario with her husband. Theresa Berger was born in Penetanguishene in 1841. Her siblings, Charles Berger, Christina Berger, and Philemon Berger, were enumerated in the 1901 Census of Canada in Tay, Simcoe as “FB” (French breed). Theresa’s daughter, Josephine Berger (adopted St. Pierre), married my great-great grandfather, Louis Dubois (Woods). They met in Waubaushene, Ontario and lived at the mouth of the Moon River (near Mactier, Ontario) with five other families including the Longlades and the Cascagnettes. My great-grandfather, Albert Woods, was born at the Moon River in 1892 and lived there until he was 17 years old.

 

On my maternal side, I am a descendent of Marie Lafrenière, daughter of Marie Veronique (Veronica) St. Onge and Oliver Lafrenière. Marie Helen Neilon, my great-grandmother, is the granddaughter of Marie Lafrenière. Marie was born in 1846 in Penetanguishene, Ontario. Marie's mother, Veronica St. Onge, was born on Drummond Island and is the daughter of Geneviève Vasseur. Geneviève Vasseur was born in Michilimackinac (present-day Mackinac Island) and was the daughter of Madeleine Ouiouiskoin (Odaawaa-zaaga'iganiing) and Jacques Vasseur. Geneviève's brother, André Vasseur, alongside a total of 22 Halfbreeds, signed the Penetanguishene Halfbreed Petition of 1840, petitioning they receive the same presents (annuities) as their First Nations kin and land and hunting rights (Barkwell, 2014). Geneviève's husband, Joseph St. Onge, and two sons, Antoine St. Onge and Toussaint St. Onge, also signed the 1840 petition.

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Veronica St. Onge’s sister, Madeleine St. Onge, born on Mackinac Island, moved westward with her husband, Antoine Lafrenière (Oliver Lafrenière’s brother), to Manitoba where their family played a significant role in the establishment of St. Leon, Manitoba alongside other Métis/Halfbreed families. Many of my cousins who are descendants of the children of Madeleine and Antoine continue to live in Manitoba to this day, honouring the cultural knowledge passed down to them through their families and asserting their inherent rights as Métis peoples.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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