At the midpoint of the twentieth century, the First Nations people of Ontario’s underdeveloped hinterland lived primarily from the land. They congregated in summer in defined communities but in early autumn dispersed to winter camps to hunt, fish, and trap. Increasingly, however, they found they had to adapt to a different way of life, one closer to the Canadian mainstream. While lifestyles and expectations were clearly changing, the native people’s desire to maintain their rich and distinctive cultural traditions remained strong.

John Macfie, then an employee with the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, captured in photographs this turning-point in the lives of the Ojibway, Cree, and Oji-Cree, when their traditional culture still flourished but change was fast approaching.