An important métis “invention” was the language of trade

"An important métis “invention” was the language of trade (Francais sauvage) which
Peterson (1981:176-179) demonstrates was in use in the lower St Lawrence as early as 1632. Further
north, an English equivalent of trade communication known as “Home Guard” Ojibwa developed,
but it was the French derivative that pervaded and eventually evolved into the vernacular of
Canadians and métis at Red River by the 1830s. This new language now known as Michif is a
combination of French and Ojibwa and “most certainly transported from the Great Lakes region as
the trade shifted westward” (ibid.:179)"

PRAXIS Research Associates, 1999: Historic Métis in Ontario - Wawa Page 2 7

http://www.metisnation.org/media/141020/ontario%20report%20-%20michipicoten.pdf