Today, Charles Sousa, member of Parliament for Mississauga-Lakeshore, on behalf of the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, along with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and Parks Canada held a special plaque unveiling ceremony at Marina Park in Port Credit to commemorate the national historic significance of Nahnebahweequay (Catharine Sutton), an Anishinaabe woman who advocated for First Nations land rights.
Nahnebahweequay was a voice in the struggle for First Nations rights in the mid-19th century, a time when colonial policies sought to remove Indigenous Peoples from their lands. Her lifelong leadership and activism were all the more remarkable as she had to contend with the additional legal restrictions colonial governments placed on Indigenous women.
Born in 1824 near the Credit River, Nahnebahweequay ("Upright Woman" in Anishinaabemowin) was raised in the Credit Mission (now known as Port Credit). She grew up learning Anishinaabe teachings, language, and practices from her family, while also being educated in English. Given the English name Catharine Brown, she married William Sutton, an English lay preacher, in 1839.
Nahnebahweequay and her family moved to the Saugeen Peninsula, where they were welcomed by the Nawash Anishinaabe and granted title to 200 acres of land. Between 1852 and 1857, the Sutton family moved frequently to support missions in northern Ontario and Michigan, where Nahnebahweequay witnessed the efforts of colonial governments to dispossess the Anishinaabeg of their lands. The Nawash faced similar pressures, and some members ceded title to the lands, which the Indian Department prepared to sell. Nahnebahweequay and others protested the action to the Indian Department, claiming that the members who signed the treaty had no authority to surrender the land, but her efforts were unsuccessful. In addition, she was refused annuity payments on the grounds that she had married a white man.
Anishinaabeg communities around Georgian Bay and Lake Superior asked Nahnebahweequay to bring their grievances to Queen Victoria in London. Travelling while several months pregnant, she petitioned the Queen in person in 1860. Though her grievances went unresolved, she remained an advocate for First Nations land rights until her death in 1865. Her experience is representative of the efforts of First Nations to gain support and present their grievances to the Crown during the mid-Victorian era.
The Government of Canada, through Parks Canada and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, recognizes significant people, places, and events that shaped this country as one way of helping Canadians connect with their past. By sharing these stories with Canadians, we hope to foster understanding and reflection on the diverse histories, cultures, legacies, and realities of Canada's past and present.
