The Mica Bay Incident (also known as the Michipicoten War or the Mica Bay Uprising [1] ) was a land and resources dispute in along the shore of Lake Superior in November 1849. It is partially responsible for the signing of the 1850 Robinson-Huron Treaty.
The political tensions leading up to the incident reflect ongoing Indigenous concerns around land rights, mineral extraction, and corporate/crown encroachment on traditional territories. [2]
In 1849 a group of First Nations and Métis people were displeased with ongoing mineral extraction by local mining companies. [3] This mining was occurring outside of a negotiated treaty and contrary to the 1763 Royal Proclamation's statements on Indigenous land and resource rights. In November 1849 a group traveled from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to Mica Bay on the shore of Lake Superior. [4] Upon arrival at Mica Bay the group attacked copper mining sites established by the Quebec Mining Company, with the goal of forcing the Company off the land. Over 100 soldiers were sent to put down the incident and in December a number of the leaders were arrested and detained in Toronto. [5]
Leaders of the incident included Chief Shingawukonse (Garden River), Chief Nebenaigoching (Batchewana), Chief Oshawana (Walpole Island), Allan Macdonell, Metcalfe, and others. [6]
The Mica Bay incident is known as the tipping point which forced the government to negotiate treaty agreements with Indigenous communities in the Lake Huron and Lake Superior region. [5] The Mica Bay Incident occurred shortly before the signing of the Robinson Treaties.
The Ojibwe are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and throughout the northeastern woodlands. Ojibweg, being Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands and of the subarctic, are known by several names, including Ojibway or Chippewa. As a large ethnic group, several distinct nations also consider themselves Ojibwe, including the Saulteaux, Nipissings, and Oji-Cree.
Events from the year 1849 in Canada.
Events from the year 1850 in Canada.
The Wiikwemkong First Nation is a First Nation on Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario. The Wiikwemkong Unceded Territory is the First Nation reserve in the northeast of Manitoulin Island in Manitoulin District, Ontario, Canada. Wiikwemkong is an unceded Indigenous reserve in Canada, which means that it has not "relinquished title to its land to the government by treaty or otherwise."
The North Shore of Lake Superior runs from Duluth, Minnesota, United States, at the western end of the lake, to Thunder Bay and Nipigon, Ontario, Canada, in the north, to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario in the east. The shore is characterized by alternating rocky cliffs and cobblestone beaches, with forested hills and ridges through which scenic rivers and waterfalls descend as they flow to Lake Superior.
The Huron Central Railway is a railway operating in northern Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Genesee & Wyoming Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming.
Garden River First Nation, also known as Ketegaunseebee, is an Ojibwa band located at Garden River 14 near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.
The Robinson Treaties are two treaties signed between the Ojibwa chiefs and the Crown in 1850 in the Province of Canada. The first treaty involved Ojibwa chiefs along the north shore of Lake Superior, and is known as the Robinson Superior Treaty. The second treaty, signed two days later, included Ojibwa chiefs from along the eastern and northern shores of Lake Huron, and is known as the Robinson Huron Treaty. The Wiikwemkoong First Nation did not sign either treaty, and their land is considered "unceded".
Rankin Location 15D is one of four reserves of the Batchewana First Nation in Algoma District in northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is bounded on the north, west and south by the city of Sault Ste. Marie, and on the east by Garden River First Nations reserve of another Ojibwe people. As of 2005, a total of 2,205 people were registered to the Nation; about half live on the reserves and many others live in Sault Ste. Marie.
Charles Rankin, was an early Irish-born and Scottish-descended settler and land surveyor in Upper Canada. He is significant due to his role in the surveying and early settlement of large areas of Upper Canada, including much of the Bruce Peninsula and south shore of Lake Huron, and notably the city of Owen Sound. Born in 1797 at Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland, he died in either 1886 or 1888 in Owen Sound, a city whose founding he had been instrumental in.
Fort William First Nation is an Ojibwa First Nation reserve in Ontario, Canada. The administrative headquarters for this band government is south of Thunder Bay. As of January 2008, the First Nation had a registered population of 1,798 people, of which their on-Reserve population was 832 people.
Chapleau Ojibway First Nation is an Ojibwa First Nation located near Chapleau Township, Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada. The First Nation have reserved for themselves the 67 ha Chapleau 61A Indian Reserve, 64.7 ha Chapleau 74 Indian Reserve and the 799.3 ha Chapleau 74A Indian Reserve. In September, 2007, their total registered population 39, of which their on-reserve population was 30.
Long Lake 58 First Nation is an Anishinaabe (Ojibway) First Nation band government located in Northern Ontario, located approximately 40 km east of Geraldton, Ontario, Canada, on the northern shore of Long Lake, immediately north of Ginoogaming First Nation and west of the community of Longlac, Ontario. As of January, 2008, their total registered population was 1,248 people, of which their on-Reserve population was 427.
Shingwaukonse, or Shingwauk was an Anishnaabe chief, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Garden River First Nation near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario as a signatory to the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850.
Albert Pellew Salter (1816–1874) was a provincial land surveyor in Upper Canada then Ontario in the mid-19th century. He is historically most notable for having discovered magnetic abnormalities at what is now Creighton Mine in Greater Sudbury, while surveying a baseline westward from Lake Nipissing in 1856.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to Indigenous peoples in Canada, comprising the First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
The Serpent River First Nation, a signatory to the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850, is an Anishinaabe First Nation in the Canadian province of Ontario, located midway between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury along the North Channel of Lake Huron.
The Batchewana First Nation is an Ojibwe First Nation in northern Ontario. Their traditional lands run along the eastern shore of Lake Superior, from Batchawana Bay to Whitefish Island. They were reserved this land in the 1850 Robinson Huron Treaty, but surrendered most of it under the 1859 Pennefather Treaty. Through purchase and land claims, it has reclaimed some territories, including Goulais Bay 15A, Obadjiwan 15E, Rankin Location 15D and Whitefish Island.
Restoule v Canada is a legal case in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that considers whether the Augmentation clause in the 1850 Robinson Treaties entitles the Anishinaabe to an increase in annuity payments.
Ignace Tonené, also known as Nias or by his Ojibwe name Maiagizis, was a Teme-Augama Anishnabai chief, fur trader, and gold prospector in Upper Canada. He was a prominent employee of the Hudson's Bay Company.
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