January 27th, 2025, marks the 185th anniversary of the Penetanguishene Petition, through which members of the Georgian Bay Métis Community wrote to the Crown demanding recognition of their distinct political identity and their inclusion in annual present-giving be restored. This petition was the first in a long line of Métis communities using petitions as a form of political advocacy from the Upper Great Lakes westward.
These efforts and the Georgian Bay Métis Community from which they came were also recognized by First Nations who, in addition to having distinct names for their Métis neighbours and allying with one another to defend their shared interests, also raised their voices to advocate for their Métis neighbours on numerous occasions.
One such example was the exclusion from presents, which spurred the Métis to petition the Crown in 1840. As documented by Indian Agent Samuel Jarvis in 1840, First Nations elders in Georgian Bay were advocating alongside Métis to have the Métis re-included in receiving “Indian presents” after recently being excluded by colonial authorities:
“Upon every occasion that I have visited the Lake Huron tribes an appeal has been made to me to remove the disability imposed upon the Class of Half-Breeds not only by the elder members of the Indian Communities but also by the Half-Breeds themselves.”
At this time, Métis had already been living in distinct communities separate from First Nations for over a generation. The First Nations’ advocacy described by Indian Agent Jarvis built upon that of the Métis communities themselves, including an incident in July 1839 in which members of the Métis community at Penetanguishene confronted Jarvis demanding equal rights and recognition:
“July last when at Penetanguishene a number of [Métis] surrounded the house I was in, for their purpose [of] claiming and insisting upon having that which they [asserted?] was their right, as long as the distribution of presents to the Indians was continued by government.”
The Georgian Bay Métis Community’s legacy of advocacy continues to this day.
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