The Mica Bay Incident of November 1849 ended quickly and without bloodshed.
Although the Métis and First Nations warriors had quickly gained the advantage during the incident—and succeeded in shutting down the Mica Bay Mine—they soon withdrew, having made their point and seeking to avoid violent escalation.
Shortly after—on December 4, 1849—Anishinaabek Chiefs Shinwaukonse-ibun and Nebainagoching-ibun, and Métis leaders Charles Boyer and Eustache Lesage surrendered themselves to authorities for their roles in the incident.
Voluntarily surrendering was a conscious decision, made with the intent of bringing their longstanding grievances into the public spotlight of the colonial legal system despite the risks it posed to their freedom and wellbeing.
Their actions further highlight the Métis and Anishinaabek’s carefully organized and intentional actions in their resistance at Mica Bay; their actions were always intended to protect their shared rights and interests in the land.
Their deliberate surrender to authorities underscores that the Métis and Anishinaabek were not simply acting rashly or in frustration. These leaders did not run away. They stepped forward together, once again, to protect their shared rights.
In the days following the arrests, rumours spread throughout the northwest that two thousand Métis from the Red River were traveling to Sault Ste. Marie to support the Métis and Anishinaabe after their resistance at Mica Bay. So strong and serious was the threat of a larger resistance, drawing support from across the northwest, that the Hudson’s Bay Company Governor, George Simpson, was personally briefed on the matter in Red River.
Métis leaders, Charles Boyer and Eustache Lesage, were eventually tried in Toronto and acquitted on a technicality. However, their actions and allyship would continue to resonate.
The following year, the Crown sent a treaty commissioner to the region, who would eventually negotiate the Robinson-Huron and Robinson-Superior Treaties.
Over a century later, Eustache Lesage’s descendants—Steve and Roddy Powley—would once again stand up for their Métis community’s inherent rights before peaceably surrendering to Crown authorities in order to bring their longstanding grievances into the public record of the colonial legal system.