“the nearest point… you first see the half-breed”

For nearly two centuries, the Georgian Bay Métis Community has been recognized as a distinct Métis collective with its own unique political identity and way of life, particularly around Penetanguishene. 

In the 1840s, British army Lieutenant-Colonel, Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle, recognized the distinct Métis population in Georgian Bay, writing that, “Penetanguishene is a small village… peopled by French Canadians, Indians, and half-breeds”.

Bonnycastle also elaborated upon the Métis’ unique place within the broader cultural geography of what would later become Canada, observing of Penetanguishene that: “This is the nearest point of Western Canada at which the traveller from Europe can observe the unmixed Indian… Here also you first see the half-breed, the offspring of the white and red, who has all the bad qualities of both with very few of the good of either, except in rare instances.”

Bonnycastle’s account is one of many which draw clear distinctions between Euro-Canadian, First Nations, and Métis collectives as they existed at particular points in time, and help modern observers properly situate themselves within the appropriate historic context, especially around relative geographical terms like “east” and “west” where today’s understandings are distorted by generations of colonization and may differ significantly from those that were commonly held before European control took effect within territories where Métis communities exist. 

In its Final Report, the Métis National Council’s Expert Panel specifically highlights Bonnycastle’s observations as an important marker for properly understanding the pre-colonization cultural geography of the distinct Métis people who emerged in what is now considered Western Canada, saying:

“In the mid nineteenth century, the Georgian Bay was considered a part of ‘Western Canada,’ as well as the location of the easternmost Halfbreed or Métis community. This is likewise a significant historical document, as it recognizes that halfbreed/mixedblood/mixed-ancestry processes occurred in parts of ‘eastern Canada,’ but it is not until the Great Lakes (and particularly Penetanguishene) that one encounters a distinct Métis or Halfbreed population or collectivity.”

See Our Sources

• Canada and the Canadians, 1849

• MNC Expert Panel Final Report

• Upper Great Lakes Submission to the MNC Expert Panel

• Threads of the Sash: Georgian Bay Historic Métis Community

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