Nahnebahwequa facts for kids
Nahnebahwequa, also known as Catherine Bunch, was an important Ojibwe woman. Her name means "Standing-Upright Woman." She was a leader and a Christian missionary who spoke up for her people.
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Early Life of Nahnebahwequa
Nahnebahwequa was born in the fall of 1824 near the Credit River, which is now Port Credit, Ontario. Her parents were Bunch Sunego and Mary Polly Crane. Her grandfather, Osunego, was a Mississauga Chief. Her other grandfather, Otesoo, was a War Chief who fought for the British in the American Revolutionary War.
Catherine was baptized in 1825 and later took the name Catherine Brown. This was in honor of a respected Christian Cherokee woman. She was unofficially adopted by her uncle, Reverend Peter Jones, and his English wife, Eliza Field. Catherine lived with them at the Credit Mission from about 1837 until she got married in 1839.
Petitioning the Queen for Land Rights
In 1837, Catherine's aunt, Eliza Jones, took her to England. There, Catherine continued her education. At the same time, her uncle Peter Jones, who was a Chief of the Credit Band, presented a special request to Queen Victoria. This request, called a Petition, and a Wampum Belt, asked the Queen to give the Mississauga people official ownership of their lands. They believed this was the only way to stop European settlers from taking over their homes at the Credit River.
Fighting for Land in Upper Canada
In Upper Canada, the Lieutenant Governor, Francis Bond Head, had a plan. He wanted to move all Indigenous people living in Southern Ontario to Manitoulin Island. However, the Mississaugas knew Manitoulin Island was not good for farming. It was mostly rock, and food was hard to find. They saw this plan as another attack on their rights.
The Mississaugas had worked hard to build a successful community at the Credit Mission. They had been promised they could keep this land for their future generations. To fight Bond Head's plan, the Mississauga Band sent Catherine's uncle, Peter Jones, to Great Britain. He went to tell Queen Victoria about their problems. The Colonial Secretary, Lord Glenelg, supported the Indigenous people. He suggested to the Queen that the Credit River Mississaugas should get official land titles.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Bond Head resigned because he couldn't handle the issues with European settlers. His replacement, George Arthur, was not much better. In 1840, he told Indigenous people that he didn't want them to have land deeds. He worried they would simply sell their land.
Around this time, S.P. Jarvis, who was in charge of Indian Affairs, was fired in 1845. An investigation found he had misused the Mississauga's money. Soon after, the Saugeen and Nawash Bands invited the Mississaugas to live on the Bruce Peninsula.
Marriage, Family, and Missionary Work
On January 9, 1839, Catherine married William Sutton at the Credit Mission. Her uncle, Peter Jones, performed the ceremony. Catherine and William Sutton continued to live at the Credit Mission with their three children: Catherine Brown Sutton, Joseph Sunego Sutton, and Sophia Anne Sutton. They were all members of the tribe.
In 1845, they accepted an invitation from the Nawash Tribe and moved north to Georgian Bay. The Nawash Band adopted them and gave them 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land. This land is now known as Lot 34 and Lot 35, Concession 3, Sarawak, on the beautiful shore of Georgian Bay. Catherine and William cleared 35 acres (140,000 m2) of the land. They built a house, a barn, and a fenced garden on Lot 34.
A letter from November 7, 1845, shows that the Nawash Chiefs agreed to give Catherine Sutton, daughter of Bunch Sunego, 200 acres of land. This land was for her and her children.
In 1851, the Suttons faced a difficult winter. They lost a son, and Catherine became very ill. The land was hard to farm, and the Suttons found the isolated area challenging. They were used to living in a large community at the Credit Mission, with doctors, churches, and schools. William felt they should be paid for the improvements they made to their land if it was ever taken away.
In 1852, William was asked to manage a model farm for the Wesleyan Methodist Church's Mission in Garden River, near Sault Ste. Marie. So, they moved further north. They taught farming and Christian faith to the Indigenous community there. They stayed until about 1855, then moved to Michigan. They worked at Ojibwe Methodist Missions for two years. Finally, they returned to their farm at Sarawak in 1857.
Conflict with Indian Affairs Over Land
When Catherine and William returned to Sarawak, they discovered that their gifted land had been taken. It was included in a "Surrender" and divided into lots for sale at a public auction. This meant the land given to Catherine and her children was gone.
Catherine and William spoke to R.T. Pennefather, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs. They asked for Catherine's share of money (annuities) she should have received between 1852 and 1857. They also felt they should be paid back for the money they spent on their house, barn, and stable, which were also taken.
The government had promised the Nawash Band that they could buy back their land at half price. So, Catherine went to the land sale with European settlers. She bid and paid the first payments for several lots: Lots 34, 35, and 36 for herself and William; Lot 31 for their son Joseph; Lots 32 and 33 for her mother Mary; and Lot 37 for her sister Mary Sunego. In total, Catherine paid for almost 600 acres (2.4 km2) of land. She did this even though Lots 34 and 35 had already been given to her as a gift. She believed this land was already hers because of promises made to her ancestors for their loyalty to the British Crown.
After paying, Catherine received a Certificate of Sale. She gave it to her minister, Conrad Vandusen, who offered to register the lots. However, an Indian Affairs representative named Bartlett stopped Vandusen. Bartlett asked to see the Certificates of Sale. He then stole Catherine's documents and money, telling Vandusen that Indigenous people were not allowed to buy land.
Indian Affairs rejected Catherine's purchase. They claimed she wasn't allowed to own the land because she was married to a white man. Catherine knew there was no such law. They also said she wasn't eligible because she was away when the land was taken. This was also incorrect, as the Nawash Band still considered her an Indigenous person.
Catherine went to Toronto many times and asked the Provincial Parliament for help in 1858. The Nawash Band also supported her with a petition in 1858, but it failed.
In 1859, Bartlett and Pennefather finally told her she could buy her land. But she had to follow new rules, including paying the first installments again, which she refused to do. Another rule was to give up her annuities, which meant giving up her birthright as an Indigenous person. She refused again. In 1861, she famously said, "I am Indian; and the blood of my forefathers runs through my veins and I am not ashamed to own it; for my forefathers were a noble race before the pale-faces came to possess their lands and homes." She refused to dishonor her ancestors or leave her children without a home.
Journey to England to Meet the Queen
In July 1859, at a meeting in Rama, Catherine was chosen to go to England on behalf of the Nawash Band. Her Uncle Peter Jones had done the same 22 years before. To raise money for this trip, Catherine, who was expecting a child, left her home, children, and husband. She traveled to New York for a speaking tour to promote Indigenous Rights. She was very well received and appeared in many newspapers. With the money she raised and support from the Quakers and The Aborigine Protection Society, she sailed to England on the steamship Persia.
In England, she met John Bright, a Member of Parliament and a Quaker. He introduced her to Robert and Christena Alsop, who were also Quakers and part of the Aborigine Protection Society. Catherine stayed with them. On June 19, 1860, she was presented to Queen Victoria.
On June 29, 1860, Catherine wrote a letter to her uncle's son, C.A. Jones, which was printed in a newspaper. She described her meeting with the Queen:
So you see I have seen the Queen. The Duke went before us and he made two bows, and then I was left in the presence of the Queen; she came forward to meet me, and held out her hand for me to kiss, but I forgot to kiss it, and only shook hands with her. The Queen asked me many question, and was very kind in her manners and very friendly to me. Then my Quaker friend spoke to the Duke, and said “I suppose the Queen knows for what purpose my friend has come?. The Duke said, “All my papers had been explained and laid before her majesty, and I have her majesty’s commands to investigate the Indian affair when I go to Canada with the Prince of Wales.” Then the Queen bowed to me and said“ I am happy to promise my aid and protection, and asked me my name. The Queen then looked at her husband, who stood at her left side, and smiled. She received me with so much kindness as to astonish me , when I saw her come smiling and so good to poor Indian. My Quaker friend has been in the habit of visiting the Royal family for ten years back. I expect to return home in Sept., If all be well .May God bless us all.
The Queen promised to look into Catherine's concerns. She asked the Duke of New Castle to investigate the issues during his upcoming trip to Canada. It became clear that Indian Affairs wanted Catherine to be quiet. A letter from Bartlett to Jones of Cape Croker said, "Discourage Mrs. Sutton's actions... you must tell Indians not to listen to her." On July 1, 1860, Britain handed over responsibility for Indian Affairs to the new Provincial Parliament of Canada. These were the same people who benefited from not solving the problem.
Manitoulin Treaty and Final Years
Catherine and William were very upset. By 1861, the Indian Department began negotiating the Manitoulin Treaty for white settlers. Manitoulin Island had been promised in 1836 to always belong to Indigenous people. Catherine strongly opposed this new purchase. Charles Lindsey, the editor of the Toronto Leader newspaper, wrote a negative article about her. Catherine responded with a powerful letter. She criticized Lindsey and the government for trying to buy Manitoulin Island for white settlers. She had seen this happen many times with the Mississauga, Saugeen, and Nawash lands.
By 1861, William, not Catherine, agreed to the conditions of sale for their land. He kept trying to get a lower price for his lots until 1871. He felt he should get the same price reduction that had been offered to his wife and neighbors. Catherine died on September 26, 1865, before these negotiations were finished. In the end, William paid $5.00 an acre. He finally received the deeds for Lots 32 and 33. By then, he was living on Lot 33 with Catherine's mother, Mary KaKaKe, and her children, Martha and Moses, whom he had been caring for. He was also supporting his own younger children and his grandchildren.
Burial
Catherine was buried in her garden on Lot 34. Her neighbor, Charles Julyan, wrote about attending her funeral. At her own request, Catherine was buried in her garden. This was confirmed in Julyan's letter in 1871. Catherine made sure she was buried on the very land she had fought so hard to keep. This was her way of staying on the land, no matter what.
