“Half-Breeds… were Indians enough”

On May 27, 1893, Joshua Biron, an elderly member of the historic Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community, provided an official statement to Commissioner E.B. Borron about the events leading up the 1850 Robinson-Huron Treaty. 

Within his testimony, Joshua Biron described negotiations between his Métis community and Anishinaabek leader, Chief Shingwaukonse, ahead of the Treaty’s signing, recalling:

“The Chief told us, that if we joined his band, became his men or soldiers – that he would work for us…only four of us agreed to join his band… all the other Half-Breeds said they were Indians enough without binding themselves to be under an Indian Chief.”

Biron’s account underscores that while there was mutual respect and connections between the Métis and the Anishinaabek, the Métis of Sault Ste. Marie clearly asserted their own political autonomy and distinct identity. That this moment remained vivid in Biron’s memory decades later speaks to the importance the Métis community placed on their self-determination.

Joshua Biron’s account and many others like it from the time affirm that the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community has seen itself—and was seen by others—as a distinct, self-governing political entity for generations. This strong sense of Métis identity and independence continues to define the community today.

See Our Sources

• Statements Collected by Commissioner Borron, 1894

• Upper Great Lakes Submission to the MNC Expert Panel

• Threads of the Sash: Sault Ste. Marie Historic Métis Community

• MNC Expert Panel Final Report

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