Joint Resistance at Mica Bay

The many layers of the Mica Bay incident reveal the pattern of resistance that Métis communities across the historic North-West carefully developed over generations. More than a moment of unity between the Anishinaabek and Métis of Sault Ste. Marie, at its core, Mica Bay reflected a long-standing Métis practice of organized, strategic, and largely peaceful resistance, clearly demonstrated by the leadership of Charles Boyer and Eustache Lesage.

As tensions with colonial authorities and industry escalated, between fifty and one hundred Métis and Anishinaabek allied together, boarding a schooner in Sault Ste. Marie and travelling approximately 100 kilometres north along the shores of Lake Superior to Mica Bay.

Armed with guns, bowie knives, and a “borrowed” cannon, this force sought to assert their visibility, political pressure, and solidarity in response to the ongoing mining operations within the Upper Great Lakes without their consent.  

Rather than provoking confrontation, alongside Anishinabek Chiefs Shingwaukonse and Nebenaigoching, Boyer and Lesage ultimately surrendered to the authorities, deliberately choosing to pursue their grievances through legal and political channels rather than by force. This decision reflected a calculated approach grounded in restraint and collective responsibility.

By maintaining unity, discipline, and cooperation, the Sault Ste. Marie Métis Community demonstrated that resistance did not require bloodshed. The Mica Bay Incident stands as a powerful example of principled Métis resistance, firm in purpose, strategic in action, and rooted in generations of political awareness.

See Our Sources

• Upper Great Lakes Historic Métis Community

• Mica Bay Incident

• Sault Ste. Marie and Environs Community

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