Métis Push Back at Penetanguishene

In the late 1830s, the Crown began excluding some “Halfbreeds” from annual present-giving, a pre-treaty practice that had long maintained relationships with Indigenous communities in the region. For Métis living around Georgian Bay, this exclusion ignored their very existence as a distinct community with its own identity, governance, and way of life.

By 1839, the frustration spilled over for the Métis in Penetanguishene, culminating in a non-violent assertion of their rights when they surrounded the residence of Indian Agent Samuel Jarvis. Their persistence culminated on January 27, 1840, when twenty-two members, including members of the Longlade, Labatte, Vasseur, and Beausoleil families, sent a petition to the Crown, requesting recognition equal to their Métis relatives in Sault Ste. Marie. 

“[We] do not share in any advantage in presents issued to the Indians as a number of the half breeds, from the Sault St. Marie and other places on the shores of Lake Huron…allow them to have the same advantages that persons of the same class.”

The Penetanguishene Petition is an early and enduring example of Métis political expression through the written word. Their collective organization, assertion of rights, and connection to the broader Upper Great Lakes Métis made their resistance strategic and peaceful. This action serves as a reminder that Métis resilience and the fight for justice have long shaped the history of the Upper Great Lakes Métis.

See Our Sources

• Upper Great Lakes Historic Métis Community

• Penetanguishene Halfbreed Petition, 27 January 1840

• Correspondence from Samuel Jarvis to J.B. Harrison, 1 February 1840

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