Nahnebahweequay National Historic Person
Mississauga, Ontario
Nahnebahweequay, no date
(© The Grey Roots Archival Collection | Collection archivistique de Grey Roots)
Address :
Mississauga, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
2021-04-28
Life Date:
1824 to 1865
Other Name(s):
-
Nahnebahweequay (1824–1865)
(Designation Name)
-
Catherine Sutton
(Other Name)
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Nahnebahwequa
(Other Name)
-
Nahneebahwequa
(Other Name)
-
Nahnee
(Other Name)
-
Nahneebahweequay
(Other Name)
Research Report Number:
2020-01, 2024-CED-SDC-02
Importance:
Leader and activist in the fight for First Nation land rights in the mid-19th century
Plaque(s)
No plaque in place, recommended location: Marina Park, 15 Front Street South, Mississauga, Ontario
This Mississauga (Ojibwe) advocate was a lifelong voice in the struggle for First Nations rights. Nahnebahweequay witnessed the relentless attempts of colonial governments to forcibly remove the Anishinaabeg and dispossess them of their lands from Lake Superior to Georgian Bay. Raised at the Methodist Credit Mission, she fought for Indigenous land title and against the termination of women’s First Nations status through marriage to non-Indigenous men. Her letters and moving speeches gained international support. In defiance of colonial officials she travelled to London and appealed directly to Queen Victoria in 1860.