Nahneebahwequay (Catherine Sutton)
As successive waves of settlers flooded the lands of what is now Southern Ontario during the 19th century, the protocols and councils required by the Silver Covenant Chain were abandoned by colonial administrators who no longer saw Indigenous Peoples as critical military allies, but rather as societies in need of “civilizing” so they could be incorporated into the emerging Canadian settler-state.
Kahkewaquonaby (Peter Jones) used his audiences with King William IV and Queen Victoria to highlight the land rights of the Mississaugas, including the fact that they did not hold legal title to their lands in the eyes of the colonial system.
Joining Kahkewaquonaby for his second trip to England to meet with Victoria was his niece Nahneebahwequa (Catherine Sutton).
While Kahkewaquonaby records that the Queen and Colonial Secretary had send instructions to the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, Sir Francis Bond Head, for the Mississaugas to be given legal title to their lands, these orders were not carried out. Eventually, the Mississaugas at the Credit River were forced to relocate their community to their current home outside of Hagersville.
Twenty years later, during a 1859 Council held at Rama First Nation, Nahnee was requested to take a petition of land grievances, including her own request to hold title to land along the Saugeen Peninsula, to Queen Victoria.
Thanks to the support of Quakers Robert and Christine Alsop, as well as John Bright MP, Nahnee’s audience with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert took place at Buckingham Palace on June 19th, 1860.
Archaeologists presented at the 2011 Annual Historical Gathering for the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation on the findings from Nationally Significant Person (Indigenous rights leader) Nahneebahwequa’s homestead (for the development of a private golf course community) pleaded to Carolyn King, C.M. “When the archaeological resources are removed from this site, how will we ever know that your people were here?”
Carolyn was then given three days to identify a symbol that will “Identify us and connect us to the land”. On that third day, she got it: the answer was “our footwear!”. From there, the Moccasin Identifier concept was born.
