Chief Peguis (ca.1774-1864)

A skilled hunter and diplomat, Chief Peguis worked to protect the rights and interests of the Anishinaabeg of Red River. He was born near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, but soon left the Great Lakes for Red Lake, Minnesota, before going to Red River and then north to Netley Creek, near Lake Winnipeg.

Peguis stepped in to save lives when fur trade animosities threatened the Selkirk Settlement. Montréal’s North West Company clashed with Lord Selkirk and the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), opposing Selkirk’s plan to settle Scottish immigrant farmers along the Nor’westers’ supply route. Eventually the HBC prevailed, and Peguis was one of five negotiators of the Selkirk Treaty (1817), the first agreement permitting limited farmland access to settlers in western Canada.

During an era of fur trade hostility, major floods, and ecological disasters, Chief Peguis deftly balanced Anishinaabe interests with those framed by their relationship with the Hudson’s Bay Company and their entrepreneurial Métis neighbours.

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