In the early 1800s, the Métis began to develop their own identity as a distinct people. The Métis are the children of the fur trade. To facilitate trade with First Nations people, European fur traders—mostly French and Scottish—married Native women. George Simpson of the Hudson’s Bay Company reported:
“Connubial alliances are the best security we can have of the goodwill of the Natives. I have therefore recommended the Gentlemen to form connections with the principal Families immediately on their arrival.”
The children of these unions, the Métis, often worked for the fur trading companies—Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) and the North West Company (the Nor’westers)—or as independent contractors supplying goods and services to the companies. Culturally the Métis were a blend of European and Native cultures. With regard to the impact of the merger on trade, Theodore Binnema, in an article in the Western Historical Quarterly, writes:
“With competition reduced, the HBC closed posts, reduced the range of trade goods offered to Indians, and drove a harder bargain.”
It also meant reduced employment opportunities in the fur trade. This economic insecurity would lead to some interesting plans for economic and political revival. One of these was developed by General Dickson (also known as Montezuma II), the Métis son of the British fur trader Col. Robert Dickson. His basic plan was to lead an expedition west across the Great Lakes and to the Red River area of Saskatchewan, gathering supporters as he traveled. Then, the army would turn south, capture and plunder Santa Fe (which was then a part of Mexico), and finally journey west where they would capture California. In California, the plan was to establish an Indian government (or perhaps an Indian monarchy. Dickson is a little unclear on this). In California, the new government would prohibit all without Indian blood from owning land. This was the idea that General Dickson promoted in Montreal and other cities in Eastern Canada.
In 1836 the Indian Liberation Army came into existence to carry out Dickson’s plan. Those most receptive to General Dickson’s message were the Canadian Métis (primarily the sons of Scots fur traders and their Indian wives) and the Cherokee who had been forced from the homelands in the American southwest. A number of Métis sons of North West Company and Hudson’s Bay Company fur trading partners soon joined the expedition:
John George McKenzie, the Métis son of Sir Alexander MacKenzie, was known to have a grudge against the Hudson’s Bay Company and probably saw the expedition to the Red River as a way of getting revenge against the company. McKenzie persuaded his stepbrother Charles McBean to join the effort.
John McLoughlin, Jr. was the son of Chief Factor John McLoughlin. He had studied medicine in Paris and at McGill University in Canada. He was known for his extravagant living which often caused quarrels with his uncle Simon Fraser. He had applied to enter the Hudson’s Bay Company but had been refused by Governor Simpson.
Alexander Roderick McLeod, Jr. was the son of one of the Chief Traders of the North West Company.
When the Indian Liberation Army left Buffalo, New York, it had about 60 members. When they reached Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, nearly a month later, there were only 20 members left. Desertion and sickness had taken its toll. One of the major losses to the party at this time was that of John George McKenzie, who had become sick.
At Sault Ste. Marie the newspaper took notice of the small band of “pirates of the lake.” Hudson’s Bay Company Chief Trader William Nourse became concerned as the expedition did not have a sanction to pass through Company territory. In addition, there was the concern that the Indian Liberation Army might create unrest among the Métis. After investigating, Nourse concluded that the expedition would probably “go up in smoke” and concluded that they were harmless.
When the “Army” reached the Red River area of Saskatchewan there were only 11 members left. General Dickson vanished to the south.
The Hudson’s Bay Company, concerned that John McLoughlin, Jr. might cause problems, hired him as a clerk and surgeon. He then joined his father and brother in British Columbia. A few years later he was murdered by the men of his post. Governor Simpson presumed that he had brought the murder upon himself by his misconduct.
Alexander Roderick McLeod, Jr. was also hired by the Hudson’s Bay Company as an apprentice clerk. His Company career was soon cut short because of sexual misconduct. He left Canada, living for a while in Minnesota, and later joined the Union Army during the Civil War. He died of disease during the War.
Charles McBean returned to live with his father in eastern Canada.
John George McKenzie, who had left the “Army” at Sault Ste. Marie, soon died of his illness.
More nineteenth-century American Indian histories
Indians 201: Smallpox on the Upper Missouri in 1837
Indians 201: The 1827 Winnebago Uprising
Indians 101: Chief Leschi's trial
Indians 301: A Yavapai messiah
Indians 201: The murder of Walla Walla chief Peopeo Moxmox
Indians 101: Hanging Indians, slaughtering horses
Indians 101: American Indians and the 1893 World Columbian Exposition
Indians 101: The fur trade in Washington
Note: Indians 201/301 is a revision/expansion of an earlier essay.
