Addressing The Monopoly

Mar 26

April 18, 1843

Dear John,

I hope this letter finds you well at your post. Elizabeth and I are anticipating word of your return to Red River. The winter was long, but Spring brings anticipation of better days.

I write with some concern about leaving Elizabeth for the upcoming hunt. Elizabeth is with child again, our fifth. She insists she can manage fine in my absence, but I worry.

The tensions in our community with the officials continues to grow since my return last year. Just last week, brother Bruneau was fined for excessive trading of furs. The importance of negotiating trade terms free from discrimination for our people is increasingly urgent.

I have begun drafting a formal petition to the Governor regarding our hunting and trading rights as native sons of this territory. We must clarify our rights to freely hunt in the territory claimed by the Company for our livelihoods.

I am still challenged by the references to our negotiating powers being diminished by our place in this community. We are deserving of continuing our practices and receiving equal pay for our trade.

My departure is imminent in a few days. I’ve secured a few promises to keep watch over our homestead in my absence. I hope your upcoming return will give Elizabeth additional comfort.

While the next hunt is essential, I anticipate a shorter trip this time to address urgent matters here with the officials. There is strength in our kinship to discuss all matters of trade and rights to secure our way forward.

Your brother,

James Sinclair

Positionality | James Sinclair

James Sinclair was a Métis trader and advocate for Indigenous rights in the Red River Settlement. Born to a Cree mother (Nahovway) and a Scottish Hudson's Bay Company factor (William Sinclair). He was a key voice for the community of French and English-speaking people of mixed Indigenous and European descent who had a distinct identity in the Red River settlement. According to the Louis Riel Institute, Sinclair was educated by settlers at the University of Edinburgh from 1819 to 1826.

Sinclair used his traditional knowledge, bilingualism, literacy and cross-cultural understanding to challenge the Hudson's Bay Company's monopolistic policies. This letter, set in 1843, conveys his familial experience and advocacy efforts for free trade rights for Métis.

Sinclair's advocacy continued amid widespread discrimination against Métis community members known as “half-breeds.” Métis included those with an Indigenous and European parent or “mixed-blood.”

Through formal petitions, leadership, and advocacy, James Sinclair had an important role in the fight for free trade rights. His 1845 petition to Governor Christie of Assiniboia was a significant step in advancing negotiations between settlers and Indigenous communities. The rights Sinclair was fighting for led to the Red River Resistance of 1869 to 1870.

EXHIBIT BIBLIOGRAPHY