The Mississauga People (1701-1800)

By 1701, many Mississauga had moved from their northern homelands to inhabit the vast territory on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Although the origin of the name "Mississauga" is not entirely clear, it may be linked to a band that lived along the Mississagi River on the northwestern shore of Lake Huron. In 1640, the Jesuits recorded the name oumisagai. A similar appellation was later applied to all the Ojibwa who moved into southwestern Ontario. The word Mississagi, pronounced in their own language Minzazahgeeg, means 'people who live where there are many river mouths.' While these Ojibwa-speaking people called themselves Anishinabe, they accepted the alternate name.

After the Mississauga arrived, they gave Ojibwa names to the many rivers and creeks along the north shore of Lake Ontario. Sixteen Mile Creek was named Nanzuhzaugewazog or 'having two outlets' because, being very shallow, it had a gravel bar dividing its mouth. It was the European settlers who gave the creek its current name indicating the distance from Burlington Bay. They called the Credit River, Missinnihe or 'trusting creek,' purportedly because it was here that the Mississauga received credit in European goods in return for the furs they were to bring the following year.

The Mississauga were primarily hunter-gatherers whose life-style depended on seasonal rounds. During the warmer months they traveled by canoe and in winter used snow shoes. During the colder season they dispersed into family groups to travel in the interior for hunting and ice fishing. By late March they moved on to their maple bush where they collected and boiled sap to make maple sugar. In the summer months families gathered to fish and pick berries. The Mississauga speared salmon in the Twelve and Sixteen Mile Creeks and in the Credit River. In the spring the women planted small quantities of corn along the creeks and river flats. After harvesting the produce in late summer, the village broke up to travel to the shores of lakes to harvest wild rice before heading back to their winter hunting territories. Since these people were highly mobile they owned few material possessions. They used antler, bone and stone to make their tools and arrowheads. Their storage containers and utensils were made of clay, hide and bark. Families built conical-shaped structures commonly called wigwams. Each time they moved to a new seasonal locale, they took only the birch bark coverings with them. They also used birch bark to cover the wooden frames of their canoes. Their extensive use of birch bark tells us how valuable this resource was to their economy. It was durable, light to carry and easily peeled from the trees in the spring.

The Mississauga organized themselves into small communities called bands. Their unity was more cultural than political. Each person belonged to one of several clans or totems, which provided important social ties with other bands. Members of a clan were considered relatives and were not permitted to marry someone from their own clan. The Mississauga used objects from nature to signify their totems: Eagle, Reindeer, Antler, Bear, Buffalo, Beaver, Catfish, Pike, Birch Bark, White Oak Tree and Bear's Liver. In this patrilineal society, individual totems were inherited from the father.

Families would gather in May to observe religious festivals. Some of the more important feasts included the Painted Pole Feast, the Naming Feast, the Crow Feast, the Dog Feast, the Jeebanahkawin (offering feast for the dead) and the Ooshkenetahgawin (a feast of the first animal killed by a boy). Another notable event was the Midewiwin, or initiation for the Grand Medicine Society. Being a successful hunter was honourable and necessary because the Mississauga relied on animals for food and clothing. If a hunter was unsuccessful he believed that he had angered the spirits and would devote his first game to a religious feast hosted by his family. The people placed great confidence in herbal hunting charms that would give them good luck in hunting. The Ojibwa believed in a benevolent being, the Great Spirit or Keche-munedoo. They also believed in an evil spirit, Mahje-muedoo who had the power to cause harm if offended. There were also numerous subordinate spirits who kept watch over everyday events.

Since the Mississauga had a close relationship with nature they believed that all things had a spirit that possessed power. They made no distinction between the natural and supernatural, and consequently had to stay on good terms with all beings and objects around them. To the Mississauga all dreams held spiritual meaning. This is why all young boys were expected to go on a vision quest. On this journey they would find an isolated place, fast and smoke a psychoactive sacred tobacco. The spirits who revealed themselves in visions and dreams would become guardian spirits who would guide and protect them for life.

The Mississauga believed that powerful spirits lived in awe-inspiring places. Remarkable features like Niagara Falls were particularly revered since it was thought that this is where the master of all waterfalls lived. Here and at other places the Mississauga were sure to sprinkle sacred tobacco in the water as an offering to the spirits who dwelt at these hallowed places. Another spirit lurked at the bottom of an overhanging cliff in a deep hole in the Credit River. It was said that you could hear him singing and beating his drum from a great distance. This entire region was also believed to be populated by mischievous little fairies and fearful giants.

The dead were buried with food and tobacco for their journey to the land of the souls. Every autumn the clans celebrated All Souls Day. It was believed that the 'shade' or the image of the man remained to haunt the living while his soul went south to the land of the souls. At the Naming Feast it was customary to choose names of the dead in order to keep their memories alive. Elders were respected members of Ojibwa society. They counseled the adults and passed down oral traditions to the children thereby ensuring continuity in the wisdom and understanding of the Mississauga customs and beliefs.

During the first half of the eighteenth century the Mississauga were allies and trading partners of the French. Later, they had similar relations with the British. The mouths of the many rivers and creeks along the north shore of Lake Ontario were strategic locations for trade. The French knew that the Mississauga would return every year for the salmon run, and the adventurous traders would seek them in their camps to intercept furs which might otherwise end up at established French forts or even English forts in the south. Soon the mouth of the Credit River became known as a trading center where the Mississauga traded peltry for European goods.

After the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which ended the fighting between the English and French in North America, the Mississauga made new alliances with the English. Britain realized how important her Indian allies were should another war ensue. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 officially recognized Indian land title and laid out the boundaries for a vast Indian territory. It stipulated that only the Crown could purchase lands within this Indian territory and required a formal and public treaty with the Aboriginal people who had an interest in the land. In 1781 the Crown and the Mississauga met for a treaty in which a strip of land along the west bank of the Niagara River was ceded. After the end of the American Revolution in 1783, the influx of loyalists led to increased pressure on the Mississauga to sell their lands. The first loyalists to receive a large tract of land were the Six Nations Iroquois. In 1784 the British entered into a treaty with the Mississauga to purchase six miles along either side of the Grand River. However, treaties involving the north shore of Lake Ontario did not take place until the nineteenth century.

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