The history of Peguis First Nation dates back to the late 1790's, when as a young man, Chief Peguis led his tribe west, from Sault St. Marie, Ontario,to   the mouth of the Red River in Manitoba. They settled along Netley Creek because plentiful game and fish could be found there.
(Thompson, 1973,page 1)

    When Lord Selkirk and his Scottish settlers came to the area in 1812, Chief Peguis helped him establish his colonies. The chief offered the colonies protection and the necessities to survive.  Interestingly, the Chief was known to the settlers as Peeg-wace.  Legend has it that he was found abandoned as a child near a pile of woodchips by an elderly woman who named him Peeh-quaa-is, or Little Chip.  Early Manitoba records list him as Pigwys, Pigeois, and Be-gou-ais.  In time, the name Peeh-quaa-is became simply Peguis.  (Thompson, 1973, page 80).

    At the age of 64, Chief Peguis was converted to the Anglican Church.  The Reverend William Cochran  said that the Chief must first give up liquor, and reduce his wives to one legal mate.  After four years of total abstinence, Chief Peguis was admitted into the Anglican Church and many of his followers accepted the new religion.  Reverend Cochran  is best remembered for his goal to enable the Saulteaux to become independent of the hunt by planting sufficient vegetables and grains to stave off starvation when wild game was scarce.

    On October 7, 1840 Reverend Smithurst legally married Chief Peguis and his wife of many years.  She took the name Victoria after the Queen of England.  The Chief was registered as William King; William in recognition of William Cochran and King in recognition of his position in the tribe.   Chief Peguis is quoted as saying, " My sons are now princes and shall be known by that name" (Thompson, 1973, page 31).  None of his descendents used the surname King.  Chief Peguis died at age 90 in September 28, 1864,and was buried in St Peter's graveyard near Selkirk, Manitoba.

    After Peguis died, his son Henry Prince or Red  Eagle (Mis-koo-ke-new)as he was known to the band, became chief.  In 1869, when Louis Riel and the Métis engaged in the River Rebellion, Chief Prince rejected all appeals from Riel to join forces with him.  On August 3, 1871, Chief Henry Prince signed Treaty #1  with the Government of Canada.

    In 1885, John (Long Jake) Prince, third son of Red Eagle, as his father's proxy signed an agreement with the Canadian Government in Ottawa which settled the St Peter's Reserve land dispute.  When John Prince was introduced to Sir John A. Macdonald, they were both startled by their resemblance to each other (see below, can you tell who is who?).

    In 1907, Chief Peguis' descendents were forced off of the St. Peter's Reserve, in what is now called the illegal surrender of St Peter's Reserve, and moved to the current day Peguis Reserve located in the Interlake area of central Manitoba.

    The following historical documents were selected to show some of the historical flavor of the early days of Peguis First Nation.  The first document dated July 28, 1887, is a letter sent to Sir John A. Macdonald from Chief William Prince requesting assistance to address local band concerns.

     The second document dated 1908 is a letter from Chief William Prince to the Honourable Frank Pedley asking him to address the band's concerns of great misunderstanding about the surrender of St Peter's Reserve.

     The third document dated 1915 is a letter sent to the Inspector of Indian Agencies from the local Indian agent to recompense the people of Peguis for thier expenses incurred from moving from St Peter's Resreve to Peguis.  The brief descriptions of our various ancestors are caught in a time capsule for the people of current-day Peguis.