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Nahovway (Margaret Sinclair)
c.1770 - 1863

Nahovway was born near Churchill, Manitoba around 1770. Later in life she was baptised as Margaret Sinclair.
Her father was a prominent trader with the Hudson's Bay Company. Her mother was part of the "Homeguard" Cree people, who worked closely with the HBC traders and lived near their post.

In 1798, Nahovway helped her husband William Sinclair establish a trading post at Oxford House, Manitoba.

In 1824, following William's death, she moved to the Red River Settlement with her daughter Mary and son Thomas. She later lived at Seven Oaks with her daughter's family.

Nahovway died in 1863 and was buried at St. John's Cathedral.

Almost nothing is known about her life beyond details about her father, husband, and children.

Several of her descendants are known to have been artists, noted for their fine beadwork, embroidery, and birch basket making skills. These traditional skills were passed down through the generations, and we speculate that the Sinclair family style originated with Nahovway.

Note: This photo is commonly presented as Nahovway. It was found in the Seven Oaks House Museum collection and identified based on intuition by descendant and author, Donna Sutherland.

Unfortunately a historical analysis of the photo's context indicates that it likely dates from the late 19th or early 20th century -- meaning it could not be of Nahovway.

Facial recognition software suggested that this may be a photo of Marak Inkster (Nahovway's granddaughter) near the end of her life (c.1900-1912)

Gail Konantz (member of a descendant family), has stated that the photo is of Jane Inkster Tait (sister to Marak). "She notes that a number of people have mistakenly assumed this was a picture of Janes’ grandmother, Margaret Nahoway Sinclair."

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Captain Colin Robertson Sinclair
1816 - 1901

Colin Robertson Sinclair was the youngest child of Nahovway and William Sinclair, and brother to Mary Sinclair-Inkster. He was born in Oxford House, Manitoba in 1816. Nahovway was a Cree-Metis woman born near Churchill. His father, William, was from Orkney, Scotland and came to work for the Hudson Bay Company at a young age.
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Colin’s father died when he was only two years old. In William’s will, he stated that he wanted his sons to be educated in Scotland. As an Indigenous woman, Nahovway had few legal rights, and William’s business partners were appointed as executors. Colin remained with his mother Nahovway and his sister Mary until the age of seven. At that time, he was separated from his mother and sent away to Orkney, Scotland to further his education. Colin travelled to Europe aboard the Prince of Wales; the very same ship that brought John Inkster to Red River two years earlier. Nahovway would never see her son again.

Colin arrived in Scotland and attended school for about four years before he was apprenticed as a “Ship’s Boy”. Life at sea was extremely hard, especially for an 11 year old child. Food was limited, disease was rampant, and breaking discipline often meant a whipping. Colin advanced in the ranks, eventually  becoming captain and owner of his own ship. He sailed around the world to China  and India  trading spices, and landed in San Francisco in 1849. His crew reportedly deserted him there to join the California Gold Rush. 

Meanwhile, Nahovway had moved to Seven Oaks to live with her daughter, Mary. During the 1840s, newspapers reported that a “Captain Sinclair” had died in a shipwreck in the St. Lawrence River. Believing this to be their Colin, his family had a memorial erected. Family histories say that Nahowvay spent many days sitting along the river bank, dreaming that her lost son might return home.

Sources who knew Colin at this time describe him as a bitter and unpleasant man. His childhood experiences must have affected him, and some historians speculate that he may have been told his mother sent him away by choice. While it was common for prominent fur trading families to send their children to Europe for schooling, they were typically returned in a few years with an education. Colin’s lifelong, traumatic separation suggests other forces were at work. In 'Nahoway, A Distant Voice' author and descendent Donna Sutherland indicates that Nahoway did not want her son to leave.

In 1897, at the age of 81, Colin decided to return to Red River to reunite with his family. His mother and sister were both long dead, but his niece, Marak Inkster, took him in. Colin lived the rest of his days at Seven Oaks, allegedly sleeping in a hammock to mimic the motion of a ship.
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Immediately after his return in 1897, Colin erected this monument to his mother at St. John’s Cathedral. Today they are buried there together, and his moving poem shows how deeply he regretted his choice not to return home sooner.