Peter Edmund Jones

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

(30 October 1843 – 29 June 1909) was a

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

Ojibwa The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

chief of

New Credit Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (, ''meaning: "Mississauga people at the Credit River"'') is a Mississaugas, an Ojibwe sub-group, First Nation located near Brantford in south-central Ontario, Canada. In April 2015, MCFN had an enrolled ...

. In

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

he was called Kahkewaquonaby, named after his father in two languages. The third child of Peter Jones and Eliza Field, Jones was born in London, Canada West. He was raised at the Muncey Mission, and later

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...

. He was educated first by his

governess A governess is a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching; depending on terms of their employment, they may or ma ...

, and later at Brantford Grammar School. Although one quarter indigenous in heritage, he was raised in a largely

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fashion. Jones, who attended medical school initially at the Toronto School of Medicine and then at Queen's College, he obtained a medical degree from Queen's in 1866. He is the first known

Status Indian The Indian Register is the official record of people registered under the ''Indian Act'' in Canada, called status Indians or ''registered Indians''. People registered under the ''Indian Act'' have rights and benefits that are not granted to othe ...

to obtain such a degree in Canada. After obtaining his medical degree, Jones moved to

Hagersville, Ontario Hagersville is a community in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. History Upon the construction of Ontario Highway 6, Highway 6, known formerly as the Plank Road, a small village popped up around 1855 when Charles and David Hager bought most of ...

, and set up a practice in

. Jones became involved in politics, both on the reserve and off. He was elected a chief of New Credit from 1874 to 1877, and 1880–1886. He developed connections in the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

, where he argued for more Native rights and more Native control over their affairs. Unsuccessful in this, he did receive an appointment as the

Indian Agent In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the U.S. government. Agents established in Nonintercourse Act of 1793 The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the Un ...

for New Credit in 1887, which he held until 1896. Jones edited ''The Indian'', a journal for indigenous people. The journal was published in 1885–1886, and ran a total of 24 issues. It was the first Canadian journal for indigenous people edited by an indigenous person. The journal was distributed on

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...

s across Ontario. Like his father, Jones lived across the cultural gap between the whites of Canada and the indigenous people of the land. He married an English woman, Charlotte Dixon, but intended to raise any children as Ojibwe. His cousin George Henry attempted to dislodge him as the New Credit band's doctor on the grounds that he was only one-quarter First Nation, but failed. Jones practiced

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, which was uncommon among First Nations, and was an avid

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player. But he also refused to relinquish his Indian status, a practice that was encouraged by the

Indian Department The Indian Department was established in 1755 to oversee relations between the British Empire and the First Nations of North America. The imperial government ceded control of the Indian Department to the Province of Canada in 1860, thus setting ...

for educated indigenous individuals. Jones died in Hagersville, Ontario, in 1909.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Peter Edmund 1843 births 1909 deaths Ojibwe Jones family Mississauga people Physicians from Ontario University of Toronto alumni