Elizabeth Bertrand

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Elizabeth Bertrand (Ojibwe name Omagigiwikway) lived about 1760 to February 28, 1827. She was a key fur trader and political leader around the Straits of Mackinac. Born to an Ojibwe mother and a French fur trader father, she grew up speaking Ojibwe and Odawa. In 1776 she married British Army surgeon David Mitchell, and together they built one of the wealthiest fur-trading families in the upper Great Lakes. They lived in a large house on Michilimackinac (now Mackinac Island) from 1781 to 1811 and had several children.

In the War of 1812, Elizabeth helped mobilize Indigenous warriors to defend Mackinac and helped repel the American attack in 1814. For her leadership, the British government gave her 50 pounds a year for two years after the war.

After the war, Mackinac was returned to U.S. control. David moved to Drummond Island in 1815, where he worked as a surgeon; Elizabeth stayed on Mackinac to protect their interests. U.S. officials resented her role and tried to bar her from fur trading, but she remained influential on both sides of the border.

Elizabeth Bertrand died on February 28, 1827, while visiting family on Drummond Island, Michigan.