Marguerite Duplessis (b. approx. 1718 – d. post-1740)

Marguerite Duplessis was a Pawnee woman enslaved since childhood during 18th century New France (now Quebec). Despite being transferred between several households, Marguerite showed remarkable strength and courage by legally challenging her enslavement to avoid deportation.

This marked the first time that an Indigenous person filed a lawsuit in New France’s history, and it was also the first time an enslaved person sought legal recognition of their freedom.

Although the court ruled against her and her appeal to a higher court was unsuccessful, Marguerite’s bold resistance stands as a powerful example of an Indigenous woman fighting back against colonial and patriarchal systems that reduced her to property based on both her gender and identity.

Marguerite was likely deported to Martinique in 1740, and no further records of her exist, but her story lives on as an example of resilience in the face of injustice.