James Sinclair (fur trader)

James Sinclair (1811–1856) was a trader and explorer with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). He twice led large parties of settlers from the Red River colony to the Columbia River valley. These were both authorized by the HBC as a part of grandiose plans to strengthen British claims in the Oregon boundary dispute.

He was the son of HBC factor William Sinclair, from Eastaquoy in Harray, and his Cree wife, Nahovway. He was a brother of William Sinclair. James was born in Rupert's Land and educated in Scotland at Edinburgh University.

James Sinclair was appointed by Duncan Finlayson to guide the settler families to Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River. Most of the families were Métis, headed by men who were capable hunters and well-suited to living off the land. They were hired by the Pugets Sound Agricultural Company (PSAC) to settle at company stations in modern Washington state as agriculturalists or pastoralists. In June 1841, the party left Fort Garry with 23 families consisting of 121 people. They followed the Red River north, crossing Lake Winnipeg and traveled in the Saskatchewan River system to Fort Edmonton.

From there they were guided by Maskepetoon, a chief of the Wetaskiwin Cree. Maskepetoon would stay with the party until they reached Fort Vancouver, where he sailed home on board the Beaver. Going through Lake Minnewanka, they eventually reached where the Spray and Bow rivers meet. Following the course of the Spray River valley, the intrepid British colonists then trekked along a tributary, Whiteman's Creek. From here they crossed the Great Divide of the Rocky Mountains, by a new route which became known as Whiteman's Pass.

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