Biigtigong Nishnaabeg

Last updated

Pic River 50
Pic River Indian Reserve No. 50
Pic River FN.JPG
Canada Ontario location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Pic River 50
Coordinates: 48°38′N86°16′W / 48.633°N 86.267°W / 48.633; -86.267
Country Canada
Province Ontario
District Thunder Bay
First NationBiigtigong Nishnaabeg
Area
[1]
  Land3.65 km2 (1.41 sq mi)
Population
 (2011) [1]
  Total395
  Density108.3/km2 (280/sq mi)
Website www.picriver.com

Biigtigong Nishnaabeg is an Ojibway (Anishinaabe) First Nation on the northern shore of Lake Superior. It is sometimes referred to as Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation (or "Pic River" for short). Pic River is not a signatory to the Robinson Superior treaty; however, they did petition, starting in 1879, for a reserve and the request was subsequently granted. The community is located on the northern shore of Lake Superior at the mouth of the Pic River 316.6-hectare (782-acre) and is called Pic River 50. In November 2007, their total registered population was 964 people, of which their on-reserve population was 480.

Contents

History

The mouth of the Pic River has been a center of native trade and settlement for thousands of years. It was a strategic location in the region's water transportation network because it offered access to northern lands and a canoe route to James Bay. The halfway point for canoers travelling the north shore of Lake Superior, "the Pic" first appeared on European maps in the mid-seventeenth century.

Local First Nations peoples traded furs with the French as early as the 1770s. A French fur trader set up a permanent post around 1792. The Hudson's Bay Company set up a permanent post in 1821 until encroaching settlement let to its relocation in 1888. In 1914, their Pic River 50 became a treaty-established reserve.

Reserve

Pic River 50 is an Indian reserve on the north shore of Lake Superior at the mouth of the Pic River, near Marathon, Ontario, Canada. The reserve is 316.6 ha within its exterior boundaries, and serves as the land-base for the Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation. In November, 2007, the First Nation reported their total registered population was 964 people, of which their on-reserve population was 480.

Pic River 50 is known for the role it has played in developing "run of the river" hydroelectric projects in Northern Ontario. It is partner to three projects: the 13.5 MW Black River generating station (GS), the 5.0 MW Twin Falls GS and the 23.0 MW Umbata Falls GS. In all, these projects produce enough electricity to meet the needs of some 30,000 homes in Ontario.

Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation are currently attempting to create a self-sustainable reserve with employment, education and resources being developed and used within the reserve itself. Thus far, Pic River 50 has a thriving forestry company, a cable television company and a high speed internet company.

The Pic River 50 reserve is home to many wild Northern Ontario species such as the beaver, moose, woodland caribou, wolf, black bear, white tailed and red tailed hawk, bald eagle, northern flicker, and many arctic alpine plants. The shores of Pic River 50 are dominated by the mass sandy dunes on the Little Pic river, which translates to "little muddy."

Culture

Pic River hosts an annual pow wow in mid July. The First Nation is active in economic and workforce development, with interests in run-of-the-river hydroelectric generating plants on the Kagiano River and Black River (Wawatay Generating Station). [2]

Governance

The current electoral leadership of the council consists of Chief Duncan Michano [3] and 11 councillors. Their four-year term began on October 30, 2021.

Notable people

In literature

The Voyageur, by Paul Carlucci, features some Nishnaabe characters. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ojibwe</span> Group of indigenous peoples in North America

The Ojibwe are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and throughout the northeastern woodlands. Ojibweg, being Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands and of the subarctic, are known by several names, including Ojibway or Chippewa. As a large ethnic group, several distinct nations also understand themselves to be Ojibwe as well, including the Saulteaux, Nipissings, and Oji-Cree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saulteaux</span> Westernmost branch of the Anishinaabe people

The Saulteaux, otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations band government in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. They are a branch of the Ojibwe who pushed west. They formed a mixed culture of woodlands and plains Indigenous customs and traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississaugas</span> Subtribe of the First Nations people in southern Ontario, Canada

The Mississaugas are a group of First Nations peoples located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are a sub-group of the Ojibwe Nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunder Bay District</span> District in Ontario, Canada

Thunder Bay District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district seat is Thunder Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnipeg River</span> River in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario

Winnipeg River is a Canadian river that flows roughly northwest from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. This river is 235 kilometres (146 mi) long from the Norman Dam in Kenora to its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. Its watershed is 106,500 square kilometres (41,100 sq mi) in area, mainly in Canada. About 29,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi) of the watershed is in northern Minnesota, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pic River</span> River in Ontario, Canada

The Pic River is a river in the east part of Thunder Bay District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It flows from McKay Lake southeast of the community of Longlac and empties into Lake Superior southeast of the town of Marathon.

The Sagkeeng First Nation is a Treaty-1 First Nation in the Eastman Region of Manitoba, Canada, that is composed of the Anishinaabe people indigenous to the area at or near the Fort Alexander Indian Reserve #3 located along the Winnipeg River and Traverse Bay. Today, Sagkeeng holds territory in the southern part of Lake Winnipeg, 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of the city of Winnipeg, and on the mainland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White River (Ontario)</span> Tributary of Lake Superior in Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada

The White River is a tributary of Lake Superior in Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It starts at Negwazu Lake and flows in a predominantly western direction to Lake Superior, passing through the Township of White River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Lake Provincial Park (Ontario)</span> Provincial park in Ontario

White Lake Provincial Park is a park in the Thunder Bay District of Northern Ontario, Canada, along Highway 17, north of Lake Superior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oji-Cree</span> First Nation in Ontario and Manitoba

The Anisininew or Oji-Cree are a First Nation in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, residing in a band extending from the Missinaibi River region in Northeastern Ontario at the east to Lake Winnipeg at the west.

Eabametoong, also known as Fort Hope or Eabamet Lake by Canada Post, is an Ojibwe First Nations band government in Kenora District, Ontario, Canada. Located on the shore of Eabamet Lake in the Albany River system, the community is located approximately 300 km (190 mi) northeast of Thunder Bay and is accessible only by airplane via Fort Hope Airport or water, or by winter/ice roads, which connect the community to the Northern Ontario Resource Trail. The Eabametoong First Nation Reserve is completely surrounded by territory of the Unorganized Kenora District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden River First Nation</span> Indian reserve in Ontario, Canada

Garden River First Nation, also known as Ketegaunseebee, is an Ojibwa band located at Garden River 14 near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.

The Robinson Treaties are two treaties signed between the Ojibwa chiefs and the Crown in 1850 in the Province of Canada. The first treaty involved Ojibwa chiefs along the north shore of Lake Superior, and is known as the Robinson Superior Treaty. The second treaty, signed two days later, included Ojibwa chiefs from along the eastern and northern shores of Lake Huron, and is known as the Robinson Huron Treaty. The Wiikwemkoong First Nation did not sign either treaty, and their land is considered "unceded".

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, also known as Big Trout Lake First Nation or KI for short, is an Oji-Cree First Nation reserve in Northwestern Ontario and is a part of Treaty 9. The community is about 580 km (360 mi) north of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Deer Lake First Nation is an Oji-Cree First Nations band government in Northern Ontario, located north of Red Lake, Ontario Canada. It is one of the few First Nations in Ontario to have signed Treaty 5. It is part of the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Council and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. As of December, 2007, the First Nation had 1,072 registered members, of which their on-reserve population was 868.

Chapleau Ojibway First Nation is an Ojibwa First Nation located near Chapleau Township, Sudbury District, Ontario, Canada. The First Nation have reserved for themselves the 67 ha Chapleau 61A Indian Reserve, 64.7 ha Chapleau 74 Indian Reserve and the 799.3 ha Chapleau 74A Indian Reserve. In September, 2007, their total registered population 39, of which their on-reserve population was 30.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gull Bay First Nation</span> Indian reserve in Ontario, Canada

Gull Bay First Nation or Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek is an Anishinaabe (Ojibway) First Nation band government located in Thunder Bay District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is approximately 175 kilometres (109 mi) north of Thunder Bay, Ontario on Highway 527 on the western shore of Lake Nipigon. As of May 2010, the First Nation had a registered population of 1,149 people, including an on-Reserve population of 328.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Lake 58 First Nation</span> Indian reserve in Ontario, Canada

Long Lake 58 First Nation is an Anishinaabe (Ojibway) First Nation band government located in Northern Ontario, located approximately 40 km east of Geraldton, Ontario, Canada, on the northern shore of Long Lake, immediately north of Ginoogaming First Nation and west of the community of Longlac, Ontario. As of January, 2008, their total registered population was 1,248 people, of which their on-Reserve population was 427.

The Black River is a river in Thunder Bay District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a left tributary of the Pic River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Key River</span> River in Ontario, Canada

The Key River is a short river in Central Ontario, Canada. It flows 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from Portage Lake west to its mouth at Key Harbour in Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The river allows access to Northeastern Georgian Bay for recreational anglers, cottagers, and canoeists from Ontario Highway 69. The river is mostly bound by the French River Provincial Park on its northern shore, and by Henvey Inlet First Nation Reserve on its southern shore.

References

  1. 1 2 "Pic River 50 census profile". 2011 Census of Population . Statistics Canada. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  2. "Wawatay Generating Station". Regional Power. 2011. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
  3. Cecco, Leyland (2 August 2024). "'We didn't sign that treaty': in Canada, the Anishinaabe fight for land they never gave up". The Guardian . Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  4. Carlucci, Paul, The Voyageur