Eel Ground First Nation

Last updated

Eel Ground Band
Flag of Eel Ground First Nation.svg
Canada New Brunswick location map 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Eel Ground Band
Location of Eel Ground in New Brunswick
Coordinates: 46°58′9.2″N65°37′38.2″W / 46.969222°N 65.627278°W / 46.969222; -65.627278
CountryCanada
Province New Brunswick
County Northumberland County
Established1783
Government
  ChiefGeorge Harold Ginnish
  CouncilMerrill Martin
Mike Simon
Wallace Francis
Alisha Sweezey
Tyler Patles
Willie Sark
Kyle Francis
Cody Narvey
Brian Simon
Kelvin Simonson
  MP Pat Finnigan (L)
  Provincial Representatives Rick Brewer (L)
John W. Foran (L)
Area
  Total28.23 km2 (10.90 sq mi)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2012) [1]
  Total977
Time zone UTC-4 (Atlantic (AST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-3 (ADT)
Area code 506 / 428
NTS Map021I13
Website http://www.eelgroundfirstnation.com/
Postal code span:

The Eel Ground Band or Eel Ground First Nation is a Mi'kmaq First Nation band government of 977 people located on the Miramichi River in northern New Brunswick, Canada. The community comprises three reserves (Eel Ground #2, Big Hole Tract # 8 (south half), and Renous #12). [2]

Contents

History

Eel Ground principally occupies lands adjoining the City of Miramichi, New Brunswick, and members of the two communities have no doubt interacted from the time of earliest European settlement. About 1648, Nicolas Denys, Sieur de Fronsac, established a fort and trading post nearby, "on the North side of the Miramichi, at the forks of the river". His son, Richard Denys, was placed in charge of the fort and trading post. In 1688 Richard describes the establishment as including about a dozen French and more than 500 Indians. [3] [4] [5] [6]

The band was officially recognised by the British in 1783, soon after the French defeat in the Seven Years' War. [1]

No doubt the First Nation population had long preceded Denys' "establishment", and present-day inhabitants of Eel Ground would largely be descended from Richard Denys' immediate neighbours. For the Mi'kmaq, the nearby junction of the Northwest and Main Southwest branches of the Miramichi River had long served as a natural meeting point.

Notable people

Dancer at 2000 Pow-wow hosted by Eel Ground First Nation (IR Walker 2000) 2000 Eel Ground Pow-wow Dancer.jpg
Dancer at 2000 Pow-wow hosted by Eel Ground First Nation (IR Walker 2000)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miramichi, New Brunswick</span> City in New Brunswick, Canada

Miramichi ( ) is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay. The Miramichi Valley is the second longest valley in New Brunswick, after the Saint John River Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northumberland County, New Brunswick</span> County in New Brunswick, Canada

Northumberland County is located in northeastern New Brunswick, Canada.

Eskɨnuopitijk or Esgenoôpetitj is a Mi'kmaq First Nation band government in New Brunswick, Canada, centred south of the community of Lagacéville and southwest of the village of Neguac on Miramichi Bay. It covers two Indian reserves in Northumberland County and two reserves in Gloucester County (Pabineau). The population was 1,715 as of 2011. The Mi'kmaq call Burnt Church Esgenoôpetitj, which means "a lookout".

Esgenoôpetitj is a Mi'kmaq Indian reserve in Northumberland County, New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to July 11, 2012, the Indian reserve was named Burnt Church 14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwest Miramichi River</span>

The Northwest Miramichi River or Elmunokun is a river in New Brunswick, Canada. The Mi'kmaq referred to the river as Elmunokun, possibly meaning "a beaver hole" in reference to a deep pool in the river, just below the mouth of the Big Sevogle River, its second largest tributary, after the Little Southwest Miramichi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest Miramichi River</span>

The Southwest Miramichi River is a river in New Brunswick, Canada.

William Davidson was a Scottish-Canadian lumber merchant, shipbuilder and politician. He was the first permanent European settler on the Miramichi River in New Brunswick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Southwest Miramichi River</span> River in New Brunswick, Canada

The Little Southwest Miramichi River is a river in Northumberland County, New Brunswick, Canada. In Mi'kmaq it is referred to as "Tooadook".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miramichi Valley</span> Valley in New Brunswick, Canada

The Miramichi Valley is a Canadian river valley and region in the east-central part of New Brunswick. It extends along both major branches of the Miramichi River and their tributaries, however it is generally agreed that the much larger Southwest Miramichi River forms the majority of this region as it is more settled than the Northwest Miramichi River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Peter's, Nova Scotia</span> Village in Nova Scotia, Canada

St. Peter's is a small incorporated village located on Cape Breton Island in Richmond County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

The Burnt Church Crisis was a conflict in Canada between the Mi'kmaq people of the Burnt Church First Nations (Esgenoôpetitj) and non-Aboriginal fisheries in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia between 1999 and 2002.

Metepenagiag, also known as Red Bank is a Mi'kmaq First Nation band government in New Brunswick, Canada on the other side of the Miramichi river from Sunny Corner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of New Brunswick</span>

The history of New Brunswick covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day New Brunswick were inhabited for millennia by the several First Nations groups, most notably the Maliseet, Mi'kmaq, and the Passamaquoddy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gesgapegiag</span> Indian Reserve in Quebec, Canada

Gesgapegiag is one of two First Nations reserves on the south shore of the Gaspésie, most of whom are of Mi'kmaq ancestry. Most of the members reside on the federal Indian reserve that was set aside by the legislature of Lower Canada in 1853, for the exclusive use of the majority of Mi'kmaq in this region. The remaining Mi'kmaq live off-reserve in the eastern United States and across Canada, but stay connected to the community through modern communications and travel to. All community members, regardless of residence, participate in democratic elections held every two years to elect one Chief and eight Councillors in accordance with Canada's Indian Act Election Regulations. The community is also allied to other Mi'kmaq communities in the Gaspé region of Quebec and in northern New Brunswick. Together, their elected Chiefs advance ancestral claims to self-government and to the traditional territory called Gespe'gewa'gi ('Kespékewáki), the last land.

The North Shore is a region in the northeastern part of the Canadian province of New Brunswick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaubears Island</span>

Beaubears Island is an island at the confluence of the Northwest Miramichi and Southwest Miramichi Rivers near Miramichi, New Brunswick. The island is most famous for being the site of an Acadian refugee camp during the French and Indian War. The camp was under the command of leader of the Acadian resistance to the expulsion, Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot.

Route 420 is a 35-kilometre (22 mi) long mostly east–west secondary highway in the northwest portion of New Brunswick, Canada.

Route 425 is a 30-kilometre (19 mi) long mostly west–east secondary highway in the northwest portion of New Brunswick, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peace and Friendship Treaties</span> Peace treaties between various bands of the Miꞌkmaq and the British in Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Peace and Friendship Treaties were a series of written documents that Britain signed between 1725 and 1779 with various Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet), Abenaki, Penobscot, and Passamaquoddy peoples living in parts of what are now the Maritimes and Gaspé region in Canada and the northeastern United States. Primarily negotiated to reaffirm the peace after periods of war and to facilitate trade, these treaties remain in effect to this day.

References

  1. 1 2 , Indian and Northern Affairs, retrieved August 30, 2012.
  2. http://eelgroundschool.ca/leaders/ourcomm.html Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Eel Ground First Nation
  3. English, E.J. (2002) Nelson and its Neighbours: 300 years on the Miramichi, 2nd Ed., Earl J. English, Miramichi
  4. Davidson, W.H. (1947) An account of the life of William Davidson, otherwise John Godsman, of Banffshire and Aberdeenshire in Scotland and Miramichi in British North America. Publ. New Brunswick Museum, Historical Studies No. 6.
  5. Davidson, W.H. (1966) William Davidson 1740–1790. North Shore Leader, Newcastle
  6. Beaubear's Island National Historic Site "id73". Archived from the original on October 13, 2008.

46°58′9.2″N65°37′38.2″W / 46.969222°N 65.627278°W / 46.969222; -65.627278