Nipissing First Nation (), meaning , is a long-standing community of Nishnaabeg peoples, who traditionally speak Anishinaabemwin, located along the shorelines of

Lake Nipissing Lake Nipissing (; , ) is a lake in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It has a surface area of , a mean elevation of above sea level, and is located between the Ottawa River and Georgian Bay. Lake Nipissing i ...

in northern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. They are referred to by many names in European historical records, since the colonists often adopted names given to them by other nations. The Nbisiing Anishinaabeg have roots in both the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

and Algonquin nations, making up part of the wider grouping of

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

peoples. Their heritage is a result of the fact that the Nipissing homeland sits at a geographical crossroads, existing between the traditional territories of the Ojibwe around the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

and the Algonquin country covering much of the Kitchi-sipi watershed.

Geography

drains via the French River into

Georgian Bay The Georgian Bay () is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is t ...

and, to the east of Lake Nipissing, Trout Lake drains via the Mattawa River into the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

. Living at the crossroads between two watersheds, the Nipissing were key to trade to the east, west, north and south of Lake Nipissing. The French

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

d the watershed divide extensively to reach the

by canoe from their settlements around

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

on the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

. To the west the Nipissing trade routes extended as far as

Lake Nipigon Lake Nipigon ( ; ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northwestern Ontario. Part of the Great Lakes drainage basin, it drains through the Nipigon River into Lake Superior. It is the largest lake entirely within the Canadian province of Ontario. Ety ...

and their Ojibwa neighbours, and to the north as far as

James Bay James Bay (, ; ) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is politically part of Nunavut. Its largest island is Akimiski Island. Numerous waterways of the ...

, where they traded with the

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

and, later, the English. Their trade network to the east extended as far as present-day

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, also on the Saint Lawrence. The

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages () are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, almost all surviving I ...

-speaking

Huron people The Wyandot people (also Wyandotte, Wendat, Waⁿdát, or Huron) are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of the present-day United States and Canada. Their Wyandot language belongs to the Iroquoian language family. In Canada, ...

lived nearby to the south. Archaeological evidence shows that the Nipissing integrated some Huron styles and techniques in their pottery. They obtained food primarily through hunting, fishing, and gathering. Their extensive trading likely allowed them to supplement their diets with

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

, beans and squash as well, which were staple crops cultivated by many

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

peoples. The land in the lake valleys would have supported some horticulture. Today Nipissing First Nation lies between the city of North Bay and the municipality of

West Nipissing West Nipissing is a municipality in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, on Lake Nipissing in the Nipissing District. It was formed on January 1, 1999, with the amalgamation of seventeen and a half former towns, villages, townships and unorganized commun ...

in northeastern Ontario. Most members of the First Nation reside on the

First Nations reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the ''Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." R ...

of Nipissing Indian Reserve 10.

History

The Nipissing controlled trade routes that became increasingly desirable during the early French colonial period, as the French proved a large, lucrative market for the inland pelts, exporting many to Europe. The

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

, based south of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

, conducted military campaigns against the competing Huron and Nipissing in the competition for furs. By 1647, the Nipissing regrouped in the

area. The Nipissing continued to use their historical trade routes but at greater risk. Claude-Jean Allouez visited the Nipissings at Lake Nipigon 1667, but in 1671 he reported that the Nipissing had returned to Lake Nipissing. After returning to Lake Nipissing, some of the Nipissings relocated to the missions at

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

and Oka,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. In 1850 the Nipissing signed the

Robinson Treaty 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. ...

with the Canadian representatives of the

British Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

. In the face of increasing European encroachment by settlers, they wanted to confirm their claim to the north shores of Lake Nipissing and its main waterways.

Reserve

Nipissing 10, as it was formerly known, is an

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...

in northeastern Ontario located on the north shores of

in the

Nipissing District Nipissing District is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1858. The district seat is North Bay. In 2021, the population was 84,716. The land area is ; the population density was , making it o ...

, serving as the land base for the Nipissing First Nation. The reserve is located west of North Bay and east of

. The reserve comprises the communities of Beaucage, Jocko Point, Yellek, Duchesnay, and Garden Village, as well as many smaller sub-divisions. Garden Village is accessible by municipal streets in Sturgeon Falls. The other communities all have direct access off of Highway 17 West.

Society

Traditionally, the Nipissing nation is structured around families and clans (or

doodem The Anishinaabe, like most Algonquian languages, Algonquian-speaking groups in North America, base their system of kinship on clans or totems. The Ojibwe language, Ojibwe word for clan () was borrowed into English as totem. The clans, based ma ...

s). The five doodems are: Blood (''Miskwaa'aa'', recorded as "Miskouaha"), Birchbark (''Wiigwaas''), Heron (''Ashagi''), Beaver ( ''Amikwaa'', recorded as "Amicois" or as "Nez Percés"), and Squirrel (''Asanagoo''). During the period of the clans' early contact with the Europeans, the Blood, Birchbark, and Squirrel clans were located on and about Lake Nipissing, the Heron clan resided primarily on Lake Nipissing but also on lands extending southward to the eastern coast of

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

's Georgian Bay, and the Beaver clan was located on the northern coast of

, adjacent to Heron territory. Each clan is subdivided along family lines. They govern independently but at the same time cooperatively, as part of Nipissing Nation as a whole. They respect a person's right to decide individual paths.

Demographics

As of February 2009, Nipissing First Nation had a total registered population of 2,201 people, of which 886 lived on their own reserve. The 2001 Canadian Census recorded 1,378 people lived on Nipissing 10 Indian Reserve. According to the

2011 Canadian Census The 2011 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population on May 10, 2011. Statistics Canada, an agency of the Canadian government, conducts a nationwide census every five years. In 2011, it consisted of a mandatory short form ...

: *Population: 1,450 *% Change (2006-2011): 2.6 *Dwellings: 674 *Area (km²): 61.22 *Density (persons per km²): 23.7

Governance

The current governance of the Nipissing First Nation is elected under the custom electoral system, consisting of a chief, deputy chief and six councillors. The current council consists of Chief Scott McLeod and Deputy Chief Muriel Sawyer, along with Councillors June Commanda, Brian Couchie, Corey Goulais, Jane B Commanda, Michael Sawyer and Eric "Ric" Stevens. Their three-year term ends July 31, 2018. The Nipissing First Nation's council is a member of Waabnoong Bemjiwang Association of First Nations, which is a regional chiefs' council. The First Nation is also a member of the Union of Ontario Indians, a tribal political organization representing many of the Anishinaabe First Nations in central and southern Ontario. In January 2014, the Nipissing adopted what is believed to be the first constitution for First Nations in Ontario. It is supposed to replace the ''

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' () is a Canadian Act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still in force with amendments, it is the primary document that defines how t ...

'' as the supreme law which regulates the governance of the First Nation, but has not been tested in court.

Notable Nipissing

* Dan Frawley (ice hockey), b. 1962, NHL hockey player, captain of the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

1987 *Ian Campeau of A Tribe Called Red

References

External links

*
Nipissing First Nation profile
on the

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: * Aborigines (mythology), the oldest inhabitants of central Italy in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of se ...

website
First Nation Detail
{{authority control First Nations in Ontario Algonquian ethnonyms Anishinabek Nation Anishinaabe reserves in Ontario Communities in Nipissing District Lake Nipissing