Sachigo Lake First Nation ( ojs, ᓴᒋᑯ ᓴᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ) is an

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

band government In Canada, an Indian band or band (french: bande indienne, link=no), sometimes referred to as a First Nation band (french: bande de la Première Nation, link=no) or simply a First Nation, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subjec ...

in Unorganized

Kenora District Kenora District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The district seat is the City of Kenora. It is geographically the largest division in Ontario: at , it covers 38 percent of the province's area, making it larger ...

in Northwestern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. It is located on

Sachigo Lake Sachigo Lake is a lake in Unorganized Kenora District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is on the Sachigo River and is part of the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The major inflows are the Sachigo River at the southwest and the Morrison River at ...

, part of the

Sachigo River The Sachigo River is a river in the Hudson Bay drainage basin in Kenora District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is a tributary of the Severn River. Course The Sachigo River begins at Broadside Lake and flows northeast through Pasateko Lake ...

system and

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

, approximately north of the town of

Sioux Lookout Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Located approximately northwest of Thunder Bay, it has a population of 5,272 people (up 4.7% since 2011), an elevation of , and its boundaries cover an area of , of which is lake and wetla ...

. , the First Nation had a registered population of 814 people, of which the on-reserve population was 443. Sachigo Lake is

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest a ...

d by the

Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service (NAPS), also occasionally known as the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (without a hyphen) is the police agency for Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN). As of July 2020, NAPS has 34 detachments in NAN communities across the ...

, an Aboriginal-based service.

Governance

The First Nation elect their officials through a Custom Electoral System, consisting of a Chief and four councillors. The current Chief is Robert Beardy and the councillors elected for the same term are Pauline Greene and Claude Mckay. Two newly councillors elected in are Christopher Mckay Jr. and Stanley L. Tait. Their two-year terms all began on April 12, 2019. As a signatory to

Treaty 9 ''Treaty No. 9'' (also known as ''The James Bay Treaty'') is a numbered treaty first signed in 1905-1906 between Anishinaabe ( Algonquin and Ojibway) and Omushkegowuk Cree communities and the Canadian Crown, which includes both the gover ...

, Sachigo Lake First Nation is a member of the

Windigo First Nations Council Windigo First Nations Council is a non-political Chiefs Council in northwestern Ontario, Canada, serving its seven member- First Nations. The council was organized in 1983. The organization is directed by the Chiefs of the member First Nations who f ...

, a Regional Chiefs Council, and

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Nishnawbe Aski Nation (ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓈᐯ ᐊᔅᑭ ᐃᔥᑯᓂᑲᓇᓐ ᐅᑭᒫᐎᓐ (''Anishinaabe-aski Ishkoniganan Ogimaawin''), unpointed: ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᔅᑭ ᐃᔥᑯᓂᐊᓇᓐ ᐅᑭᒪᐎᓐ; NAN for short) is a political orga ...

, a Tribal Political Organization that represents majority of First Nation governments in northern Canada.

Reserve

The First Nation have reserved for themselves the

Sachigo Lake 1 Sachigo Lake 1 is a First Nations reserve in northwestern Ontario. It is the main reserve of the Sachigo Lake First Nation Sachigo Lake First Nation ( ojs, ᓴᒋᑯ ᓴᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ) is an Oji-Cree First Nation band government in Unorganized ...

Indian Reserve, which serves as their main reserve, containing the community of Sachigo Lake. In addition, the First Nation have reserved the

Sachigo Lake 2 Sachigo Lake 2 is a First Nations reserve in Kenora District, Ontario. It is one of the reserves of the Sachigo Lake First Nation Sachigo Lake First Nation ( ojs, ᓴᒋᑯ ᓴᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ) is an Oji-Cree First Nation band government in Unor ...

Indian Reserve and the

Sachigo Lake 3 Sachigo Lake 3 is a First Nations reserve in Kenora District, Ontario. It is one of the reserves of the Sachigo Lake First Nation Sachigo Lake First Nation ( ojs, ᓴᒋᑯ ᓴᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ) is an Oji-Cree First Nation band government in Unor ...

Indian Reserve.

Education

The new Martin McKay Memorial School, offering Kindergarten through Grade 8 programming accommodates approximately 103 students. The new school contains a total of eight classrooms, a computer room, a public-school library, a gymnasium, multipurpose and change room facilities, as well as play areas for kindergarten and elementary students. INAC provided $9.45 million to Sachigo Lake First Nation, which managed design and construction of the school. Smith Carter Architects and Engineers Incorporated consulted extensively with the community and were winners of the Architectural Excellence for Design Awards, by the Ontario Association of Architects, for the Martin McKay Memorial School. The concept, “Two Schools, One Spirit,” links the primary and secondary programs through the spirit of the Thunderbird. The primary and secondary schools are individual wings with two separate entrances, which allows for a division of students by age and maturity levels. Shared community use of facilities such as the gymnasium, multipurpose room and library, provides a central focus.

Recreation

Over 1.1 million dollars has been invested in upgrades and the rehabilitation of the Sachigo Lake First Nation Arena. This new facility enriches the recreation for youth in the community and surrounding communities. Sachigo Lake First Nation also hosts an annual ice-fishing derby. This annual event, first started in 2013, is one of the largest ice-fishing derbies in Northwestern Ontario.

Transportation

The community is served by

Sachigo Lake Airport Sachigo Lake Airport is located north of the First Nations community of Sachigo Lake, Ontario, Canada. Because Sachigo Lake First Nation is a "dry" community that forbids alcohol, each arriving passenger has their luggage searched in a separ ...

. It has

winter road A winter road is a seasonal road only usable during the winter, i.e. it has to be re-built every year. This road typically runs over land and over frozen lakes, rivers, swamps, and sea ice.Proskin et al, 2011. Guidelines for the Construction an ...

access south via Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation to the all-weather Northern Ontario Resource Trail and thereby to Ontario Highway 599.

Economy

The unemployment rate in 2006 was 22.9%.

References

External links

AANDC profileProfile at Windigo First Nations
{{authority control First Nations governments in Ontario Communities in Kenora District