The Bloodvein First Nation is a

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 ...

community located on the east side of

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...

, along the

Bloodvein River The Bloodvein River is a river in Canada. It flows west from its headwaters in Red Lake in northwest Ontario to the east side of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba through the boreal forests of the Canadian Shield. It is around long. Lakes along its lengt ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada. , the community had a population of 1,176. There are many caribou, bears, wolves, bald eagles, lynx, owls, and various species of fish in the area. The river and surroundings is the traditional land use area for the

Ojibwa The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

(or Saulteaux) people. The area is served by

Bloodvein River Airport Bloodvein River Airport is located adjacent to Bloodvein River, Manitoba, Canada and serves the Bloodvein First Nation. Airlines and destinations See also * List of airports in Manitoba This is a list of airports in Manitoba. It in ...

History

This area is a part of

Treaty 5 ''Treaty Five'' is a treaty between Queen Victoria and Saulteaux and Swampy Cree non-treaty band governments and peoples around Lake Winnipeg in the District of Keewatin. A written text is included in ; see also Much of what is today ce ...

, and has long been inhabited by Indigenous peoples. The name ''Bloodvein'' was used in an 1818–19

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

journal. The name originates from a major battle between the tribe inhabiting the mouth of the river and one of the neighboring tribes, where blood flowed into the river. The river was originally called the "Blood River" but was changed to "Bloodvein" by the HBC. During the 18th century, the

was used by

peoples as a trapping area for the fur trade, and it was a fur transport route. The community of Bloodvein, near the river's mouth, is still inhabited by descendants of the Saulteaux-Ojibwa people, continuing the traditional native life of hunting, trapping, fishing and wild rice harvesting. The

is located in one of the largest remaining intact

boreal forest Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by pinophyta, coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. I ...

regions of the world. The Bloodvein River became Manitoba's first

Canadian Heritage River The Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS; ) is a joint program administered by the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to conserve and protect the best examples of Canada's river heritage, to give them national recognition, and to e ...

in 1987 and much of the river is within

Atikaki Provincial Park Atikaki Provincial Park is a wilderness park in Manitoba, Canada, located east of Lake Winnipeg along the Ontario boundary in the Canadian Shield. The area of Atikaki Provincial Park is . Atikaki Provincial Park is north of Nopiming Provincial Pa ...

. The river's historic features are the undisturbed archaeological sites which provide evidence of prehistoric, hunter-gatherer peoples in the area for thousands of years. There are

pictographs A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...

(native rock paintings of red ochre) dating back to around 900 to 1200 AD.

Demographics and location

As of March 2013, the First Nation had a total registered population of 1,673 with 1,042 members living on-reserve and 631 living off-reserve. The primary language spoken is

Saulteaux The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and Ojibwa ethnonyms, other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band governm ...

. The First Nation's

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

is called Bloodvein 12, which has an area of 3,885 acres. Bloodvein First Nation is a member of the

Southeast Resource Development Council The Southeast Resource Development Council (SERDC) is a tribal council in eastern Manitoba, Canada, representing 8 First Nation communities located to the south and east of Lake Winnipeg. Seven of the eight band governments of SERDC are signat ...

. and is governed by a

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

and four councilors. During 2009 work started on upgrading the existing Rice River Road to Bloodvein and further extending it to

Berens River The Berens River is a river in the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, Canada. It flows west from an unnamed lake in Kenora District, Ontario, and discharges its waters into Lake Winnipeg near the community and First Nation of Berens River, Manit ...

.http://www.eastsideroadauthority.mb.ca/pdf/eis_november4-09.pdf Retrieved 2010-06-19 Work was completed in 2017.

References

External links

AANDC profile

Information from Statistics Canada

Map of Bloodvein 12 at Statcan
{{coord, 51, 46, 37, N, 96, 41, 42, W, type:city_region:CA-MB, display=title Southeast Resource Development Council First Nations governments in Manitoba Saulteaux