Lennox Island is a

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

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 ...

band government In Canada, an Indian band (), First Nation band () or simply band, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subject to the ''Indian Act'' (i.e. status Indians or First Nations). Bands are typically small groups of people: the largest in ...

in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. Its only currently inhabited reserve is Lennox Island 1, on Lennox Island, purchased by the

Aborigines' Protection Society The Aborigines' Protection Society (APS) was an international human rights organisation founded in 1837,
...

on behalf of the Mi'kmaq of Prince Edward Island in 1870 or 1878. The band has two other reserves, Lennox Island 5, located in East Bideford, and Lennox Island 6, located in Fernwood, both acquired in the 2000s.

History

The band government was originally known as "L'nui Minegoo" or the Indian/People's Island, and later known as the Lennox Island Reserve or the Lennox Island Band. It was named after Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond, by Samuel Holland; surveyor. Original permanent inhabitants included Chief Francis Francis who resided there after the Mi'kmaq were displaced from Cortin Island. The Saint Ann Mission was later established on the island. In 1880, the Department of Indian Affairs reported that new houses and barns had been built on the island, and that a Superintendent and school teacher was instructing the community in agriculture. During the early 1890s, "Acting Chief" Joseph Francis, elected by a simple band majority, refused to resign when the son of the deceased "Chief" came to "the necessary age." James Yeo, a Liberal representative for Prince Edward Island in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

and a Lennox Island Land Commissioner, arranged for a justice of the peace to have Francis sworn in as "Chief of Prince Edward Island Micmac Indians," a lifetime appointment. John Thomas Sark, the son of the deceased "Chief," organized his own faction to challenge Yeo and Francis. The Dominion Department of Indian Affairs sought to integrate Lennox Island into a Canadian survey for mandated band electoral systems, culminating in an 1897 general election. During the 1890s campaigns, Sark likewise contended that any elections for "Chief" should be for "royal" lifetime tenure, thereby circumventing the proposed, and then mandated, triennial parameters. Since Prince Edward Island joined the

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

in 1873, the Mi'kmaq band had been under the jurisdiction of the Dominion Department and the 1867 Indian Act of Canada. After 1873, the House of Assembly neither routinely deliberated, nor passed legislation for, Mi'kmaq peoples in the province. The role of Prince Edward Island "

amalgamation Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal **Pan ama ...

" debates and

hyperdescent Hyperdescent is the practice of classifying a child of mixed race ancestry in the more socially dominant of the parents' races. Hyperdescent is the opposite of hypodescent (the practice of classifying a child of mixed race ancestry in the more s ...

ideas on "universal" suffrage in this accelerated moment for Maritime Mi'kmaq band "modernities," both on and off the reserve, nevertheless remains a subject of scholarly inquiry. In 1972, for political and geographic reasons, a vote was held which decided to split reserves Morell 2, Rocky Point 3, and Scotchfort 4 from Lennox Island First Nation and form a new band government, Abegweit First Nation. In 1973, a bridge was built connecting Lennox Island to the rest of Prince Edward Island.

References

{{Coord, 46, 36, 39.1, N, 63, 51, 9.9, W, display=title Communities in Prince County, Prince Edward Island