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The Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN) () —also known as Mathias Colomb First Nation, Mathias Colomb (Cree) First Nation, and Pukatawagan/Mathias Colomb Cree Nation—is a remote
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 in
northern Manitoba Northern Manitoba (also known as NorMan or Nor-Man) is a geographic and cultural region of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Manitoba originally encompassed only a small square around the Red River Colony, but it was extended north to the 60th ...
, located north of
The Pas The Pas ( , ) is a town in Manitoba, Canada, at the confluence of the Pasquia River and the Saskatchewan River and surrounded by the unorganized Northern Region of the province. It is approximately northwest of the provincial capital, Winn ...
and northwest of
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
,
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 ...
. It had two reserves under its jurisdiction, part of
Treaty 6 Treaty 6 is the sixth of the numbered treaties that were signed by the Canadian Crown and various First Nations between 1871 and 1877. It is one of a total of 11 numbered treaties signed between the Canadian Crown and First Nations. Specifi ...
. The main community is at Indian Reserve 198 (Pukatawagan 198) in Pukatawagan, consisting of on the shore of Pukatawagan Lake, and lying about north of The Pas. The second reserve, Highrock reserve (Indian Reserve No. 199) (CSD), located on Highrock Lake, downstream from Pukatawagan, was dissolved by 2006.


Demographics

According to
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...
and based on the 2016 Census the population of Pukatawagan 198 was 1,724, a decrease of 5.6% from 2011. Of the 2016 population 1,680 people were registered or Treaty Indian, 45 identified as neither and 25 people identified non-Aboriginal. No other
Indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
were identified. The
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 identified as
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 ...
,
Ojibway 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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...
. Besides English people in the community spoke Cree-Montagnais languages, a
Central Algonquian languages The Central Algonquian languages are commonly grouped together as a subgroup of the larger Algonquian family, itself a member of the Algic family. Though the grouping is often encountered in the literature, it is an areal grouping, not a geneti ...
and Ojibway language


History

The modern day residents of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation are primarily ancestral descendants of indigenous Cree peoples who have populated the Canadian Shield region of northern and central Canada since the retreat of the glaciers about 10,000 years ago. The indigenous people in the area have been known as ''Rocky Cree'' or ''Missinippi Cree'' (''Asiniskaw Īthiniwak'' or ''Missinippi Īthiniwak'') named after the traditional name for the Churchill River. (Missinippi - meaning ''large body of water''). The Mathias Colomb Cree Nation was originally part of the Pelican Narrows band,The First Nation people residing at Lac La Ronge selected James Robert as their Chief and became known for sometime as the James Robert's Band, later known as the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (Stonechild, 1980, pp. 1-2). At the time of the adhesion to
Treaty 6 Treaty 6 is the sixth of the numbered treaties that were signed by the Canadian Crown and various First Nations between 1871 and 1877. It is one of a total of 11 numbered treaties signed between the Canadian Crown and First Nations. Specifi ...
on 11 February 1889, at Montreal Lake in northern Saskatchewan, Lac La Ronge Band Wood Cree Indians under James Roberts numbered two hundred & seventy-eight (278) persons. In 1900 the people at Pelican Narrows (also known as Oppawikoschikanik meaning "fearing the narrows"), requested that the Chief and Council of the James Roberts Band consent to the separation of the Pelican Narrows people. "In 1907, Pakitawakan people (Pukatawagan people) requested for separate annuity payments to be paid in Pakitawagan (Pukatawagan.)"
Saskatchewan. Pelican NarrowsIn the 1890s "future members of the Cree Nation centered at Pelican Narrows entered Treaty Six, paddling to La Rouge to state their case with the Indian Agent of the day. In 1898, Indian Agent Hilton Keith traveled to Pelican Narrows and admitted over 100 more individuals living there into the Lac La Range Indian Band. As Pelican Narrows continued pressing their claim to be recognized as a separate Band, the Department of Indian Affairs finally relented and recognized the Cree Nation as a separate entity apart from the Lac La Ronge Indian Band in August, 1900." join Mirond and Pelican Lakes which lie between the Sturgeon-Weir and Churchill River systems. The Mathias Colomb band first settled along the Churchill River or Missinippi (meaning 'big water' in Woodland Cree) at Highrock Lake in the Prayer River area after their separation in 1910 from the Peter Ballantyne band. The Mathias Colomb Indian band, now Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, was formed as a separate reserve in 1910 and officially recognized by the Canadian federal government in 2011. In 1910, the inspector of Indian Affairs recognized Pukatawagan as a separate reserve with Mathias Colomb as the first chief of the reserve. He remained as chief until his death in 1932. On 29 August 1926, Ayamihi Sippi (Prayer River) was surveyed as a reserve under the jurisdiction of the "Mathias Colomb Indian Band, over 18,000 acres of the 19,000 acre reserves is rock... Pakitawagan, the original fishing place of the people was also selected as one of the reserves." A fire destroyed the Prayer River community in the late 1960s and the band was forced to relocate to the Pukatawagan reserve." As of 2019 the chief is Lorna Bighetty and the councillors are Gordie Bear, Lorna Bighetty, Shirley Bighetty, Wanda Bighetty, Ralph Caribou, Flora Jean Castel, Shirley Castel, Steven Castel, Darrell Linklater and Valerie Whyte. The
Swampy Cree Tribal Council The Swampy Cree Tribal Council (SCTC) is a tribal council in northwest central Manitoba, Canada, representing 8 Swampy Cree First Nation communities. Members The SCTC represents 8 First Nations communities: * Chemawawin Cree Nation — East ...
is the
Tribal Council A tribal council is an association of First Nations bands in Canada, generally along regional, ethnic or linguistic lines. An Indian band, usually consisting of one main community, is the fundamental unit of government for First Nations in Can ...
affiliated with this First Nation. The Swampy Cree Tribal Council lists the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and the Marcel Colomb First Nation with its head office in Lynn Lake, as Missinippi Cree.


Housing

In 2016, there were 384 private dwellings. In 2007, ten Winnipeg residents visited their first Indian reserve, Pukatawagan, and their essays were published in the
Winnipeg Free Press The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...
. "They were shocked and appalled at the overcrowded living conditions. A severe housing shortage had as many as 25 people sharing a small house, eating and showering in shifts. The community had few amenities because a diesel spill caused by faulty equipment installed by Indian Affairs and
Manitoba Hydro The Manitoba Hydro-Electric Board (), operating as Manitoba Hydro, is the electric power and natural gas public utility, utility in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1961, it is a provincial Crown Corporation, governed by the Manitoba ...
during the 1970s had contaminated the town centre, causing the band hall, nursing station, school and about 100 houses to be torn down. Violence, substance abuse and poverty prevailed in Pukatawagan for decades while the community argued with mainstream officials about who was responsible and who would pay for cleaning up the mess and rebuilding. In his report, based on his visit to Pukatawagan and other First Nations and
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
communities in Canada in October 2013, James Anaya, the
United Nations special rapporteur Special rapporteur (or independent expert) is the title given to independent human rights experts whose expertise is called upon by the United Nations (UN) to report or advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. De ...
on the rights of indigenous peoples, reported that "The well-being gap between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in Canada has not narrowed over the last several years, treaty and aboriginals claims remain persistently unresolved, and overall there appear to be high levels of distrust among aboriginal peoples toward government at both the federal and provincial levels. Canada consistently ranks near the top among countries with respect to human development standards, and yet amidst this wealth and prosperity, aboriginal people live in conditions akin to those in countries that rank much lower and in which poverty abounds. At least one in five aboriginal Canadians live in homes in need of serious repair, which are often also overcrowded and contaminated with mould.""One in five aboriginal Canadians lives in a home in need of serious repairs."


Youth suicide

James Anaya, the UN's special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples was deeply concerned by the suicide rate in aboriginal communities. He noted particularly that in Pukatawagan there has been a suicide (once) every six weeks since January 2013. Twenty-year-old Shawn Bighetty died by suicide in 2009 and his mother, Lorna Bighetty, a resident of Pukatawagan, "says something must be done to help her community, where poverty is prevalent. Since Shawn's death, there have been as many as 27 more suicides at Pukatawagan, which is home to 2,500 residents."The "suicide rate among youth on reserves is "alarming" at a rate five times greater than that of all Canadians."


Land claims

In May 1997, the Treaty Land Entitlement Committee (TLEC) representing Mathias Colomb and 18 other Entitlement First Nations (EFNs),Other EFN include Barren Lands, Buffalo Point, Brokenhead Ojibway, Fox Lake, God's Lake, God's River, Mathias Colomb Cree, Nisichawaysihk Cree, Oxford House, Norway House Cree, NortWands, Opaskwayak Cree, Rolling River, Sapotaweyak Cree, Sayisi Dene, Shamattawa, War Lake, Wuskwi Sipihk and York Factory signed the Framework Agreement Treaty Land Entitlement with the province of Manitoba and the
Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...
, in which Canada and Manitoba agreed to "fulfil the acknowledged outstanding treaty land entitlement obligations for those 20 First Nations, satisfying the per capita land provisions of treaties signed by Canada and the First Nations between 1871 and 1910."


Transportation

Pukatawagan Airport is located east of the town and the community-owned Missinippi Airways provides scheduled, charter and medivacs. The temporary
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. Segments of a winter road that cross an expanse of flo ...
(Kississing Lake to Pukatawagan) is open for about three months of the year based on weather. There is an existing pioneer road Provincial Trunk Highway 10 (PTH 10) to Sherridon. Like other small, remote northern communities, Mathias Colomb Cree Nation has no all-weather road access, although studies of its economic viability have been undertaken. The absence of an all-weather road imposes added freight and transportation costs on individuals, communities, government, and industry. The report examined the cost of the construction of an all-weather road from Provincial Trunk Highway 10 (PTH 10) to Pukatawagan and the benefits, if any, to all stakeholders: Pukatawagan First Nations, Sherridon, and Lynn Lake, Hudson Bay Railroad (HBRR), (OmniTRAX), freight haulers, air transporters and Tolko Industries Ltd.


Rail

On 20 August 1997 the
OmniTRAX OmniTRAX, Inc. is a transportation and transportation infrastructure holding company based in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. It primarily owns or operates railroads, with a network of 25 regional and shortline railroads in 12 U.S. state ...
-owned Hudson Bay Railway (HBRY) began operation, using former
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...
(CN) lines that HBRY had purchased, covering more than of lines. The branch from The Pas with a branch to Flin Flon, Pukatawagan First Nations, Sherridon and Lynn Lake. Hudbay Minerals and Tolko are two of the major customers for HBRY. The branch to Pukatawagan is currently operated by the
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 ...
-owned Keewatin Railway, which operates freight and passenger trains to .


Other services

Sakastew primary/secondary school, with an annual enrolment of 550 students, is community-operated. About 600 students attend school off the reserve. Pukatawagan has a nursing station and a child and family services agency field office. Mathias Colomb First Nation Health Authority is affiliated with the Cree Nation Tribal Health Centre in The Pas which delivers culturally relevant health services to First Nations communities in the Swampy Cree Tribal Council Region.Other First Nations include Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Chemawawin Cree Nation, Grand Rapids First Nation, Sapotaweyak Cree Nation, Marcel Colomb First Nation, Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation and Mosakahiken Cree Nation.


Economic development

Missinippi Airways, with the official name of Beaver Air Services Limited Partnership, is 100% aboriginal-owned and operates regular flights between
The Pas The Pas ( , ) is a town in Manitoba, Canada, at the confluence of the Pasquia River and the Saskatchewan River and surrounded by the unorganized Northern Region of the province. It is approximately northwest of the provincial capital, Winn ...
and Pukatawagan. In 1988, the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation created the Missinippi Construction Company Ltd which is 100% aboriginal-owned as well. Subsistence hunting and fishing is augmented by some trapping and commercial fishing.


Notes


External links


Map of Pukatawagan 198 at Statcan


Citations


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{First Nations in the Northern Region of Manitoba, Mathias Colomb Swampy Cree Tribal Council Mathias Colomb First Nations in Northern Region, Manitoba