The Mississaugas are a group of

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 located in southern

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 ...

, Canada. They are a sub-group of 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 ...

Nation.

Etymology

The name "Mississauga" comes from the

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 ...

word ''Misi-zaagiing'', meaning " hose at theGreat River-mouth." It is closely related to the Ojibwe word ''Miswe-zaagiing'', which means ‘a river with many outlets.’

History

According to the oral histories of the Anishinaabe, after departing the "Second Stopping Place" near

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

, the core Anishinaabe peoples migrated along the shores of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

to what is now southern

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. They became "lost" both physically and spiritually. The Mississauga migrated along a northern route by the

Credit River The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario, which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment near Orangeville and Caledon East to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately . The total l ...

, to

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 ...

. These were considered their historic traditional lands on the shores of

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

and northern

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 ...

around the Mississagi River. The Mississauga called for the core Anishinaabeg to ''

Midewiwin The Midewiwin (in Ojibwe syllabics, syllabics: , also spelled ''Midewin'' and ''Medewiwin'') or the Grand Medicine Society is a religious society of some of the Indigenous peoples of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North A ...

'', meaning 'return to the path of the good life'. The core Anishinaabe peoples formed the

Council of Three Fires The Council of Three Fires (in , also known as the People of the Three Fires; the Three Fires Confederacy; or the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indians) is a long-standing Anishinaabe alliance of the Ojibwe (or Chippewa), O ...

and migrated from their "Third Stopping Place" near the present city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

to their "Fourth Stopping Place" on

Manitoulin Island Manitoulin Island ( ) is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia (bioregion), Laurentia. With an area of , it is the Lake ...

, along the eastern shores of Georgian Bay. The homelands of the Mississaugas were originally claimed by the Huron/Wyandot, who were driven off by 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 ...

in the

Beaver Wars The Beaver Wars (), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (), were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout the Saint Lawrence River valley in Canada and the Great L ...

in 1649/50. The Ojibwe Anishinaabe then moved into the area around 1700, pushing out the Iroquois. The French had previously called an Anishinaabe band near the Mississagi River ''Oumisagai'' or ''Mississauga'' and for unknown reasons began to apply that name to the Ojibwe who took over the lands immediately north 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 ...

. On the 1675 ''Carte du Mississippi et des lacs Supérieur, Michigan et Huron'', the Mississauga were recorded as "Missisakingdachirinouek" (''Misi-zaaging dash ininweg'': "Regular-speakers of the Great River-mouth"). This was not how the Mississaugas originally knew themselves, but they eventually adopted the name and use it today. When

Conrad Weiser Conrad Weiser (November 2, 1696 – July 13, 1760), born Johann Conrad Weiser, Jr., was a Pennsylvania German pioneer who served as an interpreter and diplomat between the Pennsylvania Colony and Native American nations. Primarily a farmer, ...

conducted a census in

Logstown The riverside village of Logstown (1726?, 1727–1758) also known as Logg's Town, French: ''Chiningue'' (transliterated to ''Shenango'') near modern-day Baden, Pennsylvania, was a significant Native American settlement in Western Pennsylv ...

in 1748, he identified the people as ''Tisagechroamis'', his attempt at conveying the sound of their

exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

name in Wendat. Other variants of this spelling were ''Tisagechroamis'', ''Tisaghechroamis'', ''Tisagechroan'', ''Tisagechroanu'', and ''Zisaugeghroanu''. "The Tisagechroanu were the Mississagas from

, a large tribe of French Indians, or under French influences. The name Tisagechroanue here is probably a misprint, for it is most often found Zisaugeghroanu."George Thornton Fleming, ''Vol. 1, History of Pittsburgh and environs, from prehistoric days to the beginning of the American revolution'', Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Digital Research Library, 1999 Plan of the Tract of Land Purchased from the Mississauga Indians in 1806 CTASC

Plan of the Tract of Land Purchased from the Mississauga Indians in 1806 CTASC

Starting in 1781 during the waning years of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

the 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 ...

purchased land which encompassed much of present-day southern

from the Mississauga in a series of transactions. They purchased the land to fulfill promises made in the

Haldimand Proclamation The Haldimand Proclamation was a decree that granted land to the Mohawk (or Kanien'kehà:ka) (Mohawk nation) who had served on the British side during the American Revolution. The decree was issued by the Governor of the Province of Quebec, Fred ...

concerning land promised to the Iroquois for their support for the Crown during the war, and to compensate the Iroquois for losing territory to American colonists. The sale of land by the Mississaugas of the Credit to the Crown was referred to as the "Between the Lakes Treaty."Between the Lakes Treaty
/ref> In 1848, the Iroquois granted land to the Mississauga within the former's Six Nations Reserve on Grand River. The Mississauga became established on the New Credit. Beginning in the 19th century, the Mississauga sought to gain compensation for the land granted to them but given to other settlers. In the 21st century, the Canadian government awarded the Mississauga of the New Credit First Nation nearly $145 million in settlement of this land claim.

Legacy

* The city of

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

is named after them. * The Western and Eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) are named after them. * Fort Mississauga is named after them.

Today

All the Mississaugas are a subset of the

nation of 200,000 people. Historically, there were five

that made up the Mississauga Nations. Today, there are six, listed here along with their historical counterparts, where applicable: *

Mississauga First Nation Mississauga First Nation, also spelt Mississaugi, is one of the six First Nations that make up the Mississauga Nations. It is located directly west of Blind River, Ontario, Canada, on the Mississagi River 8 Reserve.Mississagi River 8 Reserve ** Mississaugas of Chibaouinani (historical) * Alderville First Nation (formerly: Mississaugas of Alnwick) — Alderville First Nation Reserve,

Sugar Island 37A Reserve Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

* Mississaugas of the Credit (historical) **Mississaugas of Beldom (historical) **

Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (, ''meaning: "Mississauga people at the Credit River"'') is a Mississaugas, an Ojibwe sub-group, First Nation located near Brantford in south-central Ontario, Canada. In April 2015, MCFN had an enroll ...

— New Credit 40A Reserve. One of the largest communities; as of 2005, the Mississaugas of the Credit had a population of 1,375. * Mississaugas of Matchedash (historical) * Mississaugas of Rice Lake, Mud Lake and Scugog Lake (historical) **

Curve Lake First Nation Curve Lake First Nation () is a Mississauga Ojibway First Nation located in Peterborough County of Ontario. Curve Lake First Nation occupies three reserves; Curve Lake First Nation 35, Curve Lake 35A, and Islands in the Trent Waters Indian ...

(formerly: Mississaugas of Mud Lake) — Curve Lake First Nation 35 Reserve, Curve Lake 35A Reserve and Islands in the Trent Waters Indian Reserve 36A **Mississaugas of Grape Island (historical) **

Hiawatha First Nation The Hiawatha First Nation (formerly Mississaugas of Rice Lake) is a Mississauga Ojibwe First Nations reserve located on the north shore of Rice Lake east of the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada. It is found in Otonabee Township less than 1 ...

(formerly: Mississaugas of Rice Lake) — Hiawatha First Nation Indian Reserve, Islands in the Trent Waters Indian Reserve 36A **

Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation Mississaugas of Scugog Island is a First Nation and reserve for the Mississaugas of Scugog Island band government in south-central Ontario, Canada. It is located near Lake Scugog in Durham Region. Governance Scugog Island's leadership cons ...

— Mississaugas of Scugog Island Reserve, Islands in the Trent Waters Indian Reserve 36A

Notable people

* Peter Jones (1802–1856), Mississauga missionary and writer * Edmonia Lewis (ca. 1844–1907), Mississauga Ojibwe/African-American sculptor * Quenippenon, Mississauga Chief

References

External links

Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations

Mississaugas of Alderville First Nation

Ogemawahj Tribal Council
{{Authority control Algonquian ethnonyms