Wabaseemoong Independent Nations
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Wabaseemoong Independent Nations or more fully as the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations of One Man Lake, Swan Lake and Whitedog, is an
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 ...
First Nation
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 ...
who reside 120 km northwest of
Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The history of the name exten ...
,
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and east of the Ontario-
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border of northwestern
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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. As of December 2018, the First Nation had a population of 2,000 registered people, of which their on-Reserve population was 1200 registered members and approximately 100 non-Band members.


History

Prior to hydroelectric development in the 1950s, the First Nation was composed of three separate communities of One Man Lake,
Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...
and Whitedog. The three communities were then amalgamated into a unified Band called the Islington Band of Saulteaux when the hydroelectric development flooding debased all their membership and significant portions of their Islington Traditional Land Use Area were made inaccessible. In the 1960s and 1970s, the First Nation was severely affected by acute mercury poisoning, known as the Ontario Minamata disease due to mercury contamination affecting the English River. 9 tones of mercury were disposed of into the English River system. Many people of the Wabaseemoong and Grassy Narrows reservation were affected by this tragedy. In 1983, the Islington Agreement was signed between the Province of Ontario and the Islington Band. The agreement established opportunities for the Islington Band in relation to forestry and resource development on the Traditional Land Use Area. The Agreement came as a result of the fluctuating water levels on the English River caused by Manitoba Hydro. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed in 1991, introducing the concept of co-management of the Islington Traditional Land Use Area between the Province and the Band, but Ontario have not implemented their responsibilities under the MOU. In 1990, after having a third of their children put in foster homes in the era of and in the aftermath of Sixties Scoop policies, Wabaseemoong Band Council passed a resolution banning the
Children's Aid Society Children's Aid, formerly the Children's Aid Society, is a private child welfare nonprofit in New York City founded in 1853 by Charles Loring Brace. With an annual budget of over $100 million, 45 citywide sites, and over 1,200 full-time employees ...
from entering the band's reserve to remove any more children. Islington Band changed their name to the Wabaseemoong Band of Saulteaux on November 13, 1991. Band again changed their name to Wabaseemoong Independent Nations on March 20, 1992, to better reflect their composition. The largest of the communities is "Wabaseemoong" or ''Waabasimong'', which means "Whitedog" in the
Anishinaabe language Ojibwe ( ), also known as Ojibwa ( ), Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algon ...
, so the First Nation is also commonly known as Whitedog First Nation.


Governance

The First Nation have an Act Electoral System of government, consisting of a Chief and four Councillors forming their council. Chief Waylon Scott, and Councillors began serving their two-year term on April 15, 2019. The Councillors are Glen Kent, Rocky Bunting, and Roanna Jourdain. The First Nation is a member of the Bimose Tribal Council, a regional Chiefs Council, which in turn is a member of the Grand Council of Treaty 3, a Tribal Political Organization serving many of the First Nations in northwest Ontario and southeast
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.


Reserve

The First Nation were forced to live on 4 reservations: * Wabaseemoong Indian Reserve (formerly the Islington Indian Reserve 29) located northwest of Kenora and which serves as their main
Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...
* One Man Lake 29 Indian Reserve located northwest of Kenora * Swan Lake 29 Indian Reserve located northwest of Kenora * Agency Indian Reserve 30 on the Aulneau Peninsula in the Lake of the Woods in
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 ...
, which is shared with 12 other First Nations.


Notable members

* Richard Wagamese (1955–2017), author, journalist


References


INAC profile
{{authority control First Nations governments in Ontario Communities in Kenora District