Bearskin Lake First Nation ( ojs, ᒥᒋᑲᐣ ᓴᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ)Nishnawbe-Aski Legal Services Corporation - Annual Report 2013-2014
https://nanlegal.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/nalsc-annual-report-2013-14.pdf
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Oji-Cree The Oji-Cree are a First Nation in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, residing in a narrow band extending from the Missinaibi River region in Northeastern Ontario at the east to Lake Winnipeg at the west. The Oji-Cree people are d ...

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

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 vi ...

Kenora District Kenora District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The district seat is the City of Kenora. It is geographically the largest division in Ontario: at , it covers 38 percent of the province's area, making it larger ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, located north of

Sioux Lookout Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Located approximately northwest of Thunder Bay, it has a population of 5,272 people (up 4.7% since 2011), an elevation of , and its boundaries cover an area of , of which is lake and wetla ...

. Bearskin First Nation's total registered population was 900, of which their on-reserve population was 461. Three settlements make up the Bearskin Lake First Nation. Originally located on Bearskin Lake to the southwest, their main community moved to its present site on

Michikan Lake Michikan Lake is a lake in Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The main inflow is an unnamed river at the west. A secondary inflow is an unnamed river at the north. The major outflow, at the ...

("Fish Trap Lake") in the 1930s and is accessible only by air from

Bearskin Lake Airport Bearskin Lake Airport is located northwest of Bearskin Lake, Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and polit ...

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.Proskin et al, 2011. Guidelines for the Construction an ...

. The main village is situated on the west shore of the lake and all three settlements are linked to one another by all weather gravel roads. The First Nation still retains the Bearskin Lake Indian Reserve (reserve) in which all three lie. The reserve also contains a segment of the Severn River, into which Michikan Lake flows, and of

Severn Lake Severn Lake is a lake in northwestern Kenora District, Ontario, Canada. See also *List of lakes in Ontario This is an incomplete list of lakes in Ontario, a province of Canada. There are over 250,000 lakes in Ontario, constituting around 20% of t ...

. Prior to achieving full Band and reserve status in 1975, Bearskin was a satellite community of the

Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug ( Oji-Cree: ᑭᐦᒋᓇᒣᑯᐦᓯᑊ ᐃᓂᓂᐧᐊᐠ (''Gichi-namegosib ininiwag''); unpointed: ᑭᒋᓇᒣᑯᓯᑊ ᐃᓂᓂᐧᐊᐠ or ᑭᐦᒋᓇᒣᑯᐦᓯᐱᐎᓂᓂᐗᐠ (''Gichi-namegosibiwininiwag ...

(Big Trout Lake First Nation), to the east. Today, Bearskin Lake First Nation is a member of the

Windigo First Nations Council Windigo First Nations Council is a non-political Chiefs Council in northwestern Ontario, Canada, serving its seven member- First Nations. The council was organized in 1983. The organization is directed by the Chiefs of the member First Nations who f ...

, a regional tribal council that is a member of the

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Nishnawbe Aski Nation (ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓈᐯ ᐊᔅᑭ ᐃᔥᑯᓂᑲᓇᓐ ᐅᑭᒫᐎᓐ (''Anishinaabe-aski Ishkoniganan Ogimaawin''), unpointed: ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᔅᑭ ᐃᔥᑯᓂᐊᓇᓐ ᐅᑭᒪᐎᓐ; NAN for short) is a political orga ...

. Bearskin Lake is

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

d by the

Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service (NAPS), also occasionally known as the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (without a hyphen) is the police agency for Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN). As of July 2020, NAPS has 34 detachments in NAN communities across the ...

, an Aboriginal-based service.

Governance

Bearskin First Nation is governed by Chief Rosemary McKay and her Deputy Chief Leonard "Wayne" Brown; their 3-year term began on April 1, 2014. In addition, the First Nation's Council is four councillors: Stuart Kamenawatamin, Gary Kamenawatamin, George Kamenawatamin, and Roderick Kamenawatamin.

External links

Chiefs of Ontario profileAANDC profile

References

{{authority control Communities in Kenora District Nishnawbe Aski Nation Oji-Cree reserves in Ontario