Christian Island
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Christian Island is a large
island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
in
Georgian Bay Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) 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 ...
close to the communities of
Penetanguishene Penetanguishene , sometimes shortened to Penetang, is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual ( French and English) community has a populat ...
and Midland,
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 Ca ...
. The island, with its neighbours Hope Island and
Beckwith Island Beckwith Island is the eastern of three islands in southeastern Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada. Beckwith Island and the attached "Little Beckwith" are part of the Beausoleil First Nation. Geography The island's highest elevation is above se ...
, is a
Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
reserve, known as Christian Island Indian Reserve No. 30. Together with the Christian Island Indian Reserve No. 30A located at
Cedar Point, Ontario Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae * Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona ...
and the Chippewa Island Indian Reserve located in Twelve Mile Sound, north of Christian Island, it forms the land base for the
Beausoleil First Nation Beausoleil First Nation ( oj, G'Chimnissing) is an Ojibwe First Nation band government located in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. The main settlement of the Beausoleil First Nation is on Christian Island, Ontario, Canada in southern Georgian Bay. ...
. Christian Islands' highest elevation is
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...
. To the east of Christian Island is Giants Tomb Island, part of Awenda Provincial Park, and
Beausoleil Island Beausoleil Island; Île Beausoleil; is an long island in the municipality of Georgian Bay, Ontario, Georgian Bay, District Municipality of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Central Ontario, Canada. The island is named after Louis Beausoleil, a Métis ...
, part of UNESCO's Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve (GBBR) and part of the Georgian Bay Islands National Park, consisting of 63 small islands in Georgian Bay, near Port Severn. UNESCO's Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve covers an area of that stretches along Georgian Bay's eastern coast from Port Severn to the French River, and is the world's largest freshwater archipelago – known as The
Thirty Thousand Islands The Thirty Thousand Islands are the world's largest freshwater archipelago, and are located mainly along the east side of Georgian Bay, part of the Great Lakes, in Ontario, Canada. UNESCO designated the area in 2004 as the Georgian Bay Littoral ( ...
. Together with other First Nations in the area, the Beausoleil have filed a land claim for lands situated between Matchedash Bay at Coldwater and the narrows at
Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called ''Ouentironk'' ...
and
Lake Couchiching Lake Couchiching ( ), from the Ojibwe ''gojijiing'' meaning "inlet", is a medium-sized lake in Central Ontario, Canada, separated from Lake Simcoe by a narrow channel. Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching are popular spots for fishing in summer and ice f ...
. While the
Chippewa Island Chippewa Island is a First Nations reserve consisting of two islands in Twelve Mile Bay of Georgian Bay. The islands are adjacent to the Moose Deer Point First Nation. The islands are shared between the Beausoleil First Nation, the Chippewas of ...
reserve is shared among Beausoleil and two other First Nations, the two Christian Island reserves are not.


Background

Christian Island is primarily forest. The bedrock is limestone, and the soil is mainly sand, remnants of
Glacial Lake Algonquin Lake Algonquin was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed in east-central North America at the time of the last ice age. Parts of the former lake are now Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Nipigon, and Lake Nipissing ...
. A prehistoric species of grass, known as Forked three-awned grass or unofficially as "Ice Age Grass," has been found on the Island. This is linked to its glacial beginnings. Forked three-awned grass is designated as a species at risk. Originally, Christian Island was known by its Huron name ''Gahoendoe''. The three islands were, in the 19th century, collectively known as the Christian Islands: Beckwith Island was called Faith Island, while Christian Island, which is the largest of the three, was known as Charity Island. In 1649, thousands of Huron refugees and a few
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
missionaries from
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons Sainte-Marie among the Hurons (french: Sainte-Marie-au-pays-des-Hurons) was a French Jesuit settlement in Wendake, the land of the Wendat, near modern Midland, Ontario, from 1639 to 1649. It was the first European settlement in what is now the ...
took refuge during the winter on the island during the
Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...
-
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
wars. The Jesuits called the island St. Joseph Island. With insufficient food, many of the First Nations people starved during the winter. The island's occupation by Huron Catholics and Jesuits was the basis for its name of "Christian" Island. Specifically, it was named in honour of the Canadian Martyrs. The Jesuits and most of the Huron refugees left the island and travelled to Quebec in the summer of 1650. The remaining Huron, along with the surviving remnants of the Petun, an Iroquoian group living at the base of the Niagara Escarpment near present-day Collingwood, left the island in 1651. The
Petun The Petun (from french: pétun), also known as the Tobacco people or Tionontati ("People Among the Hills/Mountains"), were an indigenous Iroquoian people of the woodlands of eastern North America. Their last known traditional homeland was sout ...
had suffered serious losses in Iroquois raids in late 1649 and 1650. Their descendants eventually settled in the
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
-
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
area. Some were later forcibly resettled by U.S. authorities in
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. Christian Island is inhabited by the
Beausoleil First Nation Beausoleil First Nation ( oj, G'Chimnissing) is an Ojibwe First Nation band government located in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. The main settlement of the Beausoleil First Nation is on Christian Island, Ontario, Canada in southern Georgian Bay. ...
. Their ancestors were nomadic, travelling from northern Georgian Bay and the United States around Lakes Huron and Michigan. The early Canadian government tried to assimilate First Nations peoples into the larger society. They encouraged the Beausoleil to give up their nomadic ways and settle at Coldwater in 1834-1842 as part of the Coldwater Narrows Reserve. Later the Natives were displaced to
Beausoleil Island Beausoleil Island; Île Beausoleil; is an long island in the municipality of Georgian Bay, Ontario, Georgian Bay, District Municipality of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Central Ontario, Canada. The island is named after Louis Beausoleil, a Métis ...
in 1842, and still later, were displaced to Christian Island in 1856, where they have remained. The First Nation has tried various ways to generate income on the small reserve, including stocking the island with pheasants for hunting, a cattle operation, a charcoal operation, and a commercial fishery. A portion of lands are designated for cottage leasing. Today, many of the residents work on the mainland, and a growing community has sprung up on an annex of property at the Cedar Point landing. Hope and Beckwith islands are uninhabited, but are popular anchorage sites for boaters, who pay a small anchorage fee to the First Nation community. The First Nation operates an elementary school, a health centre, and a community centre. 24-hour EMS service and a volunteer fire department operate year-round. A ferry service connects the mainland at
Cedar Point Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Opened in 1870, it is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. behind Lake Compounce. Cedar Point is owned and op ...
to Christian Island. A car ferry, the ''Sandy Graham'', travels the strait between the Point and the Island on a regular schedule. Another ferry, the ''Indian Maiden'', carries passengers only. It is capable of breaking ice up to 6" thick. A hovercraft serves the island in case of emergency. At times of severe cold, the people build an ice road between the island and the mainland. As a result of the above average ice cover in February 2014 the ice road was opened. Christian Island has a
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...
that marks the southern tip of the island. It was used in the past for ships travelling from Collingwood to Penetanguishene, Midland, and
Parry Sound Parry Sound is a sound or bay of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, in Ontario, Canada. It is highly irregularly shaped with many deep bays and islands. Killbear Provincial Park is located on the large peninsula that separates the sound from Georgian B ...
. First lit in 1859, it is the among the oldest lighthouses in Georgian Bay and one of the six
Imperial Towers The Imperial Towers of Ontario were six of the earliest lighthouses built on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, all constructed primarily of stone, by the Province of Canada. The origin of the designation ''Imperial'' is not certain, but some histor ...
.


Notable individuals

Rodney Monague (1942–2013), a survivor of the
Canadian Indian residential school system In Canada, the Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches. The school sy ...
, was the island's first chief after the departure of Indian agents in the 1960s. He served as chief for more than two decades, from the late 1960s until around 1990. Canadian folk singer-songwriter
Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960 ...
penned a song about Christian Island in 1972 (Christian Island (Georgian Bay) which includes the lyric "In the Lee of Christian Island"), alluding to the popularity of the island as a sailing area.


Shipwrecks

Christian Island is a favorite destination for scuba divers given the close proximity of a number of old shipwrecks (most going back a century or more) near Christian Island, and near the adjacent, uninhabited Hope Island. These include: Mapledawn (North West of Christian Island), steel freighter built in 1890 and sank 1924; Saucy Jim (East of Christian Island), sank 1910; gain vessel Michigan (North West of Hope Island), sank 1843; schooner Lottie Wolf (North East of Hope Island), sank 1879; and Marquette (East of Hope Island), sank 1867. Lake Huron (in which Georgian Bay is located) is the final resting place to hundreds of other sunken vessels, many of them of great historic value. These shipwrecks are generally well preserved, owing to the cold, fresh water habitat.


Ferry controversy

On February 13, 2016 Canadian newspapers featured a story about the island's 65-year-old ferry, the M.V. Sandy Graham, which was purchased by the government in 1998. First Nations residents believe the aging ferry, the islands' lifeline, must be replaced in the very near future. "Our people have to cross day-to-day to get access to all the goods and services, as well as hospitals, medical appointments. I, in good conscience, can't continue to sail this ferry knowing that tragedy could happen out on that water," Christian Island Chief Roly Monague said, according to the Canadian Press. The band council had put off regular maintenance of the ferry in an effort to ensure its replacement. The ferry broke down again mid-summer, 2016, and after a lengthy repair period was brought back into operation in November 2016. It broke down again a few weeks later, leaving residents' cars stranded on the island or mainland. The Island's official website (on November 25, 2016) states that: "Due to a significant engine repair that is required, the M.V. Sandy Graham will be out of service for an indefinite period of time as of today. Updates will be posted as they arise but due to the damage to the engine, it will be a lengthy repair.

As reported by Roger Klein of Barrie's CTV News, Chief Mary McCue-King and Minister Carolyn Bennett held a meeting, brokered by the Beausoleil First Nation Youth Council, in January 2017. "The current vessel over 60 years old – it's on its last legs. It's going to break down and it's going to be gone for good. We are going to be at a standstill pretty soon if we don't come up with a solution pretty fast," Chief Mary McCue-King said at the meeting. The new 26-30 car ferry, which will be able to break through the ice, will cost 23 million dollars plus 10 million dollars in upgrades to the dock. "The community is prepared to partner in order to have a new ferry, and we are obviously prepared to step up and do our part. And we know the province wants to do something as well. So we are going to make this happen," Minister Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs, commented after the meeting. The Beausoleil First Nation has committed to contributing 10 million dollars to the project.


Governance

In accordance with
Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...
election regulations, Beausoleil First Nation holds their general elections every two years. The June 23, 2018 election resulted in the following: Chief: Guy Monague
Chief Councillor: Joanne Sandy
Councillor: Kristin Monague
Councillor: Lauraine Judith Jamieson
Councillor: Hank Monague
Councillor: Angela Beedie
Councillor: C. Susan Copegog Guy Monague won the general election, defeating former chief Roland Monague by 33 votes. He succeeded Mary McCue-King, who was elected in 2016 but did not seek reelection. McCue-King presently serves as the Executive Director of the
Ogemawahj Tribal Council Ogemawahj Tribal Council is a non-profit Regional Chiefs' Council representing Mississaugas, Ojibwa and Potawatomi First Nations in southern Ontario, Canada. The Council provides advisory services and program delivery to its six member-Nations. ...
. The newly elected Chief and Council were sworn in on July 6, 2018. Since November 2016, Terra Sandy Roy has served as Youth Chief, with Lance Copegog as Deputy Youth Chief. Election Results June 2021 http://www.chimnissing.ca/council.html Oath of Office took place on June 1, 2021.


References


External links


chimnissing.ca



INAC profile

islanderonline.ca
{{Coord, 44, 50, N, 80, 12, W, region:CA_type:isle, display=title Islands of Georgian Bay Catholic missions of New France