Dokis 9 ( oj, Kikendawt, ''meaning: "our land of the pots"'') is a

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

reserve and community in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

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 ...

, assigned to the Dokis First Nation. The reserve is located approximately 16 kilometers southwest of central southern

Lake Nipissing Lake Nipissing (; french: lac Nipissing, oj, Gichi-nibiinsing-zaaga’igan) is a lake in the Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under ...

along the French River. It is divided into two large parts consisting of a north island, Okikendawt, and a large southern peninsula. The two land masses, which are nestled within the flows of the French river, covers 154.36 square kilometers. The French River watershed in

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...

was created more than ten thousand years ago when the last ice-age receded and left a maze of rivers and small lakes. The main settlement is found on Okikendawt island (meaning island of buckets or island of pails) which can be accessed by a gravel road which connects with Highway 64. The Land is occupied by the Dokis and its cousin tribe, the Restoule‘s. The land is well known for its

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, fur trades, and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

. Dokis 9 is bordered by the

Unorganized Centre Parry Sound District Unorganized Centre Parry Sound District is an unorganized area in central Ontario, Canada, between Georgian Bay and Lake Nipissing in the District of Parry Sound. It is made up of geographic townships which have no governing bodies and which ...

West Nipissing West Nipissing is a municipality in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, on Lake Nipissing in the Nipissing District. It was formed on January 1, 1999, with the amalgamation of seventeen and a half former town, villages, townships and unorganized communi ...

, and French River.

History

In 1850, Michel "Eagle" Dokis signed the

Robinson Huron Treaty The Robinson Treaties are two treaties signed between the Ojibwa chiefs and The Crown in 1850 in the Province of Canada. The first treaty involved Ojibwa chiefs along the north shore of Lake Superior, and is known as the Robinson Superior Treat ...

. At this time the Dokis were operating a successful fur trading enterprise at Dokis point on Lake Nipissing, which is located at the west end of

Nipissing First Nation Nipissing First Nation ( oj, Niipsing, meaning place of the elms) is a long-standing community of Nishnaabeg peoples located along the shorelines of Lake Nipissing in northern Ontario. They are referred to by many names in European historical r ...

. It wasn’t until the 1890s, as the trading business slowed significantly, that the Dokis moved onto the land they negotiated for and Dokis Village was established. The Restoules, a related tribe of the Dokis, also started inhabiting Dokis Village and surrounding lands. Both families grew vegetable and grain crops while maintaining some trapping activities. In 1909 pressure was put on the tribes to sell the

timber rights Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

of the Dokis lands and lumbering became a new revenue. The sale of their timber rights in 1909 made the Dokis the richest natives in Canada at that time.

Demographics

As of March 2011, the registered population of the Dokis First Nation is 991 members, of whom 168 live on the reserve, 2 live on another reserve, and 821 live off reserve.

Attractions

The

French River Provincial Park The French River (french: Rivière des Français, oj, Wemitigoj-Sibi) is a river in Central Ontario, Canada. It flows from Lake Nipissing west to Georgian Bay. The river largely follows the boundary between the Parry Sound District and the Su ...

protects most of the land along the French River except for the land occupied by the Dokis. Today, over 300 years after fur traders first navigated its waters,

motorboat A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gea ...

kayaks A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...

, and

canoes A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

now travel the French River; lodges and

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

s dot the landscape, and it provides an abundance of activities for anglers and

hunters Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...

. For much of its length, the French River is a broad, tree-lined expanse of open water. It also features falls,

rapid Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

s, and steep, narrow gorges. The difficult topography of the

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield (french: Bouclier canadien ), also called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), the anc ...

supports more than 450 plant species, some of them rare. The Massassauga rattlesnake, the only poisonous snake in Ontario, is also found in this area.

Deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

and

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

are some of the larger mammals in the area.

Woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...

raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

Great Blue Herons The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos Isl ...

and a variety of

warbler Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers Th ...

are just some of the birds that can be found along the river’s shores.

Fishing

Fish is a very important resource of the Dokis. The French River inhabits many fish including:

Sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

, musky,

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

, smallmouth bass,

rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red eyed creature is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish fa ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

, and whitefish. The Dokis still use spearing and netting as techniques for catching fish today.

Economy

The Dokis’s economy is derived from a number of sources including small locally owned businesses. Private and tribally owned enterprises include businesses in construction,

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

operation, catering, restaurants, transportation, tourism, eco-tourism, ecology,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

, and services to cottage owners along the French River. Some Dokis First Nation Businesses include: Cold Springs Camp, Dokis Marina and Restaurant, Migisi Marina, Wajashk Cottages, Riverview Cottages, Tinny’s Taxidermy, and Young Forestry Services.

Notable members

Eli Ankou Eli Ankou (born June 8, 1994) is a Canadian professional football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at UCLA. Ankou grew up in Canada and played high school football for the St. Peter Catholic High School Knight ...

, football defensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills

References

External links

Dokis First NationMap of Dokis 9 at Statcan
{{authority control Communities in Parry Sound District Ojibwe reserves in Ontario French River (Ontario)