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

of Ontario, 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 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, fur trades, and timber. 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, 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. 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 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, motorboats, kayaks, and canoes 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. For much of its length, the French River is a broad, tree-lined expanse of open water. It also features

falls Falls may refer to: Places * Waterfalls or rapids * Falls, North Carolina, USA * Falls, West Virginia, USA Other uses * The ropes or wires, fed through davits, that are used to secure and lower a ship's lifeboats. * Falls (surname) * The sepa ...

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, moose,

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. Woodpeckers,

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,

musky The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskellun ...

, northern pike, smallmouth bass, rock bass, perch, catfish, 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, 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, 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)