Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation (KOFN; also known as Riding Mountain Band, oj, Giizhigowininiing) 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 ...

community primarily located on Keeseekoowenin 61 (

Indian Reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified 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." Ind ...

61A), situated near

Elphinstone, Manitoba Elphinstone is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district in the Rural Municipality of Yellowhead in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is located northwest of Brandon, Manitoba and is on Highway 45. It is on the west ban ...

, south of

Riding Mountain National Park Riding Mountain National Park is a national park in Manitoba, Canada. The park is located within Treaty 2 Territory and sits atop the Manitoba Escarpment. Consisting of a protected area , the forested parkland stands in sharp contrast to the sur ...

. The

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 ...

is surrounded by territory of the

Rural Municipality of Yellowhead The Rural Municipality of Yellowhead is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. History The municipality was incorporated on January 1, 2015 via the amalgamation of the Municipality of Shoal Lake and the RM of St ...

, in whose northeastern portion it lies. The KOFN also two smaller reserves: IR 61A, which is located within Riding Mountain National Park, on the northwest shore of Clear Lake; and IR 61B, which is located between the two other reserves by Bottle Lake.

Origins

The reserve was established around

Riding Mountain House Riding Mountain House was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post set up to the south of what is now the Riding Mountain National Park, on the Little Saskatchewan River. It was built in 1860 and maintained until 1895, by which time there was little rem ...

, a trading post of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

that operated from 1860 until 1895. The Keeseekoowenin Ojibway, also known as Riding Mountain Band, signed

Treaty 2 ''Treaty 2'' was entered in to on 21 August 1871 at Manitoba House, Rupertsland, with representatives of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. The original Anishinaabe (Chippewa and Cree), who were present, constitute ''Treaty 2'' today. It ...

with the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

on 21 August 1871. The group takes their name from

Keeseekoowenin Keeseekoowenin (c. 1818 – 10 April 1906) was a First Nations leader during the period when Canada was expanding into the prairie provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Origins Keeseekoowenin (''Giizhigowinin'', "Sky-man") was born ar ...

, who was Chief when they moved to the reserve in 1875. In 1935, the Sovereign Okanase Indian Nation, known as the Clear Water Lake Indian Tribe, were burned out of the Clear Water Lake Indian Territory of current-day

and relocated within the Indian Reserve (IR) 61. In 1994, a

land claim A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...

settlement awarded Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation the IR 61A to the location on the boundaries of the National Park.

Reserves

The Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation has 3 separate

lands. The main reserve, Keeseekoowenin 61 (IR 61A), is situated south of

, in a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

setting with the

Little Saskatchewan River The Little Saskatchewan River is a river in western Manitoba. It originates in Riding Mountain National Park at Lake Audy and flows about south through the communities of Minnedosa and Rapid City. Its approximate length is 185 km. It jo ...

flowing through it. The second reserve (IR 61A) is located within the park, on the northwest shore of Clear Lake. The third, called Bottle Lake 61B, is located in between the two other reserves.

References

External links

Map of Keeseekoowenin 61 at Statcan

{{Authority control West Region Tribal Council

First Nations in Southern Manitoba