Missanabie Cree First Nation ( cr, masinâpôy ininiwak, ᒪᓯᓈᐴᔾ ᐃᓂᓂᐗᐠ) is a "

Treaty 9 ''Treaty No. 9'' (also known as ''The James Bay Treaty'') is a numbered treaty first signed in 1905-1906 between Anishinaabe (Algonquin and Ojibway) and Omushkegowuk Cree communities and the Canadian Crown, which includes both the governme ...

Nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...

. The nation is named after

Missinaibi River The Missinaibi River is a river in northern Ontario, Canada, which flows northeast from Missinaibi Lake, north of Chapleau, and empties into the Moose River, which drains into James Bay. This river (including Missinaibi Lake and Moose River t ...

and

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

, around which the traditional territory of the nation is located. The name "Missanabie" means "Pictured Water", referring to pictographs found on rock faces along

. The tribe's mother tongue is

Swampy Cree language Swampy Cree (variously known as Maskekon, Omaškêkowak, and often anglicized as Omushkego) is a variety of the Algonquian language, Cree. It is spoken in a series of Swampy Cree communities in northern Manitoba, central northeast of Saskatchewa ...

, also referred to as the "n-dialect" of Cree language.

Historical Timeline

Evidence and records suggest that by as early as the 1570s, members of the Missanabie Cree had settled in the areas surrounding present day

Missinaibi Lake Missinaibi Lake ( cr, masinâpôy sâkahikan, ᒪᓯᓈᐴᔾ ᓵᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ) is a lake in Ontario, Canada, about north of Chapleau, Ontario, Chapleau. It is the source of the Missinaibi River, which rises from the lake and flows northeastwar ...

, Dog Lake and Wabatongushi Lake. According to Elders’ testimony and anthropological evidence, the Missanabie Cree had utilized these lands from time immemorial to hunt, fish and trap for food, for ceremonial purposes and to provide for the cultural, spiritual and economic well being of their people. In the 1660s Father Allouez confirmed that the Cree people regularly traveled between

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

and

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...

. In the 1730s Cree speaking people with summer encampments at Bawating ( Sault Ste. Marie) gathered to fish, trade and do ceremonies. In 1904 the

Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and Al ...

Department recognized Missanabie Cree as an Indian band to be ‘treated with’ by Treaty Commissioners for the purpose of adhesions to

scheduled for 1905. In 1905

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

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 ...

enter into

with various Cree and

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 ...

groups to obtain surrender of of land. In 1906 the Crown did not sign formal adhesions to

with the Missanabie Cree First Nation. The Crown did not set apart any reserve for 98 members of the First Nation living at Missanabie. In 1915 Missanabie Cree's request for land was turned down by the

Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

(DIAND). In 1925 the Chapleau Crown Preserve was created which abrogated Missanabie Cree's

treaty rights In Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States the term treaty rights specifically refers to rights for indigenous peoples enumerated in treaties with settler societies that arose from European colonization. Exactly who is indigenou ...

to hunt and fish for subsistence living. In 1929 Missanabie Cree's request for land was turned down by DIAND. In 1951 Missanabie Cree were formally recognized by DIAND as an Indian band. In 1992, under the ''Indian Act'', the first Chief and Council are elected by the Missanabie Cree First Nation. In 1993 Missanabie Cree First Nation submitted

specific claim Indigenous Specific Land Claims in Canada, also called specific claims, are long-standing land claims made by First Nations against the Government of Canada pertaining to Canada's legal obligations to indigenous communities. They relate to the adm ...

for outstanding Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE). In 1996 Missanabie Cree First Nation received a letter from Canada accepting the claim, with the condition that

, also a signatory to Treaty 9, be at the table. Ontario began a legal review of the claim. In 1998 Missanabie Cree and Canada begin preliminary meetings in April. In 1999 jointly funded studies began. These included genealogical, traditional use, site selections, and loss of use. Legal review by Ontario was completed in June. A letter from Canada stated that negotiations could begin, if Ontario came to the table. In 2000 the Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat sent a letter indicating Ontario would be presenting its position. In 2001 preliminary discussions of the negotiation process began between First Nation and both levels of government. The development of a work plan and negotiation framework continued. In 2006 Ontario agreed to a land transfer of with conditions attached. The transferred land was to be credited towards the eventual settlement of the land claim (to be determined through legal action). Land area was selected. Discussions with Canada continued over additions to Reserve process and loss of use compensation. In 2008 Missanabie turned down an offer of $15 million from Canada. In 2011, on August 17, The Missanabie Cree First Nation and the Government of Ontario signed an agreement to provide the Nation with of land as an initial allotment of a total to which they are entitled under

Notes

{{authority control First Nations in Ontario Swampy Cree Nishnawbe Aski Nation