Nibinamik First Nation (

Ojibway language Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian lan ...

: ᓃᐱᓇᒥᐦᐠ (''Niibinamik'', "Summerbeaver"); unpointed: ᓂᐱᓇᒥᐠ), also known as Summer Beaver Band, is a small

Oji-Cree The Oji-Cree are a First Nation in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, residing in a narrow band extending from the Missinaibi River region in Northeastern Ontario at the east to Lake Winnipeg at the west. The Oji-Cree people are des ...

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

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 ...

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 ...

, located on the Summer Beaver Settlement that is connected to the rest of the province by its airport, and a

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

ice road An ice road or ice bridge is a human-made structure that runs on a frozen water surface (a river, a lake or a sea water expanse).Masterson, D. and Løset, S., 2011, ISO 19906: Bearing capacity of ice and ice roads, Proceedings of the 21st Inte ...

that leads to the

Northern Ontario Resource Trail The Northern Ontario Resource Trail (NORT) is the designation of two mainly gravel roads in the Canadian province of Ontario. One road travels north from Pickle Lake to the northern shore of Windigo Lake, then to the North Caribou Lake First Nat ...

. Nibinamik First Nation is a member of the

Matawa First Nations Matawa First Nations (Ojibwe: ᒫᑕᐙ (''maadawaa'', "to fork, to confluence"); unpointed: ᒪᑕᐧᐊ), officially as the Matawa First Nations Management, Inc., is a non-profit Regional Chiefs' Council representing Ojibway and Cree First Natio ...

, a regional Chiefs council, and

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Nishnawbe Aski Nation (ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓈᐯ ᐊᔅᑭ ᐃᔥᑯᓂᑲᓇᓐ ᐅᑭᒫᐎᓐ (''Anishinaabe-aski Ishkoniganan Ogimaawin''), unpointed: ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᔅᑭ ᐃᔥᑯᓂᐊᓇᓐ ᐅᑭᒪᐎᓐ; NAN for short) is a political orga ...

, a Tribal Political Organization representing majority of First Nations in Northern Ontario. Summer Beaver was

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

d by the

Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service (NAPS), also occasionally known as the Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (without a hyphen) is the police agency for Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN). As of July 2020, NAPS has 34 detachments in NAN communities across the ...

, an Aboriginal-based service, until its detachment was condemned and closed down.

History

Summer Beaver began as an intentional community in 1975 when a group of Anglican people, related by kinship, decided to leave

Lansdowne House Lansdowne House now 9 Fitzmaurice Place is the remaining part of a building to the south of Berkeley Square in central London, England, not to be confused with 57 Berkeley Square – opposite – a much later quadrilateral building which take ...

, a Catholic settlement. Violence had reached epic proportions in Lansdowne House in the 1970s and the community was divided along religious lines. The Summer Beaver people felt that they could make a better life for themselves and their children back at Nibinamik Lake. The Canadian government was wary of this move, and offered nothing in the way of support for quite some time. Nibinamik was not recognized as a reserve until recently. In 2017, the provincial government of Ontario pledged support for the construction of a road that would connect Nibinamik,

Webequie Webequie First Nation is located on the northern peninsula of Eastwood Island on Winisk Lake, 540 km (336 mi) north of Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada. Webequie is a fly-in community with no summer road access. The primary way into the c ...

and the

Northern Ontario Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire is the name given to a massive planned chromite mining and smelting development project in the mineral-rich James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario.Ontario's Far North is designated under the ''Far North Act 2010''. The Ring of Fir ...

Ontario Highway 599 Secondary Highway 599, commonly referred to as Highway 599, is a provincially maintained secondary highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The route connects Highway 17 near Ignace with the remote northern community of Pickle Lake; it ...

Pickle Lake Pickle Lake is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the most northerly community in the province that has year-round access by road. Located north of Thunder Bay, highway access is via Highway 599, the only access road to the t ...

."Ontario pledges 'support' for year-round road access to 3 remote First Nations"
CBC Thunder Bay, August 21, 2017.

References

External links

INAC profile
for Nibinamik First Nation {{authority control Communities in Kenora District Nishnawbe Aski Nation