Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, formerly known as the Nicickousemenecaning First Nation and as the Red Gut First Nation, is a

Saulteaux The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations band government in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Al ...

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 ...

band government In Canada, an Indian band or band (french: bande indienne, link=no), sometimes referred to as a First Nation band (french: bande de la Première Nation, link=no) or simply a First Nation, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subjec ...

who inhabit the banks of

Rainy Lake Rainy Lake ( French: '; Ojibwe: ') is a freshwater lake with a surface area of that straddles the border between the United States and Canada. The Rainy River issues from the west side of the lake and is harnessed to make hydroelectricity for ...

of the

Rainy River District Rainy River District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1885. It is the only division in Ontario that lies completely in the Central Time Zone, except for the townshi ...

Northwestern Ontario Northwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and west of Lake Superior and west of Hudson Bay and James Bay. It includes most of subarctic Ontario. Its western boundary is the ...

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 ...

. As of January, 2008, the First Nation had a population of 290 registered people. As of 2017, it has approximately 130 on-

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 ...

members.

Name

The name ''Nigigoonsiminikaaning'' can mean "Place abundant with little otters" but the intended meaning is "Place abundant with Little-Otter berries"—''nigigoonsimin'' (Little-Otter berry) being the Ojibwe word for sand cherry (Prunus pumila).Ojibwe People's Dictionary: nigigoonsimin
/ref> Due to the First Nation's main

Rainy Lake 26A located on Red Gut Bay of

, Nigigoonsiminikaaning was also known as the "Red Gut Band" and later as "Red Gut First Nation".

Governance

The First Nation have an electoral system of government, consisting of a Chief and three Councillors forming their council. Chief Will Windigo, and Councillors Don Jones, Clayton Windigo and Sue Boshey are serving their two-year term that began on in June 2014. The First Nation is a member of the

Pwi-Di-Goo-Zing Ne-Yaa-Zhing Advisory Services Pwi-Di-Goo-Zing Ne-Yaa-Zhing Advisory Services is a non-profit Regional Chiefs' Council located in the Rainy River District, Ontario, Rainy River District, Ontario, Canada, serving seven First Nations in Canada, First Nations by providing advisory s ...

, a regional Chiefs Council, which in turn is a member of the

Grand Council of Treaty 3 Grand Council of Treaty 3 (GCT3) is a political organization representing 24 First Nation communities across ''Treaty 3'' areas of northern Ontario and southeastern Manitoba, Canada, and four additional First Nations, specifically in regard to thei ...

, a Tribal Political Organization serving many of the First Nations in northwest Ontario and southeast

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

History

Seven Generations Education Institute Seven Generations Education Institute is an Aboriginal-owned and controlled post-secondary institution co-founded by the ten bands in the Rainy Lake Tribal area in 1985. The ten bands are: Big Grassy, Big Island, Couchiching, Lac La Croix, ...

(SGEI) is an Aboriginal-owned and controlled

post-secondary Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

institution co-founded by the ten bands in the Rainy Lake Tribal area in 1985. The ten bands are: Big Grassy, Big Island, Couchiching, Lac La Croix, Naicatchewenin, Nicickousemenecaning, Ojibways of Onigaming, Rainy River,

Seine River ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributaries ...

and Mitaanjigaming. Each of the ten bands appointed one member to a board of directors of Seven Generations Education Institute, which functions with the leadership of the executive director.

Services

The community has its own voluntary and paid positions in their community organizations, including a volunteer fire department, First Responder team, Recreation, Education, Housing and Economic Development committees. The Band Administration services the community in the areas of community health, education, social services, housing and economic development. In addition, the First Nation has also made arrangements with the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

in Minneapolis to set up seasonal language camps at the mouth of the Ottertail River.

Reserves

The First Nation have reserved themselves four

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 ...

s: * Rainy Lake 26A, which serves as their main reserve, *

Rainy Lake 26B Rainy Lake 26B is a First Nations reserve in Rainy River District, Ontario. It is one of the reserves of the Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, formerly known as the Nicickousemenecaning First Nation and as t ...

, *

Rainy Lake 26C Rainy Lake 26C is a First Nations reserve in Rainy River District, Ontario. It is one of the reserves of the Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, formerly known as the Nicickousemenecaning First Nation and as th ...

and *

Agency 1 Agency 1 is a First Nations reserve in the Canadian province of Ontario in the northwest. , there is no permanent population. The Indian reserve is shared among four First Nations: Couchiching First Nation, Mitaanjigamiing First Nation, Naicatc ...

, which is shared with three other First Nations.

References

INAC profile

Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation
;Specific {{Coord, 48, 44, 17, N, 92, 55, 19, W, type:city_region:CA-ON, display=title First Nations governments in Ontario Communities in Rainy River District