Saugeen and Cape Croker Fishing Islands 1 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 ...

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 ...

consisting of 89 islands in

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

off the western coast of the

Bruce Peninsula The Bruce Peninsula is a peninsula in Ontario, Canada, that divides Georgian Bay of Lake Huron from the lake's main basin. The peninsula extends roughly northwestwards from the rest of Southwestern Ontario, pointing towards Manitoulin Island, ...

in Ontario. They extend north of

Chief's Point 28 Chief's Point 28 ( oj, Giigonke Piinsaugen) is an Aboriginal reserve located between Sauble Beach and Wiarton, Ontario on Lake Huron. It is one of the reserves of the Saugeen First Nation. Like Saugeen 29 Saugeen 29 is a First Nations reserve ...

for up to Pike Bay. These islands are shared between the

Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation ( oj, Neyaashiinigmiing Anishinaabek) is an Anishinaabek First Nation from the Bruce Peninsula region in Ontario, Canada. Along with the Saugeen First Nation, they form the Saugeen Ojibway Nation. The Chi ...

and

Saugeen First Nation Saugeen First Nation ( oj, Saukiing) is an Ojibway First Nation band located along the Saugeen River and Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, Canada. The band states that their legal name is the "Chippewas of Saugeen". Organized in the mid-1970s, Saugeen ...

History

Fishing activity has been observed on the Bruce Peninsula as far back as 1000 BC, in the Archaic period. In the

Late Woodland period In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BCE to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some archaeolog ...

, there is evidence for both Algonquian and

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian la ...

peoples being present and fishing in the area. Around the time of European contact, the

Petun The Petun (from french: pétun), also known as the Tobacco people or Tionontati ("People Among the Hills/Mountains"), were an indigenous Iroquoian people of the woodlands of eastern North America. Their last known traditional homeland was sout ...

and

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

peoples were known to be fishing there. They were displaced by the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

during the

Beaver Wars The Beaver Wars ( moh, Tsianì kayonkwere), also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars (french: Guerres franco-iroquoises) were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout t ...

of the late 17th Century, but the area was reclaimed by Algonquian peoplesprincipally Chippewaafter 1701. Written accounts of the Native fishing activity were made as early as 1788. Local

factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

s 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 ...

La Cloche Island LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

also made records of it, and trading activity began to occur in 1818 at the mouth of the

Saugeen River The Saugeen River is located in southern Ontario, Canada, Ontario, Canada. The river begins in the Osprey, Ontario, Osprey Wetland Conservation Lands and flows generally north-west about before exiting into Lake Huron. The river is navigable for ...

. When the

Chippewas 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 ...

surrendered the

under the Saugeen Surrenders of 1854, they retained title to the surrounding islands to sustain their fishing activities. The fish were reported to be abundant, and were mainly caught in the Smokehouse Channel, Indian Channel and the Gut, and being smoked on Smokehouse Island. European settlers would later participate in the fishing as well. Alexander Macgregor of Goderich would be the first to do so in 1831, establishing his headquarters on Main Station Island.

Seine fishing Seine fishing (or seine-haul fishing; ) is a method of fishing that employs a surrounding net, called a seine, that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. Seine nets can be dep ...

was the principal technique that was in use, and gillnet and pound net fishing were employed as well later on. In 1834, Macgregor was displaced by the Niagara Fishing Company (in which

William "Tiger" Dunlop William Dunlop (19 November 1792 – 29 June 1848) also known as Tiger Dunlop, was an army officer, surgeon, Canada Company official, author, justice of the peace, militia officer, politician, and office holder. He is notable for his contribut ...

was a part owner), which secured the sole licence for the Islands. The Company would sell its licence in 1848 to several local fishermen in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. In October 1885, these islands were surrendered under Treaties 222 and 223, in which they were described as: The islands were described as being "fronted by a continuous shallow

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

, extending in some cases to [] offshore, but outside this bank the water is good and soon deepens to []." In 1968, the title to 89 of the smaller islands in the group, totalling in area, was returned to Chippewa control.

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{authority control Ojibwe reserves in Ontario Communities in Bruce County Unceded territories in Ontario Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation Saugeen First Nation

History

Further reading

Notes and references

Notes

References