Wasauksing First Nation (formerly named as Parry Island First Nation, oj, Waaseyakosing, ''meaning: "Place that shines brightly in the reflection of the sacred light"'') is an

Ojibway 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 ...

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...

and

Pottawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a me ...

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 ...

whose

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 located near

Parry Sound Parry Sound is a sound or bay of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, in Ontario, Canada. It is highly irregularly shaped with many deep bays and islands. Killbear Provincial Park is located on the large peninsula that separates the sound from Georgian B ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Their reserve constitutes the Parry Island in

Georgian Bay Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To ...

. The island is about with of lakeshore, making it one of the larger islands in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. The Wasauksing First Nation now occupies the entire island, although the

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

of Depot Harbour on the island was historically a non-aboriginal settlement.

Community

The reserve is home to a

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...

station, CHRZ-FM, the Indigenous magazine ''MUSKRAT'', and discontinued Indigenous magazine ''Spirit''.

Transportation

The reserve's main road crosses to the mainland via the

Wasauksing Swing Bridge The Wasauksing Swing Bridge spans the South Channel, a narrow channel of Georgian Bay between the Rose Point on the mainland and an island commonly known as Parry Island (the Wasauksing First Nation), near Parry Sound, Ontario. The bridge was buil ...

, connecting to Rose Point Road in Seguin Township south of Parry Sound. The road continues to Parry Sound itself, becoming Emily Street at the municipal boundary of Parry Sound and Seguin.

Notable members

Dick King, Potawatomi, Parry Island, Ontario

Basil Johnston Basil H. Johnston (13 July 1929 – 8 September 2015) was a Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) and Canadian writer, storyteller, language teacher and scholar. Biography Johnston was born July 13, 1929 on the Parry Island Indian Reserve to Rufus and Mary (n ...

, historian and cultural essayist *

Francis Pegahmagabow Francis Pegahmagabow MM & two bars (; March 9, 1891 – August 5, 1952) was a Canadian First Nations soldier, politician and activist. He was the most highly decorated Indigenous soldier in Canadian military history and the most effective snip ...

, the most highly decorated Indigenous soldier in Canadian military history,"Legendary Ojibwa sniper unsung hero of WW I"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

Indigenous, August 1, 2014. *

Waubgeshig Rice Waubgeshig Isaac Rice is an Anishinaabe writer and journalist from the Wasauksing First Nation near Parry Sound, Ontario, in Canada.

, writer and broadcaster"Waubgeshig Rice has to tell real aboriginal stories"
''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'', November 17, 2015.

References

External links

Wasauksing First Nation
{{Authority control First Nations governments in Ontario Ojibwe governments Ojibwe reserves in Ontario Odawa reserves in Ontario Potawatomi reserves in Ontario