Batchewana First Nation of Ojibways
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The Batchewana First Nation of Ojibways ( oj, Obaajiwan Anishinaabek) 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 ...
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 ...
in northern Ontario. Their traditional lands run along the eastern shore of
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 ...
, from
Batchawana Bay Batchawana Bay is a small bay in Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Superior, approximately north of Sault Ste. Marie. The name "Batchawana" is derived from the Ojibwe word ''obatchiwanang'' (o ...
to
Whitefish Island Whitefish Island is an island in the St. Marys River, just south of Sault Ste. Marie, in Ontario, Canada. History It was an ancestral fishing station to the Anishenabek of the Great Lakes region for over 2,000 years. It was reserved for the u ...
. They were reserved this land in the 1850
Robinson Huron Treaty The Robinson Treaties are two treaties signed between the Ojibwa chiefs and The Crown in 1850 in the Province of Canada. The first treaty involved Ojibwa chiefs along the north shore of Lake Superior, and is known as the Robinson Superior Treat ...
, but surrendered most of it under the 1859 Pennefather Treaty. Through purchase and land claims, it has reclaimed some territories, including Goulais Bay 15A,
Obadjiwan 15E Obadjiwan 15E is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations Indian reserve, reserve in Algoma District, Ontario. It consists of two non-contiguous parcels of land on Batchewana Bay (Lake Superior), and is one of the reserves of the Batchewana First ...
, Rankin Location 15D and Whitefish Island.


History

The abundant
lake whitefish The lake whitefish (''Coregonus clupeaformis'') is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. The lake white ...
found in eastern
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 especially the St. Marys Rapids have attracted anglers and trade since time immemorial. Archaeological evidence shows occupation of
Whitefish Island Whitefish Island is an island in the St. Marys River, just south of Sault Ste. Marie, in Ontario, Canada. History It was an ancestral fishing station to the Anishenabek of the Great Lakes region for over 2,000 years. It was reserved for the u ...
since about 200 BCE. The first European record is from French explorers in 1621, who documented natives living on Whitefish Island. The
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
s took note of extensive fishing in the rapids around 1670.


Mica Bay Incident, 1849

In November 1849, Chief Nebenaigoching and members of Batchewana First Nation worked with other local Indigenous communities to assert their rights to traditional territories at Mica Bay. The Mica Bay Incident represents an assertion of Indigenous land, and authority over land resources.


Robinson Huron Treaty, 1850

The
Robinson Huron Treaty The Robinson Treaties are two treaties signed between the Ojibwa chiefs and The Crown in 1850 in the Province of Canada. The first treaty involved Ojibwa chiefs along the north shore of Lake Superior, and is known as the Robinson Superior Treat ...
of 1850 was signed at Sault Ste. Marie by representatives of the Ojibways along the eastern and northern shores of
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 ...
. The bands ceded their territories to
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
, except for "reserves" set aside, along with other concessions. Reserve No. 15, given to Nebenaigoching and his Band included: :"a tract of land extending from Wanabekineyunnung west of Gros Cap to the boundary of the lands ceded by the Chiefs of Lake Superior, and inland ten miles throughout the whole distance, including Batchewanaung Bay; and also the small island at Sault Ste. Marie used by them as a fishing station."


Pennefather Treaty, 1859

The Pennefather Treaty was signed on 9 June 1859 at Gros Cap between the "Chiefs and Warriors of Batchewananny Bay and Goulais Bay Band of Indians", and the Crown. The chiefs and warriors agreed to never relinquish to the Crown the reserved lands set aside in the Robinson Treaty (Reserve No. 15), save for
Whitefish Island Whitefish Island is an island in the St. Marys River, just south of Sault Ste. Marie, in Ontario, Canada. History It was an ancestral fishing station to the Anishenabek of the Great Lakes region for over 2,000 years. It was reserved for the u ...
. The Crown, in return, would sell the land, and all interest accrued from the sale of the land would be distributed to band members annually. Each family could receive 40 acres of land on the Garden River reserve, and may purchase 80 acres of the land being sold at the selling price (with government-established conditions). The bands were also given $1,200 divided amongst themselves, and all "improvements" to the lands being sold could be compensated after survey. Despite promises, band members never received any of the promised land from the Crown.


Expropriation, 1902

After the construction of the
Sault Ste. Marie International Railroad Bridge The Sault Ste. Marie Railroad Bridge was originally built in 1887 to facilitate rail traffic crossing St. Marys River (Michigan–Ontario), St. Marys River and the international border between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie, On ...
began in 1887, a legal battle between railroads (
Algoma Central Railway The Algoma Central Railway is a railway in Northern Ontario that operates between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst. It used to have a branch line to Wawa, Ontario. The area served by the railway is sparsely populated, with few roads. The ra ...
,
Pacific and Atlantic Railroad Company The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
and
Hudson Bay Railway Company Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson ...
) resulted in
Whitefish Island Whitefish Island is an island in the St. Marys River, just south of Sault Ste. Marie, in Ontario, Canada. History It was an ancestral fishing station to the Anishenabek of the Great Lakes region for over 2,000 years. It was reserved for the u ...
being expropriated under the ''Railway Act''. Residents were forced to move to Goulais Bay in 1905, and the traditional burial ground was relocated to Sault Ste. Marie in 1906. Although the land was expropriated for railroad construction, no railway was ever constructed on the island. The federal
Department of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...
took possession of the island in 1913. The band was granted a 5-acre reserve at Gros Cap called Goulais Bay 15C. The land was sold in 1956 for $3,600.


Regaining lost lands

In 1939, the band purchased 3,763.9 acres of land within Sault Ste. Marie, including a non-contiguous strip of waterfront property. In 1949, 8.25 acres were purchased north of Silver Creek, and 15.3 acres of land were sold. On 8 July 1952, this land was formally recognized as a reserve, Rankin Location 15D. On 23 January 1964, the Department of Transportation and Communication gave two small parcels of land (115.8 acres) at Corbeil Point on Batchawana Bay to the
Department of Indian Affairs 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, ...
, which was made into the
Obadjiwan 15E Obadjiwan 15E is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations Indian reserve, reserve in Algoma District, Ontario. It consists of two non-contiguous parcels of land on Batchewana Bay (Lake Superior), and is one of the reserves of the Batchewana First ...
reserve on 6 December 1966. The land had originally been set apart for the
Department of Marine and Fisheries Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; french: Pêches et Océans Canada, MPO), is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and sc ...
to build the Corbeil Point Lighthouse by
order in council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...
on 29 May 1874. Band members voted against selling 30.85 acres to the City of Sault Ste. Marie for the construction of a by-pass through Rankin in 1966. Negotiations ensued, and on 12 June 1969 the land was sold to the city for $45,000. On 8 January 1979, the band council paid the Crown $365.20 to purchase 6.47 km2 of land in and around Goulais Mission. This became the Goulais Bay 15A reserve. In 1982, the band filed a land claim to reclaim
Whitefish Island Whitefish Island is an island in the St. Marys River, just south of Sault Ste. Marie, in Ontario, Canada. History It was an ancestral fishing station to the Anishenabek of the Great Lakes region for over 2,000 years. It was reserved for the u ...
, which was then part of
Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...
's national inventory as a National Historic Site. After unsuccessful negotiations, hereditary Chief Edward James Sayers Nebenaigoching occupied the island from 1989 until the land claim was settled in 1992. The band was paid $3.5 million in damages, and the island was returned to reserve status in 1997.


Gargantua Harbour trial

When
Lake Superior Provincial Park Lake Superior Provincial Park is one of the largest provincial parks in Ontario, covering about along the northeastern shores of Lake Superior between Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie and Wawa, Ontario, Wawa in Algoma District in No ...
was established in 1944, it took over the traditional Ojibwe village at Gargantua Harbour (''Nanabozhung'' in
Anishinaabemowin 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 languages of the Americas, indigenous language o ...
). In August 2007, Chief Dean Sayers and about 200 band members re-established a 2-km road from
Ontario Highway 17 King's Highway 17, more commonly known as Highway 17, is a provincially maintained highway and the primary route of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Canadian province of Ontario. It begins at the Manitoba boundary, west of Kenora, and the ma ...
to Gargantua Harbour along a park trail. After negotiation failed, the
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources The Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry is a government ministry of the Canadian province of Ontario that is responsible for Ontario's provincial parks, forests, fisheries, wildlife, mineral aggregates and the Crown lands ...
charged Chief Sayers and the band in 2008 for destruction of park property. On 24 March 2015, Justice Thomas Logan cleared Chief Sayers and the band of all but one charge, ruling that the band had treaty rights to access the natural resources on their traditional lands. They were found guilty of one charge, Obstruct justice, as a result of threats made to bring guns to the disputed road. The charge against Chief Sayers was stayed, but the band as a whole was fined $10,000. Appeals are pending, including the fact that the entire band was treated as a "person" under the ''Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act'' and the ''Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act''.


Historic fishery litigation

On 29 January 2013, Chief Dean Sayers and band councillors filed a claim for compensation under the Specific Claims Process for the "catastrophic" loss of the historic whitefish fishery, due to canal and hydroelectric dam construction and industrial pollution at the St. Marys Rapids, the former hub of the fishery. They are seeking to claim $150 million, stating that "the Crown had a fiduciary duty to protect this asset and failed to do so." This claim is still outstanding.


Reserves


Rankin Location 15D

The Rankin Location 15D reserve is the main reserve for the band. It is a 15.66 km2 tract of land located between Sault Ste. Marie and Garden River 14. It takes its name from the Rankin Mining Company, from which the land was purchased in 1939. It wasn't recognized as a reserve by the government until 1952. As of 2006, 566 people lived on this reserve.


Goulais Bay 15A

The Goulais Bay 15A reserve is located on the western shore of Goulais Bay. It is a 6.47 km2 tract of land encompassing most of the community of Goulais Mission. As of 2006, 82 people lived on this reserve.


Obadjiwan 15E

The
Obadjiwan 15E Obadjiwan 15E is a First Nations in Canada, First Nations Indian reserve, reserve in Algoma District, Ontario. It consists of two non-contiguous parcels of land on Batchewana Bay (Lake Superior), and is one of the reserves of the Batchewana First ...
reserve consists of two non-contiguous parcels of land at Corbeil Point on Batchawana Bay, totaling 0.68 km2. The Corbeil Point Lighthouse is located on the reserve.


Whitefish Island

Whitefish Island Whitefish Island is an island in the St. Marys River, just south of Sault Ste. Marie, in Ontario, Canada. History It was an ancestral fishing station to the Anishenabek of the Great Lakes region for over 2,000 years. It was reserved for the u ...
is an island in the St. Marys River south of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. This 0.17 km2 island had been a centre for fishing and trade since time immemorial due to the annual abundance of
lake whitefish The lake whitefish (''Coregonus clupeaformis'') is a species of freshwater whitefish from North America. Lake whitefish are found throughout much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, including all of the Great Lakes. The lake white ...
, but it was expropriated from the band in 1902 to build a railroad. The railroad was never built. The island became a National Historic Site due to its history and archaeological artefacts in 1981. A land claim was filed the next year, and the island was returned to reserve status in 1997.


Goulais Bay 15C

A 5-acre reserve at Gros Cap called Goulais Bay 15C was granted to the band after Whitefish Island was expropriated by the Crown. The band sold the land in 1956, and it ceased to be a reserve.


Governance

Until the early 1900s, there was a hereditary chief, descended from Nebenaigoching. Since then, Chief and Council have been elected by band members for 2-year terms. * ?–1949 ** Chief: Joe Tom Sayers * 1949–? ** Chief: August Boyer * ?–? ** Chief: Lawrence Syrette * ?–1956 ** Chief: August Boyer * 1956–1958 ** Chief: Gus Boyer ** Council: Martin Sayers, Louis L. Syrette, Marg Syrette * 1958–1960 ** Chief: Gus Boyer ** Council: Louis L. Syrette, Phillip Nolan, Eli Jordan * 1960–1962 ** Chief: Gus Boyer ** Council: Louis L. Syrette, Ben Boyer, Jack Boyer * 1962–1964 ** Chief: Gus Boyer ** Council: Alice Corbiere, George Agawa, Robert Robinson * 1964–1966 ** Chief: Gus Boyer ** Council: Bernard Nadjiwon, Alice Corbiere, Louis L. Syrette * 1966–1968 ** Chief: J.M. Corbiere ** Council: George Agawa, James Agawa, Justin Syrette * 1968–1970 ** Chief: J.M. Corbiere ** Council: John Sewell, Ben Boyer, Robert Syrette * 1970–1972 ** Chief: J.M. Corbiere ** Council: Robert Syrette, John Sewell, Robert John Robinson Jr. * 1972–1974 ** Chief: J.M. Corbiere ** Council: Harry Jones, Rod Sewell, Harvey Bell, Maynard Boyer * 1974–1976 ** Chief: J.M. Corbiere ** Council: Harry Jones, Harvey Bell, Darryl Lesage, Frank Boyer * 1976–1978 ** Chief: J.M. Corbiere ** Council: Marg Lesage, Donna Sayers, Victor Boyer, Darryl Lesage * 2015–present ** Chief: Dean Sayers ** Council: Harvey Bell, Stacy Tijerina, Lynn Tegosh, Adele Madigan, Greg Joseph Agawa, Vernon Syrette, Patricia Anne Lesage, Peter Sewell


Notable people

*
Sarain Fox Sarain Fox is a Canadian Anishinaabe activist, broadcaster and filmmaker. She is most noted for her 2020 documentary film '' Inendi'', for which she received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Host or Interviewer in a News or Information ...
, broadcaster and filmmaker * ShoShona Kish, musician *
Denny Lambert Denny Lambert (born January 7, 1970) is a former professional Canadian ice hockey player and member of the Batchewana First Nation of Ojibways, Batchewana First Nation. Lambert was drafted in the Ontario Hockey League where he played for the S ...
, NHL hockey player


References


External links


Official website

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada profile
{{Authority control First Nations in Ontario Ojibwe governments