Gull Bay First Nation or Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (''Gayaashki-zaagiing Anishinaabeg'' in the Fiero orthography) is an

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawat ...

(

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 ...

band government located in

Thunder Bay District Thunder Bay District is a district and census division in Northwestern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. The district seat is Thunder Bay. In 2016, the population was 146,048. The land area is ; the population density was . Most ...

in northwestern

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 C ...

, Canada. It is approximately north of

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...

on Highway 527 on the western shore of

Lake Nipigon Lake Nipigon (; french: lac Nipigon; oj, Animbiigoo-zaaga'igan) is part of the Great Lakes drainage basin. It is the largest lake entirely within the boundaries of the Canadian province of Ontario. Etymology In the Jesuit Relations the lake is ...

. As of May 2010, the First Nation had a registered population of 1,149 people, including an on-Reserve population of 328.

Governance

The Chief and 10 Band Council members elected every 4 years under the First Nations Elections Act Electoral system. Before 2012, the council had 11 members but it was narrowed down to ten council members, with the passing of a council member. The current Chief is Wilfred King, whose first term began on January 12, 2013 (at the time, it was a 2-year term). The current councillors are Anthony Esquega, Brian King, Gwendoline King, Hugh King, Kenny King, Kevin King, Wayne King, Hector Murchinson, Roland Poile, Lawrence Shonias Sr, and Marcel Shonias. The next election will take place in November 2020. As a signatory to the

Robinson Superior 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 Treaty. ...

of 1850, Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek is a member of the

Nokiiwin Tribal Council Nokiiwin Tribal Council (from Ojibwe ''anokiiwin'', "work, employment") is a non-profit Regional Chiefs' Council located in the Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada, serving five First Nations by providing advisory services and training which wil ...

, a Regional Chiefs Council, and the

Union of Ontario Indians The Anishinabek Nation, also known as the Union of Ontario Indians, is a First Nations political organization representing 39 member Anishinabek Nation First Nations in Canada in the province of Ontario, Canada. The organization's roots predate Eu ...

, a Political Territorial Organization that represents many of the

First Nation governments in Ontario located about

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 Lake Huron. In August 2019, the community shut down its diesel electric generator for the first time in 60 years, drawing power from a new solar panel installation. Diesel is still used overnight.

List of Chiefs

* Wilfred King (December 14, 2000 to December 10, 2022) * Miles Nowegejick (December 10, 2010 to January 12, 2013) * Wilfred King (January 12, 2013 to present)

Reserve

The Gull Bay First Nation has reserved for itself the Gull River 55 Indian Reserve. The community of Gull Bay is located on this reserve.

Land claims

Reserve size

The First nations signatories of the

were unfamiliar with the unit of the mile, and assumed it was the size of a

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

. The treaty gave each band a reserve of 16 square miles, which was much smaller than what the signatories expected. As soon as the error was noticed, the first nations notified the crown of the issue, and surveyors corrected the problem except for a few reserves, such as the Gull Bay First Nation, considered too far and too remote. The Gull Bay first nation filed a claim with the government of Canada on the issue of the size of their reserve in 2016.

Timber rights

In 2016, the band voted to accept a 8.1 million dollar settlement from the government over timber royalties on the reserve.

References

AANDC profile
{{authority control First Nations governments in Ontario Communities in Thunder Bay District Anishinaabe reserves in Ontario