Lac Seul First Nation is an

Ojibwe 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 ...

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 ...

located on the southeastern shores of Lac Seul, northeast of the city of

Dryden, Ontario Dryden, originally known as New Prospect, is the second-largest city in the Kenora District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located on Wabigoon Lake. It is the least populous community in Ontario incorporated as a city. The City of Dryden had ...

. Though Lac Seul First Nation is a treaty signatory to

Treaty 3 ''Treaty 3'' was an agreement entered into on October 3, 1873, by Chief Mikiseesis (Little Eagle) on behalf of the Ojibwe First Nations and Queen Victoria. The treaty involved a vast tract of Ojibwe territory, including large parts of what is ...

, the First Nation is a member of the

Independent First Nations Alliance Independent First Nations Alliance (IFNA) is a non-profit Regional Chiefs' Council representing Ojibway and Oji-Cree First Nations in northern Ontario, Canada. The Council provides advisory services and program delivery to its five member-Nation ...

, a regional tribal council and a member of the

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Nishnawbe Aski Nation (ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓈᐯ ᐊᔅᑭ ᐃᔥᑯᓂᑲᓇᓐ ᐅᑭᒫᐎᓐ (''Anishinaabe-aski Ishkoniganan Ogimaawin''), unpointed: ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᔅᑭ ᐃᔥᑯᓂᐊᓇᓐ ᐅᑭᒪᐎᓐ; NAN for short) is a political orga ...

. The registered population of Lac Seul was 2,837 persons in April 2008, of which the on-reserve population was 774. The First Nation have the Lac Seul 28

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." In ...

, known as ''Obishikokaang'' in the

Anishinaabe language 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 language of North America of the Algonquian lan ...

, containing three settlements. Frenchmen's Head is accessible by road and is approximately from

Sioux Lookout Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Located approximately northwest of Thunder Bay, it has a population of 5,272 people (up 4.7% since 2011), an elevation of , and its boundaries cover an area of , of which is lake and wetla ...

. Whitefish Bay is also newly accessible by road and is approximately from

Sioux Lookout, Ontario Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Located approximately northwest of Thunder Bay, it has a population of 5,272 people (up 4.7% since 2011), an elevation of , and its boundaries cover an area of , of which is lake and wetla ...

. Kejick Bay is approximately northwest of Sioux Lookout and is accessible by road and water and air. Frenchmen's Head and Kejick Bay each have a population of about 400 each, while Whitefish Bay has a population of about 100. In 1929

Ontario Hydro Ontario Hydro, established in 1906 as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, was a publicly owned electricity utility in the Province of Ontario. It was formed to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity g ...

constructed a dam at

Ear Falls Ear Falls is a township located in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, on the banks of the English River, Lac Seul, Pakwash Lake and Wenesaga Lake. It is located along Highway 105, north of Highway 17 and Vermilion Bay, about halfway between Hig ...

to control the level of the lake to produce

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

. The flooding from turning the lake into a reservoir caused the area known previously as Kejick Bay to become an island, permanently separating it from the mainland and splitting the community into two parts. The island portion retained the name Kejick Bay and the portion of the community on the mainland became Whitefish Bay. The

is bordered on all sides by territory of the

Unorganized Kenora District Unorganized Kenora District is an unorganized area in northwestern Ontario, Canada, in Kenora District. Constituting 98.39 percent of the district's land area, yet only 10.93 percent of its population, it is essentially the remainder of the dist ...

, except at its southeast, which borders the town of

Name

The French name for the lake and the reserve, ''Lac Seul'', may be a mistranslation of ''Obishikokaang'' as ''Obezhigokaang'': "Sole Abundance". The meaning of ''Obishikokaang'' is not known but the typical translation of ''Obishikokaang'' provided is "Narrows bundantwith White Pine" or "White Pine Narrows", which in common Ojibwe should be something closer to ''Obaazhingwaakokaang''.

Governance

The Lac Seul First Nation is governed by Chief Clifford Bull Frenchman’s Head Council Samantha Kejick Elvis Trout Raymond Angeconeb Nora Vincent Kejick Bay Council Darrin Trout Stan Littledeer Gerald Kejick Whitefish Bay Council Wade Bull

Settlements

* Canoe River, Ontario—a historical settlement, which its residents were relocated to Kejick Bay * Frenchmen's Head, Ontario (''Wemitigoozhiiwitigwaaning'') * Kejick Bay, Ontario * Whitefish Bay, Ontario *

Hudson, Kenora District Hudson is an unincorporated place and community in the municipality of Sioux Lookout, Kenora District in northwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lost Lake on the English River in the Nelson River drainage basin. History Hudson was o ...

—a nearby town with many residents registered with Lac Seul First Nation

Notable members

Rebecca Belmore Rebecca Belmore D.F.A. (born 1960) is an interdisciplinary Anishinaabekwe artist who is notable for politically conscious and socially aware performance and installation work. She is Ojibwe and member of Obishikokaang ( Lac Seul First Nation). ...

, performance and installation artist *

Ahmoo Angeconeb Ahmoo Angeconeb (19 April 1955 – 9 June 2017) was a Canadian Ojibwe artist. His style was influenced by the Woodlands School, but incorporated elements from different cultures and artistic traditions. He travelled widely and found success as ...

(1955–2017), artist

External links

AANDC profile

Map of Lac Seul 28 at Statcan

References

{{authority control First Nations governments in Ontario Communities in Kenora District Nishnawbe Aski Nation Anishinaabe reserves in Ontario