M'Chigeeng First Nation, also known as West Bay, 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 ...

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 the

Manitoulin District Manitoulin District is a district in Northeastern Ontario within the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1888 from part of the Algoma District. The district seat is in Gore Bay. It comprises Manitoulin Island primarily, as well as a ...

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. The total registered population as of December 2018, was 2623 people, of which their on-reserve population was 939. The First Nation have

reserved Reserved is a Polish apparel retailer headquartered in Gdańsk, Pomerania, Poland. It was founded in 1999 and remains the largest company of the LPP group, which has more than 1,700 retail stores located in over 20 countries and also owns such ...

for themselves the 3094.7 ha M'Chigeeng 22 Indian Reserve located on

Manitoulin Island Manitoulin Island is an island in Lake Huron, located within the borders of the Canadian province of Ontario, in the bioregion known as Laurentia. With an area of , it is the largest lake island in the world, large enough that it has over 100 ...

Governance

M'Chigeeng First Nation leadership are elected on a two-year term. Currently, the First Nation is governed by Chief Linda Debassige and 10 Councillors: Brian Bisson, Ray Corbiere, Thomas Hare, Andrea McGraw, Debbie Corbiere-Debassige, Beverly Roy-Carter, Henry Panamick Sr. Sam Debassige, Forry Hare and Debbie Ense. The First Nation is a member of the United Chiefs & Councils of Manitoulin Island, a regional tribal Chiefs' council.

Media and events

On February 11, 2010, Anong Migwans Beam, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated applied to the

CRTC The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

for a new English and aboriginal-language Type B Native FM radio programming low-power FM radio station in M’Chigeeng. The applicant proposes a format completely devoted to the recovery and sustainment of the Ojibwe language. Programming would include educational and music programs.Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2010-72
/ref> The station began broadcasting late in the summer of 2010 and is known as CHYF-FM. The community is the primary home of the annual Weengushk International Film Festival, although some events associated with the festival are also held in other communities on Manitoulin Island.

Pictures

Notable citizens

* Carl Beam, visual artist

References

External links