The O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation ( cr, ᐅᐱᐴᓇᐱᐏᐣ, opiponipîwin) is a

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

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 ...

with over 1,500

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

registered members centred in the settlement of

South Indian Lake South Indian Lake is an Indian settlement located on the southeast shore of Southern Indian Lake in northern Manitoba, Canada, about north of the city of Thompson by air. It had a population of 981 in 2016, and is the main settlement of the O-Pi ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

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 ...

. South Indian Lake is located on the southeast shores of

Southern Indian Lake Southern Indian Lake is a large lake in northern Manitoba, Canada. It has an area of (including islands) with a surface elevation of . Southern Indian Lake is the fourth largest lake in Manitoba. It has a complex shoreline with many islands, l ...

, about (by air) north of the city of

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...

. The O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Nation's reserve lands include about 113 km² of lands.

History

Created in December 2005, the O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation was formerly part of the

Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation The Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN; cr, ᓂᓯᒐᐚᔭᓯᕽ, nisicawâyasihk; formerly the Nelson House First Nation) is a Cree First Nations community centered in Nelson House, Manitoba, Canada. Its main reserve is Nelson House 170. Nelson ...

which includes the Cree community of Nelson House. The South Indian Lake community, which was founded in 1875, was historically the second largest community of the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, with about a quarter of the total population. In 1995, after many decades of discussions, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the federal and provincial governments and First Nation representatives to formalize a process to have the Southern Indian Lake community recognized as a separate Cree Nation.

Demographics

As of March 2015, O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation had a registered membership of 1,586 with 1,124 members living on-reserve and 462 members living off-reserve.

References

External links

Announcement of the creation of the O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation

History of the movement to create the O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (PDF)

Map of South Indian Lake at Statcan
{{First Nations in the Northern Region of Manitoba First Nations governments in Manitoba First Nations in Northern Region, Manitoba Cree governments