Wasauksing First Nation (formerly named as Parry Island First Nation, , ''meaning: "Place that shines brightly in the reflection of the sacred light"'') is an

Ojibway The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ) are an Indigenous North American people who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Their territory long prec ...

and Pottawatomi First Nation

band government In Canada, an Indian band (), First Nation band () or simply band, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subject to the ''Indian Act'' (i.e. status Indians or First Nations). Bands are typically small groups of people: the largest in ...

whose reserve is located near

Parry Sound Parry Sound is a Sound (geography), sound or bay of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, in Ontario, Canada. It is highly irregularly shaped with many deep bays and islands. Killbear Provincial Park is located on the large peninsula that separates the sou ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Their reserve constitutes the Parry Island in

Georgian Bay The Georgian Bay () is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is t ...

. The island is about with of lakeshore, making it one of the larger islands in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

. The Wasauksing First Nation now occupies the entire island, although the

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

Depot Harbour Depot Harbour is a ghost town on Wasauksing First Nation, in the Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada. It was once the western terminus of the Canada Atlantic Railway and a busy port on Georgian Bay. Formation and rise In 1891, the Ottawa, ...

on the island was historically a non-aboriginal settlement.

Community

The reserve is home to a

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

station, CHRZ-FM, the Indigenous magazine ''MUSKRAT'', and discontinued Indigenous magazine ''Spirit''.

Transportation

The reserve's main road crosses to the mainland via the Wasauksing Swing Bridge, connecting to Rose Point Road in Seguin Township south of Parry Sound. The road continues to Parry Sound itself, becoming Emily Street at the municipal boundary of Parry Sound and Seguin.

Notable members

* Basil Johnston, historian and cultural essayist * Francis Pegahmagabow, the most highly decorated Indigenous soldier in Canadian military history,"Legendary Ojibwa sniper unsung hero of WW I"

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

Indigenous, August 1, 2014. * Waubgeshig Rice, writer and broadcaster"Waubgeshig Rice has to tell real aboriginal stories"
''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', November 17, 2015. * Tyler Tabobondung Rushnell, NHL (Toronto Maple Leafs) indigenous Jersey designer

References

External links

Wasauksing First Nation
{{Authority control First Nations governments in Ontario Ojibwe governments Ojibwe reserves in Ontario Odawa reserves in Ontario Potawatomi reserves in Ontario Populated places on Lake Huron in Canada Populated places in Parry Sound District