Nipissing First Nation

Nipissing 10
Indian reserve
Nipissing First Nation
Administration Building/Community Centre in Garden Village
Administration Building/Community Centre in Garden Village
Nipissing 10 is located in Ontario
Nipissing 10
Nipissing 10
Coordinates: 46°22′N 79°46′W / 46.367°N 79.767°W / 46.367; -79.767
CountryCanada
ProvinceOntario
DistrictNipissing
First NationNipissing
Government
 • ChiefCathy Bellefeuille
 • Deputy ChiefMuriel Sawyer
Area
[1]
 • Land61.22 km2 (23.64 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total
1,450
 • Density23.7/km2 (61/sq mi)
Websitewww.nfn.ca

Nipissing First Nation (Ojibwe: Nipissing, Niipsing, Nbisiing), meaning 'place of little waters', is a long-standing community of Nishnaabeg peoples, who traditionally speak Anishinaabemwin,[2] located along the shorelines of Lake Nipissing in northern Ontario. They are referred to by many names in European historical records, since the colonists often adopted names given to them by other nations.

The Nbisiing Anishinaabeg have roots in both the Ojibwe and Algonquin nations, making up part of the wider grouping of Anishinaabe peoples. Their heritage is a result of the fact that the Nipissing homeland sits at a geographical crossroads, existing between the traditional territories of the Ojibwe around the Great Lakes and the Algonquin country covering much of the Kitchi-sipi watershed.

Geography

Waterfront on Lake Nipissing in Garden Village

Lake Nipissing drains via the French River into Georgian Bay and, to the east of Lake Nipissing, Trout Lake drains via the Mattawa River into the Ottawa River. Living at the crossroads between two watersheds, the Nipissing people were key to Indigenous trade routes to the east, west, north and south of Lake Nipissing, and to the late trade with the French and English.

History

Sketch of an 18th-century Nipissing man by Henry Hamilton.

The Nipissing controlled trade routes that became increasingly desirable during the early French colonial period, as the French proved a large, lucrative market for the inland pelts, exporting many to Europe. The Iroquois, based south of Lake Ontario, conducted military campaigns against the competing Huron and Nipissing in the competition for furs. By 1647, the Nipissing regrouped in the Lake Nipigon area. The Nipissing continued to use their historical trade routes but at greater risk. Claude-Jean Allouez visited the Nipissings at Lake Nipigon 1667, but in 1671 he reported that the Nipissing had returned to Lake Nipissing. After returning to Lake Nipissing, some of the Nipissings relocated to the missions at Trois-Rivières and Oka, Quebec.[3][4]

In 1850 the Nipissing signed the Robinson Treaty with the Canadian representatives of the British Crown. In the face of increasing European encroachment by settlers, they wanted to confirm their claim to the north shores of Lake Nipissing and its main waterways.

Reserve

Nipissing 10, as it was formerly known, is an Indian reserve in northeastern Ontario located on the north shores of Lake Nipissing in the Nipissing District, serving as the land base for the Nipissing First Nation. The 21,007.3 ha (51,910 acres) reserve is located west of North Bay and east of West Nipissing.

The reserve comprises the communities of Beaucage, Jocko Point, Yellek, Duchesnay, and Garden Village, as well as many smaller sub-divisions. Garden Village is accessible by municipal streets in Sturgeon Falls. The other communities all have direct access off of Highway 17 West.[5]

Society

Traditionally, the Nipissing nation is structured around families and clans (or doodems). The five doodems are: Blood (Miskwaa'aa, recorded as "Miskouaha"), Birchbark (Wiigwaas), Heron (Ashagi),[7] Beaver (Amikwaa, recorded as "Amicois" or as "Nez Percés"), and Squirrel (Asanagoo).[8] During the period of the clans' early contact with the Europeans, the Blood, Birchbark, and Squirrel clans were located on and about Lake Nipissing, the Heron clan resided primarily on Lake Nipissing but also on lands extending southward to the eastern coast of Lake Huron's Georgian Bay, and the Beaver clan was located on the northern coast of Georgian Bay, adjacent to Heron territory.

Each clan is subdivided along family lines. They govern independently but at the same time cooperatively, as part of Nipissing Nation as a whole. They respect a person's right to decide individual paths.

Demographics

As of March of 2026, the total registered population of 3,688 people.[9] This list is of:

  • Registered Members on Nipissing Reserve: 1,004
  • Registered Members Off-Reserve: 2,651
  • Registered Members On Other Reserves: 27
  • Registered Members on Crown Land: 6[9]

Governance

The current governance of the Nipissing First Nation is elected under the custom electoral system, consisting of a chief, deputy chief and six councillors. The current council consists of Chief Cathy Stevens and Deputy Chief Brian Couchie, along with Councillors; Rick Stevens, Joan McLeod-Shabogesic, Yvette Bellefeuille, Samantha Stevens, Priscilla Goulais, and Jason Laronde.[10]

The Nipissing First Nation's council is a member of Waabnoong Bemjiwang Association of First Nations, which is a regional chiefs' council. The First Nation is also a member of the Union of Ontario Indians, a tribal political organization representing many of the Anishinaabe First Nations in central and southern Ontario.

In January 2014, the Nipissing adopted what is believed to be the first constitution for First Nations in Ontario. It is supposed to replace the Indian Act as the supreme law which regulates the governance of the First Nation, but has not been tested in court.[11]

Notable Nipissing

  • Carol Couchie, midwife and women's health advocate[12]
  • Dan Frawley (ice hockey), b. 1962, NHL hockey player, captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins 1987
  • Ian Campeau (DJ NDN) of A Tribe Called Red
  • Scott McLeod, Lake Huron Regional Chief for Anishinabek Nation, Chief of Nipissing First Nation (2015 - 2024).[13]

See also

  • Anishinabek Educational Institute
  • List of francophone communities in Ontario

References

  1. ^ a b "Nipissing 10 census profile". 2011 Census of Population. Statistics Canada. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Anishinaabemwin". Nipissing First Nation. Nipissing First Nation. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  3. ^ Hodge, Frederick Webb (1910). "Nipissing" in Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico: N-Z. Washington: Government Printing Office. p. 73.
  4. ^ MacKenzie, Alexander (1802). Voyages from Montreal, on the River St. Laurence, through the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans: In the Years 1789 and 1793. Philadelphia. p. xli (footnote).
  5. ^ "The Land, the People, the Future » Nipissing First Nation". Nipissing First Nation. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  6. ^ Clark, Patricia Roberts (21 October 2009). Tribal Names of the Americas: Spelling Variants and Alternative Forms, Cross-Referenced. McFarland. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-7864-5169-2.
  7. ^ Or Outchougai, Achague, Achaque.[6]
  8. ^ Hodge, Frederick Webb (1910). "Nipissing" in Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico: N-Z. Washington: Government Printing Office. pp. 73–74.
  9. ^ a b Branch, Government of Canada; Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada; Communications (2008-11-14). "First Nation Profiles". fnp-ppn.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2026-04-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Chief & Council » Nipissing First Nation". Nipissing First Nation. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  11. ^ "Nipissing First Nation passes first Ontario Aboriginal constitution". CBC News. January 21, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  12. ^ "Carol-Couchie, NACM Co-Chair". NCIM. 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  13. ^ Dawson, Chris (2018-07-17). "Nipissing First Nation re-elects McLeod as Chief". BayToday.ca. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
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