Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve
Encyclopedia
Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve (usually known as Wikwemikong or Wiky) is an Indian reserve
in the north-eastern section of Manitoulin Island
in Manitoulin District
, Ontario
, Canada
. Wikwemikong is an unceded Indian reserve in Canada, which means that it has not "relinquished title to its land to the government by treaty or otherwise."
The name Wikwemikong means "bay of beavers".
The reserve is occupied by Ojibwa
, Odawa
and Potawatomi
peoples, under the Council of Three Fires
. The current band chief is Hazel Fox.
at Manitowaning.
The smaller Point Grondine reserve, located on the mainland near Killarney
, also belongs to the Wikwemikong band.
According to written records, Lake Huron and Lake Superior area leaders surrendered nearly 15 000 000 heactares of land in exchange for the establishment of 24 reserves and a payment of approximately $10 000 to be followed by additional annual payment of $2700. However, First Nations leaders were led to believe that the agreement was to share the land with the colonists and retain their rights to hunt and fish throughout the area.
Soon after, two other treaties were negotiated. These tracts of land were smaller, and the government (Canada) attempted to reduce the financial compensation offered with the two treaties - the Saugeen First Nation in 1854 and the Manitoulin First Nation in 1864. Several leaders, Jesuit missionaries, and the entire Odawa First Nations community refused to sign the deal for less money.
In 1862, most of the island was ceded to the government of Canada under the MacDougall Treaty for new settlement by non-natives, resulting in the creation of new reserves at West Bay
, Sheguiandah, Sheshegwaning, Cockburn Island
and Sucker Creek. However, two bands which occupied the land that now comprises Wikwemikong refused to sign the treaty, and thus continued to exist as a remnant of the Manitoulin Island Indian Reserve.
Wikwemikong as it exists today was created in 1968, when the two unceded bands and the Point Grondine band amalgamated as the Wikwemikong band.
The reserve is served by four churches, two elementary schools and Wasse Abin High School.
This annual event is touted as the largest and oldest Pow Wow in Eastern Canada. Considered to be one of the major Pow Wows in North America, it is attended by many Aboriginal dancers who participate in competition of all age ranges, demonstrating Traditional, Grass, Jingle, and Fancy Dancing.
Wikwemikong is also home to a professional theatre company, De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre Group
, which stages and produces plays about First Nations
life and culture..
artist Crystal Shawanda
, Federal Court of Canada
judge Leonard S. Mandamin
, former NHL player Chris Simon
and artist Daphne Odjig
.
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve 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." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...
in the north-eastern section of Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is a Canadian island in Lake Huron, in the province of Ontario. It is the largest island in a freshwater lake in the world. In addition to the historic Anishinaabe and European settlement of the island, archeological discoveries at Sheguiandah have demonstrated Paleo-Indian and...
in Manitoulin District
Manitoulin District, Ontario
Manitoulin District is a district in Northeastern Ontario within the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1888 from part of Algoma District. The district seat is Gore Bay....
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Wikwemikong is an unceded Indian reserve in Canada, which means that it has not "relinquished title to its land to the government by treaty or otherwise."
The name Wikwemikong means "bay of beavers".
The reserve is occupied by Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
, Odawa
Odawa people
The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
and Potawatomi
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
peoples, under the Council of Three Fires
Council of Three Fires
The Council of Three Fires, also known as the People of the Three Fires, the Three Fires Confederacy, the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indians, or Niswi-mishkodewin in the Anishinaabe language, is a long-standing Anishinaabe alliance of the Ojibwe , Ottawa , and Potawatomi...
. The current band chief is Hazel Fox.
Geography
Wikwemikong occupies a large peninsula on the eastern end of Manitoulin Island, which is connected to the rest of the island by an isthmus separating South Bay from Manitowaning Bay. The reserve's primary access is via Wikwemikong Way, which continues off the reserve as Cardwell Street and connects to Highway 6Highway 6 (Ontario)
King's Highway 6, also known as Highway 6, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It crosses a distance of between Port Dover on the north shore of Lake Erie and Espanola on the northern shore of Lake Huron, ending at the Trans-Canada Highway in McKerrow.- Port...
at Manitowaning.
The smaller Point Grondine reserve, located on the mainland near Killarney
Killarney, Ontario
Killarney is a municipality located on the northern shore of Georgian Bay in the Sudbury District of Ontario. It is also the name of the largest community within the municipality...
, also belongs to the Wikwemikong band.
History
From 1836 to 1862, the entirety of Manitoulin Island was set aside as the "Manitoulin Island Indian Reserve" under the Bond Head Treaty. The most important of the pre-confederation treaties were the Robinson Treaties because all subsequent treaties were modelled after these. In 1850, William B. Robinson, a government negotiator and former fur trader, proposed that First Nations reserves be created on the Crown Land acquired through treaties. These Reserves were intended to be the answer to what the immigrant settlers needed for land settlement. First Nation peoples would be set apart on reserves from the new settlers. The Robinson-Huron and Robinson-Superior treateies were signed in September 1850 for large territories north of the two Great Lakes.According to written records, Lake Huron and Lake Superior area leaders surrendered nearly 15 000 000 heactares of land in exchange for the establishment of 24 reserves and a payment of approximately $10 000 to be followed by additional annual payment of $2700. However, First Nations leaders were led to believe that the agreement was to share the land with the colonists and retain their rights to hunt and fish throughout the area.
Soon after, two other treaties were negotiated. These tracts of land were smaller, and the government (Canada) attempted to reduce the financial compensation offered with the two treaties - the Saugeen First Nation in 1854 and the Manitoulin First Nation in 1864. Several leaders, Jesuit missionaries, and the entire Odawa First Nations community refused to sign the deal for less money.
In 1862, most of the island was ceded to the government of Canada under the MacDougall Treaty for new settlement by non-natives, resulting in the creation of new reserves at West Bay
M'Chigeeng First Nation
M'Chigeeng First Nation, also known as West Bay, is an Ojibwe First Nation in the Manitoulin District of Ontario, Canada. Total registered population as of September, 2007, was 2251 people, of which their on-reserve population was 882...
, Sheguiandah, Sheshegwaning, Cockburn Island
Zhiibaahaasing First Nation
Zhiibaahaasing is a First Nation in the Canadian province of Ontario.An Ojibwe community located in the Manitoulin District, the First Nation has two distinct parcels of land: the first, on Manitoulin Island and legally designated as Zhiibaahaasing 19A, had a population of 34 in the 2001 Canadian...
and Sucker Creek. However, two bands which occupied the land that now comprises Wikwemikong refused to sign the treaty, and thus continued to exist as a remnant of the Manitoulin Island Indian Reserve.
Wikwemikong as it exists today was created in 1968, when the two unceded bands and the Point Grondine band amalgamated as the Wikwemikong band.
Communities
In addition to the primary settlement at Wikwemikong, smaller settlements on the reserve include Buzwah, Kaboni, Maiangowi, Murray Hill, South Bay, Two O'Clock, Wabozominissing and Wikwemikonsing.The reserve is served by four churches, two elementary schools and Wasse Abin High School.
Culture
The reserve is also home to the Wikwemikong Cultural Festival (Wikwemikong Pow Wow) which is held annually every Civic Holiday Weekend (first weekend in August).This annual event is touted as the largest and oldest Pow Wow in Eastern Canada. Considered to be one of the major Pow Wows in North America, it is attended by many Aboriginal dancers who participate in competition of all age ranges, demonstrating Traditional, Grass, Jingle, and Fancy Dancing.
Wikwemikong is also home to a professional theatre company, De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre Group
De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre Group
Debajehmujig / De-ba-jeh-mu-jig - Storytellers is a First Nations theatre group based on Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario.-History:...
, which stages and produces plays about First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
life and culture..
People
Notable people from Wikwemikong include country musicCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist Crystal Shawanda
Crystal Shawanda
Crystal Shawanda is a Canadian country music artist. CMT documented her rise to fame in the six-part series Crystal: Living the Dream, which aired in February 2008. Signed to RCA Records in 2007, she released her debut single, "You Can Let Go," in Canada in January 2008...
, Federal Court of Canada
Federal Court of Canada
The Federal Court of Canada was a national court of Canada that heard some types of disputes arising under the central government's legislative jurisdiction...
judge Leonard S. Mandamin
Leonard S. Mandamin
Leonard S. Mandamin is a judge currently serving on the Federal Court of Canada.-References:...
, former NHL player Chris Simon
Chris Simon
Chris Simon is a former Canadian professional ice hockey left winger whose last club was UHC Dynamo of the Kontinental Hockey League . He played 15 seasons in the NHL.-Minor hockey:...
and artist Daphne Odjig
Daphne Odjig
Daphne Odjig, CM, LL.D. , is an influential Canadian First Nations artist of Odawa-Potawatomi-English heritage. Her many awards include the Order of Canada and the Governor General's Award. Her painting is often characterized as Woodlands Style...
.