Wahgoshig First Nation
The Wahgoshig First Nation , formerly known as the Abitibi-Ontario Band of Abitibi Indians or Abitibi , is one of the ethnic groups living in Canada . The First Nation consists mainly of Algonquin and Anishinabe , but Cree also belong to the community. The Wahgoshig Traditional Territory stretched on both sides of the Ontario- Québec border .
history
French fur traders were near Lake Abitibi in the 17th century, 1683 at the latest, ahead of their English competitors. A Sieur d'Argenteuil, member of one of the most influential families, received a trading license. However, the trading post on Lake Abitibi was only visited occasionally. In 1707 a report found that the Tabitibi were bringing their furs towards Hudson Bay to sell to the English.
According to an 1826 report by the Hudson's Bay Company , 68 fur hunters came regularly to their trading post. The report names a total of 242 men, women and children, some of whom were Cree. It is unclear when the trading captain system was introduced, through which a hierarchy was first established among the egalitarian northern Algonquians.
The Lake Abitibi Indians are first mentioned in a parliamentary debate in 1897. At that time, they were a group of hunters and gatherers making cyclical migrations in their traditional territory. In annual cycles they sought out places of importance for fishing, trapping and hunting, but also for rituals and ceremonies.
This area extended north and northeast towards Long Sault to Pierre, Harris and the Montreuil Lakes in Ontario, also to Quebec, more precisely to Amos . To the south, the Traditional Territory extended beyond Kirkland Lake in Ontario and to Rouyn in Quebec. The western border was around Cochrane .
The reservation was to be created in 1906 with Treaty 9 , one of the Numbered Treaties , as the treaties are called in Canada, which were concluded with the Indian peoples after the founding of the state. This treaty, also known as the James Bay Treaty , was signed on June 7, 1906 at Lake Abitibi in a post of the Hudson's Bay Company . 19,239 hectares were designated as a reserve. Since their traditional area was partly in Quebec, the provincial government later refused recognition.
It was not until 1908 that the federal government was able to ensure that the province of Québec formally included the group in Treaty 9 and recognized a reservation. To date, however, government grants have remained below those received by the other Treaty 9 groups. The tribe recognized the relatives living in the other province as members of the tribe. The Abitibi-Ontario or Wagoshig and the Abitibi Dominion Band ( Abitibiwinni ) signed the contract in Abitibi Post in July 1908, thereby renouncing their rights in the respective other province.
In 1913 the anthropologist Frank Speck conducted research in the Timiskaming Reserve near Notre Dame du Nord on behalf of the National Museum of Canada . The local Indians reported that the Lake Abitibi Indians belonged to their group linguistically and culturally. They referred to themselves as anishnbek (plural of Anishinabe), similar to Ojibway, Mississauga, Ottawa and Potawatomi.
The construction of the railways in the region between 1906 and 1912, the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway North from the south and the National Transcontinental from the east, brought settlers, traders and prospectors into the country. These brought with them diseases and drastic cultural changes.
Until 1972 the Department of Indian Affairs in Quebec was responsible for both the Abitibi-Dominion Band of Abitibi Indians in Quebec and the Abitibi-Ontario Band of Abitibi Indians . Then the Ministry of Ontario, represented by Indian Affairs in Sudbury , took over the corresponding tasks for the Abitibi-Ontario Band . In 1979 the Abitibi-Dominion Band changed its name to Abitibiwinni First Nation , while the group in Ontario was henceforth called Wahgoshig First Nation .
In 2000, the Wahgoshig, together with the Assembly of the First Nations, successfully defended themselves against the deforestation on their traditional territory by Abitibi Consolidated Inc. A sacred district, the Hospital Point on Lake Abitibi, has been under protection since then. Similar negotiations took place from 2001 to 2004 with Queenston Mining Inc., Tom Exploration Inc., Falconbridge Inc., Tember Inc. (August 2003), Abitibi Cons. (December 2003) and Boulder Mining Inc.
A separate company, Wahgosik Anishinabek Mitik Inc. , was founded.
Current situation
reserve
Her relatives live with Matheson in the Cochrane District , which is in northeastern Ontario . There is a 25 hectare village on the reserve, accessible from Highway 101 . Moist to swampy areas in the west form habitats for large mammals such as elk and bears, but also bird species such as grouse .
The election chief is David Babin. The tribe is a member of the Wabun Tribal Council , a board of chiefs of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation , which represents the majority of the tribes in northern Ontario. He has also been a member of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council since November 2000.
There are 37 residential houses in the reserve, recently a tribal office (band office) was added, a hospital ward, a shop and a fire station as well as a warehouse that serves as a community hall. A school bus goes to Matheson, an hour and a half drive. Vehicle and driver for Iroquois Falls high school students are provided by the First Nation. In 2006, the chief banned the provincial youth welfare organizations from entering the reserve because the tribe feared that the children would be estranged from the tribe and then raised by non-Indians. The responsible youth and family minister accepted this decision.
Demographics
In January 2008, 121 of the 270 tribe members lived on the reservation in the 7,770.1 hectare Abitibi 70 reservation on the southern shore of Lake Abitibi , which separates Ontario and Quebec. In February 2010 the responsible ministry recognized 280 people as members of the tribe, of whom 126 lived in the reservation, 8 in other reservations and 142 outside.
Exploration and protection of the tribal territory
In 2007 the government sent around 1,400 energy saving packages to numerous First Nations in Ontario.
In 2007, the tribe and the raw materials company Apollo Gold Corporation agreed on a memorandum of understanding regarding the Black Fox project started by the company in 2002 . The First Nations should be involved in the gold discoveries made on their territory, and jobs with appropriate training are also planned. The chief negotiator for the Wahgoshig was Maurice J. Kistabish.
From 2007 to 2009, logging-related negotiations were held with the region's First Nations. This involved the Romeo Malette-Contingency Forest Management Plan and the Nighthawk Forest Management Plan planned for 2008-2018 . In addition to the Wahgoshig, the 1st Mattagami, the Flying Post, the Matachewan First Nation and the Taykwa Tagamou Nation were also involved.
On February 7, 2009, a solemn agreement was reached with Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. to an Exploration Agreement , with which the company received mining rights. This involves the Munro-Croesus (416 ha) and Four Corners (1040 ha) gold projects . In the accompanying Impact Benefits Agreement , Wahgoshig and the company agreed on compensation and training and jobs.
In November 2008 Leo Alarie & Sons founded a joint venture with the Wahgoshig First Nation under the name Wahgoshig Alarie Construction . They work together on the Black Fox project . Around 30 employees are members of the First Nation. You will continue to be employed at Apollo Gold when you start mining there.
On June 14th and 15th, 2009 David Babin attended a conference for the First Nation at Queen's University on the question of raw materials and the territories of the indigenous people ( First Nations Conference on Mineral Resources and Aboriginal Lands ).
literature
- William H. Jenkins: Notes on the Hunting Economy of the Abitibi Indians , The Catholic University of America, Anthropological Series nr. 9, 1939.
- Thomas Lee: Archaeological Investigations at Lake Abitibi 1964 , Travaux Divers 10, Center d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec 1965.
- John T. McPherson: An Ethnological Study of the Abitibi Indians , unpublished. Manuscript 1939.
- John W. Pollock: A Technological Analysis of Lake Abitibi Bifaces , Unpublished PhD, University of Alberta, 1984.
- John W. Pollock: Lake Abitibi Model Forest, Cultural Heritage Project , Fifth Annual Archaeological Report, Ontario, Vol. 5, New Series (1994) 50-56.
- Frank Ridley: Archeology of Lake Abitibi, Ontario-Quebec , in: Anthropological Journal of Canada 4/2 (1966) 2-50.
Web links
Remarks
- ^ Homepage of the Wahgoshig First Nation
- ↑ This and the following from: Native Background Information Report and Value Map , Cochrane: Ministry of Natural Resources March 1996, p. 11f.
- ↑ Toby Worantz: Northern Algonquian concepts of status and leadership reviewed: a case study of the eighteenth-century trading captain system , Canadian Review of Sociology / Revue canadienne de sociologie 19/4 (November 1982) 482-501.
- ↑ Annual General Assembly, Resolution No. July 27, 11 - 13, 2000 ( Memento of the original from August 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Forever Green Innovative Strategies Inc. , Company Prospectus, June 2004.
- ^ Wahgoshig First Nation Chief bans provincial youth workers from entering reserve , in: Digital Journal, December 13, 2006
- ^ Statistics Canada
- ↑ According to the information from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development , First Nation Profiles: Wahgoshig ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Remote Ontario First Nation Communities get first Energy Conservation Kits , in: First Nations News, September 7, 2007
- ↑ Apollo Gold and Wahgoshig First Nation Announce Entry into a Memorandum of Understanding , in: Business Wire, January 24, 2007
- ↑ So reported Constantine Metal Resources Ltd .: Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. and Wahgoshig First Nation enter into an Exploration Agreement , February 9, 2009
