Assabaska : History Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Assabaska

Indian reserve in Ontario, Canada

48°59′N 94°26′W / 48.983°N 94.433°W / 48.983; -94.433CountryCanadaProvinceOntarioDistrictRainy RiverFirst NationsBig Grassy, OnigamingArea

^[1]

• Land10.98 km² (4.24 sq mi)

Assabaska is a Saulteaux First Nation reserve^[1] in northwestern Ontario on Lake of the Woods. It is shared between the Big Grassy First Nation and the Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation.

The Assabaska reserve was created in 1999 as a part of a land claim settlement in 1999.^[2]

History

The lands that are now part of the Assabaska reserve were originally intended to become Reserve No. 35E for the Assabaska First Nation under the terms of Treaty 3, signed in 1873. Because the land was never surveyed and through negligence and lack of consultation, the reserve was never created and the land was transferred from the federal to the provincial government in 1958. In 1967, these lands became part of the mainland portion of the Lake of the Woods Provincial Park. Its campground was a loss leader, losing thousands of dollars per year.^[3]

In 1977, the First Nations of Mishkosiiniiziibing (Big Grassy River) and the Ojibways of Onigaming (successors to the Assabaska First Nation) filed a land claim, which was settled in the late 1990s. As part of the settlement, the mainland portion of the provincial park was deregulated, and converted into the Assabaska Reserve. It remains a campground, now known as Assabaska Ojibway Heritage Park.^[3]^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada profile
^ "Settled land claims and other agreements". www.ontario.ca. Ontario Ministry of Indigenous Affairs. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b McNab, David (1999). Circles of time : aboriginal land rights and resistance in Ontario. Waterloo, Ont., Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 75–88. ISBN 9780889206939. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
^ Coyle, Michael (March 2005). "Addressing Aboriginal Land and Treaty Rights in Ontario: An Analysis of Past Policies and Options for the Future" (PDF). www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2023.