Christian Island, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Christian Island is a large island
in Georgian Bay
close to the communities of Penetanguishene and Midland
, Ontario
. The island, with its neighbors Hope Island
and Beckwith Island
, is a 5428.1 hectares (13,413.1 acre) Ojibwa
reserve, known as Christian Island 30 Indian Reserve. Together with the 7.5 hectares (18.5 acre) Christian Island 30A Indian Reserve located at Cedar Point, Ontario and the 3.1 hectares (7.7 acre) Chippewa Island Indian Reserve located in Twelve Mile Sound, 27.5 kilometres (17.1 mi) north of Christian Island, it forms the land base for the Beausoleil First Nation
.
Together with other First Nations in the area, the Beausoleil have filed a land claim for lands situated between Matchedash Bay at Coldwater and the narrows at Lake Simcoe
and Lake Couchiching
. While the Chippewa Island reserve is shared among Beausoleil and two other First Nations, the two Christian Island reserves are not.
. A pre-historic species of grass, known as Forked three-awned grass or unofficially as "Ice Age Grass," has been found on the Island. This is linked to its glacial beginnings. Forked three-awned grass is designated as a species at risk.
Originally, Christian Island was known by the Ojibwa as Gichi Minising (At the Big Island), but was also known for a brief period by the Hurons, as Gahoendoe. The three islands were, in the 19th century, collectively known as the Christian Islands: Beckwith Island was called Faith Island, while Christian Island, which is the largest of the three, was known as Charity Island.
In 1649, thousands of Huron refugees and a few Jesuit
missionaries from Sainte-Marie among the Hurons
took refuge during the winter on the island during the Huron-Iroquois
wars. The Jesuits called the island St. Joseph Island. With insufficient food, many of the First Nations people starved during the winter. The island's occupation by Huron Catholics and Jesuits was the basis for its name of "Christian" Island. Specifically, it was named in honour of the Canadian Martyrs
.
The Jesuits and most of the Huron refugees left the island and travelled to Quebec in the summer of 1650. The remaining Huron, along with the surviving remnants of the Petun, an Iroquoian group living at the base of the Niagara Escarpment near present-day Collingwood, left the island in 1651. The Petun
had suffered serious losses in Iroquois raids in late 1649 and 1650. Their descendants eventually settled in the Detroit-Windsor
area. Some were later forcibly resettled by U.S. authorities in Oklahoma
.
Christian Island is inhabited by the Beausoleil First Nation
. Their ancestors were nomadic, traveling from northern Georgian Bay and the United States around Lakes Huron and Michigan. The early Canadian government tried to assimilate First Nations peoples into the larger society. They encouraged the Beausoleil to give up their nomadic ways and settle at Coldwater in 1834-1842 as part of the Coldwater Narrows Reserve. Later the Natives were displaced to Beausoleil Island
in 1842, and still later, were displaced to Christian Island in 1856, where they have remained.
The First Nation has tried various ways to generate income on the small reserve, including stocking the island with pheasants for hunting, a cattle operation, a charcoal operation, and a commercial fishery. A portion of lands are designated for cottage leasing. Today, many of the residents work on the mainland, and a growing community has sprung up on an annex of property at the Cedar Point landing. Hope and Beckwith islands are uninhabited, but are popular anchorage sites for boaters, who pay a small anchorage fee to the First Nation community.
The First Nation operates an elementary school, a health centre, and a community centre. 24 hour EMS service and a volunteer fire department operate year round.
A ferry service connects the mainland at Cedar Point to Christian Island. A car ferry, the Sandy Graham, travels the strait between the Point and the Island on a regular schedule. Another ferry, the Indian Maiden, carries passengers only. It is capable of breaking ice up to 6" thick. A hovercraft serves the island in case of emergency. At times of severe cold, the people build an ice road between the island and the mainland.
Christian Island has a lighthouse
that marks the southern tip of the island. It was used in the past for ships travelling from Collingwood
to Penetanguishene, Midland, and Parry Sound
.
Canadian folk singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot
penned a song about Christian Island in 1972 ("In the Lee
of Christian Island"), alluding to the popularity of the island as a sailing area.
Christian Island is a popular camping spot and a place where cottagers come to relax in the summer time.
Beausoleil First Nation Council consists of 6 Councillors and 1 Chief. The General Election held on June 19, 2010 resulted in the following:
Chief: Roland (Roly) Monague
Chief Councillor: Karry A. Sandy
Councillor: A. Dan Monague
Councillor: C. Susan Copegog
Councillor: Hector Copegog
Councillor: B. Jeff Monague
Councillor: Valerie Monague
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...
close to the communities of Penetanguishene and Midland
Midland, Ontario
Midland is a town located on Georgian Bay in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada.Situated at the southern end of Georgian Bay's 30,000 Islands, Midland is the economic centre of the region, with a 125-bed hospital and a local airport. It is the main town of the southern Georgian Bay area...
, 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....
. The island, with its neighbors Hope Island
Hope Island (Ontario)
Hope Island is the northern of three islands in south eastern Georgian Bay. It was named by Henry Bayfield after he surveyed it in the 19th century. Like its neighbour Christian Island, the uninhabited island is part of an Ojibwa reserve....
and Beckwith Island
Beckwith Island (Georgian Bay)
Beckwith Island is the eastern of three islands in southeastern Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada. Like its populated neighbour Christian Island to the west, and Hope Island to the northwest, the uninhabited island is part of an Ojibwa reserve. On the mainland, Cedar Point lies directly south of the...
, is a 5428.1 hectares (13,413.1 acre) 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...
reserve, known as Christian Island 30 Indian Reserve. Together with the 7.5 hectares (18.5 acre) Christian Island 30A Indian Reserve located at Cedar Point, Ontario and the 3.1 hectares (7.7 acre) Chippewa Island Indian Reserve located in Twelve Mile Sound, 27.5 kilometres (17.1 mi) north of Christian Island, it forms the land base for the Beausoleil First Nation
Beausoleil First Nation
The Beausoleil First Nation is an Ojibwa First Nation located in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. The Beausoleil First Nations occupies three Indian reserves...
.
Together with other First Nations in the area, the Beausoleil have filed a land claim for lands situated between Matchedash Bay at Coldwater and the narrows at Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in Southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Huron natives...
and Lake Couchiching
Lake Couchiching
Lake Couchiching, from the Ojibwe gojijiing meaning "inlet", is a small lake in Central Ontario separated from Lake Simcoe by a narrow channel. The Trent-Severn Waterway enters Lake Simcoe by the Talbot River and exits this lake by the Severn River which empties into Georgian Bay...
. While the Chippewa Island reserve is shared among Beausoleil and two other First Nations, the two Christian Island reserves are not.
Background
Christian Island is primarily forest. The soil is mainly sand, remnants of Glacial Lake AlgonquinGlacial Lake Algonquin
Lake Algonquin was a proglacial lake that existed in east-central North America at the time of the last ice age. Parts of the former lake are now Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and inland portions of northern Michigan....
. A pre-historic species of grass, known as Forked three-awned grass or unofficially as "Ice Age Grass," has been found on the Island. This is linked to its glacial beginnings. Forked three-awned grass is designated as a species at risk.
Originally, Christian Island was known by the Ojibwa as Gichi Minising (At the Big Island), but was also known for a brief period by the Hurons, as Gahoendoe. The three islands were, in the 19th century, collectively known as the Christian Islands: Beckwith Island was called Faith Island, while Christian Island, which is the largest of the three, was known as Charity Island.
In 1649, thousands of Huron refugees and a few Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
missionaries from Sainte-Marie among the Hurons
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons
Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was a French Jesuit settlement in Wendake, the land of the Wendat, near modern Midland, Ontario, from 1639 to 1649. It was the first European settlement in what is now the province of Ontario. Eight missionaries from Sainte-Marie were martyred, and were canonized by...
took refuge during the winter on the island during the Huron-Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
wars. The Jesuits called the island St. Joseph Island. With insufficient food, many of the First Nations people starved during the winter. The island's occupation by Huron Catholics and Jesuits was the basis for its name of "Christian" Island. Specifically, it was named in honour of the Canadian Martyrs
Canadian Martyrs
The North American Martyrs, also known as the Canadian Martyrs or the Martyrs of New France, were eight Jesuit missionaries from Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, who were martyred in the mid-17th century in Canada, in what are now southern Ontario and upstate New York, during the warfare between the...
.
The Jesuits and most of the Huron refugees left the island and travelled to Quebec in the summer of 1650. The remaining Huron, along with the surviving remnants of the Petun, an Iroquoian group living at the base of the Niagara Escarpment near present-day Collingwood, left the island in 1651. The Petun
Petun
The Petún , or Tionontati in their language, were an Iroquoian-speaking First Nations people closely related to the Wendat Confederacy. Their homeland was located along the southwest edge of Georgian Bay, in the area immediately to the west of the Huron territory in Southern Ontario of...
had suffered serious losses in Iroquois raids in late 1649 and 1650. Their descendants eventually settled in the Detroit-Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
area. Some were later forcibly resettled by U.S. authorities in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
Christian Island is inhabited by the Beausoleil First Nation
Beausoleil First Nation
The Beausoleil First Nation is an Ojibwa First Nation located in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. The Beausoleil First Nations occupies three Indian reserves...
. Their ancestors were nomadic, traveling from northern Georgian Bay and the United States around Lakes Huron and Michigan. The early Canadian government tried to assimilate First Nations peoples into the larger society. They encouraged the Beausoleil to give up their nomadic ways and settle at Coldwater in 1834-1842 as part of the Coldwater Narrows Reserve. Later the Natives were displaced to Beausoleil Island
Beausoleil Island
Beausoleil Island is a 8-kilometer long island in the Lake Huron's Georgian Bay, near Port Severn, Ontario. It is the largest island in the Georgian Bay Islands National Park and it offers island tent camping, overnight and day docking, heritage education programs, and hiking trails...
in 1842, and still later, were displaced to Christian Island in 1856, where they have remained.
The First Nation has tried various ways to generate income on the small reserve, including stocking the island with pheasants for hunting, a cattle operation, a charcoal operation, and a commercial fishery. A portion of lands are designated for cottage leasing. Today, many of the residents work on the mainland, and a growing community has sprung up on an annex of property at the Cedar Point landing. Hope and Beckwith islands are uninhabited, but are popular anchorage sites for boaters, who pay a small anchorage fee to the First Nation community.
The First Nation operates an elementary school, a health centre, and a community centre. 24 hour EMS service and a volunteer fire department operate year round.
A ferry service connects the mainland at Cedar Point to Christian Island. A car ferry, the Sandy Graham, travels the strait between the Point and the Island on a regular schedule. Another ferry, the Indian Maiden, carries passengers only. It is capable of breaking ice up to 6" thick. A hovercraft serves the island in case of emergency. At times of severe cold, the people build an ice road between the island and the mainland.
Christian Island has a lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
that marks the southern tip of the island. It was used in the past for ships travelling from Collingwood
Collingwood, Ontario
Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay.-History:...
to Penetanguishene, Midland, and Parry Sound
Parry Sound, Ontario
Parry Sound is a town in Central Ontario, Canada, located on Parry Sound on the eastern shore of Georgian Bay. Parry Sound is located south of Sudbury and north of Toronto. It is the seat of Parry Sound District, a popular cottage country region for Southern Ontario residents. It is also the...
.
Canadian folk singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
penned a song about Christian Island in 1972 ("In the Lee
Windward and leeward
Windward is the direction upwind from the point of reference. Leeward is the direction downwind from the point of reference. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its lee side. If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of the wind, this will be the "lower side"...
of Christian Island"), alluding to the popularity of the island as a sailing area.
Christian Island is a popular camping spot and a place where cottagers come to relax in the summer time.
Governance and Council
Beausoleil First Nation Chief & CouncilBeausoleil First Nation Council consists of 6 Councillors and 1 Chief. The General Election held on June 19, 2010 resulted in the following:
Chief: Roland (Roly) Monague
Chief Councillor: Karry A. Sandy
Councillor: A. Dan Monague
Councillor: C. Susan Copegog
Councillor: Hector Copegog
Councillor: B. Jeff Monague
Councillor: Valerie Monague