Deer Lake First Nation
Encyclopedia
Deer Lake First Nation is an Oji-Cree First Nation in Northern Ontario
, located north of Red Lake, Ontario
. It is one of the few First Nations in Ontario to have signed Treaty 5
. It is part of the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Council
(Northern Chiefs) and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation
. As of December, 2007, the First Nation had 1,072 registered members, of which their on-reserve population was 868.
Deer Lake is police
d by the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
, an Aboriginal based service.
and North Spirit Lake First Nation
. The three reserves speak a unique dialect of the Anishinaabe language that combines elements of Beren's River
Ojibway (as spoken in nearby Pikangikum
and Poplar Hill
) and Severn Ojibway
(Oji-Cree)as spoken at Island Lake
in Manitoba
.
In the local language, the people of Deer Lake call themselves Anishinawbe
. In English "Oji-Cree" is becoming the most popular self-designation, while "Cree
" remains popular as well. "Ojibway" is rarely used except to refer to the Native people to the south.
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
data from 2001 reported that 68% of Deer Lakers learned their native language as their first language with the rest speaking English
first. Public conversation is heard in both languages with the oldest members using native language almost exclusively, and the youngest members using almost only English. Most adults comfortably navigate between the two, while younger adults and teenagers comprehend the language but rarely speak it. To reverse the trend of language loss, local education efforts have implemented native-language immersion programs in the preschool, kindergarten, and early-elementary grades.
Literacy in the native language using Cree syllabics
is also emphasized by the local school and churches. Since the coming of Christianity
and syllabic bibles in the early 20th century, Deer Lake has used its own version of the western variant of syllabics in which the "s", "sh", "z", and "zh" sounds are combined into one set of characters and some of the finals are different from the more commonly found versions in Ontario and Manitoba.
. The community of Deer Lake, Ontario is located on this reserve. It is connected to Pikangikum, Sandy Lake First Nation
, and North Spirit Lake First Nation
by winter
/ice road
s. Regularly scheduled flights to and from the community are provided by Wasaya Airways
.
established fur-trading posts at Big Trout Lake and Island Lake in the 18th century, traditional patterns of living changed little with an increased emphasis on trapping for trade. The Deer Lake area remained inaccessible to white traders, however, and only the men who brought fur to the distant posts had any contact with whites.
By the 19th century, overtrapping and changes in the economics of the fur trade had devastating effects on the people of the area. With the boreal forests largely depleted of fur-bearing animals, the Hudson's Bay Company closed their posts and game remained scarce. Starvation and disease were all too common during this time. When the HBC returned toward the end of the 19th century, they assigned family names to each of the clans. The Pelican clan became the Meekis family after their patriarch Meekis (Shell). The Sucker clan became the Fiddlers and later the Quills). Many members of the Caribou and Sturgeon clans were given the surname Rae, while other Sturgeons were designated Mamakeesic after their patriarch. The Cranes were either Kakegamic or Kakepetum after their leaders, two brothers known by those names. At this time, these names were only used in trading, but they would later become official with census records and are now the most common surnames found in Deer Lake.
By 1900, the people of the area were among the last Indigenous peoples in North America living with virtually no colonial influences. Christianity, which by that time had come to most Oji-Cree communities, and Canadian law had almost no influence in the communities. Under Jack Fiddler
a powerful ogema (chief and shaman) of the Sucker doodem, the people survived in the traditional way. This, however, began to change.
The arrival of North-West Mounted Police officers in 1906 to arrest Fiddler and his brother Joseph marked the first time most Deer Lakers had ever seen a white person. The elderly Fiddler brothers were charged with murder for killing a windigo (an evil cannibalistic spirit that possesses a person during times of famine) and taken away.
In 1910, Robert Fiddler, the son of Jack, signed Treaty 5
at the east end of Deer Lake, and the Deer Lake First Nation began its formal relationship with the government of Canada
and the British Crown. The Fiddlers and many others soon left for better farming lands at Sandy Lake and others still went to settle at North Spirit Lake, and the only members of the "Deer Lake Band" still living at Deer Lake were the Meekis, Rae, and Quill families. The population of the entire band at all three locations at this time was 78 individuals, but this number grew with an influx of newcomers from Island Lake in Manitoba and numbered over 300 in 1929. It was that year that commissioners representing the Province of Ontario (which acquired the area from the District of Keewatin
in 1912), determined that the Sandy Lake settlement was actually in the territories covered in the adhesions to the James Bay Treaty (Treaty 9
), and created a reserve for the "Deer Lake Band" at Sandy Lake Narrows ignoring the fact that a significant portion of the band still resided at Deer Lake and had yet to have a reserve formally designated under the terms of the 1910 treaty.
As the 20th century progressed the people of Deer Lake came more and more into contact with the outside. Cree
missionaries brought Methodism
and Anglicanism
, and local people led by Adam Fiddler built and maintained churches. As Jack Fiddler foretold in a vision, airplanes came and took children away to residential schools. An HBC post with a store and post office was established, and Canadians Oscar and Jeanette Lindokken established a nursing station. In this period, the people of Deer Lake were largely denied their sovereign rights and became a colonized people. In some ways, traditional structures and cultural practices broke down, while in other ways they were maintained or modified.
In 1985, the Deer Lake First Nation formally split from the Sandy Lake First Nation with each achieving full band status. The two reserves maintain close relations, however, given the shared history and amount of family connections.
In 1985 the First Nation gained full band status and has worked to take control over its own services. Today the band operates most of its community services or shares them through the Keewaytinook Okimakinak Tribal Council or the Nishnawbe Aski Nation
.
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...
, located north of Red Lake, Ontario
Red Lake, Ontario
Population trend:* Population in 2006: 4526* Population in 2001: 4233* Population total in 1996: 4778** Golden : 2248** Red Lake : 2277* Population in 1991:** Golden : 2355** Red Lake : 2268-Climate:...
. It is one of the few First Nations in Ontario to have signed Treaty 5
Treaty 5
Treaty 5 is a treaty that was first established in September, 1875, between Queen Victoria and Saulteaux and Swampy Cree non-treaty tribes and peoples around Lake Winnipeg in the District of Keewatin. Much of what is today central and northern Manitoba was covered by the treaty, as were a few small...
. It is part of the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Council
Keewaytinook Okimakanak Council
Keewaytinook Okimakanak Council is a non-political Chiefs Council in northwestern Ontario, Canada, serving its six member-First Nations...
(Northern Chiefs) and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Nishnawbe Aski Nation is a political organization representing 49 First Nation communities across Treaty 9 and Treaty 5 areas of northern Ontario, Canada...
. As of December, 2007, the First Nation had 1,072 registered members, of which their on-reserve population was 868.
Deer Lake is police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
d by the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service
The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service is the police force for Nishnawbe-Aski Nation . Created in 1994, the force has 175 sworn officers at 35 detachments in NAN communities. The Chief of Police is vacant with Robin Jones Acting Chief of Police...
, an Aboriginal based service.
Ethnicity and Language
The people of Deer Lake are closely related to the people of Sandy Lake First NationSandy Lake First Nation
Sandy Lake First Nation is an independent Oji-Cree First Nation. The First Nation community, in the west part of Northern Ontario, is located in the Kenora District, northeast of Red Lake, Ontario. Its registered population in June 2007 was 2,474...
and North Spirit Lake First Nation
North Spirit Lake First Nation
North Spirit Lake First Nation is a small Oji-Cree community in Northern Ontario, located north of Red Lake, Ontario. It is connected to Sandy Lake First Nation, and Deer Lake First Nation by winter/ice roads...
. The three reserves speak a unique dialect of the Anishinaabe language that combines elements of Beren's River
Berens River
The Berens River is a river in the Provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, Canada. It flows west from an unnamed lake in Kenora District, Ontario and discharges its waters into Lake Winnipeg near the village and First Nation of Berens River, Manitoba...
Ojibway (as spoken in nearby Pikangikum
Pikangikum First Nation
The Pikangikum First Nation is an Ojibwe First Nation located on the Pikangikum 14 Reserve, in Unorganized Kenora District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada...
and Poplar Hill
Poplar Hill First Nation
Poplar Hill First Nation is an Anishinaabe First Nation located in Northern Ontario, approximately 120 km north of Red Lake, Ontario near the Ontario-Manitoba border. The First Nation is accessible by air and winter road...
) and Severn Ojibway
Oji-Cree language
The Severn Ojibwa or the Oji-Cree language is the indigenous name for a dialect of the Ojibwe language spoken in a series of Oji-Cree communities in northern Ontario and at Island Lake, Manitoba, Canada...
(Oji-Cree)as spoken at Island Lake
Island Lake
-Lakes:*Island Lake *Island Lake , a dry lake*Island Lake , Manitoba*Island Lake , in Lincoln County, Montana*Island Lake , in Missoula County, Montana...
in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
.
In the local language, the people of Deer Lake call themselves Anishinawbe
Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
. In English "Oji-Cree" is becoming the most popular self-designation, while "Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
" remains popular as well. "Ojibway" is rarely used except to refer to the Native people to the south.
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
The Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for policies relating to Aboriginal peoples...
data from 2001 reported that 68% of Deer Lakers learned their native language as their first language with the rest speaking English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
first. Public conversation is heard in both languages with the oldest members using native language almost exclusively, and the youngest members using almost only English. Most adults comfortably navigate between the two, while younger adults and teenagers comprehend the language but rarely speak it. To reverse the trend of language loss, local education efforts have implemented native-language immersion programs in the preschool, kindergarten, and early-elementary grades.
Literacy in the native language using Cree syllabics
Cree syllabics
Cree syllabics, found in two primary variants, are the versions of Canadian Aboriginal syllabics used to write Cree dialects, including the original syllabics system created for Cree and Ojibwe. Syllabics were later adapted to several other languages...
is also emphasized by the local school and churches. Since the coming of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and syllabic bibles in the early 20th century, Deer Lake has used its own version of the western variant of syllabics in which the "s", "sh", "z", and "zh" sounds are combined into one set of characters and some of the finals are different from the more commonly found versions in Ontario and Manitoba.
Reserve
The 1653.6 ha Deer Lake Reserve is within the boundaries of the territory described by Treaty 5Treaty 5
Treaty 5 is a treaty that was first established in September, 1875, between Queen Victoria and Saulteaux and Swampy Cree non-treaty tribes and peoples around Lake Winnipeg in the District of Keewatin. Much of what is today central and northern Manitoba was covered by the treaty, as were a few small...
. The community of Deer Lake, Ontario is located on this reserve. It is connected to Pikangikum, Sandy Lake First Nation
Sandy Lake First Nation
Sandy Lake First Nation is an independent Oji-Cree First Nation. The First Nation community, in the west part of Northern Ontario, is located in the Kenora District, northeast of Red Lake, Ontario. Its registered population in June 2007 was 2,474...
, and North Spirit Lake First Nation
North Spirit Lake First Nation
North Spirit Lake First Nation is a small Oji-Cree community in Northern Ontario, located north of Red Lake, Ontario. It is connected to Sandy Lake First Nation, and Deer Lake First Nation by winter/ice roads...
by winter
Winter road
Winter roads are temporary highways carved out of snow and ice. They facilitate transportation to and from communities without permanent roads, and are commonly seen in isolated regions in Canada's north....
/ice road
Ice road
Ice roads are frozen, human-made structures on the surface of bays, rivers, lakes, or seas in the far north. They link dry land, frozen waterways, portages and winter roads, and are usually remade each winter. Ice roads allow temporary transport to areas with no permanent road access...
s. Regularly scheduled flights to and from the community are provided by Wasaya Airways
Wasaya Airways
Wasaya Airways LP is a 100% First Nations owned domestic airline with its headquarters in Thunder Bay, Northern Ontario...
.
History until colonization
Traditionally, the people of the Deer Lake area were semi-nomadic and like all Anishinaabe peoples organized themselves by doodem (clan). Small groups maintained seasonal camps based on family and clan and moved around according to where the hunting and fishing was best. When the Hudson's Bay CompanyHudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
established fur-trading posts at Big Trout Lake and Island Lake in the 18th century, traditional patterns of living changed little with an increased emphasis on trapping for trade. The Deer Lake area remained inaccessible to white traders, however, and only the men who brought fur to the distant posts had any contact with whites.
By the 19th century, overtrapping and changes in the economics of the fur trade had devastating effects on the people of the area. With the boreal forests largely depleted of fur-bearing animals, the Hudson's Bay Company closed their posts and game remained scarce. Starvation and disease were all too common during this time. When the HBC returned toward the end of the 19th century, they assigned family names to each of the clans. The Pelican clan became the Meekis family after their patriarch Meekis (Shell). The Sucker clan became the Fiddlers and later the Quills). Many members of the Caribou and Sturgeon clans were given the surname Rae, while other Sturgeons were designated Mamakeesic after their patriarch. The Cranes were either Kakegamic or Kakepetum after their leaders, two brothers known by those names. At this time, these names were only used in trading, but they would later become official with census records and are now the most common surnames found in Deer Lake.
By 1900, the people of the area were among the last Indigenous peoples in North America living with virtually no colonial influences. Christianity, which by that time had come to most Oji-Cree communities, and Canadian law had almost no influence in the communities. Under Jack Fiddler
Jack Fiddler
Jack Fiddler, also known as Zhauwuno-geezhigo-gaubow and as Maisaninnine or Mesnawetheno was an ogimaa of the Sucker doodem among the Anishinaabe in what is now northwestern Ontario...
a powerful ogema (chief and shaman) of the Sucker doodem, the people survived in the traditional way. This, however, began to change.
The arrival of North-West Mounted Police officers in 1906 to arrest Fiddler and his brother Joseph marked the first time most Deer Lakers had ever seen a white person. The elderly Fiddler brothers were charged with murder for killing a windigo (an evil cannibalistic spirit that possesses a person during times of famine) and taken away.
History in the reserve era
Treaty 5
Treaty 5 is a treaty that was first established in September, 1875, between Queen Victoria and Saulteaux and Swampy Cree non-treaty tribes and peoples around Lake Winnipeg in the District of Keewatin. Much of what is today central and northern Manitoba was covered by the treaty, as were a few small...
at the east end of Deer Lake, and the Deer Lake First Nation began its formal relationship with the government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
and the British Crown. The Fiddlers and many others soon left for better farming lands at Sandy Lake and others still went to settle at North Spirit Lake, and the only members of the "Deer Lake Band" still living at Deer Lake were the Meekis, Rae, and Quill families. The population of the entire band at all three locations at this time was 78 individuals, but this number grew with an influx of newcomers from Island Lake in Manitoba and numbered over 300 in 1929. It was that year that commissioners representing the Province of Ontario (which acquired the area from the District of Keewatin
District of Keewatin
The District of Keewatin was a territory of Canada and later an administrative district of the Northwest Territories.The name "Keewatin" comes from Algonquian roots—either kīwēhtin in Cree or giiwedin in Ojibwe—both of which mean north wind in their respective languages...
in 1912), determined that the Sandy Lake settlement was actually in the territories covered in the adhesions to the James Bay Treaty (Treaty 9
Treaty 9
Treaty 9 was an agreement established in July, 1905, between the Government of Canada in the name of King Edward VII and various First Nations in northern Ontario. One First Nation community in the bordering Abitibi region of northwestern Quebec is included in this treaty...
), and created a reserve for the "Deer Lake Band" at Sandy Lake Narrows ignoring the fact that a significant portion of the band still resided at Deer Lake and had yet to have a reserve formally designated under the terms of the 1910 treaty.
As the 20th century progressed the people of Deer Lake came more and more into contact with the outside. Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
missionaries brought Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
and Anglicanism
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
, and local people led by Adam Fiddler built and maintained churches. As Jack Fiddler foretold in a vision, airplanes came and took children away to residential schools. An HBC post with a store and post office was established, and Canadians Oscar and Jeanette Lindokken established a nursing station. In this period, the people of Deer Lake were largely denied their sovereign rights and became a colonized people. In some ways, traditional structures and cultural practices broke down, while in other ways they were maintained or modified.
In 1985, the Deer Lake First Nation formally split from the Sandy Lake First Nation with each achieving full band status. The two reserves maintain close relations, however, given the shared history and amount of family connections.
Governance
The leadership of their customary electoral system of government consists of Chief Royal Meekis, Deputy Chief Roy Meekis and six Councillors: Albert Mamakeesic, Cory Meekis, Johnny Meekis, Randy Meekis and George Rae. Their two-year term began on July 15, 2007.In 1985 the First Nation gained full band status and has worked to take control over its own services. Today the band operates most of its community services or shares them through the Keewaytinook Okimakinak Tribal Council or the Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Nishnawbe Aski Nation
Nishnawbe Aski Nation is a political organization representing 49 First Nation communities across Treaty 9 and Treaty 5 areas of northern Ontario, Canada...
.
Services
- Band Administration
- Economic Development
- Deer Lake Health
- Public Works
- Airport Security
- Garage
- Housing
- Mini-Hydroelectric Power-generation
- Water/Sewage
- Deer Lake School
- Tikinagan (Childcare)
- Welfare
Media
- CH4113 TV, Channel 12 - a rebroadcast station for CBLT (TV)
- CIDE-4 FM, 91.9 - a rebroadcast station for CIDE-FMCIDE-FMCIDE-FM is a Canadian First Nations radio station belonging to the Wawatay Native Communications Society, broadcasting at 91.9 FM in Sioux Lookout, Ontario. The station broadcasts distance education and informational programming through the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council...
- CKDL FM, 90.1 - Wawatay Radio Network
- Wawatay News - semi-monthly newspaper published by the Wawatay Native Communications SocietyWawatay Native Communications SocietyWawatay Native Communications Society was formed in 1974 by the people of Northern Ontario's Nishnawbe Aski Nation, as a source of communications technology, namely radio, television, and print media services for the Oji-cree communities. Its mandate is to preserve the indigenous language and...