Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation
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Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation is a Cree-speaking community of about 4,200 Cree centered in Nelson House, Manitoba, Canada. Nelson House is located about 80 km west of Thompson and is accessible via the mixed paved and gravel Manitoba Provincial Road 391. Nisichawayasihk means where the rivers meet in Cree and describes Nelson House which is located the convergence of the Burntwood, Footprint and Rat Rivers. About 2,500 members of the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation live in Nelson House and the remaining 1,700 off the reserve lands.
Until 2005, the community of Southern Indian on the shores of Southern Indian Lake was also part of the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation. In December 2005, this community of about 1,100 persons separated from the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation to form the O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation.
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[edit] History
The people of Nisichawayasihk are largely ancestral descendants of indigenous Cree peoples who have populated the Canadian Shield region of northern and central Canada since the retreat of the Glaciers about 10,000 years ago.
Largely left alone by the Government of Canada during initial colonization and settlement of Western Canada, by the late 19th century a move was made by the government to isolate and relocate members of the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation to a single, pre-defined location which no European Settlers had expressed an interest in. This area was defined by the government in the agreement known as Treaty 5, a document which established that Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation members and their descendants were guaranteed certain rights and benefits.
[edit] Hydroelectric Development and Impacts
During the 1960s and 1970s, the Government of Manitoba and Manitoba Hydro began the Nelson River Hydroelectric Project centered on the Churchill and Nelson rivers. Consequently, large areas of traditional hunting, fishing and trapping lands were flooded. The people of Nisichawayasihk were forcibly relocated to their current location.
The Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation is a signatory to the Northern Flood Agreement between Manitoba Hydro, the Province of Manitoba and several First Nations Communities. In 2006, the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation signed a agreement with Manitoba Hydro regarding the Wuskwatim hydroelectric project on the Burntwood River, about 30 km from Nelson House. The Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation is involved in the construction of the dam and power station and will receive a share of the future revenues.
[edit] Community
With a population of approximately 4,200, the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation is a large and widespread community. Many of its residents are still living in third-world conditions. The local infrastructure does not support full water and sewage services to all residents.
[edit] Urban Reserve
In early February, 2004, the nearby City of Thompson, Manitoba announced their approval to the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation to convert a parcel of NCN-owned property within Thompson to Treaty Land. This was possible due to shortages in land area controlled by Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation under the Treaty Land Entitlement agreement in the mid-1970s. This event marks one of the few transitions from privately owned land, purchased by a First Nations community, to being declared an Urban Reserve.
This plan has been quietly discussed between city and band administration since the narrowly-lost plebescite held in Thompson on September 18, 2001. With a 45% voter turnout for the plebescite, and amid allegations of inappropriate voter disqualifications, the "no" side won by a margin of 250 votes. During the three years following the plebescite, the majority of Thompson City Councillors have publicly stated that the results of the vote were not binding upon city council, as the council has been elected to act in the best interests of the citizens of Thompson.
[edit] External links
| First Nations in the Northern Region of Manitoba |
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Berens River First Nation | Bloodvein First Nation | Bunibonibee Cree Nation | Chemawawin Cree Nation | Cross Lake First Nation | Fisher River First Nation | Fox Lake First Nation | Garden Hill First Nations | God's Lake First Nation | Grand Rapids First Nation | Hollow Water First Nation | Kinonjeoshtegon First Nation | Little Black River First Nation | Little Grand Rapids First Nation | Manto Sipi Cree Nation | Marcel Colomb First Nation | Mosakahiken Cree Nation | Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation | Norway House Cree Nation | O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation | Opaskwayak Cree Nation | Pauingassi First Nation | Peguis First Nation | Poplar River First Nation | Red Sucker Lake First Nation | Sayisi Dene First Nation | Shamattawa First Nation | Skownan First Nation | St. Theresa Point First Nation | Tataskweyak Cree Nation | War Lake First Nation | Wasagamack First Nation |
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Manitoba |
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| Regions | Winnipeg Capital Region - Central Plains - Eastman - Interlake - Northern - Parkland - Pembina Valley - Westman |
| Census divisions | 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 |
| Cities | Brandon - Dauphin - Flin Flon - Portage la Prairie - Selkirk - Steinbach - Thompson - Winkler - Winnipeg |
| List of communities in Manitoba - List of rural municipalities in Manitoba |
