Garden River First Nation

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Garden River First Nation (or Gitigaan-ziibi Anishinaabe in the Anishinaabe language) is an Ojibwa band located at Garden River 14, Ontario.

1 History
2 Government
3 Population
4 References

[edit] History

Garden River First Nation was created as a legal entity when Lord Elgin, Governor General of the Province of Canada, approved in law the Robinson Huron Treaty on November 29, 1850. The treaty had been negotiated between the British colony's representative William B. Robinson and numerous Ojibwa chiefs from the Lake Huron watershed earlier that year, and had been signed by these representatives on Sept. 9, 1850. The treaty extinguished Ojibwa title to the land in exchange for 17 reserve lands and annual annuities. Each reserve had to register its band members because an increase to annuity amounts would be determined on a per-person basis.^[1]

Garden River First Nation was represented in the treaty by Shingwaukonse, who was also generally recognized as an Ojibwa grand chief by other bands in both the Lake Huron and Lake Superior watersheds. Shingwaukonse and his band had been living at their traditional garden lands at the mouth of the Garden River since 1841, after leaving a settlement near the rapids of Sault Ste. Marie. The treaty formally recognized the band's reserve lands in this vicinity as reservation 14. Upon his death in 1854, Shingwaukonse was succeeded as chief by his son Augustine Shingwauk.^[2] The last hereditary chief was Shingwaukonse's second son Buhgwujjenene, who succeeded his brother Augustine.^[3]

[edit] Government

Garden River First Nation is governed by a band council consisting of a chief and 12 councillors. Council elections are held bianually.^[4] The current chief is Lyle Sayers.

[edit] Population

Garden River First Nation has a population of 2,134 members registered under the Indian Act, according to the latest statistics (June, 2006).^[5] However, only 1,004 members are resident on the band's reserve, while 1,130 members live off the reserve. According to Statistics Canada, the 2001 census showed the following: that more than 45 per cent of the on-reserve population were under 25 years old; that over 93 per cent had English as their only mother tongue; and that over 56 per cent identified themselves as Catholic and 28 per cent as Protestant.^[6]