Fort William First Nation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fort William First Nation is an Ojibway First Nation south of and adjacent to Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. As of January 2008, the First Nation had a registered population of 1,798 people, of which their on-Reserve population was 832 people.

Fort William First Nation has a two rink arena which is home to the Thunder Bay Bearcats of the Superior International Junior Hockey League and has a fitness centre overlooking rink 1. A business park in the eastern end of the community is home to the head offices of Wasaya Airways, the band offices and offices of the Nokiiwin Tribal Council, among others.

1 Geography
2 Transportation
3 Governance
4 Reserve
5 Environmental Stewardship
6 Official address
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Fort William First Nation has a contrasting geography on the shore of Lake Superior. Much of the reserve is a flatland near the lake, while the western portion of the reserve is home to the Nor'Wester mountains and Loch Lomond. The northern most of the Nor'Wester mountains is Mount McKay, a 483m mafic sill which offers a panoramic view of the Thunder Bay area from a plateau at an elevation of about 150m. Loch Lomond is located south of Mount McKay and until February 2008 served as one of Thunder Bay's primary sources of drinking water.

Most homes on the First Nation are located in a village on Mission Road. A trailer park is located on reserve land near Chippewa Park, and many cottages are located along Sandy Beach Road.

Brûlé Bay, a regional park maintained by the City of Thunder Bay, is located south of the reserve.

[edit] Transportation

The main roads in Fort William First Nation are Mission Road and Squaw Bay Road. The community on Mission Road has local bus service provided by Thunder Bay Transit. Route 6 Mission serves the community eleven times between 7:30 am to 6:40 pm, Monday to Friday.

[edit] Governance

The First Nation elect their officials through the Act Electoral System, consisting of a Chief and twelve councillors. The current Chief is Harold "Harry" F. Pelletier, whose two-year term began on April 15, 2007. The councillors are Ian Bannon, Leo Bannon Sr., Leo Bannon Jr., Martin Bannon, Walter Bannon, Anthony Collins, Stanley "Guy" Collins, Yvette Greenwald, Michael Pelletier Sr., Philip Pelletier, Thomas Pelletier and Timothy Ward.

As a signatory to Robinson-Superior Treaty, Fort William First Nation is a member of the Nokiiwin Tribal Council, a Regional Chiefs Council, and Union of Ontario Indians, a Tribal Political Organization that represents many of the Anishinaabe First Nation governments in Ontario located about Lake Superior and Lake Huron.

[edit] Reserve

The First Nation have reserved for themselves the 5815.1 ha Fort William Indian Reserve 52.

[edit] Environmental Stewardship

Due to multiple past and present industrial pollution on the First Nation's Reserve, the First Nation has a citizen-based not-for-profit environmental group called Anishinabek of the Gitchi Gami to address these environmental threats affecting the Nation's Reserve. The name of this group is derived from the original name for the community (Chippewas of the Gitchigami). "Anishinabek of the Gitchi Gami" is Ojibwa/English for "'the people' of 'Lake Superior.'"