| Pikangikum First Nation | |
| First Nation | |
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Province | Ontario |
| Region | Northwestern Ontario |
| District | Kenora |
| Part | Kenora, Unorganized |
| Elevation | 335 m (1,099 ft) |
| Coordinates | [1] |
| Area | 1,808 ha (4,468 acres) |
| Population | 2,334 (September 2011) |
| Density | 1.3 / ha (0.5 / acre]) |
| Chief | Jonah Strang |
| - Deputy chief | Lyle Keeper |
| Timezone | Central Time Zone (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | Central Time Zone (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | P0V 2L0 |
| Area code | 807 |
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Location of the Pikangikum First Nation in Ontario
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The Pikangikum First Nation (Ojibwe: pointed: ᐱᑳᐣᒋᑲᒦᐣᐠ ᐯᒫᑎᓯᐚᐨ; unpointed: ᐱᑲᒋᑲᒥᑭ ᐯᒪᑎᓯᐘᒋ; Bigaanjigamiing Bemaadiziwaaj; locally: Beekahncheekahmeeng Paymahteeseewahch) is an Ojibwe First Nation[2] located on the 1,808-hectare (4,470-acre) Pikangikum 14 Reserve,[3] in Unorganized Kenora District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada.[4] The main centre is the community of Pikangikum,[1] on Pikangikum Lake on the Berens River, part of the Hudson Bay drainage system; it is approximately 100 kilometres (60 mi) north of the town of Red Lake.
The community has a registered population as of September 2011[update] of 2,443, of whom 2,334 live on the reserve.[5]
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A 2005 Wawatay Native Communications Society survey found that the residents of Pikangikum have one of the highest rates of original language retention of any First Nation in Northern Ontario. The language is Ojibwemowin, the major dialect of Anishinaabe peoples (see Berens River Ojibwe language). In 2000, the First Nation was reported to have the highest suicide rate in the world.[6] A report by the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario was completed June 1, 2011 on 16 deaths by suicide between 2006 and 2008 on the reserve.[7]
The community has the following doodem (clans):
The Pikangikum First Nation is governed by a council elected via a custom electoral system consisting of a chief, deputy chief and nine councillors/ The current chief is Jonah Strang and deputy chief is Lyle Keeper.[8]
The community is accessible primarily by airplane at the Pikangikum Airport, although it is also served by Pikangikum Water Aerodrome. It has winter road access north to Poplar Hill First Nation and south to Red Lake and Ontario Highway 125.
Unemployment rates are estimated to be around 70% in Pikangikum.[9]
Since 1996, Pikangikum First Nation has been pursuing its Whitefeather Forest Initiative (Ojibwe: pointed: ᐚᐱᒦᑿᐣ ᓅᐦᐱᒫᐦᑲᒥᐠ ᒫᒋᐦᑖᐏᐣ; unpointed: ᐘᐱᒥᑿᓂ ᓄᐱᒪᑲᒥᑭ ᒪᒋᑕᐏᓂ; Waabimiigwan Noopimaakamig Maajitaawin; locally: Wahbeemeegwan Nohpeemahkahmik Mahcheedahwin), a land-based community economic development renewal and resource stewardship initiative. Through this Initiative the First Nation is working with the Province of Ontario to manage the Whitefeather Forest, 12,200 square kilometres (4,700 sq mi) of Crown land in the Pikangikum customary land-use area. In 2006 the First Nation completed their land use strategy named Keeping the Land,[10] which was approved by the Province through the Ministry of Natural Resources. The land use strategy provides guidance for the future management of proposed new land-use activities, such as commercial forestry, protected areas and eco-cultural tourism. Keeping the Land provides a vision for the management of proposed new land uses rooted in the indigenous knowledge and customary stewardship traditions of Pikangikum people. Keeping the Land is made up of three key components (WFMC 2006):
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