Mississauga First Nation
{{Short description|First Nation in Ontario, Canada}}
{{Infobox First Nation
| band_name = Mississauga First Nation
| band_number = 200
| endonym = Misswezahging
| image = Mississauga First Nation Logo.png
| caption =
| map =
| map_caption =
| people = Ojibwe
| treaty = Robinson Huron
| headquarters = P.O. Box 1299, Blind River
| province = Ontario
| main_reserve = Mississagi River 8
| reserve =
| area = 160.75
| pop_year = 2024
| on_reserve = 389
| on_other_land = 5
| off_reserve = 1117
| total_pop = 1511
| chief = Brent Niganobe
| council = Denise Boyer-Payette
Jubilant Sky Cada
Crystal Dawn Chiblow
Chance Counsell
Gloria Daybutch
Kenneth Macleod
Laura Mayer
Peyton Pitawanakwat
Nancy Whitehead
| tribal_council = Anishinabek Nation
Mamaweswen, The North Shore Tribal Council
| website = https://www.mississaugi.com/
}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Mississagi River 8
| official_name = Mississagi River Indian Reserve No. 8
| native_name = Misswezahging
| settlement_type = Indian reserve
| image_skyline = Mississauga FN.JPG
| image_flag =
| image_seal =
| nickname =
| motto =
| image_map =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = Canada Ontario
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_mapsize = 200
| coordinates = {{coord|46|13|N|83|00|W|region:CA-ON|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{CAN}}
| subdivision_type1 = Province
| subdivision_type2 = District
| subdivision_type3 = First Nation
| subdivision_name1 = {{ON}}
| subdivision_name2 = Algoma
| subdivision_name3 = Mississauga
| established_title =
| established_date =
| government_type =
| leader_title =
| leader_name =
| area_total_km2 =
| area_land_km2 = 18.41
| area_water_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m =
| population_total = 390
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_footnotes = {{cite web |url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=3557073&Geo2=CD&Code2=3557&Data=Count&SearchText=m&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=35&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1 |title=Mississagi River 8 census profile |publisher=Statistics Canada |work=2011 Census of Population |date=8 February 2012 |access-date=3 June 2015}}
| population_density_km2 = 21.2
| website = [http://www.mississaugi.com/ www.mississaugi.com]
| footnotes =
| timezone = EST
| utc_offset = -5
| timezone_DST = EDT
| utc_offset_DST = -4
}}
Mississauga First Nation, also spelt Mississaugi, is one of the six First Nations that make up the Mississauga Nations. It is located directly west of Blind River, Ontario, Canada, on the Mississagi River 8 Reserve.[http://firstnation.ca/mississauga-8 "Mississisauga 8"], First Nation, Canada {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722060115/http://firstnation.ca/mississauga-8 |date=July 22, 2010 }}
Name
The word Mississauga is an anglicized version of the Ojibwe word Misswezaagiing, which means ‘a river with many outlets.’ This name comes from the Mississagi River, which is a bird-foot delta, a haven for fish and waterfowl and is currently a jointly managed Provincial Park.
The people of Mississaugi have resided there since time immemorial.
Governance
The Mississauga First Nation created a Land Code in 2019 governing land use in the community. In 2015, it also adopted the Misswezahging Constitution, which noted that the community had the "inherent right given by the Creator to enact laws necessary in order to protect and preserve Anishinaabe culture, to protect our lands, our language, customs, traditions and practices." Later, in 2019, a Community Protection Law was passed.{{Cite news |last=Jackson |first=Kenneth |date=October 30, 2024 |title=Trespassing conviction makes history for First Nation law in Ontario |url=https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/trespassing-conviction-makes-history-for-first-nation-law-in-ontario/ |access-date=October 31, 2024 |work=Aboriginal Peoples Television Network}}
In October 2024, the Mississauga First Nation became the first First Nations in Canada to successfully prosecute someone based on its own legal code. A court in Elliot Lake accepted a guilty plea from an individual for trespassing and failing to comply with an order to leave the community. Police had refused to prosecute using the community's legal code, so a lawyer was hired using funds from a government pilot project for private prosecution of Indigenous communities' legal codes.
Notable members
- Cecil Youngfox (1942–1987), artist
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline}}
- [http://www.mississaugi.com/ The Smoke Signal], Mississaugi First Nation News
- [https://fnp-ppn.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/fnp/Main/Search/FNMain.aspx?BAND_NUMBER=200&lang=eng "Mississisauga"], Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
{{Geographic location
| Center = Mississagi River 8
| Northwest = Unorganized North Algoma
| Northeast = Blind River
| Southeast = Blind River
| Southwest = Blind River
}}
{{Anishinaabe}}
{{Anishnabek Nation}}
{{Mamaweswen}}
{{Robinson Treaty}}
{{Algoma District}}
{{Authority control}}