Anishinabek Nation

Anishinabek Nation
Ngo Dwe Waanigzid Anishinabe
Formation1949
HeadquartersAnishinabek Nation Head Office
Location
Membership
39 First Nations
Official language
Anishinabemowin (Ojibwe)
Grand Council Chief
Reg Niganobe
Regional Deputy Grand Council Chief (Northern Superior)
Mel Hardy
Regional Deputy Grand Council Chief (Southeast)
James R. Marsden
Regional Deputy Grand Council Chief (Southwest)
Chief Christopher Plain
Key people
Marcia Trudeau-Bomberry, CEO
Main organ
Grand Council Assembly
Websitewww.anishinabek.ca
Formerly called
Union of Ontario Indians

The Anishinabek Nation, also known as the Union of Ontario Indians, is a First Nations political organization representing 39 member Anishinabek Nation First Nations in Canada in the province of Ontario, Canada.[1] The organization's roots predate European contact in the 16th century, in the Council of Three Fires.[citation needed] The Union of Ontario Indians was incorporated in 1949 to serve as a political advocate and secretariat for the Anishinabek First Nations. The Anishinabek peoples speak Anishinaabemowin and Lunaape (in Munsee Delaware Nation) within the Anishinabek Nation territory in Ontario.[2] In 2017, the Council changed its identification using the name "Union of Ontario Indians" only for legally-binding agreements but for all other purposes referred to themselves as Anishinabek Nation.[2] The head office for the Union of Ontario Indians is located at Nipissing First Nation near North Bay, Ontario.

The Anishinabek Nation is guided by a Leadership Council, consisting of a Grand Council Chief, four (4) Regional Deputy Grand Council Chiefs, and Nation Councils representing four geographic regions: Southeast, Southwest, Lake Huron, and Northern Superior. In 2018, an organizational restructuring introduced four regional deputy grand council chiefs.[3][4] In 2007 the organization appointed an Anishinabek Women's Water Commission to advise on water issues and management of the Great Lakes.[5][6] As of May 2022, the current Grand Council Chief is Reg Niganobe.

In the early 21st century, there are about 60,000 citizens of the Anishinabek Nation member communities, accounting for about one-third of the total First Nations population in the province of Ontario.

  1. ^ Union of Ontario Indians website. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  2. ^ a b "ABOUT US". www.anishinabek.c. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
  3. ^ Erskine, Michael (2018-11-21). "Anishinabek Nation holds grand council meeting on Manitoulin". Manitoulin Expositor. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
  4. ^ "Grand Council". UNION OF ONTARIO INDIANS. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
  5. ^ "Anishinabek nation appoints women's water commission". Canada NewsWire. 2007-03-27.
  6. ^ Sudbury Star Staff (2019-04-27). "Autumn Peltier appointed Anishinabek Nation Chief Water Commissioner". Sudbury Star.