Kashechewan First Nation

Kashechewan
Kashechewan Indian Settlement
Kashechewan is located in Ontario
Kashechewan
Kashechewan
Kashechewan is located in Canada
Kashechewan
Kashechewan
Coordinates: 52°17.5′N 81°39′W / 52.2917°N 81.650°W / 52.2917; -81.650
Country Canada
Province Ontario
DistrictKenora
First NationKashechewan
Official Websitehttps://www.kfncree.com/
Population
 • Total2,537
Map showing the location of Kashechewan, Ontario.

The Kashechewan First Nation (/kəˈʃɛəwən/, Cree: ᑫᔒᒋᐗᓐ ᐃᓕᓕᐗᒃ, kêšîciwan ililiwak) is a Cree First Nation band government located near James Bay in Northern Ontario, Canada. The community is located on the northern shore of the Albany River. Kashechewan First Nation is one of two communities that were established from Old Fort Albany (now the Fort Albany 67 Indian Reserve) in the 1950s. The other community is Fort Albany First Nation, which is now located on the southern bank of the Albany River. The community is connected to other towns along the shore of James Bay by the seasonal ice road/winter road, linking it to the towns of Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, and Moosonee.

Kashechewan is policed by the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service, an Aboriginal-based service. A fire at the detachment on January 9, 2006, severely injured an officer and killed two inmates as they could not be rescued.[1]

When the community of Kashechewan came into being, the new residents chose the name "Keeshechewan", meaning "where the water flows fast" in Cree. However, when the sign for the new post office arrived, it had the misspelling "Kashechewan", and this became the official name of the community. This official name has no real meaning in the Cree language.[2]

  1. ^ "Ontario Regional Chief challenges federal and provincial governments to respond to the First Nation policing funding crisis", CNW Group (February 4, 2008) Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  2. ^ Hedican, Edward J. (2017). The First Nations of Ontario: Social and Historical Transitions. Toronto: Canadian Scholars. pp. 178–179. ISBN 9781773380124.