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The Mississaugas
"'We the Michi Saagiig walk together with our ancestors as one Nation. Through our collective efforts we ensure our shared history, stories, ceremonies, culture, language and values remain strong, resilient and preserved for our Nation and future generations. (Mississauga Nation Chiefs, May 30, 2019)"
The Mississaugas are a group of First Nations peoples located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are a sub-group of the Ojibwe Nation.
The name "Mississauga" comes from the Anishinaabe word Misi-zaagiing, meaning "[Those at the] Great River-mouth." It is closely related to the Ojibwe word Miswe-zaagiing, which means ‘a river with many outlets.’ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississaugas_of_the_Credit_First_Na...
The Mississaugas are part of the Ojibwa Nation, in the Algonquian language family. They established themselves on the north shore of Lake Ontario between 1700 and 1720. During the American Revolution, the British Crown began purchasing large tracts of land for the incoming Loyalists. The first land purchase involving the British Crown and the Mississauga Nation was in 1781. By 1800, all that remained of the Mississauga’s territory was the “Mississauga Tract” which covered the land, from Etobicoke Creek to Burlington Bay. https://heritagemississauga.com/the-mississaugas/
History
According to the oral histories of the Anishinaabe, after departing the "Second Stopping Place" near Niagara Falls, the core Anishinaabe peoples migrated along the shores of Lake Erie to what is now southern Michigan. They became "lost" both physically and spiritually. The Mississauga migrated along a northern route by the Credit River, to Georgian Bay. These were considered their historic traditional lands on the shores of Lake Superior and northern Lake Huron around the Mississagi River. The Mississauga called for the core Anishinaabe to Midewiwin, meaning 'return to the path of the good life'. The core Anishinaabe peoples formed the Council of Three Fires and migrated from their "Third Stopping Place" near the present city of Detroit to their "Fourth Stopping Place" on Manitoulin Island, along the eastern shores of Georgian Bay.
The homelands of the Mississaugas were originally claimed by the Huron/Wyandot, who were driven off by the Haudenosaunee in the Beaver Wars in 1649/50. The Ojibwe Anishinaabe then moved into the area around 1700, pushing out the Haudenosaunee. The French had previously called an Anishinaabe band near the Mississagi River Oumisagai or Mississauga and for unknown reasons began to apply that name to the Ojibwe who took over the lands immediately north of Lake Ontario. On the 1675 Carte du Mississippi et des lacs Supérieur, Michigan et Huron, the Mississauga were recorded as "Missisakingdachirinouek" (Misi-zaaging dash ininweg: "Regular-speakers of the Great River-mouth"). This was not how the Mississaugas originally knew themselves,[3] but they eventually adopted the name and use it today.
In the waning years of the American Revolution, starting in 1781, the British Crown purchased land from the Mississauga in a series of transactions that encompassed much of present-day southern Ontario. They purchased the land to fulfill promises made in the 'Haldimand Deed', land promised to the Haudenosaunne of the Six Nations' Iroquois Confederacy for their allied support in the war, and to compensate them for losses of former territory to American colonists. But Britain, and subsequently Canada, reneged on many of their promises, as Lieutenant Governor Simcoe sought instead to make land grants to United Empire Loyalists and other white settlers seeking farmland.
In 1848, the Haudenosaunee granted land to the Mississauga within the former's Six Nations Reserve on Grand River. The Mississauga became established on the New Credit. Beginning in the 19th century, the Mississauga sought to gain compensation for the land granted to them but given to other settlers. In the 21st century, the Canadian government awarded the Mississauga of the New Credit First Nation nearly $145 million in settlement of this land claim. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississaugas_of_the_Credit_First_Na...
Today
All the Mississaugas are a subset of the Ojibwe nation of 200,000 people.
Historically, there were five First Nations that made up the Mississauga Nations. Today, there are six, listed here along with their historical counterparts, where applicable:
1. Mississauga First Nation — Mississagi River 8 Reserve
- Mississaugas of Chibaouinani (historical)
2. Alderville First Nation (formerly: Mississaugas of Alnwick) — Alderville First Nation Reserve, Sugar Island 37A Reserve
3. Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation — New Credit 40A Reserve. One of the largest communities; as of 2005, the Mississaugas of the Credit had a population of 1,375.
- Mississaugas of the Credit (historical)
- Mississaugas of Beldom (historical)
4. Curve Lake First Nation (formerly: Mississaugas of Mud Lake) — Curve Lake First Nation 35 Reserve, Curve Lake 35A Reserve and Islands in the Trent Waters Indian Reserve 36A
- Mississaugas of Matchedash (historical)
- Mississaugas of Rice Lake, Mud Lake and Scugog Lake (historical)
5. Hiawatha First Nation (formerly: Mississaugas of Rice Lake) — Hiawatha First Nation Indian Reserve, Islands in the Trent Waters Indian Reserve 36A
- Mississaugas of Grape Island (historical)
6. Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation — Mississaugas of Scugog Island Reserve, Islands in the Trent Waters Indian Reserve 36A
Notable Figures
- Peter Jones (1802–1856), Mississauga missionary and writer
- Edmonia Lewis (ca. 1844–1907), Mississauga Ojibwe/African-American sculptor
- Quenippenon, Mississauga Chief
Sources
- https://www.mississauganation.com/history.html
- https://heritagemississauga.com/the-mississaugas/
- https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ojibwa
Painting: Chief Joseph “Nawahjegezhegwabe” Sawyer,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/j.ctt5hjtjf