Attawapiskat First Nation

Attawapiskat, or Attawapiskat First Nation, is an isolated Cree First Nation located in Kenora District in northern Ontario, Canada, at the mouth of the Attawapiskat River near the west coast of James Bay. The First Nation controls the reserves at Attawapiskat 91 and Attawapiskat 91A, established upon the community's signing of Treaty 9 in 1930. The traditional territory of Attawapiskat extends beyond its current location up the James Bay coast to Hudson Bay and hundreds of kilometres inland along river tributaries.

The people of Attawapiskat maintain some knowledge of their ancestral Swampy Cree language and some still participate in subsistence living, hunting in the land around the reserves. However, Attawapiskat has access to modern amenities including telecommunications services and a hospital, as well as an elementary and high school. The community is connected to other towns along the shore of James Bay by the seasonal ice road constructed each December, linking it to Kashechewan, Fort Albany, and Moosonee. The now-closed Victor Diamond Mine is located close to the community.

Attawapiskat has received national media attention for several crises, including a crisis of inadequate and insufficient housing, a lack of clean drinking water, and a youth suicide crisis.

Etymology

The name Attawapiskat is an anglicisation of the Swampy Cree phrase (), which means "it is open and rocky," as a description of the Attawapiskat River valley.

Another explanation by a community member gives the meaning of "Kattawapiskak Seepee" as "river between the rocks."

History

The people of Attawapiskat are Mushkegowuk, also known as Swampy Cree or Hudson Bay Lowland Cree. Local oral history and documentation in the archives of the Hudson's Bay Company attests that ancestors of the present-day inhabitants of Attawapiskat had occupied an area extending from the Kapiskau River in the south, to Cape Henrietta Maria (the point where the coasts of Hudson's Bay and James Bay meet) in the north, and from Akimiski Island in the east to Mississa Lake in the west.

The site of the present settlement at the mouth of the Attawapiskat River (the reserve known as Attawapiskat 91A) has for centuries been a gathering place for the Mushkegowuk. Attawapiskat 91A was originally a seasonal camp that the Cree visited only in the spring and summer to take advantage of the bountiful fishing on a major river of James Bay. Historically, in the wintertime, families moved to more dispersed sites along the coast, inland or on Akimiski Island, where they trapped, hunted, and gathered roots, fruit and nuts.

Contact with Europeans

By 1693, a permanent trading post controlled by the British Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) had been established at Fort Albany, marking the beginning of prolonged contact between the people of the area and Europeans, part of the European colonization of the Americas. This contact introduced the commercial fur trapping economy to the area. People who would typically live inland moved closer to the coastal trade centre, laying the basis for the modern-day settlement at Attawapiskat 91A.

HBC later established a post in Attawapiskat in 1894. An Anglican church was built in the 1920s.

Treaty No. 9

In 1930, Attawapiskat was part of the adhesion to Treaty 9 with the governments of Canada and Ontario. Although Treaty 9 was originally signed in the years 1905 and 1906, those signings only included the communities south of the Albany River, which was then the northern limit of Ontario. Attawapiskat was included when adhesions were made to the treaty to include the communities north of the Albany River, following the transfer of that land to Ontario. Signing this treaty established the Nation's band government under the Indian Act, and a reserve, Attawapiskat Indian Reserve 91. The treaty set aside reserve lands on the Ekwan River, a parallel river north of the Attawapiskat River that drains into James Bay, totalling 27,040.10 hectares. In time, it was decided by local leaders to establish the community in its present location on the Attawapiskat River instead. This was due to an existing trading post and better access to James Bay shipping routes from this location. The new reserve, which contains 235.8 hectares, was then numbered Attawapiskat Indian Reserve 91A. The majority of the First Nation members moved to the community as late as the mid-1960s.

The Northern Store took over the operations of the HBC store in the 1980s.

In June and July 2025, to protest the proposed development of the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region and the passage of the One Canadian Economy Act, community members set up camps and planted flags along the river where bridge crossings had been suggested. The protest responds to a lack of government consultation with the First Nations of the region. It is also a way for the families participating to "reassert" their presence on the First Nation's traditional land.

Geography

thumb|Attawapiskat 91A (top) seen from the International Space Station in 2009. The western point of Akimiski Island is at the bottom of the photo.

The main town of Attawapiskat covers of land and is located on the left bank of the Attawapiskat River, inland from the James Bay coastline, on the reserve officially known as Attawapiskat 91A. It is located in the Kenora District within Northwestern Ontario. Timmins, the nearest urban centre, is located approximately south. The town of Moosonee is south of Attawapiskat.

First Nation citizens will often hunt and occasionally live in the lands that surround the settlement proper, which consists of the Hudson Bay Lowlands, a vast wetland located between the Canadian Shield and James Bay and Hudson Bay. The vegetation is typically subarctic, with a mostly coniferous forest (stunted black spruce and tamarack) in the muskeg. Wildlife includes geese, ducks, caribou, moose, beaver, bear, wolves, wolverine, marten, rabbit, muskrat, otter, and other species.

The Attawapiskat kimberlite field is a field of kimberlite pipes in the Canadian Shield located astride the Attawapiskat River on Attawapiskat First Nation land. It is thought to have formed about 180 million years ago in the Jurassic period, when the North American Plate moved westward over a centre of upwelling magma called the New England hotspot, also referred to as the Great Meteor hotspot.

The area is composed of 18 kimberlite pipes, 16 of which are diamondiferous. The De Beers open pit Victor Mine was developed on top of the Victor pipe. Mines from Victor Main and Victor Southwest have appeared close enough to the surface to be used in an open-pit mine. The Victor Kimberlite is a composition of pyroclastic crater facies and hypabyssal facies, and is considered to have a highly variable diamond grade.

Climate

In May 2008 hundreds of people were evacuated from the community after a state of emergency was declared. The threat stemmed from the possibility of ice jams in the Attawapiskat River and subsequent flooding. Flooding conditions the following year also caused evacuations.

On May 1, 2013, officials announced the closure of all schools in the community because of flooding. They are a division of the wider Cree Nation whose territory extends from northern Saskatchewan, through northern Manitoba along the Saskatchewan River, down the coast of Hudson's Bay and inland areas of Northern Ontario, through to the James Bay coast.

Population

As of the 2021 Canadian census, Attawapiskat 91A had a population of 1,586. As of May 2025, the First Nation had a registered population of 3,793, of whom 2,007 reportedly lived on their Nation's own reserve, 88 on other reserves, and 26 on their Nation's own crown land, the remaining 1,672 living elsewhere.

According to anthropologist John J. Honigmann, Attawapiskat's population in 1947 was 467. Honigmann observed that the population had decreased to only 300 by 1955, and he attributed that decline to migration towards communities further south like Fort Albany and Moosonee. As of 2003, many elders understood very little English; they spoke Cree and other Aboriginal languages.

Religion

In 1893, a Catholic chapel was erected in the community by missionaries from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Possibly due to the Catholic instruction many in the community received at St. Anne's Indian Residential School, as of the 1950s, most of the community attended Sunday Mass, and the Anglican congregation was limited to one family. Historically, livelihoods were gained through traditional hunting and trapping, including of fur-bearing animals which could be traded through the Hudson's Bay Company.

In her Masters thesis (1998), Jacqueline Hookimaw-Witt, a Muskego-Cree, interviewed elders from Attawapiskat who described in great detail ways in which they continued to harvest, fish and hunt for food, clothing, crafts and subsistence to complement store-bought items. The mine had been expected to produce of diamonds a year.

The Canadian Business Ethics Research Network summarises the establishment of a framework between the First Nation and the mining company thus:<blockquote>"Traditional harvesters from Attawapiskat First Nation regularly hunt caribou, goose, and fish along the Attawapiskat River, while tending trap lines throughout the region. Like many other northern Cree communities, these traditional activities are more than subsistence, comprising an important part of local culture and identity. Therefore, the community leadership was very concerned with the proposed development of the Victor mine, and, at De Beers' invitation, sought to ensure that any environmental impacts of the mine would be effectively mitigated." with Danny Metatawabin acting as coordinator for the IBA between De Beers and Attawapiskat. The IBA set out how the community would benefit with respect to employment and business opportunities, training and education, sound environmental management and financial compensation for loss of the use of the land while it is being mined. The IBA did not address topics such as housing and infrastructure in the community.

In 2009, community members protested the agreement through demonstrations and roadblocks, claiming that the community's share of the "bounty from the mine isn't getting back to the community." In August 2009 community members travelled to Toronto to confront De Beers Canada about the growing prosperity of the company and the growing poverty in the community. De Beers had negotiated a lease area. Although it was acknowledged that the mine was on Attawapiskat traditional land, the royalties from the Victor Mine were flowing to the Province of Ontario, not Attawapiskat First Nation. As of 2013, the mine had 500 full-time employees, with 100 from the First Nation. De Beers also employed members of Attawapiskat First Nation in winter road construction and as sub-contractors. In 2013, Attawapiskat community members blockaded the road to the mine, and the company and First Nation entered into mediation to resolve the dispute.

The mine closed in 2019.

Cost of living

As of 2011, it cost to build a house in Attawapiskat. The cost of renovating one condemned house was $50,000–100,000. At the height of the national attention on the housing crisis in the early 2010s, the majority of community members had updated their heating needs, while many households still used dry firewood. Firewood in Attawapiskat cost $150 and $200 a cord, and a cord could heat a winter-bound tent for only a week, or at most 10 days.

Arts and culture

Many community members have maintained traditional social structures and philosophies in a deeper fashion than in other, less isolated First Nations communities. Some elders lead a traditional life on the land, moving into the community only during Christmas season.

The roots rock band Midnight Shine was founded in 2011 and is led by a member of the Attawapiskat First Nation, Adrian Sutherland. The rest of the band are also from Western James Bay First Nations.

Sports

Maytawaywin Authority provides recreational services at Reg Louttit Sportsplex, a community centre and sportsplex, including an ice rink, community hall, gym, and fields for football, soccer, and baseball.

Government

thumb|Attawapiskat First Nation Office, 1990s

The First Nation's government follows the template set forth in the Indian Act. Local leadership is an elected government of a chief, a deputy chief and twelve councillors who serve three-year terms. As of 2025, the current chief is Judy Sylvia Koostachin-Metatawabin.

Attawapiskat First Nation is part of the regional Mushkegowuk Council, an Aboriginal political group representing the Omushkego Cree. The community is also represented by the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), which represents 51 First Nations across Northern Ontario. NAN is the representative political body for the First Nations that are part of Treaty 9. The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is the national representative organization of the hundreds of First Nation communities in Canada.

The reserve is within the federal riding of Kapuskasing—Timmins—Mushkegowuk, and the provincial riding of Mushkegowuk—James Bay.

Government history

The band council was under Third Party Intervention for part of 2011–2012. While the federal government had preemptively removed the third-party manager, a Federal Court decision later deemed the Third Party Management arrangement 'unreasonable'.

Police

Attawapiskat is policed by the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service, an Aboriginal-based service that replaced the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in the early 1990s in most remote northern communities in Ontario. The community is served by the Attawapiskat detachment in the Northeast Region.

Military

Attawapiskat Canadian Ranger Patrol is a Canadian Ranger unit attached to the 3rd Canadian Ranger patrol group (based at CFB Borden) and was formed in 1994.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Air

Travel to Attawapiskat is accessible through Attawapiskat Airport year-round. The airport was opened in 1974, but air service in the community began in 1957. Such a project, if undertaken, would entail a "coastal road" connecting the four communities (Attawapiskat, Kashechewan, Fort Albany, Moosonee) with each other, as well as a road to link the coastal road to the provincial highway system at Fraserdale, Kapuskasing or Hearst.

Utilities

Electricity

thumb|Fiber optics were installed in July 2009, providing high-speed Internet service and improved cable service to Attawapiskat

Five Nations Energy Inc was incorporated in 1997 and connected the community to the Hydro One electrical grid via the Moosonee Substation. FNEI remains the lead transmitter of the region. Prior to 2000, power was supplied by diesel generators located in Fort Albany.

Water

Prior to the 1970s, clean potable water from the Attawapiskat River and Monument Channel was obtained using buckets and pails. There was no running water.

When in 1976, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada recommended that the community water supply should come not from the river but from a slough just northeast of the town, community members using traditional ecological knowledge were aware that the water intake site proposed was too high in organic material. They were right and no filtration system since then has proven adequate to control the quantities of organics without over-compensation with chemicals. Two consecutive treatment plants have failed, causing health problems. Like other remote communities on the James Bay coast, there is no doctor located permanently in the community. A physician from Weeneebayko General Hospital in Moose Factory visits Attawapiskat and other communities along the coast on a regular basis each month. Patients with serious injuries, or those requiring surgery, must be transported to a larger centre for treatment. These emergency patients are transported by air ambulance airplane or helicopter to medical centres in Moose Factory, Timmins, Sudbury or Kingston, depending on their condition.

Attawapiskat Health Clinic provides additional outpatient health care services to the community and is located across the street from the hospital.

As with other places in town, the hospital has occasionally been evacuated due to the river flooding in the springtime, notably in spring of 2013.

A healing lodge is located 25 miles away to the northwest of Attawapiskat. It is named after Jules Mattinas, who died at the age of 13 after sniffing gasoline. The lodge was opened in 1995. As of the 2011 housing crisis, the lodge had been in disrepair "for years," and the federal government's response to the crisis included funding to repair the building. The building's entrance is shaped as a teepee.

Traditional midwifery practices have officially taken place in Attawapiskat since the Neepeeshowan Midwives began operation in December 2012, under the permission of WAHA. In 2015, their practice stopped due to WAHA's concerns about the lack of access to an operating room or blood products in the facilities in Attawapiskat. However, their practice resumed in March 2017 for low-risk births.

2016 suicide crisis

According to reporting by CTV and CBC, more than one hundred people had attempted suicide in the community between September 2015 and April 2016, and one person died. Many young people attempted suicide during this time, which MP Charlie Angus called a "rolling nightmare." This crisis gained national attention when a state of emergency was declared after eleven people attempted suicide on April 9, 2016. A document signed by Chief Bruce Shisheesh and eight councillors indicated that there were twenty-eight suicide attempts during March 2016.

According to Chief Shisheesh, reasons for the many suicide attempts included overcrowding, bullying at school, the legacy of residential schools, and physical, sexual and drug abuse. Local hospitals, which were already in poor condition, struggled to treat the people attempting suicide, in addition to already ill patients. This led to the local jail being used as a temporary waiting location.

Emergency services

As of 2008, Attawapiskat Fire Rescue consisted of a fire department of nine.

Pre-hospital medical care is provided by Weeneebayko Area Health Authority Paramedic Services, a service run by Weeneebayko Area Health Authority funded by the Ministry of Health. The community is served by one EMS base with two ambulances for the entire community. There are eight primary care paramedics stationed at this base which operates 24/7/365.

Telecommunications

Telecommunications, including local television cable service is provided by Attawapiskat Development Corporation. Cable television first arrived in the community in the 1990s.

In March 2010, the Western James Bay Telecom Network announced it was launching a fibre-optic cable to connect Attawapiskat to high-speed internet, which would replace unreliable dial-up and satellite internet the community had used in the decades prior. Before the high school was opened in 1991, high school students had to go to Timmins, North Bay, or Ottawa for their studies.

The lack of adequate school infrastructure in Attawapiskat was subject to much media attention in the 2000s and 2010s.

History

Beginning in 1902 when it opened, children from Attawapiskat attended St. Anne's Indian Residential School in Fort Albany. opened in 1953. Classes subsequently took place in portables. Money that had been allocated for the renovation of the 25-year-old frame school was used to pay for construction of eight double and three single portable classrooms. The facilities were basic, with none of the supplementary resources available to schools in other parts of the province. A new school was promised by the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs in the summer of 2000, but no action was taken for several years. On April 1, 2008, newly appointed Education Minister Chuck Strahl informed the Attawapiskat First Nation Education Authority that Ottawa would not finance the new school after all.

The Education Authority's Chairman summed up the community's plight by saying: "We just want what any other parent would want for their children – a safe school." It opened two years later.

Beginning in 2007, local teenager Shannen Koostachin launched "Education Is a Human Right", an activist campaign to publicize the lack of educational opportunities for First Nations youth. Koostachin was killed in a car accident near New Liskeard, where she was attending high school, in 2010. The campaign was subsequently renamed Shannen's Dream in her memory, and continues to operate. The campaign was the subject of Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin's award-winning 2013 documentary film Hi-Ho Mistahey!

Media

Radio

FM 89.9 – CKMT, Wawatay Radio Network (relays CKWT-FM, Sioux Lookout)
FM 101.5 – CBCA, CBC Radio One