Kitigan Zibi

Kitigan Zibi (also known as River Desert, and designated as Maniwaki 18 until 1994) is a First Nations reserve of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, an Algonquin band. It is situated near the confluence of the Désert and Gatineau Rivers, and borders south-west on the Town of Maniwaki in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Having a total area of 210.09 km2 (81.12 sq mi),[4] it is the largest Algonquin Nation in Canada in both area and population.[5]

Kitigan Zibi
First Nations Reserve
Welcome sign
Welcome sign
Kitigan Zibi is located in Western Quebec
Kitigan Zibi
Kitigan Zibi
Location in western Quebec.
Coordinates: 46°20′N 75°58′W
Country Canada
Province Quebec
RegionOutaouais
Established1851
Government
[1][2]
 • TypeBand council
 • ChiefDylan Whiteduck
 • Federal ridingPontiac
 • Prov. ridingGatineau
Area
[3]
 • Total210.09 km2 (81.12 sq mi)
 • Land195.06 km2 (75.31 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[3]
 • Total1,204
 • Density6.2/km2 (16/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−05:00 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−04:00 (EDT)
Postal Code
J9E
Area code819
Websitekitiganzibi.ca
Kitigan Zibi
Museum in Kitigan Zibi, Quebec, Canada

Present on the reserve are shops, an elementary and secondary school, a community hall, a health centre, police services, a youth centre, a retirement home, a cultural centre, and the CKWE 103.9 radio station.[5][6]

Economy

The creation of a forestry company, mitog, which holds a forest management agreement allows them to cut trees on their ancestral territories. They also work in collaboration with other forest operators. They are also important partners in the management of the Eagle Forest, a territory located west of Maniwaki, where logging, outdoor activities and wildlife protection go hand in hand. The community also has a 12,000-tap maple grove whose potential has not yet been fully exploited and it is in Kitigan Zibi that Awazibi pure maple syrup is produced.

Toponymy

Kitigàn can be translated from Algonquin as "garden," "cultivated land" or "cleared land." This name may have originated as a reference to a clearing made by the Hudson's Bay Company for the establishment of its post, dependencies, and the adjoining garden.[7]

Geography

The reserve is bounded by the Eagle River along its west side, by the Désert River on the north side, and the Gatineau River on the east side. Most of its development is along or near Highway 105, while forest still covers much of the reserve. It is also home to 13 fresh water lakes with areas in excess of 250,000 square metres (2,700,000 sq ft; 25 ha; 62 acres) and approximately 29 smaller lakes and streams located throughout the territory.

Fish species found within these waters include walleye, pike, bass, trout, carp, catfish, and fresh water sturgeon. Mammals found within the reserve include beaver, muskrat, fisher, marten, mink, otter, bobcat, lynx, cougar, deer, black bear, wolf, and moose.

History

The history of the reserve is closely linked to that of the Town of Maniwaki, which developed concurrently.

In the first half of the 19th century, Algonquins of the mission at Lake of Two Mountains, under the leadership of Chief Pakinawatik, came to the area of the Désert River. Shortly after, in 1832, the Hudson's Bay Company followed them and installed a trading post at the mouth of this river (now within the municipal boundaries of Maniwaki). A decade later, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate established the mission of Notre-Dame-du-Desert and, from 1849, they demanded of the authorities the demarcation of a township in order to establish a reserve for the Algonquins. Chief Pakinawatik, along with other leaders, journeyed by canoe on three separate occasions to Upper Canada (Toronto) and negotiated the terms for the setting aside of the reserve land. The township limits were drawn in 1850 and given the name of Maniwaki by the Oblates at this time.[7] In Algonquin language, the place was identified as Kitigànsìpì or Kitigàn Zìbì, meaning "Garden River."[8]

Legally established in 1851, the reserve was demarcated in 1853. In the decree implementing it, the reserve was called "Manawaki" (after mani aki meaning "Mary's Land") and also "River Desert". The name "Kitigan Zibi" came to replace the other two on September 24, 1994, when the band council gave this title to the reserve.[7]

Because of land claim settlements in the late 1990s, small portions of land of the Town of Maniwaki were added to Kitigan Zibi. The federal government concluded, on 18 March 2019, an agreement to pay the Kitigan Zibi community $116 million, settling 29 claims for Indian reserve land appropriated between 1873 and 1917 for the town site of Maniwaki.[9] The same community filed in December 2016 a claim in Ontario Superior Court, claiming it never surrendered and still owns the land in Ottawa on which Parliament of Canada stands.[10]

Demographics
Kitigan Zibi

As of May 2022, the registered population of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation is 3,685 members, of whom 1,624 live on the Kitigan Zibi reserve and 2,061 live off reserve.[11]

Canada census – Kitigan Zibi community profile
2016
Population1221 (4.3% from 2011)
Land area172.93 km2 (66.77 sq mi)
Population density7.1/km2 (18/sq mi)
Median age35.9 (M: 30.8, F: 40)
Private dwellings505 (total) 
Median household income$46,241
References: 2016[12] earlier[13][14]

Historic populations:[15]

  • Population in 2021: 1,204
  • Population in 2016: 1,221
  • Population in 2011: 1,401
  • Population in 2006: 1,165
  • Population in 2001: 1,081
  • Population in 1996: 969
  • Population in 1991: 563

Language
Stop sign (English-Algonquin) in Kitigan Zibi, Quebec, Canada

As of the 2016 census, the mother tongue of those living on the Kitigan Zibi reserve are:[16]

  • English: 62.7%
  • French: 15.2%
  • Algonquin: 18.0%
  • French and English: 1.2%

Education

There is one school on the reserve:

  • Kitigan Zibi Kikinamadinan School

References
  1. First Nation details for the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabe First Nations at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  2. Governance of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabe First Nations at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  3. "Kitigan Zibi, IRI, Quebec". Census Profile, 2021 Census. Statistics Canada. 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  4. Reserve, settlement or village details for Kitigan Zibi Anishinabe Reserve at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  5. "The Algonquin Communities: Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg". Anishinabe Nation. Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council. 2016. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  6. "Health & Social Services". Kitigan Zibi Anishinabe. Kitigan Zibi Anishinabe. 2020. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  7. "Kitigan Zibi (Réserve indienne)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
  8. "Maniwaki (Ville)" (in French). Commission de toponymie du Québec. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
  9. "Federal government settles Kitigan Zibi land claims". CBC News. 2019-03-18. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05.
  10. National Post, 8 Dec. 2016 Algonquin band’s lawsuit declares ownership of Parliament Hill amid stalled land claim talks
  11. "Indigenous communities in Quebec". 15 October 2021.
  12. "2016 Community Profiles". 2016 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 12, 2021. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  13. "2006 Community Profiles". 2006 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. August 20, 2019.
  14. "2001 Community Profiles". 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada. July 18, 2021.
  15. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2016 census
  16. Languages characteristics of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nations at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
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