Page 15 - Beausoleil First Nation

e are Anishinaabeg, or Ojibway people. We believe
WORDS TO KNOW
our ancestors have lived on Turtle Island since it was
ancestors: relatives that lived
created. The entire area surrounding Christian Island, long ago
Walong with the area north to Lake Superior and south
into the United States, were the traditional lands of our people.
Different First Nations groups, such as the Huron, had lived in
this area. The ancestors of the Huron lived in this area from 1550
until 1651 and were actively involved with the Jesuit missions
at the time, including establishing Fort Ste. Marie in 1639 at the
present-day town of Midland.

TURTLE ISLAND
Turtle Island is what our people call North America. Like many other people
around the world, Anishinaabe people carry stories about how living things
survived a great flood. The name Turtle Island comes from our story of how
the flood came to be and how, after the flood, the last human and other
animals took turns diving into water to try to grab earth to grow new land.
Only the muskrat was able to dive deep enough to grab land, but he died
when he surfaced. In his honour, the turtle offered to carry the new land on
her back.

Beausoleil First Nation 13

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