Page 18 - Moose Deer Point First Nation

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 came back up. In
his honour, the turtle offered to
carry the new land on her back.

WORDS TO KNOW We are the Pottawatomi Nishnaabe. We believe our ancestors
have lived on Turtle Island since it was created. Our people
allies: nations that cooperate
with each other share the same language and many customs with the Chippewa
ancestors: relatives that lived and Mississauga people of Southern Ontario. However, we
long ago
are considered our own people within the larger group. We,
the Pottawatomi, along with the Ojibwe (Chippewa and
Mississauga), and Odawa, formed the Three Fires Confederacy
long before Europeans arrived. The Pottawatomi are the Keepers
of the Sacred Fire for the Three Fires Confederacy. Many
interpret this to mean that we hold the traditional responsibility
for the safekeeping of the spiritual and cultural ways of
our people.

To understand how we came to be in Moose Deer Point, we
must look back in time to when Canada and the provinces
began. Where we live today was at one time a battleground
between British, French, and American forces. Battles were
fought between the British and the French to control these
lands. Later battles were fought to create the current boundary
between the United States and Canada. First Nations people
were part of these battles. Lending support to one side or
another as allies, the Pottawatomi were key to the outcomes.

16 Moose Deer Point First Nation

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