Page 21 - Moose Deer Point First Nation

1830s In the 1830s, the United States government passes the “Indian Removal Act” to relocate
tribes to the west of the Mississippi River. By 1837, all the remaining Pottawatomi in the
Lake Michigan area become refugees as they have no lands, safe hunting grounds, or
other support.
In Canada, official Indian policy of civilization and Christianization begins. One of the
main projects of this policy is the Coldwater Experiment, which is one of the first
attempts to create a reserve in Canada.

1835 Early in the summer of 1835, 215 Chippewa and Pottawatomi from the Milwaukee area,
many of whom had served the British in the War of 1812, travel to Penetanguishine. The
government allows them to stay.

1830s and 1840s During the 1830s and 1840s, some 5000 to 9000 First Nations people eventually move
from American territory into Canadian territory. Most are Anishinaabeg, Odawa, and
Pottawatomi.
Chief Ogemawahj, Pottawatomi Chief and ancestor of the Moose Deer Point First
Nation people, is thought to have migrated to the region. There is evidence that several
Pottawatomi families settled on Christian Island with many later moving to Moose Deer
Point and some staying behind.

1843 Moose Deer Point First Nation Elders place the community as beginning before 1843,
stating that the community is a mixture of Wisconsin Pottawatomi and Manitoulin
Island Odawa who intermarried with Anishinaabeg from Wasauksing and other First
Nations in the area.

1847 A 1917 report from the Department of Indian Affairs states that John King (son of
Ogemawahj) moved to Moose Deer Point in 1847, and that of the four brothers who
came with him, two went to Christian Island and two went to Wasauksing.

1917 Although the Pottawatomi ask for 486 hectares, 251 hectares are set aside to become
the Moose Deer Point Indian Reserve #79.

Moose Deer Point First Nation 19

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