Page 11 - Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation

The community is located on fairly flat land, with the exception WORDS TO KNOW
of the northwestern corner, where the land is a little lower, Anishinaabemowin
and two small creeks are found. There are also some marshy (a-nish-na-bay-moe-in): the
Anishinaabe language
areas on the island, which are not formally on the reserve,
leases: written agreements
but which connect with both the northern tip and the west
giving the right to pay rent to
shore. The name Scugog comes from the landscape; it is an use property for a certain length
Anishinaabemowin word meaning “marshy waters” or “shallow of time
muddy lake.” municipal: to do with a city,
town, district, or other area with
Our territory also includes many small islands in the Trent local government
waterway system, and these islands are collectively known as public access: the right for all
people to approach, enter, or
Indian Reserve #36A. They are located in Pigeon Lake, Buckhorn
use property
Lake, and Stony Lake.
reserve: The Government of
Canada defines reserves as
The reserve consists of two separate blocks of land, which “land held by the Government
occupy a total area of about 321 hectares. The northwest corner of Canada, on behalf of First
Nations for the use and benefit
of our territory lies within 200 metres of Lake Scugog. Our Chief
of First Nations.”
and Council have worked to purchase land surrounding our
scugog (skoo-gog): marshy
reserve to expand the land base and connect the pieces of our water or shallow muddy lake
territory in one large block. settlement: an arrangement
between nations to
Additions to Reserves end conflict
treaty: an agreement
As a part of treaty settlements, the Mississaugas of Scugog between nations
Island First Nation are among other First Nations in Ontario who
are able to purchase lands and to have that purchase turned into
our First Nation territory by Canada.
The process that our First Nation must go through to gain these
additions to reserves takes years to complete. In order for any
lands we have purchased to be considered for this process, the
following conditions must be met:

• There cannot be any major environmental concerns. For
example, the land cannot be an important breeding ground
for a species that is at risk of extinction.

• The First Nation must work with municipal and provincial or
territorial governments to make sure any concerns such as
leases of the land and public access to the land have been
worked through as best as possible.

• The First Nation must have the budget to pay for the land.

Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation 9

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