Page 18 - Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation

In 1834, a dam was built on the Scugog River at Lindsay. This
raised the water level in the wetland by almost 2 metres.
A total of 405 hectares of land, including the wild rice and
cranberry bogs, were under water. As a result, the marsh and
all its resources were destroyed, and the new lake was unable
to support previous life and ecosystems. This change in the
water, and the lack of resources, caused illness and death for our
Mississauga ancestors and the missionaries.

The remaining Mississauga people were forced to move away.
They went to Coldwater, near Orillia, for two years. When they
returned, they were forced to purchase their own land before
they could resettle on Scugog Island. In 1843, this purchased
land was declared by the Federal Government to be a reserve.
Our ancestors were not able to purchase waterfront land in the
1800s, so we have since purchased land with waterfront access.
We used to have the use of a picnic area and a beach, but this
area was not maintained and was not easily accessible.

Before the dam was built, Anishinaabe families in Ontario travelled
through the rice bed by canoe, harvesting wild rice.

16 Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation

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