 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The history
or Wawakapewin has been handed down through oral tradition from
community Elders. The Wawakapewuk are decendants of the people
who lived and used this land and its resources for at least
7,000 years. The people of Wawakapewin still maintain the traditional
activities of hunting, fishing, trapping and plant gathering.
One of the Frogg Clans direct ancestors was a signtory to
Treaty 9 in 1905.
The signing of the Adhesion to Treaty No. 9 at Big Trout
Lake in 1929 identified the Wawakapewuk as part of the Big Trout
Lake Band were allotted a Treaty payment of $4.00 per person
per year.
In 1947 the then Department of Lands and Forests insitituted
a trap line system whereby each trapper was required to pay
a fee and trap within a specified area to sell their furs.
Big Trout Lake became the central point for the provision of
services that had been identified in the Treaty Adhesion; such
as health, education, social assistance and the provision of
goods and materials. Big Trout Lake is 65 Km northeast of Wawakapewin
and this posed an extreme hardship for the people having to
travel between Wawakapewin and Big Trout Lake. The Wawakapewuk
people generally only travelled to Big Trout Lake in the summer
to attend the summer festival and to collect their Treaty payment.
In 1964, at least two new communities were formed from those
communities associated with the Reserve at Big Trout Lake and
in 1976 other communities were established in Wapekeka, Kasabonika,
Bearskin Lake, Muskrat Dam and Kingfisher Lake First Nations
establishing themselves as separate Bands and eventually gaining
reserve status.
The Wawakapewuk people still maintain direct family ties and
kinship with these surrounding communities. During these activities
most of the Wawakapewuk people decided to reside in Big Trout
Lake year round and travel to their traditional lands only for
hunting, fishing and trapping.
In 1972, three Wawakapewuk families returned to their traditional
lands on the eastern shoreline of Long Dog Lake to live and
to re-establish the community of Wawakapewin. Wawakapewin received
Band status in 1985 and Reserve status in 1998. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|