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| People | Oji-Cree |
|---|---|
| Treaty | Treaty 9 |
| Province | Ontario |
| Land[1] | |
| Main reserve | Kingfisher Lake 1 |
| Other reserve(s) |
|
| Land area | 69.62 km2 |
| Population (2025)[1] | |
| On reserve | 571 |
| On other land | 9 |
| Off reserve | 63 |
| Total population | 643 |
| Tribal Council[1] | |
| Shibogama First Nations Council | |
Kingfisher First Nation (Oji-Cree language: ᑮᐡᑭᒪᓂᐦᓰᐋᐧᐴᕽ (Giishkimanisiiwaaboong, "At Kingfisher-waters"); unpointed: ᑭᐡᑭᒪᓂᓯᐊᐧᐳᐠ) is anOji-CreeFirst Nationreserve located 350 kilometres (220 mi) north ofSioux Lookout,Ontario, Canada. It is accessible by air all year and by waterway in summer andice roads in winter. As of December 2009, the First Nation had a total registered population of 500 people, the on-reserve population being 462. The community speaks theOji-Cree language, but most of it is fluent inEnglish as well.
Thepolice that serve Kingfisher Lake are theNishnawbe-Aski Police Service, an Aboriginal-based service.
In 1808 theHudson's Bay Company established an outpost at Big Beaver House, located approximately 12 kilometres southwest of the present Kingfisher Lake reserve. Big Beaver House was frequented by Kingfisher Lake people fortrading fur, community activity and freight hauling employment.
In 1929 to 1930, the leaders of Kingfisher Lake First Nation were required to gather at Big Trout Lake to participate in the signing of the adhesion toTreaty 9. As the result, Kingfisher Lake was considered a part ofBig Trout Lake Band.
In 1947,Ontario enacted the Trapline Registration and Fee Program, which eventually forced the Kingfisher Lake people to outline their ancestral hunting areas into trapping boundaries and also to pay for the land use requirements.
In 1964, the leaders of Kingfisher Lake decided to establish permanent community and to move to the current location of the reserve lands. As Kingfisher Lake was already included in the Big Trout Lake Band and so had reserve status, the formality of gaining band status was achieved in 1975.
In 2011, many of the residents were temporarily housed in Ottawa because of forest fires in the surrounding area.
The officials of Kingfisher First Nation are elected for a two-year term through the Custom Electoral System. Their council consists of Chief Eddie Mamakwa, Deputy Chief Verna Aganash and four Councillors: Danny Sainnawap, Esther Sakakeep, Matthew Sainnawap, and Samuel Sturgeon.
The First Nation is part of theShibogama First Nations Council,[1][2] a Regional Chiefs Council, and theNishnawbe Aski Nation, a Tribal Political Organization representing majority of theFirst Nations in northernOntario.
The First Nation have reserved three tracts for theirIndian reserve:[1]
53°01′37″N89°50′28″W / 53.02694°N 89.84111°W /53.02694; -89.84111
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