TheMississaugas are a group ofFirst Nations peoples located in southernOntario, Canada. They are a sub-group of theOjibwe Nation.[1][2]
The name "Mississauga" comes from theAnishinaabe wordMisi-zaagiing, meaning "[Those at the] Great River-mouth." It is closely related to the Ojibwe wordMiswe-zaagiing, which means ‘a river with many outlets.’
According to the oral histories of the Anishinaabe, after departing the "Second Stopping Place" nearNiagara Falls, the core Anishinaabe peoples migrated along the shores ofLake Erie to what is now southernMichigan. They became "lost" both physically and spiritually. The Mississauga migrated along a northern route by theCredit River, toGeorgian Bay. These were considered their historic traditional lands on the shores ofLake Superior and northernLake Huron around theMississagi River. The Mississauga called for the core Anishinaabeg toMidewiwin, meaning 'return to the path of the good life'. The core Anishinaabe peoples formed theCouncil of Three Fires and migrated from their "Third Stopping Place" near the present city ofDetroit to their "Fourth Stopping Place" onManitoulin Island, along the eastern shores of Georgian Bay.
The homelands of the Mississaugas were originally claimed by theHuron/Wyandot, who were driven off by theIroquois in theBeaver Wars in 1649/50.[3] The Ojibwe Anishinaabe then moved into the area around 1700, pushing out the Iroquois.[3] TheFrench had previously called an Anishinaabe band near theMississagi RiverOumisagai orMississauga and for unknown reasons began to apply that name to the Ojibwe who took over the lands immediately north ofLake Ontario.[3] On the 1675Carte du Mississippi et des lacs Supérieur, Michigan et Huron, the Mississauga were recorded as "Missisakingdachirinouek"[4] (Misi-zaaging dash ininweg: "Regular-speakers of the Great River-mouth"). This was not how the Mississaugas originally knew themselves,[3] but they eventually adopted the name and use it today.
WhenConrad Weiser conducted a census inLogstown in 1748, he identified the people asTisagechroamis, his attempt at conveying the sound of theirexonym name inWendat. Other variants of this spelling wereTisagechroamis,Tisaghechroamis,Tisagechroan,Tisagechroanu, andZisaugeghroanu. "The Tisagechroanu were the Mississagas fromLake Huron, a large tribe of French Indians, or under French influences. The name Tisagechroanue here is probably a misprint, for it is most often found Zisaugeghroanu."[2]
Starting in 1781 during the waning years of theAmerican Revolutionary War,the Crown purchased land which encompassed much of present-day southernOntario from the Mississauga in a series of transactions. They purchased the land to fulfill promises made in theHaldimand Proclamation concerning land promised to the Iroquois for their support for the Crown during the war, and to compensate the Iroquois for losing territory to American colonists. The sale of land by theMississaugas of the Credit to the Crown was referred to as the "Between the Lakes Treaty."[5][3]
In 1848, the Iroquois granted land to the Mississauga within the former's Six Nations Reserve on Grand River. The Mississauga became established on the New Credit.[1] Beginning in the 19th century, the Mississauga sought to gain compensation for the land granted to them but given to other settlers. In the 21st century, the Canadian government awarded the Mississauga of the New Credit First Nation nearly $145 million in settlement of this land claim.
All the Mississaugas are a subset of theOjibwe nation of 200,000 people.
Historically, there were fiveFirst Nations that made up the Mississauga Nations. Today, there are six, listed here along with their historical counterparts, where applicable:
