Curve Lake First Nation

Curve Lake First Nation (Ojibwe: Oshkiigmong) is a Mississauga Ojibway First Nation located in Peterborough County of Ontario. Curve Lake First Nation occupies three reserves; Curve Lake First Nation 35, Curve Lake 35A, and Islands in the Trent Waters Indian Reserve 36A. The last of these reserves is shared with the Hiawatha First Nation and the Scugog First Nation. Curve Lake First Nation has a registered membership of 2,415 as of October 2019 with 793 registered band members living in Curve Lake and an additional 1,622 registered band members living off-reserve.

Curve Lake 35A reserve

History

The Curve Lake Nation traces their origins to 1829 when a small Anishinaabe (Ojibway) band settled around Curve Lake and Mud Lake. The community officially became a reserve in 1889, called Mud Lake Band #35. It became Curve Lake First Nation #35 in 1964.^[1]

Governance

Curve Lake First Nation adopted a custom election code after a community approval vote in 2015.^{[citation needed]} The First Nation's council consists of a chief and eight councillors. The current chief is Keith Knott.^[2] The councillors are Jeffrey Jacobs, Laurie Hockaday, Nodin Knott, Ken Jacobs, Steve Toms, Arnold Taylor, Deborah Jacobs and Sean Conway.^[3] Their three-year term began in June 2022.

Services

• Education
• Health and Family Services
• Economic Development
• Infrastructure & Housing
• Membership
• Lands
• Gaming Revenue Fund
• Employment Resource Centre
• Cultural Centre

Notable people

• Elsie Knott, first known woman chief in Canada
• Albert Smoke (1894–1944), Olympic long-distance runner
• Drew Hayden Taylor, columnist and playwright
• Gidigaa Migizi (Doug Williams), former chief and negotiator for treaty rights