This is also a short explanation of the purpose and benefit to the community such as space for new economic & social development, the benefit to the community’s land through forest regeneration and the creating of new habitat for wildlife such as deer, moose, beaver, and grouse.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2tOZdJuFtw

If you are interested in serving as a community trustee, please submit a letter of interest to Kathleen Mazur, Trust Advisor, RBC Wealth Management by email to Kathleen.mazur@rbc.com or by fax 1-204-988-6745.

Be advised that the deadline to submit Letters of Interest is March 13, 2026 at 4pm CST.

The following is an excerpt from the trust deed explaining the criteria and selections process for the community trust:

Download

• NAN Trust Protector & Trustee Roles (21 downloads)

Travel assistance will be available for all at the end of the day for Band Members aged 18 years and older and only provided to Band Members.  For booking of rooms please contact our Executive Assistance Tracey Cobiness at (807) 548-5876 ext 1028 or toll-free 1-888-767-4960.  You can also email ea@niisaachewan.ca or bandmanager@niisaachewan.ca

ATTENTION:  Niisaachewan will not be accepting liability or responsibility for damage to any hotel rooms. Hotel room occupants are liable for such damages.\

Download

• Niisaachewan Election 2026 - Notice and BCR (56 downloads)

It’s open to all and meals are provided for both dates. The first date is on March 24, 2026 @ 5pm, and the next date is March 25, 2026 @ 10am.

For inquiries call (807) 407-9631 or email lcobiness@niisaachewan.ca.

Improving the health of all our band members was something our Chief Lorraine Cobiness cared about deeply, so we hope to see you there.

With a maximum of 40 people, the travel dates are March 20 – March 23, 2026 at the Hilton Gard Inn Winnipeg South at 495 Sterling Lyon Parkway, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3P 2S8.

For more information or to reserve a spot you can contact Leanne Cobiness at (807) 407-9631 or email her at lcobiness@niisaachewan.ca

Chief Cobiness was an outstanding mother, loving grandmother, and a courageous and tenacious leader.  Chief Cobiness first served as Health & Social Development Manager for 3 years prior to her election as Chief in 2008 and was reelected to 9 consecutive terms as Chief.

Under her leadership our community saw removal from third party management, clean audits for every single term, our land grievance settled, an excellent municipal-level water plant built, sturgeon reintroduced, numerous houses being built, return to custom governance, and profitability with Mitigoog/Miisun.  Chief Cobiness was also a key figure in the All Nations Hospital effort, the twinning of Highway 17, and so much more.

Chief Cobiness constantly battled and fought for her Band Members and her tenacity in battling all levels of government and holding them to account never wavered.   Recently described by a newspaper as perhaps one of the most impactful and game-changing Chiefs in the country, Chief Cobiness never tired or stopped being an advocate for First Nation rights and her people.

Niisaachewan will always be grateful for the 21+ years of service, leadership, and effort given by Chief Lorraine Cobiness.

1. Submit your Banking Information – ONLY IF IT HAS CHANGED. If it hasn’t, then we already have it in our system.

Submit to the following email only

• Tracey Cobiness – Executive Assistant – ea@niisaachewan.ca

Please note: We will be issuing the Christmas Gift’s on these following dates:

• December 2, 2025, by EFT only.
• Cheques will be issued for December 3, 2025, in the afternoon. There will be no 3rd party pick-ups.

Traditional Funeral services will follow on Saturday, November 15, 2025, at 10:00 a.m by Elder Ron P. McDonald. Burial to follow at Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora near her daughter Gina McDonald ♥️

The services will be honoured by Brown Eagle Drum 🦅

The family extends their heartfelt thanks to all relatives, friends, and community members for their love, prayers, and support during this difficult time.

Miigwetch ♥️

We’re going to have Santa visiting, professional family photo portraits, 360 Photo Booth, draws and prizes.

RSVP information must be filled out on the attached form by November 24, 2025.

Download

• Christmas Party 2025 - Winnipeg (139 downloads)

We’re going to have Santa visiting, professional family photo portraits, 360 Photo Booth, draws and prizes.

RSVP information must be filled out on the attached form by November 24, 2025.

Download

• Christmas Party 2025 - Thunder Bay (128 downloads)

We’re going to have Santa visiting, professional family photo portraits, 360 Photo Booth, draws and prizes.

RSVP information must be filled out on the attached form by November 24, 2025.

Download

• NAN Christmas Party 2025 - On Reserve (133 downloads)

Visit your App Store of choice and search for “Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation”, register for an account, and then verify it and that’s all you need to do to enter.

Draw is on Thursday November 20, 2025 @ 3pm.

• The Band Office will be closed on October 8, 2025 for Wake Services for the Cobiness/Brittain families.
• The Band Office will also be closed on October 9, 2025 Funeral Services for Cobiness/Brittain families.

The Band Office will Re-open October 14, 2025 at 9am – 430pm.

Any emergencies can be emailed to programmanagers@niisaachewan.ca

This is your formal notice for the upcoming General Band Meeting.

• Type: General Band Meeting
  Date: Saturday, November 1, 2025
  Time: 10 a.m.
  Place: Economic Centre of Excellence – Niisaachewan Anishnaabe Nation8am – Light breakfast provided
  9am – Traditional Protocols
• Agenda:
  1. 10:00 am – 11:00 am – Chief & Council Updates
  2. 11:00 am – 12:00 pm – Trust Updates
• LUNCH – 12:00pm – 1:30pm (Fish Fry Lunch)3. 1:30pm – 3:00pm – Review of Strategic Plan Updates

Travel and Accommodations can be booked with:

• Tracey Cobiness, Executive Assistant (807) 548-5876 ext. 1028 or by email ea@niisaachewan.ca
• Jade Beardy, Assistant- email communications@niisaachewan.ca
• Toll Free # 1-888-767-4960

Download

• BCR for General Band Meeting - November 1, 2025 (111 downloads)

There’ll be a huge BBQ, double splash slide, Excalibur castle, Lego castle, dunk tank, and a monster slide.

Everyone is invited!  Bring your mobile devices to download the app!

• Niisaachewan Community Calendar - May/June 2025 (338 downloads)

We are looking for dynamic, honest, and compassionate individuals who have a sincere interest and commitment in working on internal and external Policies and Procedures regarding Human Resources, Finance, Governance, and Justice to provide sound and balanced recommendations to Chief & Council and Anishinaabe Customary Council and most importantly advance the goals and mandate of our community in a fair, consistent, and equitable manner for all our members.

Your Letter of Interest should include which committee your interested in and the following information:

• Personal Background and reason for Interest
• Experience and Educational Background
• Criminal reference check would be an asset

The selection of committee members will be made by the Chief & Council and Headspeople. Please note that the term is for the 2 individuals who will serve until April 2026

Submit your Letter of interest via email to ea@niisaachewan.ca, fax, or drop off at office to Tracey Cobiness or through your Headsperson no later than February 14, 2025, at Noon.

Miigwetch!

Canada was required to act in the best interest of Nations. Instead, it entered into a deal with Kenora to sell Anicinabe Park which benefited itself, and the City. The First Nations claim the illegal sale of Anicinabe Park left Anishinaabe people with nowhere to go in Kenora. Many Anishinaabe people became homeless. A legacy which endures to this day.

Anicinabe Park was and is, central to the Nations’ economic, social, political and spiritual well-being. The lands were used to reconnect with relatives, conduct feasts and hold ceremonies. In the summertime, dozens of families would camp and gather at Anicinabe Park.

In 1974, the Ojibwe Warrior Society resisted the sale during the six-week Anicinabe Park Gathering. The Anicinabe Park Gathering put the treatment of Indigenous peoples in Treaty 3 territory on the national stage.

This l’gal claim is not about excluding anyone from Anicinabe Park. It is about reclaiming the original spirit and intent of Anicinabe Park as a gathering place. The Nations are committed to creating space for both Anishinaabe and non-Anishinaabe peoples to come together in pursuit of the Nation-to-Nation relationship promised by Treaty 3. The 50th anniversary of the Anicinabe Park Gathering, and the filing of the legal claim, is a long-awaited opportunity for reconciliation.

Over the last two years the Nations have repeatedly invited Kenora to be a partner in reconciliation, by returning Anicinabe Park outside of a legal process. To date, they have refused.

Quotes

“For generations our people lived in relationship with the Anicinabe Park lands. Our Elders tell me about how we would camp on the Anicinabe Park lands to reconnect with relatives from across Treaty 3. It was a joyous time. Each of us have family members with personal connections to these lands, we remember what the land means to them and to our future. We are all Treaty people. When our ancestors entered Treaty 3, we agreed to share the land We are committed to that sacred relationship. We are committed to retaining public access to Anicinabe Park and creating a space for Anishinaabe and non-Anishinaabe people to come together in a good way”. – Chief Chris Skead, Wauzhushk Onigum First Nation

“We have discussed the return of Anicinabe Park with the City of Kenora for years. They have refused. We are calling on Kenora to do the right thing – to be partners in reconciliation and return Anicinabe Park to our communities. Reconciliation starts with returning Anicinabe Park. – Chief Lorraine Cobiness, Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation

“Canada’s decision to sell the lands that make up Anicinabe Park, our home, to Kenora, so that it could build a park, was wrong. My family remembers the shock and hurt it caused. One day it was a place where we lived, the next, our homes were taken away. The sale of our land was a wrong to our people. Reconciliation requires action. It calls on us to correct this wrong.” – Councillor Brenda Chartrand, Washagamis Bay First Nation

“What people call Anicinabe Park is where we held ceremonies. Where we conducted feasts, sweat lodges, and came together as an Anishinaabe Nation. It’s so much more than a park. It’s a core part of who we are. It’s where we lived and built houses. In the summer, there would be as many as 80 people staying on the land”. – Councillor Dolores Sinclair, Washagamis Bay First Nation

“This is about healing and reconciliation for all of Kenora, not occupation. We need to reconcile the wrongs that were done to move forward. We need to come together as people who share the lands of Kenora”. – Councillor Fabian Blackhawk, Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation

“The 1974 Anicinabe Park Gathering was about justice for our people, justice for Anicinabe Park. Bringing this claim forward honours the legacy of our ancestors.” – Councillor Amber Sinclair, Washagamis Bay

Contacts

Media inquiries can be directed to:

Luke Hildebrand
lhildebrand@headwaters.law

We’re holding a Christmas party in Thunder Bay on December 7 and Winnipeg on December 14.

Downloads

• Christmas 2024 - Winnipeg (381 downloads)
• Christmas 2024 - Thunder Bay (362 downloads)