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Asubpeeschoseewagong

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Wikipedia

Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation (also known as Grassy Narrows First Nation or the Asabiinyashkosiwagong Nitam-Anishinaabeg in the Anishinaabe language) is an Ojibwa First Nation located 80km north of Kenora, Ontario. Their landbase is the 4145 ha English River 21 Indian Reserve. It has a registered population of 1,319 as of May 2008, of which their on-reserve population was 825. They are a signatory to Treaty 3.

Governance

The First Nation is headed by Chief Simon Fobister and 4 Councillors: Bill Fobister Sr., Rudy Turtle, Randy Fobister and Barbara Skead The First Nation is a member of the Bimose Tribal Council, a regional non-political Chief's Council, who is a member of the Grand Council of Treaty 3, a Political Organization.

Mercury contamination

The First Nation experienced mercury poisoning from Dryden Chemical Company, a chloralkali process plant, located in Dryden, Ontario that supplied both sodium hydroxide and chlorine used in large amounts for bleaching paper during production for the Dryden Pulp and Paper Company. Dryden Chemical company discharged their effluent into the Wabigoon-English River system.

The Ontario provincial government has initially told the First Nation communities to stop eating fish — their main source of protein — and closed down their commercial fishery. In 90%+ unemployment rate in 1970, closing of the commercial fishery meant economic disaster for the Indian Reserve.

Grassy Narrows First Nation received a settlement in 1985 from the Canadian government and the Reed Paper Company that bought-out the Dryden Pulp and Paper Company and its sister-company Dryden Chemical Company, but the mercury was never removed from the water.

On September 8, 2007, Ontario announced that it had agreed to begin discussions with Grassy Narrows First Nation on forestry-related issues. The provincial government appointed former Federal Court of Canada Chief Justice Frank Iacobucci to lead these discussions. Iacobucci's discussions with Grassy Narrows will focus on, "sustainable forest management partnership models and other forestry-related matters, including harvesting methods, interim protection for traditional activities and economic development.