A Brief History of Curve Lake First Nation

Since time immemorial the Anishnaabe ancestors of the Mississauga’s of Curve Lake First Nation have inhabited North America. Written history, spelling and grammar misinterpretations have led to confusion of what we have been called over the years. To avoid argument we will go with the fact that we speak the Anishnaabe language, we are Ojibwe by description the Mississauga Nation because we resided in the general area of the Mississauga River. Traditional teachings have taught us that before contact, we shared the land with other tribes such as the Potawatomi, Odawa Huron and Haudonoshonee.

Upon arrival of the white man and the beginning of written history the fur trade totally changed our natural economy. Due to the fur trade and competition between the British and the French over control of the fur trade and the control of the land, the historically friendly tribes turned on one another for almost a generation of war. Most of the Anishnaabe migrated from this area for a brief time to avoid conflict and disease. The Three Fires Confederacy which consisted of the Mississauga, Chippewa and Pottawatomi re-established it’s presence in the Great Lakes Area near the end of the 1600’s and early 1700’s. More recently, oral history has shown that the Mississauga ‘s of Curve Lake First Nation Traditional hunting and gathering Territory, included an area from Lake Ontario to the east of the French River to the North and Tyendenaga to the east and the eastern tip of Georgian Bay to the West. Click here to see a map.

The current location of Curve Lake First Nation has been used as a gathering place for a long, long time.

In 1829, a small band of Ojibwe stopped on a peninsula to rest after paddling for many days.  The Anishnaabe people liked the area; it was easily accessible to water, which played an important part in trading.  The Anishnaabe decided to settle here at Mud Lake, as it was known then, officially became a reserve in 1889.  Mud Lake Band #35, became Curve Lake in 1964.  Today, with approximately 1,760 members, Curve Lake has flourished into one of the more successful First Nations in Canada.

Come visit and see where past meets present and discover our unique cultural heritage. For more information contact the Cultural Coordinator at (705) 657-8045 or via email