Aanii/Boozhoo,

Summer is finally here and warmer weather is upon us. The school year is coming to a close for elementary and they will be joining the secondary and post-secondary on their summer vacations. Please continue to be diligent and watch for children on the roadways as they will surely be enjoying the summer weather outdoors. 
Since we are on the topic of students, I would like to congratulate all our graduates from daycare to post-secondary. I hope everyone had an excellent school year and are looking forward to enjoying their summer. 

The Anishinabek Nation/Union of Ontario Indians and Chiefs of Ontario have held their recent general assemblies. The biggest highlight from the Anishinabek Nation Assembly is the desire to move forward with the Anishinabek Nation Self-Government Agreement which will require a community ratification vote. All 40 Anishinabek Nation communities have the option to participate in the ratification process and must do so adopt/enact/accept the Agreement. The ratification will be held during the fall and close in November. Mississauga First Nation will participate in the ratification process to have our community decide if we will adopt the Self-Government Agreement or not. The Self-Government focuses on four pillars: 

1. Leadership Selection (Elections)
2. Citizenship
3. Language and Culture
4. Operation and Management of Government (Fiscal Lawmaking)

More information on the Governance Agreement can be found on both the Mississauga Main web page as well as the Anishinabek Nation web page. Additionally, there will be upcoming community engagement sessions in Mississauga as well as Anishinabek Nation sessions held in the major cities in Ontario. 
The top highlight from the Chiefs of Ontario meeting was the restructuring of Chiefs of Ontario. The common theme and strongest suggestion from the plenary sessions held was that the Chiefs of Ontario return to being an advocacy organization and nothing more. 

Summer is upon us however and now is the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. As always I encourage Mississauga members to utilize our land and traditional territory. Each time you utilize it you're not only honouring your ancestors but you're maintaining the Mississauga connection to the land. Please speak with Elders, family members, myself and even Mississauga First Nation Lands Department if you're unsure of where the traditional territory is, we'll all be delighted to share. 

This month our largest summer celebration takes place. The Mississauga First Nation 38th Annual Traditional Pow-Wow occurs July 20-21st. This year's theme is "Reconnecting with the Land". We look forward to seeing everyone at this years gathering and enjoying many laughs and great memories with the celebration. 

I hope everyone enjoys their summer and creates many great memories and stays safe.  

Miigwetch,

Chief Reg Niganobe

Aanii/Boozhoo

Greetings from Mississauga First Nation.
     Recently this Chiefs News section was added to the Mississauga Web Page. The page was added as an opportunity to give quick updates and share messages from myself. Information regarding Mississauga First Nation isn't always accessible within main stream media sources. Regular weekly flyers as well as the quarterly Smoke Signal are distributed but usually only share programming info. This section will have info which affects the First Nation both nationally and provincially as well as within our various political territorial organizations. I will often have messages acknowledging various activities in our community.
     I will attempt to update the page at least once a month or more depending on info and issues that can be shared to the general public. After all, this is a public domain page and sometimes issues have a legal or moral obligation not to be discussed in public forum.
    
    Let me begin the inaugural post as there is plenty to cover within the month of June alone. To start the month the Union on Ontario Indians/Anishinabek Nation held elections for Grand Chief. The Grand Chief position was vacated by Patrick Madahbee after several successful terms. Patrick has retired from politics but will continue to help First Nations address issues in other capacities. On June 6th however a new Grand Chief was elected in Fort William First Nation in the traditional stand up style election. Glen Hare of M'Chigeeng was the chosen leader, Glen has served as Deputy Grand Chief of the Anishinabek Nation for several terms. Congratulations to goes out to Glen we look forward to helping you advance our First Nation issues.
    
     On June 7th we witnessed a change in the Ontario government. The Ontario PC Party won a majority and Doug Ford became the new Premier elect of Ontario. At this point little is known about how Premier Ford plans on working with First Nations. Currently FN's are we do not see a repeat of history from the last majority Provincial PC Government.
    
     In the Algoma-Manitoulin riding we had the re-election of MPP Michael Mantha. Mississauga wishes to extend best wishes and thanks to Mr. Mantha as we look forward to our continued work together.

     The Chiefs of Ontario (COO) held its 44th Annual Conference in Nipissing First Nation. This was also an election year for the COO.
This year history was made as the Chiefs elected the first ever female Ontario Regional Chief. Roseanne Archibald was the successful candidate to win the election over incumbent Regional Chief Isadore Day. 
Congratulations goes out to Roseanne who was severed as Chief in various capacities, from Chief of her community to Deputy Grand Chief of her PTO. 
Best wishes go out to Isadore Day on his future endeavours. On behalf of Mississauga First Nation, thank you for the strides you made in bringing FN's issues to a National level.

     Finally in closing I'd like to acknowledge the ending of another school year. I applaud all of our graduating students from daycare through to Post Secondary. Your work and dedication during the school year is rewarded with growth and progression along your life journey.
Now that school done for the summer I hope everyone enjoys their time off. With all the children now done school please keep vigil and alert when driving through Mississaugi. 
We were all once an age of playful exuberance and we know that safety falls to the wayside on occasion during outdoor play. Please pay close attention around our play grounds, play parks and hidden driveways.

Miigwetch,
​Chief Reg Niganobe