Batchewana First Nation

Their traditional lands run along the eastern shore of Lake Superior, from Batchawana Bay to Whitefish Island.

Through purchase and land claims, it has reclaimed some territories, including Goulais Bay 15A, Obadjiwan 15E, Rankin Location 15D and Whitefish Island.

In November 1849, Chief Nebenaigoching and members of Batchewana First Nation worked with other local Indigenous communities to assert their rights to traditional territories at Mica Bay.

Residents were forced to move to Goulais Bay in 1905, and the traditional burial ground was relocated to Sault Ste.

The land had originally been set apart for the Department of Marine and Fisheries to build the Corbeil Point Lighthouse by order in council on 29 May 1874.

After unsuccessful negotiations, hereditary Chief Edward James Sayers Nebenaigoching occupied the island from 1989 until the land claim was settled in 1992.

When Lake Superior Provincial Park was established in 1944, it took over the traditional Ojibwe village at Gargantua Harbour (Nanabozhung in Anishinaabemowin).

In August 2007, Chief Dean Sayers and about 200 band members re-established a 2-km road from Ontario Highway 17 to Gargantua Harbour along a park trail.

After negotiation failed, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources charged Chief Sayers and the band in 2008 for destruction of park property.

They were found guilty of one charge, Obstruct justice, as a result of threats made to bring guns to the disputed road.

[9][10] On 29 January 2013, Chief Dean Sayers and band councillors filed a claim for compensation under the Specific Claims Process for the "catastrophic" loss of the historic whitefish fishery, due to canal and hydroelectric dam construction and industrial pollution at the St. Marys Rapids, the former hub of the fishery.

The Obadjiwan 15E reserve consists of two non-contiguous parcels of land at Corbeil Point on Batchawana Bay, totaling 0.68 km2.

This 0.17 km2 island had been a centre for fishing and trade since time immemorial due to the annual abundance of lake whitefish, but it was expropriated from the band in 1902 to build a railroad.

A 5-acre reserve at Gros Cap called Goulais Bay 15C was granted to the band after Whitefish Island was expropriated by the Crown.